Marx Wine Bar and Grill

06/10/2008 Posted by MariaAnne

I thought I would surprise my husband with a romantic overnight trip to Stillwater for his birthday. I got a room at a local bed and breakfast and decided to go to Marx because their menu looked great and it seemed like they had quite a few good reviews. When we got there, we were seated quickly and the waitress was very attentive. However, once we ordered our food, things started to go down hill. The starter (crab legs) took a long time to get out, and when we finally received it, we found the flavors the be awkward and sub-par. The dish felt like it was trying too hard to be 'gourmet' and fell flat. We again waited for 10 or 15 minutes to get our respective salads, which sounded great on the menu and turned out boring and bland. One HOUR later, we received our entrees. My husband had the steak and I had the salmon. Both dishes were ok, but nothing to write home about...and definitely not worth waiting an hour for! The only redeeming quality of Marx was our waitress. In my opinion, if you're thinking of going to Marx, don't. Save the $80 you'll spend on a sub-par meal for 2 and do something you won't regret later. Then again, maybe they were just having a bad night.

03/09/2008 Posted by dar3

Looking through the reviews it appears that Marx's is either great or a total bust. Unfortunately for us it was a total bust. I would not call the service rude, but slow yes, and definitely not friendly. I may tend to agree with the one reviewer, "if you do not look like everyone else you're treated like you are not welcome." Yes the decor is funk but I would have to say poorly done funk. It looks like someone just through a little bit of everything they could think of into the decorating scheme. My pasta was way too salty without any subtle flavoring in the sauce. The real kicker, the Parmesan cheese, it reminded me of the Kraft cheese that came out of the green shaker can and loooked like it too. Even Olive Garden serves fresh cheese. The salty "cheese" made the already salty dish even worse. The steak that was served to one of the people in our party was under cooked. The staff's response was, "I could reheat it for you." Not the response I would expect when you are paying $28 for a steak! The third dish ordered by our party was salmon which I did not hear any complaints about. All I can say is I have done it and it's time to move on.

Pros: on street parking

Cons: several

02/07/2008 Posted by smm2395

I'm not sure what these negative reviews are about on here, but i have been to Marx more than I can count on both hands and the service has always been excellent. yes, there is often a wait and they only take reservations for 6 or more but they have a great bar to drink at while you wait and if you decide to you can have dinner at the bar as well. The wait is part of the fun and if you were in Minneapolis at a restaurant of this caliber you would expect and equivalent wait. Its a small restaurant so i can see how they wouldnt take many reservations seeing as they want to keep walk in service welcome. The food may take longer than most but its all about the experience and spending good time with fun people, once you get your entrees it more than makes up for the wait. The food is amazing as well as the service, i have never had an issue that wasnt addressed with care. Bottom line it is worth the wait.

Pros: great atmosphere, cool bathrooms, great food

Cons: sometimes a wait but its worth it!

12/08/2007 Posted by brianmiller10

My Wife and I have wanted to have dinner at Marx for over a year. For Christmas 2006, I put a Marx gift certificate in my Wife's stocking. Throughout 2007, we tried no fewer than six times to have dinner at Marx. Each time we were rudely refused the opportunity to make a reservation. When visiting Marx, we were told that the wait would be over two hours. Once we were even told the wait would be over three hours. In each case we left and had dinner elsewhere. I've heard from many locals that they avoid Marx because they refuse to take reservations and the service is slow and arrogant. Marx may have good food (I'll never know), but they have an attitude and customer service problem. After becoming frustrated with Marx, I called to request that my gift certificate be refunded. Again, I was treated with little respect. The woman I talked to told me that Marx would under no circumstances refund my gift certificate. She suggested that because I liked to have dinner out with my Wife on Friday or Saturday evenings (who doesn’t?), that our schedule was not compatible with the restaurant. She recommended having dinner at 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. The fact that Marx stubbornly refuses to take reservations should keep anyone living more than 10 minutes from Stillwater away. Your time is valuable. Have dinner someplace that values your time. Like the others who have posted comments about Marx on this site, I give it two thumbs down.

Pros: Nothing

Cons: Rude and Arrogant

10/19/2007 Posted by cdmullen

My husband and I and 2 other couples made reservations for dinner for my birthday. We arrived promptly at 5:30 and were seated right away. It took 15 minutes or so to get our first drink order and from there our service progressively got slower. We didn't mind too much because after we got a few bottles of wine we got caught up in conversation while waiting. However after we paid our tab (literally the minute after we paid the tab) we were told to leave! We didn't mind the slow service or the fact we weren't even asked if we wanted dessert (let alone a complimentary one for my birthday) since we could see it was busy and we all have been in the service industry at some point in our lives. But to be asked to leave after spending $400+ there was shocking! Especially since it was their slow service that kept us there so long (we had to wait 1/2 hour for our tab)! We were all stunned when the hostess said we have "been there long enough" and other people were waiting for the table. We weren't even allowed to finish our wine! I thought surely that this was just an example of one bad employee and not the restaurant as a whole so the next day I sent a polite e-mail to the restaurant expecting the management to be appauled by this behavior and tell me that they'd take action to make sure it doesn't happen again but I got no reply. A few days later I left the same message on their website, surely once management was aware they'd be thankful that someone brought this to their attention - wrong, again, no reply. After speaking with friends on the treatment we received there I heard similar stories - the management is just horrible and the rudeness of the staff reflects it. Unless you want to be humiliated by being treated like this in front of friends, family or even worse clients, stay away from this restaurant!

Pros: Stillwater is a beautiful, scenic town. Decor was nice.

Cons: Rude & slow service. Mediocre food. Crowded & hurried out when done eating.

09/06/2006 Posted by blawson80

Despite the name "wine bar," I truly believe the food is the real standout here. The wine list is of the smorgasbord variety rather than the categorical variety, leans New World, especially Californian, and I would call it adequate to above average. I remember having on a previous occasion a very good steak or otherwise-cut-of-beef with foie gras. This past weekend I had the blackened scallops with soba noodles etc., which was flat out unbelievable. I'm no country bumpkin, I've lived around the country and around the world, and this is one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. The food could hardly be more artistic and delicious, and it doesn't even cost $100 a head. The renovation and expansion has eliminated a lot of the artsy hole in the wall charm, but I'm happy to see them doing well. I have no idea what is going on with the negative reviews. With due respect to one of them, Phil's Tara is a fine establishment, but this is fine art, and that is Northern Exposure.

Pros: pick anything on the menu

Cons: *fingers in my ears* LA LA LA LA LA LA

08/26/2006 Posted by flyguy8

We dined at Marxs last night what a disappointment. We had the Linguini Prochuitto the Pasta was way over done and so Salty you could not eat it. Nice atmosphere Service was very slow and not very Attentive. We even complained to the server and she just blew it off. If it were me I would highly reccomend Phils Tara Hide Away it is the best.

Pros: Nice Atmosphere

Cons: Food and Service

07/31/2006 Posted by kleetheisen

Marx is turning into my favorite restaurant. I had been to Marx before the remodel the food was good, then someone suggested that I try the chef specials...WOW. I recommend this restaurant to everyone. Try to get there by 5:00 (or lunchtime) or you will have to order a watermelon martini and wait it out. Dont eat in the bar if you can help it, service has not been the best there.

Pros: The Chef Specials

Cons: The Wait and some waitstaff

06/28/2006 Posted by elvis711

Excellent new menu and decor. The "fusion bistro" really works here. We were a table of 4. I had the sirloin as mentioned above. The other 3 had the filet mignon, it was gorgeous, and beyond tender. One had the Caneloni, looked superb, I did not taste it, but there was none left over when we were done. And my wife had the checken breast, it was very tender, and very well presented. The food took a little longer than we are used to, however we were told this was the case when we ordered so we had no problem waiting an extra 10 minutes. It allowed us to enjoy a second glass of wine from their very diverse wine list. Prices were great--180.00/incl. tip- for a table of 4 with 2 drinks each, and 2 appetizers split between us. The place is not huge, but the layout is great. We walked in at 7:30 on a Tuesday and took the last table--people arriving after us had a minimal wait--15 minutes or so.

Pros: Menu, Wine List, Service

Cons: Well, it is Stillwater-parking was a drag.

06/19/2006 Posted by funkienfun

Marx came highley recommended by a friend of mine so I was extremely caught off gaurd when I was treated so rudely. Upon entering the seating area was full so my friend and i took a seat at the empty bar. We were given drink menu's after looking them over and asking a few questions I was ready to place my order. I gave the bartender my indentification for placing my drink order and he would not except it! I offered him other forms of I.D. to show that this indeed was me and he refused all of it. He proceeded to ingnore me and try to take the order of my friend. I have never had anyone ever refuse service to me and be so rude. My I.D. was as real as they come I have a feeling I was not someone they wanted dining in their establishment. Needless to say we did not stay for dinner and well drinks were a bust too. If you don't look like everyone else you might NOT be welcome!!!

Pros: unique atmosphere

Cons: Treated badly