05/25/09

in a class of its own

by speakyourmind

hard to fault such a fantastic restuarant, get there early or be prepare to wait, first come first come first serve, a real gem in the west village crown. excellent specials and vary day to day, Lobster roll the best in new york by far. pan friend cod sandwich another fave, but try the corn in chesse its the dogs bollocks

• Pros: lobster rolls, excellent specials,
• Cons: more raw shrimp dishes

01/22/09

Go Mary!!

by elsalovisa

I love it! I go here so often, always delicious and friendly. Best lobster roll in NYC! The shrimp tacos are soooooo good! Great wine list, deserts and everything is fresh!

Everything is great!

• Pros: Everything
• Cons: Hard to get a table at night

12/30/08

Um, excuse me?

by subiej

This place was a big disappointment, mostly because of the rude service. We had to wait over an hour to be seated, of course, and by the time we ordered they were out of lobster rolls. Whatever- that's not such a big deal. What was astounding was that they asked the couple next to us to LEAVE while they were drinking their coffee (you should have seen the looks on their faces). Then, minutes after we signed the credit card slip and received our cappuccinos, they did the same to US! I looked at the door, expecting to see a line around the corner, but there were only 2 people waiting for a table (it was pretty late).

I'm sorry. I understand that somehow it's become "acceptable" in some places to ask customers to leave your restaurant once they've paid their bill. But I think it's bad manners, and violating some kind of unspoken restaurant-patron agreement. Allowing people to drink their coffee in peace, is part the cost of doing business. It's part of the agreement we make when i wait and hour and a half for overpriced risotto-- that i will be able to at least not be p*ssed off and angry when i leave. That's all i ask.

Even if the food and service had been fantastic (which it wasn't), asking people to leave immediately after they pay the bill is a sure-fire way to make sure they are angry and have a bad impression about the entire experience. Just on principle, I won't be patronizing any restaurant that thinks it's ok to take your money and rush you out the door.

• Pros: A place that was trendy, like 2 years ago, so of course it makes you feel really super-cool...
• Cons: ...until they kick you out while you're drinking coffee.

12/02/08

always fresh seafood

by johnnaoliv

This is one of my all time favorite places to eat. Each time I have eaten there the food has been amazing. It is perfect for a date or a night with good friends. The fish dishes are tasty, fresh and presented beautifully. Everything from the service, decor, food and wine is tasteful a delight to the senses.

• Pros: seafood,service

09/02/08

Poor service ruins an otherwise good meal

by tjones15164

That last review could have been written by me (I swear it wasn't!). I went to Mary's tonight. We arrived on the early side and were told by the very nice hostess that it would be about a twenty minute wait. We got a drink and waited on the bench outside. Eventually we got our table and proceeded to wait...and wait...and wait. Three tables that were seated after us had their orders taken first. Finally the waitress (dark hair, dark glasess) came over and rudely said "Do you know what you want?" as if she'd been waiting for us to make up our minds. She returned about five minutes later, dropped the food on our table and never came back again until she rushed us out the door when we had barely swallowed our last bite. Only when we were leaving, did we hear her telling others of the night's specials, how much the lobster roll cost that night, etc. We didn't get any of this.

All in all, it was a good meal, but it sounds like there might be an issue with this waitress.

• Pros: Good lobster roll
• Cons: Rude waitress

08/23/08

Decent food; Poor waitstaff

by jjones4444

We ate here last night and aren't going to rush back anytime soon. Overall, the food is decent: good lobster rolls, fish is well prepared, oysters so-so. It's on par with a beach seafood house from somewhere like the Jersey shore (okay, a bit better--my wife says it's pretty good actually, and she's a foodie).

As for service, the hostess was really nice, but the waitress was pretty bad (the dark-haired, dark glasses wearing one). She basically walks away before you're done speaking and appears to be completely detached, as if she doesn't want to be there. For example, she rushed off before we could even order an appetizer. We witnessed her doing this multiple times with other customers as well. For those who don't care about service, this isn't a big deal, I know. But if you do care, expect something like this (which happened):

Customer: Do you have espresso or anything else besides coffee?

(The waitress taking plates from their table, detached, looking around a bit, and looks at the customer as he finishes the sentence with the word "coffee)

Waitress: Coffee? Okay.

(Waitress starts walking away)

Customer: No, no...(repeats question)

Waitress: Yes (walks away quickly)

I mean, c'mon! If you don't want to be there, get a different job! Anyway, the music was also cranked really loud, which was bizarre. My wife and I had to kind of shout to one another.

• Pros: Well prepared fish; good lobster rolls
• Cons: Waitress w/ dark hair & glasses is bad

04/05/08

Best lobster roll in the city

by kdmac

GREAT, fresh food and our server was friendly and helpful. Delicious mussels with fennel, conch soup was just OK (not much conch) but the lobster rolls were to die for. The guy sitting next to us even ordered four to go! Be ready to wait (ours was about 45 mins) but well worth it. Unlike anything else in the city.

• Pros: lobster rolls, fries, service
• Cons: no waiting area

03/18/08

Tender morsels of tasty seafood

by safight

Was just there last night, is just as the editorial review states it is PLUS extremely nice waitstaff, unheard of in ny levels of niceness. I was impressed by the food, having sampled the rich lump crab meat gratin and chunky, delish lobster roll. Thumbs up!

• Pros: relaxed vibe, friendly waitstaff, tasty food
• Cons: small & crowded

12/18/07

Disappointing

by antonny

We'd heard such great things about Mary's Fish Camp and were very excited to try it. The Crab Au Gratin appetizer was excellent, but it was downhill from there. The Lobster Risotto was mushy and bland with rubbery lobster. The Montauk Skate was doused with so much lemon it was hard to taste anything else. Though I will say that the greens were good and the texture of the fish was excellent. The hot fudge sunday was embarrassing - not hot at all and tasted almost entirely of the peppermint candy cane crumbled into it. The wait staff was just fine (though they forgot to bring us coffee).

06/05/07

Consistent on 2 things, very good lobster roll, really rude wait staff

by donsnyc

I have been to Mary's Fish Camp several times as I live in the neighborhood, just a mere 4 block away from the restaurant, and I can say the they have been consistent on 2 things. First, the lobster roll has always been good, second would be the service has always been rude and the waitress will talk down on you. After several years of going to this restaurant, I have just had it when I went this weekend. I had a $89 lunch bill for 2 persons, gave the waitress $120 so she could give me change so I could leave a $18 tip (20%). She only gave me back $11 change, when I told her (in a nice way) that I left $120, she remarked "Oh I'm sorry, you wanted the $20 back?" for everyone to hear. I just said yes, left the tip and exited quietly. I have never heard of the waitstaff deliberately not giving back the change to take as tip. That was the last straw from the rudeness of the wait staff that I will get and never again will I come back. Each time I went back in the past I hoped that I could get past the rudeness but, nope. I travel to New England often and nothing beats the lobster over there.