Marks Bros Restaurant Inc

03/13/08

Pleasantly surprised

by joebartender at Citysearch

I got here late so the party i was with was already sitted downstairs in this little japanese styled booth.. I was put off at first by the fact that i had to take off my shoes but the whole sitting indian style thing grew on me. Most of the food we had was on par with the rest of the japanese restaurants thats around st marks place. Their drinks were a little light on the alcohol but thats about it...Nothing here that stands out to much but still give it a shot

• Pros: Good prices descently fast service
• Cons: food doesnt really exceed any expectations

02/28/08

worst food in the east village

by brainsurgeon at Citysearch

we went to this place based on some of the other reviews. we were aware there were good, and bad reviews. well, i have to say, put your trust in the bad reviews! this place stinks! it's too crowded, which creates an uncomfortable atmosphere. after a long day of work, you want to feel relaxed, not like a caged animal that's about to be served up. and the food was terrible. and the service also sucked. maybe because we 're not asian, which is the majority here. i don't know. we should have walked out on the bill cause i hate wasting money. if you're looking for great food & drink in this area, and great staff & atmosphere, definetly go to telephone bar on 2nd avenue. never had nothing but a wonderful time there.

12/08/06

Go for the food, not the service.

by justaguywithopinions at Citysearch

I'm Japanese-American and lived in Japan for six years so this review may not represent the average American opinion. However, I often take my friends there (non-Japanese) and they usually love it. This is a great restaurant., but I see that not everybody thinks so and I guess that I can understand why.

First, the service is not great. Maybe it's because they're understaffed, but they're definitely not as attentive as they could be. Because they're from Japan this may be partially attributed to the fact that they're used to being called when needed. Second, the menu has a wide range of traditional and non-traditional Japanese bar foods, and if you're not very experienced with this particular type of Japanese cuisine, then you may not get what you expected. This is not a sushi joint. From the few times I've had the sushi here, I can say that it's fine. But don't come here if sushi's your goal.

When I go to Typhoon, I usually do most of the ordering for the group and they usually love the food. I'll list some of my favorites: chicken kara-age (amazing fried chicken, but be careful of the hot sauce), miso kalbi (beef slices cooked with miso), Saikoro steak (cubes of steak with a great sauce on the side and potatoes), omu-rice (kind of like a rice omelette, hence omelette-rice = omu-rice), korokke (potato croquettes), okonomiyaki (Japanese savory pancake, but you might want to ask them to hold the katsuo-bushi -- dried bonito flakes).

I like to go with a big group and reserve a private room downstairs. I just think it's more fun to all be in a small room together, but people often get tired of sitting on the floor so it's not for everybody. The temperature control in the restaurant isn't the best either, so it can get a little hot in the summer from time to time. I go for the food, so I can deal with the mediocre service. If you're the same way, then you may become a regular too.

• Pros: Probably one of the best places in the city to go for Japanese bar food
• Cons: Service is not that great

10/05/06

Can't disagree more with the bad reviews

by yeltsin at Citysearch

While I will admit that they get very busy and the service can get very slow during those busy nights, I have never, ever been treated rudely by any of the staff here and I've lost count of how many times I've eaten here. This place is very affordable especially considering how incredibly fresh the food is. If you want top-notch sushi and don't want to pay ridiculous prices, this is your place. As someone else mentioned, they cater to a mostly asian clientele, so don't expect Americanized food or you'll be disappointed. I can't imagine what kind of food the bad reviewers were expecting (one person mentioned Asian-American cuisine which tells me they don't have a clue about japanese food--maybe they should stick to the chinese take-out places or Teriyaki Boy). Someone else said the stuff in the local deli is better--also a hopelessly clueless person in my opinion. The fish here is as fresh as in some of the most expensive places in the city that I've been taken to. Masago looks so fresh and shiny that the eggs will burst if you touch them, unlike the shriveled up orange stuff you see at most cheap places. Unfortunately, last time I went here the menu had been downsized a bit, but the food was just as good as always and the place quickly got packed. Get there early if you want to beat the crowd or late if you want to miss it, and then maybe the service will be better. But remember they are all Japanese here, if you feel entitled or snobby or put off by people who don't speak perfect English waiting on you, you should probably go elsewhere. If you're friendly and patient, you'll leave very happy and want to come back.

• Pros: the sushi is amazing, full bar with huge sake selection (hot and cold)
• Cons: gets crowded, caters mostly to asian crowd/staff speaks limited English

07/06/06

Good True Japanese Food

by starr2015 at Citysearch

Ignore the negative reviews!

If you are looking for good JAPANESE food, not american-japanese food, go here!

My friends and I were seated right away on a weekend. While on a holiday it was overbooked for our large party of 9.. a party of 4 is easy to find seats for. We ordered around 5 appetizers, 1 large dish, and 3 small dishes. We all shared since it was a lot of food. Sharing means we all picked from the same plate ala asian style! The bill came to about $40 with tax and tip. That is AMAZING for a Japanese restuarant.

We also ordered Sake, cocktails, and japanese beer. That bill came to around $41 dollars which amused us to no end! When I say we drank, I mean we had around 2 carafes of mid range sake, 3 cocktails, 2 sodas, 1 beer.

All in all, cheap and good food. I tried a beef dish... I believe it was like a soup. It was huge and excellent. My friends had squid, beef, veggies, fish. I have been to many american japanese restuarants and I loved this one even more!

• Pros: Food, wait time, location!
• Cons: service a little slow but allowed you to chat and laugh and enjoy... dont go on a holiday!