I've wanted to come here for quite some time solely on the fact it was a 2 Michelin starred restaurant. This was a time when Michelin laid the golden fleece over my eyes and anything without a Michelin star was just not up to par. 2 months later, I'm older and I would like to think wiser. Michelin does hold their titles to a certain luxurious standard, but I've learned there are lots of really good dining experiences out there that Michelin just can't award. Marea on the other hand grasps Michelin's balls by its tentacles and out fall their well deserved stars. People say you never forget your first time, and my first fine dining experience was with Per Se. Forever the elation I experienced on that day is the bar on how I rate fine dining. Marea comes very close to hitting that bench mark. Our dinner reservations were at 945pm. My sister thought 645pm would be too early and assumed I would want to rest after work before going for dinner. Kudos sis! While waiting for our midnight dinner, an episode of No Reservations was playing. The episode was entitled "Food Porn," a combination that NEEDS to be put together a lot more often. In this episode, Anthony Bourdain dines with Michael White at....hey wait a minute, Marea? This was an abstract for the dinner to come. Marea's specialty is in seafood. Unlike Eric Ripert's Le Bernardin, I feel Marea puts an interesting twist in combining Italian seafood with his contemporary style. Le Bernardin is still the gold standard for seafood in NYC, but Marea would be a close second. Highlights of the tasting menu include Uni atop a waffle of bread covered in a gossamer sheet of lard, the Nova Scotia lobster with burrata and basil, wheat pasta with octopus smelted with bone marrow, grilled cuttlefish, roasted monkfish tail... Definitely did not disappoint. The wine pairing was very complimentary to the meal with a wide array of white wines, and champagne. If you ever get a chance, take Nike's advice and just do it. read more

Marea deserves the honor to be my 100th review. I've been saving it for someone special and I'm glad I finally found her. $99 four course prix fixe menu - GREAT GREAT value, filling portions, excellent variety to choose from, courses brought out in a timely manner. You'd probably end up spending around $50 with just an entree and shared appetizer, so makes sense to just ball out go for it. But I warn you, this will be a large (and expensive) meal - prepare accordingly. We got the: - Astice (lobster burrata): I got suckered in from all the reviews raving about this appetizer and paid the $7 supplement for it. Didn't quiet blow me away so I was pretty disappointed. Definitely a well executed dish though, but not too tasty IMO. I guess I'm more of a savory saucey gal. - Polipo (grilled octopus): We both agreed this was the best octopus we've ever had. Grilled perfectly, so tender, charcoal flavor not too overpowering. Didn't see too many reviews on the polipo, but in my mind this was a clear winner over the Astice. - Fusilli (red wine braised octopus, bone marrow): So rich, perfect al dente pasta, lived up to the hype for sure. The octopus in this fusilli wasn't as impressive as the polipo appetizer though (probably since they mainly gave ends of the tentacles). - Strozzapreti (lump crab, sea urchin, basil): Strong crab flavor with crunchy bread crumbs sprinkled over the top. The base is a delicious tomato sauce and it's amazing how you can taste how fresh the tomatoes were. I was in love. - Capesante (seared sea scallops with potatoes and morels): Didn't try much of this but portions seemed reasonable and he seemed to enjoy it very much. - Agnello (lamb chops with greens): Wow! When the server first brought it out I was so pleasantly surprised at its size (that's what she said! sorry had to..) it seemed like what I would get if I got it off of the regular menu. Two generously sized medium rare lamb chops with a bunch of greens. We were both stuffed to the brim at this point. Normally we'd be picking at each other's plates but this time we were rejecting offers to share. - Bomboloni (doughnuts with dipping sauces): So fresh right out of the oven. Be ready to lick your lips cause each bite will leave you a sugary mess. Wasn't a huge fan of the sauces, the doughnuts were perfect flying solo. - Sorbet and Gelato (tasting of pistachio, hazelnut, and blackberry): I've been to Italy and had my fair share of gelato thanks to Yelp. But this pistachio gelato ranks maybe top 1 or top 2. Pistachio flavor was strong and texture so milky, creating a sugary creamy finish to a memorable meal. Don't be shy to ask for multiple servings of their olive focaccia bread, save some to clean up the leftover pasta sauce.* When we got the pasta dishes, I was a little bit disappointed on the portion size. But as my mother always says in a Chinese proverb "your eyes are bigger than your stomach". Turns out as we were cleaning up the pasta, the portion was just perfect. I actually can't imagine eating a whole entree-sized portion now. You'll see :) *Perform act at own discretion. May or may not impress date. read more

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I came here on a Monday evening and found this place lively by the bar when you first enter on the left as well as a full dining room to the right. The ambiance here is more upscale where you can find businessmen/women after work here and tourists being that you are located near Columbus Circle/Central Park. Getting to the food, they brought out complimentary little bites of Spanish mackerel that was good. We then went with the grilled polipo (octopus) that was cooked perfectly. They even split it for us into 2 plates which I thought was nice. Then we tried the dentice (snapper) crudo that was also flavored well and was very fresh. After our first dish was done, the wait staff brought out fresh plates and silverware which I appreciate. For the mains, we tried the spada (swordfish) which was cooked medium rare and done well as well as the branzino (sea bass) that was a bit overcooked but had good flavors otherwise. After a couple of glasses of wine each, tax and tip, we ended up paying $150/each. I thought this was a bit pricier than I was anticipating but we did eat all fish at one of the best NYC restaurants, so I am not complaining. Overall the staff was great throughout and not pushy to get us out of there which I also appreciated. I will be back. Buon appetito. read more

This was the best meal of my life. After seeing Marea on Anthony Bourdain's food porn episode, my boyfriend and I were dying to try the restaurant. We live in DC, so when we planned our trip to NYC, we had to make a reservation at Marea. We couldn't get anything earlier than a 9:45 reservation, but figured it was worth the wait. We were correct. We started off with the Astice--huge chunks of lobster, buratta, basil and pickled eggplant. It was one of the best things I have ever had in my life. I thought the buratta and lobster (fish and cheese) combo would be weird, but it was amazing. For dinner I had the popular octopus, bone marrow and fusilli. It was even better than I expected. I thought the Astice was incredible, but the pasta blew me away. The bone marrow clearly enriches the red sauce and the fusilli was the best pasta I have ever had. You cannot leave Marea without trying this dish. My boyfriend ordered the Calamari which was wonderful, but again, next to the other two dishes, it wasn't that memorable. He also ordered the sausage ragu and loved it. We were too full for dessert, but the restaurant gives you chocolate with your bill. The caramel piece was great. I loved my meal at Marea and intend to go back during my next visit to NYC. read more

When I was courting my now wife, I brought her here as well as Le Bernadin. Maybe it was because this was an experience that had to follow Le Bernadin but we felt like this wasn't that amazing. They did have all the bread selection you could shake a breadstick at, which I guess is good. A lot of reviews go into great detail. I'll give a high level review. The food is light. Almost too light. It didn't feel like we got our money's worth since we felt somewhat empty after we ate. So the portions were ok which I guess is not that surprising. But we also felt that it wasn't that flavorful here. It's like they wanted to play it safe here so they did cookie cutter dishes. The service was not that memorable either. It is cool to eat next to Central Park. The decor is OK, but not as special as you'd expect for a place like this. You're going to pay a lot here due to it's Michelin star status. So be prepared. read more

I think you must hold a restaurant of this caliber to a higher standard. It was meh. Not everything, but enough to end up with meh. Started with an uni app, lardo, seasalt. The uni was fishy (?!). I love uni. No, like i want to bathe in it. Serious problem. Why did they ruin the uni? I think they torched it or put it under the impinger. Why?! You sick m-f-er! It doesn't work. At all. Ever. Hang your head in shame. We got caviar next. They didn't make it. They only serve it. No points for opening a container. Skipped the oysters because they didn't have anything really that special that I can't get at home. Next was butterfish crudo. Really really really excellent. Well done. Right temp. Bravo. Pasta was our fourth. They originally were out of the pasta my wife chose. Then they made it anyway. That took balls. It was a thick noodle with spicy ragu with crab and uni. No fishy taste or smell, which confirms they messed up the app.They also made us a lovely take on linguini with clams. This stole the show! Wow! Get this! We then shared a scallop dish. Good, but not memorable. The scallops were slightly overcooked. They should be rare/ med rare. These were medium. Chef strike two. Ruined another expensive ingredient. Deserts were meh. Too many layers. Strike three: no amuse. We did get a fabulous bottle of champagne ('99 Salon), with a hefty 200% mark up. Would i go back? No. Would I recommend it? No. Does it deserve anything? No. read more

This was the worst fine dining experience I've had in NYC. I don't understand how the ratings are so high. Relative to all other restaurants I've been to in NYC (~75+) this is probably 2.5 stars; relative to the price, which is competitive with most very high-end fine dining in the city, this is a 1, explaining the rating. As I see it, there are fine dining venues that try to distinguish based on food quality and those that differentiate with luxury -- Marea is definitely in the latter camp. They are all fluff, no substance. Maybe that is why people seem to like this place: it does feel like it is trying to be luxurious. But the decor is from an older era (90s?) and hasn't aged well. The staff also has an air of sophistication, but it's a bit of a facade. They know the menu but knowledge of what the food actually was (ingredients, cooking process, etc.) was absent -- as someone with food allergies this was problematic and not confidence inspiring. To that point, I was told a dressing didn't have dairy in it, which it certainly did, as I immediately broke into a fever while eating it. It's fine someone made a mistake but all the waiters I interacted with knew very little about the food... I believe because it's not a big part of their value proposition to the customer. They are selling EXPENSIVE FOOD, NOT GOOD FOOD. There is more flavor in a corner kabab gyro than in any of the four plates I ate. The bill was comically expensive for a very weak offering and a negative experience. I would not recommend this for anyone unless he/she would like to have Whole Foods Hot Bar quality salmon and a Chopt quality salad for ~$100 (no drinks, including tip). read more

This restaurant has an elegant dining room featuring an expansive seafood menu with enough turf options to satisfy picky eaters. The crudo are varied, if small. Our table shared a few and enjoyed them all, even the octopus. We also shared a few half-portions of the pastas. I found the seafood risotto to be a little undercooked, but my fellow diners disagreed. My favorite was the fusili with braised octopus and bone marrow. Who thought octopus could be so rich and tender? We all had fish for our main course and everyone was exceedingly pleased. Each piece of fish was perfectly cooked with complimentary and creative sauces and vegetables. The portions were generous. The desserts (we tried 3) were uniformly spectacular, especialy the lemon pana cotta. The small cakes as a parting gift were a nice touch. Highly recommended for a special occasion. read more

Michael White's Marea ("tide" in Italian) transforms and renews me. I can walk in feeling dull and haggard, and leave feeling on cloud nine, my senses reawakened. The warm lighting from behind the golden onyx bar makes you feel beautiful; the attentive service makes you feel special; and the food brings your taste buds back from the dead... A few people have described Marea as the Italian version of the esteemed Le Bernardin a few blocks away. High praise indeed, but while the two have fresh seafood in common, this is a totally different animal. Marea, by intention, is less formal and more laid-back. Its tone and quality might be better compared to Danny Meyer's Modern. (Marea specifies a "No shorts for men" dress code. I find this oddly humorous and telling of the times, but that will be the subject of another essay..) Marea's gorgeous bar (both the bar back and the bar itself) is a beacon on Central Park South. Carved out of what looks like a giant slice of beautifully veined onyx, it glows from within from within. Whether you dine here or in the dining room at one of the comfortable tables by a rosewood wall, it will be a sublime experience. The bartenders are mostly stellar; the dining room staff are attentive yet discreet. It's not just the atmosphere. You come here for the seafood and for Chef White's homemade pastas (and, if you're extra lucky, for the little wrapped and ribboned breakfast loaf you're handed as you depart). Perfect. The courses are reasonably-sized, and well-paced. I can easily eat a crudo, an antipasto, and then a pasta, and, it goes without saying, all of the little cookies and chocolates presented at the meal's finish. (At dinner, there is a "reasonable" four-course prix-fixe for $99. You may choose among a crudo, antipasto, or oysters; a pasta; a carne or pesce main dish; and a dessert.) While your party is perusing the large menu, it is nice to order a starter for the table--a crostini, or the signature ricci (thin toast topped with urchin, encased in lardo, with a sprinkle of sea salt). In addition to an over-the-top caviar and oyster service, you can begin your dinner with a CRUDO, delicate slices of raw fish like fluke (Passera), snapper (Dentice), or Bigeye tuna (Tonno). They are all prepared differently, with seasonings and garnishes that bring out the best of each delicacy's flavor. Next, are the ANTIPASTI, which range from two clean, fresh salads, to my favorite grilled octopus with smoked potatoes and radish, and the much-loved Astice (loster with a surprise of creamy burrata and eggplant). Next are the wonderful, "light" PASTAS. Many prefer the famous Fusilli, tossed with octopus and bone marrow. I enjoy the Tagliolini, with calamari and clams, as well as the Spaghetti, with crab, tomato, and sea urchin. All are inventive, flavorful and textural compositions. While the first three courses are usually all that I require, I have also ordered from the CARNE and PESCE section of the menu. Here, I have shared the Branzino, and splendid, flaky Dover Sole. For carnivores, in addition to a lamb tartare among the antipasti, there is a highly-praised 50-day dry aged Creekstone Farms steak. As for desserts, they look lovely, but I am not able to comment. The tiny cookies and chocolates that are served with coffee are the perfect ending to a sublime meal. Hard to believe, but this is not a dining experiences after which you feel uncomfortably full, and your clothes two sizes too small. After dining at Marea, you actually feel light. You may walk in feeling heavy and dark, but you will exit wanting to skip down Central Park South... read more

Went here based on Anthony bourdains recommendation...excellent service and well prepared food. Pasta was aldente and delicious. I'd come back for sure. read more

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Here's what I loved about Marea: Everything The Astice, Ricci, Focaccia, Spaghetti and Fusilli (oh my!) would be enough to warrant the 5 stars, but everything else is so great, too. I loved the lacquered wood, the natural stone and glass mosaic tiles in the ladies' room, the helpful service from the industrious staff, the poppyseed muffin they gave me as I walked out the door (Marea for breakfast!), hmmm, lessee here... yes, I loved everything. Marea has plenty for the adventurous eaters out there, but also for those who may not be so crazy about the idea of eating geoduck and bone marrow. Of course, like everyone else, the standout dishes to me were: Astice - Way to think outside the box... cheese and shellfish - it does exist! Fusilli and Red Wine Braised Octopus with Bone Marrow - most worthy of a 'signature dish' title. Just amazing. Ricci - Sea urchin on a crostini with a delicate sliver of melting lardo. Thanks to my server for recommending this dish as a pre-dessert. This is my idea of a perfect dessert. And if the first 2 courses weren't fabulous enough, along come the fabulously executed primi dishes. I operate under a few maxims when dining out - always order the signature dish and... if there's sea bass on the menu, you must order it. Haven't ever been let down by these guidelines. The black bass here was amazing. It came with a walnut and balsamic puree that matched prefectly with the charred bitter greens and pickled grapes. Wow, didn't want it to end. And it would be downright negligence if I didn't mention the tempting dessert offerings from Heather Bertinetti. I'm not crazy about chocolate or cake, so I went for the Fromage Blanc Panna Cotta with Rhubarb Compote. It wasn't too sweet and there were lots of flavors blending so well, not too heavy. Just lovely. read more

Came there twice already. Last time was dinner we ordered tasting menu - it was HUGE amount. Today came for lunch - ordered the weekend combo plus 2 more appetizers. Love their complementary bread at first. The food was decent as always and came in with good amount. I prefer their normal appetizer and pasta than their raw selections and meat entree. In the end we ordered dessert but they gave us two more complementary desserts. Great service. Will come back to try more pasta dishes. read more

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We fly into JFK and arrived at 6:30 in the evening -- 3:30 for us, as we live in California. After checking into our hotel, we headed to Marea for our 9:30 reservations . . . seemed like we were eating awfully early . . . . We arrived about five minutes early (who knew that cabs could go that fast on surface streets?), checked-in with the hostess, and waited in the bar for our table. Great back bar with lots of not-so-easy-to get spirits (then again, this is New York), and great cocktails. Watching the bartender work, especially with the couple where the guy was pontificating about wine and telling his date what she would like (personal pet-peeve of mine), he smoothly handled them and offered her a taste of a wine before opening a bottle, etc., etc., etc. Five stars. Another couple walked in -- no reservation -- but somehow they were seated before us?!?!? Perhaps they were regulars. Still . . . . trust me, the maitre d' gets three stars. We began with appetizers -- Lynn had the Assaggio di Tre, a selection of three crudo (fluke, bass, and cuttlefish), while I had the Langoustine. Superb! Five stars. Moving on to the next course, Lynn had the Spaghetti with crab, Santa Barbara sea urchin, and basil; I had the Mare Risotto with shrimp, lobster, scallops, and rouget. Both were delicious, but the rice was a touch undercooked and raw -- the only "down note" re: the food all night. 4.5 stars. Entrées: branzino and John Dory. Excellent! Five stars. The wine list is extensive and typically overpriced. Five stars for selection; four stars for the not-so-surprising $$$$ . . . there *are* certainly some gems with reasonable prices, so the wine buyer knows his/her job. Our server was attentive without being smothering, and everything was near-perfect. As for "Good with Kids," that -- as always -- depends upon the kids. read more

I had much higher expectations based on the reviews, that's why I was a bit upset with the experience. This is a typical high end Italian/seafood restaurant.Yes, they have white table cloth, and there are more than 3 people serving your table, yes all staff is very nice. Food is on the smaller portion side as expected, but unexpectedly mediocre. read more

I could go 3 or 4 stars here, so take this with a grain of salt. Overall, decent place to have dinner, a bit expensive for what they offer. Food is good to great, far from excellent. Well organized menu, with clear sections. I like the simple pricing: each section basically has one price (with the exception of secondis). They have two tasting options: 4 course menu, where you pick the courses from different section, and a chef's tasting, which is chef's choice. One thing that makes the ordering process complicated is the bevy of up-charges on various items. Also, trying to get clarification from the waiter was a bit tough. Instead of explaining things clearly as they are, his answer is basically: you can do what you want. That is not a good answer if you are trying to figure out how it works. We have an out-of-town address, so they immediately boxed us into tourists, which is not a good thing. I think the restaurant has a lot of well heeled customers who are both regulars and live nearby. So, you basically have to compete with them on service, table location, etc. I think this happens everywhere, but was especially clear in our case, at this restaurant. We made our choices: some crudo, antici appetizer, a couple of pastas, and a couple of main dishes. Crudo was mediocre. Antici was great, tagliatele was good, and the other pasta was not memorable. We also had the halibut and the adriatic soup. Both were very good: fresh seafood ingredients, well seasoned. I think this is a solid restaurant. Michelin star? Maybe not. A bit expensive: sure. Worth a try once. read more

The best pasta ever!!! It was like a rock n roll party in your mouth. Everyone who's been there for the first time should order fusilli with octopus and bone marrow. Let's put it this way, my date was trying to make a conversation with me when I was eating fusili. I didn't remember a word from his mouth but I had a great time with my pasta. The only moment I looked up at him during the whole dinner was when he said "let's do it again next time. Just two of us, two pasta dishes for each!" My eyes were shinning when I heard "two pasta dishes for each." I very much look forward to seeing him again. read more

Really across the board excellent. I brought my wife here for her birthday dinner and it did not disappoint. One thing to clarify - on yelp Marea, and many others, are all $$$$. This is accurate. However, there is a distinction - Bernardin is a 3 star Michelin and Marea a 2 star. Both will charge you a HUGE amount of money for dinner (worth it on the rare occasion I believe), but Marea could be considered the 'cheaper' option. Like if you were going to buy a Bugatti but instead went with the Ferrari... My advice would be to indulge more in the crudo than they might suggest. I thought the crudo might just be a chunk or two of raw fish. True, but they get creative with it. Our server said it wouldn't fill us up so not to do more than 1 or 2 but I found myself wishing I had gotten 4 or so and then just split a pasta or some such. Wine list was impressive and even had a lot of reasonably priced options to go with the Grand Crus that were comfortably outside of my budget, even for a birthday. Highly recommend this place. read more

My husband surprised me for my birthday and took me here for dinner. i have heard numerous great things about this place and was excited to finally get to experience it myself. we did the dinner prix fixe at $99 for 4 courses and is the best way to experience the food in this excellent restaurant Service- 5/5- servers were very attentive Food- 5/5- Impeccable Experience- 5/5 first course: fegato 34 (pf supp $14)-- melts in your mouth like butter foie gras torchon, onion marmellata, green apple, hazelnut, olive oil brioche uovo* 21- this one is so-so, nothing special quail egg, prosciutto iberico, salt cod, espresso sugo, grissini second course: fusilli 33- red wine braised octopus, bone marrow- this one is amazing. the best one of all the courses. the pasta is homemade and just the right texture, the octopus so tender and the sauce with chunks of bone marrow has the perfect balance of butttery taste from the marrow and the saltiness from the octopus. just amazing. must get! strozzapreti 33 jumbo lump crab, sea urchin, basil- also a top choice, rich taste of crab and uni with a slighty lemony tinge. third course: branzino 41 wild striped bass, thumbelina carrots, endive, capers, brown butter, orange, hazelnuts- branzino was crispy outside and soft and buttery inside with a sweet light sauce bistecca 57 (pf supp $17) grilled creekstone 50-day dry aged sirloin, braised romaine, bone marrow panzanella - perfect medium rare, melts in your mouth, bone marrow chunks on top. a must try! for desserts we had the affogato which was good but not remarkable. all in all i give this place 5 stars for the perfect crafted dishes that leave you dreaming about it for days. might go back again this weekend just for the fusilli! read more

Went here on a Monday night to celebrate a family birthday, and couldn't be happier with the experience. Dinner started with an amuse bouche of lightly smoked salmon with olive oil. Quite salty and fishy, which I personally love, so I quite enjoyed it. I wasn't in charge of wine, but they have a huge cellar, and the white wine our sommelier suggested was delicious and a perfect pairing for whole meal. Bread service included white, multigrain, or focaccia, which I opted for. It was studded with green olives, which were surprisingly subtle. Very good. We all did the 4 course menu, which was reasonable at $99. A lot to pay for dinner, but for Michelin star quality, not bad. I started with the foie gras with mackerel, lobster mushrooms, and apricot, a combination that worked quite well despite its sounding bizarre. The liver was buttery, the mackerel strong and fishy, and the apricot a sweet, tart counterpoint. A very good anitpasti start. For my pasta course, I went for the fusilli with octopus and bone marrow, which was easily the highlight of the meal. The octopus was cooked perfectly, and the bone marrow lent the sauce a meaty flavor and slick consistency. Also, all the pasta is made in house and extremely tasty. For my main, I had the scallops with lentils and cabbage. The scallops were very well cooked, and quite sweet and fresh. I think I actually preferred the black sea bass my girlfriend had, though. It had maybe the best skin on a piece of fish I've ever tasted. We also had sides of eggplant, potatoes, and wild mushrooms for the table. The mushrooms were another highlight, as they were very simple but incredibly meaty and flavorful. One member of our party liked them so much she had another order instead of dessert! And speaking of dessert, I had the torta di fragole, or strawberry cake, which was very good. My friend's bombolini donuts however, were to die for. I think I chose poorly.... Finally, dessert included an amuse bouche of strawberry-black pepper macaroons, Dark and Stormy bon bons with a ginger cream, and cherry vanilla jellies. All very nice, though we were so full most were left on the table. As a final touch, each lady in out party was given a complimentary blueberry muffin when leaving. I was a little put off by this, as it's a bit antiquated to not give everyone a parting gift, but I scored one from a friend this morning. It was delicious, so no harm, no foul. As you can tell, I'm all about the food, but the service was excellent too. Attentive, but no overbearing. Also, both the server and sommelier were helpful with suggestions. All in all, this place is pricey, and a little overdone in terms of decorum, but definitely worth trying. Well worth the money for a special occasion. read more

This restaurant truly serves up a world class dining experience. From the comfy seats and cozy mid-century modern dining room and bar, to the delicious food this restaurant just exudes elegance. My boyfriend and I visited this restaurant to celebrate our anniversary and it was a wonderful experience. We each go the $100 tasting menu and each dish I was fully impressed by each course. Most memorable was the lobster burrata appetizer and the home made Strozzapreti. Be sure to dress up, as the restaurant is filled with men in business suits and women in dresses and heels. read more

Service at this place ruined the experience for me. After a $700 bill, you'd think the prick of a host/maitre'd (short white male, gray hair with round glasses) would be okay that we sit for another 10-15 minutes to finish our $20 drinks, but NO. AS SOON as the bill was paid for, the old cranky man asks us ALL to show him our ID. (A party of 6) NOW you want us to show you our ID??? And then after verifying that we were all over the age of 21, proceeded to tell us "I think you're done for tonight". We weren't even being loud! We were having the most amazing experience and then WAM; the old man comes over with such negative energy. As we walked out the door, he proceeded to smile and wave and say "I hope you all had a wonderful night". UMMM? It's such a beautiful restaurant with such exceptional food but from the reviews below, it seems as if other people also had complaints about the old man. He either needs to go or this restaurant will go down with the sour taste of old man and bad attitude. I will make sure to tell everyone about this old man when the visit the restaurant. They need to avoid him at all costs if they want a good night at Marea. read more

We had dinner last weekend to celebrate my wife's birthday. We had heard wonderful things about the restaurant, and we have been to Ai Fiori a couple of times for lunch, so we were excited. The restaurant is nicely appointed, although many of the seats look out onto the street, which can be distracting. We actually prefer the ambiance at Ai Fiori. We both ordered the 4-course price fixed menu. The menu is quite interesting, with plenty of choices, especially for seafood. Although the server identified herself as our waitress, our order was taken by another person, who did not identify himself. At any rate, drinks and appetizers were served promptly, and the food was delicious. I had the "ouvo", which was a great combination of poached egg, whitefish and caviar. My wife had the "Astice", which was lobster with burrata. Wonderful! We had difficulty ordering wine from the extensive list because our waitress could not be found for a period of time. However, we got is in time for the pasta course, which was sublime. I had the "meat ravioli", prepared in a delicious butter sauce. The entrees turned out to be a weak point in the dinner. My "Adriatic Seafood Soup" was quite disappointing. although the seafood was cooked carefully (each component prepared separately), the "soup", which was described by the unidentified person who took our order as" tomato based", was thin and rather weak in flavor, with only a few specks of tomato floating in the broth. I have had better Italian version of this dish at Bottega, Michale Chiarello's restaurant in Napa. My wife had the Seared Scallop dish, which at first was delivered to the table cold, but even the reordered entree was anything but outstanding. The desserts were the most disappointing of all- my wife, who loves chocolate, found the "STRATI DI CIOCCOLATO" quite disappointing, and my "BOMBOLONI" (donuts) were served with 2 dipping sauces that were anything but outstanding. Even the final tasting that was presented to us (a bit of a chocolate cake) was surprisingly weak in flavor. We have been to 2-star Michelin restaurants before, and this was the weakest of all. read more

Everything was perfect. Amazing service and food. Not only was the food excellent the presentation was perfect. Strongly recommend read more

Some things in life are too good to be true...that is how I would describe my dinner tonight. In New York kicking off my birthday celebration. My meal was perfect, the service was outstanding and the setting was warm yet sophisticated. Please thank the entire staff and especially my server. read more

I chose Marea because Kenji Lopez-Alt calls its spaghetti with crab and sea urchin the best bowl of pasta in the city. Silky, briny uni is my favorite at the sushi bar, and there's little I love more than pasta, so this was a no-brainer. But the husband and I felt a little doubt when we got to the sleek Columbus Circle dining room full of business dealers and various other rich people jockeying to be seen. We were seated next to a young woman and her disgusting old date who kept coming over to her side of the table to make out. My husband was silently wondering why I had picked this place, and we questioned if the food would actually be good. IT WAS. Everything was divine. My only quibble was that the appetizer portions are tiny, like so tiny as to be rendered unsharable. Now please understand that I'm usually the one dismissing others' complaints about portion size. But I guess that for $22 I envisioned that the gambero rosso (Mediterranean red prawn, asparagus, ricotta and pancetta) would contain more than one prawn. It was just about the best prawn I'd ever had in my life though, so no complaints. Similarly, the tasting of three crudo for $27 is comprised of six tiny, perfectly composed pieces of fish and their accompaniments. Our favorite by far was the lancia, Hawaiian striped marlin with sturgeon caviar and mussel vinaigrette. If you're ordering a la carte like we did, I'd recommend getting at least one appetizer per person and a selection of crudo on top of that. The entrees are more well-portioned. We both opted for pasta, me the aforementioned urchin and him the tagliatelle with rabbit, olives and anchovies. Both were incredibly delicious and I thought a good value at $31. And each time the bread guy comes around, which will be many times, you feel welcome to partake generously of the decadent olive focaccia. It's rare for me that the sweets live up to the rest of the meal, but the pistachio panna cotta with rhubarb rose granita and raspberries was one of the best desserts I've ever had. Can we go again? read more

I had a wonderful time dining here. Service was great and we were able to sit at the bar since we didn't have reservations. I actually preferred sitting at the bar because it was great for people watching: so many business men coming to eat alone. One guy ordered three different types of wine...at once and triple fisted it. Another guy started hitting on the girls eating next to him. The food was delicious and hearty. We started with the Tonno as an appetizer, which was very fresh. For my main, I had the Mare risotto which was a great comfort food, with plenty of large chunks of lobster. For dessert we split the doughnut holes. I wasn't that impressed with them (they were pretty standard), but I'd love to go back and try their other options. read more

The whole experience was just ok. Host was a bit rude and the servers were just ok. The person tending to the bread basket was very good though. I definitely didn't feel warmly welcomed. The ricci ($10/piece) was interesting. Warm uni with a layer of lardo covering it on a piece of toast. The uni wasn't great in terms of quality, but it wasn't bad. The layer of lardo was underwhelming. I feel like it should have added more richness than it actually did. The pasticcio smoked fish appetizer ($12) was ok. I feel like I can get much better smoked fish spreads at a deli. The funghi risotto ($29) was lacking in mushrooms and the rice was a touch undercooked. The flavors were also not good. The casoncelli ($33) was not memorable nor meaty. The fusilli ($34) was the best dish but even that was not amazing. The octopus was cooked nicely though. The pasta was just ok and didn't taste all that special. For about $100 per person, I would expect better pasta. We didn't try any of the entrees though so maybe that's what I'm missing. read more

Came here for a final dinner with two of my friends, one of whom was moving across the country. I ordered the octopus based on the recommendations but I thought the real highlight was the rabbit pasta that my friend ordered. On our way out, they gave us each a muffin, which was a nice breakfast the next day! read more

Definitely as good as it gets when it comes down to seafood. Given 2 michelin stars for its dishes revolving around seafood, you are guaranteed the freshest, and the best quality seafood the NYC has to offer. (after Le Bernadin, of course) I was here over the break and decided to take out my sister out for a treat, and it certainly was one. Food: First, they gave us a complimentary amuse bouche from the chef. It was a razor clam creme brulee with raspberry sorbet (i know it sounds crazy). But the flavors worked incredibly well, and it was a great starter to get our palate flowing. Second, we decided to order the Tasting of 3 Crudos to share. We settled on the Akamutsu, Branzino, and the Tonno. My favorite was the Branzino. The caviar with the mussel vinaigrette definitely added light yet strong/bold flavor to the fish. The Tonno was my second favorite. Even though it was a small bite size of the fish, it was hands down the best quality bigeye tuna bite i've ever had. It was meaty, and had a nice texture with the crispy sunchoke. Last but not least, Akamutsu was great as well. It was brighter and lighter with the hint of grapefruit with the fish. It complimented the fish as well. I highly recommend getting all 3. Lastly, we decided to order the Fusilli (duh) and the Spaghetti. Both were out of this world. All the bold flavors worked, and were present. Pasta was cooked al dente. What more can you ask for? It was rich and savory, and I loved it. Only thing that caught my tongue was the saltiness. It seemed to be over-seasoned a TAD bit but the tiny heat from both seemed to cover that. Highly recommend these two dishes. The total cost including tip came out to be about $120. Every cent was well worth it, and I'm sure you'll agree too after visiting Marea. read more

I had a enjoyable time! Just note the wine is chilled so it is best to wait until it comes to room temperature to enjoy! I understand that the wait is long but bear with them..it is a expensive restaurant. So let's get to this review! So was on 5th ave shopping really wanted to get a cocktail at Bergdoff Goodman, but the bar closes at 8:00 PM...and on 7:30pm last call so was feeing bummed out will have to try again for that cocktail. So I went walking to Marea and said I always wanted to try this restaurant so imma go! Now for all those know me I go to a restaurant I got my heels on and I am fresh! But it was a cold NYC night and I had my Uggs on! Lol!! But the staff was very nice, hospitable, and informative! Do note: This was on a Friday night..very crowded and high rollers come here! Either way I did get to sit at the bar..had some Pasta Fatta Mare and some wine can't remember the name. Also you won't be eating alone, as I was engaged in a conversation with a business man, who was very funny and asked for my email address. While, conversing many were watching us talk....so that is another aspect of eating here. People will be highly interested in knowing who you are, where your from, and how are you paying for your pricey meal. I did have a nice time while I just had the intention of getting a cocktail..I ended up eating dinner. Either way I will be back dressed proper and dinning at a table. So thank you to Noah the business man I met as well as the exceptional service I had! Do tip the bartender as the gratuity is not included in the bill! read more

wasnt as expected Service. Bad. They are not kind. Trying "nice" and it's annoying. Was so excited to try.. But it turned out that Food was ok :/ recommend wine was ok :/ wasnt that well matched with food. People eating there was very nice and pleasant to bump up to. read more

Come on people. This place is so bad(for the price) the only good thing was our server was excellent and the donuts at the end were good although it wouldn't hurt to add some sugar in chocolate sauce...the lobster appetizer was nice we enjoyed it but the lobster didn't scream fresh. We had the bone marrow pasta which was nice nothing special and then the crab and sea urchin pasta which was behind average. Didn't taste very fresh and the sauce was very average. There was literally no crab in my dish and it was ... Average. We liked the bread and this mackerel appetizer (complimentary) and the muffin they gave in the end along with the desserts were quite delicious Do not come here for food! There are many other places you could eat. read more

Marea - Crab and sea urchin. Not impressive - Italian Near Me - New York, New York

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Everything was great except for one problem which I will detail below. The 5 course seafood tasting was totally worth it. The waiter allowed us to substitute the octopus Fusili as our pasta course which was appreciated. The only downfall was that my Fusili had about half the amount of octopus as my wife's. Nonetheless, the food was really epic. The Crudo tasting was a highlight and the scallops were cooked to perfection. The one problem was that I had arranged for flowers to be delivered to the restaurant for my wife's birthday. I was expecting them to be on the table when we arrived and they weren't. I waited a little while and then got up and spoke to 2 of the hostesses who said they knew nothing about any flowers being delivered. I then called the florist who said they would make sure they were delivers ASAP. The florist called back and said they had been delivered that morning. I had to get back up and speak to the hostesses again and learned they were delivered that morning. So they finally brought them over to the table about 45 minutes after we sat down. They offered no apology, didn't comp a drink or anything. It sort of ruined the surprise and was frustrating to have to get up twice during my meal to deal with this issue. From such a high end restaurant I would expect a little more. read more

Lawd half mercy. With me being a party of 1, I luckily didn't have to wait to sit and found an open seat at the bar. I ordered my cocktail and started with crostinis that had sea urchin (uni) and sea salt on them. It was my first time trying uni, and I wanted to be adventurous. For my main dish, I ordered Marea's very popular Fusilli pasta. This dish was everything and more. Easily the best pasta dish I've ever had in my life. There was a nice crunch from the bread crumbs that topped the pasta. The red wine octopus pieces were delicious. The bone marrow and sauce were perfectly flavored. It was an excellent dish and just not big enough. I ordered the Bomboloni as dessert. By the end of my meal, I was stuffed. I'm definitely going to make this my place to come whenever I come to NYC. read more

So after making multiple phone calls, I finally settled for a late appointment at this well reviewed place. Keep in mind we were travelling and just came from a long flight. Little did we know that there is a dress code at this place...no worries, they were kind enough to seat us but the glaring remarks and undertone was very apparent. Just from the get go, we were asked to check in our stroller, which is normal but when we reached for our filtered water for our infant....a sarcastic remark "you know we serve water inside" like we were trying to bring in our own. I would much rather they refuse our sitting than sit us. Regardless we did and we can tell our service staff was demearnong besides the bus lady which was very nice. Fast forward to the meal, we ordered two signature dishes and one appetizer recommended by multiple tv shows (Rucci, Fusilli, Strozzapreri). We were reminded are we going to just order pasta as our main dish hinting we should maybe order a higher price item to go with our dinner. We made it clear we only wanted to try out the recommended items. The waiter then said "so you are going to use the pasta as your main dish then". Anyways, the appetizer(Rucci) came out warm, which is a given with the lardo but it ruined the taste of the uni as it partially melts it and changes the texture. Both the Fusilli and Strozzapreri came out fine although both noodle textures could see some improvement...too hard especially when you contrast with the squid. Also, the crab meat in the Strozzapreri was minimal at best vs the advertised "jumbo lump crab". Overall, although we didn't try a main dish as directed, we feel the food is decent but service needs improvement. We tipped the standard 20% as we feel like our bus lady was very nice. I would however recommend another venue unless you dressed accordingly. I am sure my experience would have been different if we dressed less tourist. Thanks read more

If someone else is paying, you can't go wrong. I visited for lunch recently and had the tuna tartare appetizer and scallops entree. Both perfect. I ordered a martini. It was amazing. In lieu of a toothpick, they provided a small oar-like utensil made from bamboo. The service is PERFECT, always, like it's not happening at all. If you rip your shirt, they probably sew it back together quietly while you eat. If you like, they can probably get your unborn child into Spence while you wait for the check. Don't stare at the billionaires surrounding you. read more

It's an uni-lardo -melt-in -your-mouth DO. (That was for the seafood-loving kids who have short attention spans). read more

I wanted to love Marea...I really did, so much so that my heart went a mile a minute as soon as I managed to score a reservation there for a busy Saturday night. I was pumped to go. The food was good, but not great. Serious service flaws at such a high caliber restaurant was certainly unexpected. I was left feeling that my business was certainly not needed. A combination of the aforementioned factors would not warrant a return. We were seated promptly upon our arrival. Definitely a good start, but that's where it peaked. The evening began to spiral downwards. It took a good 15 minutes before we were greeted by our server. After we placed our order, it took quite some time for the food to actually show up. In fact, the table sitting next to us who sat down after us actually got their food first. I was beyond thrilled to get our first course as we were starving at this point. I had the Tonno - big eye tuna & hubby had the long island fluke. Both were good, but nothing to write home about. For the antipasti, hubby had the abalone which was great. My uovo (poached egg) was good, but the experience leading up to it was shocking. Though it was beautifully presented, I was shocked when I went to break the yoke and noticed a strand of hair on it. It wasn't long black hair (mine, duh) -- it was a short dark brown strand. It took us a while to flag our server down so that he could bring us another one. Another runner had actually brought over the second uovo - but they had forgotten the broth that came with it. I then had to flag them down again. For the primi, hubby had the spaghetti with crab and sea urchin - but had a nasty surprise when he bit into a fish scale? He just removed it and continued eating - at this point I had just gotten tired of flagging people down. I had the tagliatelle with lobster, which was good, but the lobster was pretty much non-existent. Desserts consisted of the bomboloni & gelati. Both good - but weren't really all that memorable. I would stick with sister restaurant, Ai Fiori. read more

[For the full set of photos, see the link to my blog on my profile.] Food: very good, though neither dish was faultless. Despite coating each bite of lobster with a healthy carapace of burrata, I was still left staring at a large mound on the plate. As for the fusilli, it was delicious, but the portion was Flinstonian: after a half-dozen bites, the bottom of the bowl remained elusive, leaving me wondering if there was some sort of self-replenishing mechanism at play. Highlights: predictably, the fusilli Service: good Pr(return): low (why, you might ask? See ambiance below) Ambiance: stuffy. Until lunch at Marea, I never understood what people meant when they referred to a restaurant as stuffy. Well, now I do. It was as if they were embarrassed to have okayed my reservation. They seated me at Table 1, a table that hugs the set of stairs leading into the dining room, a table where no guest walking down those steps into the dining room would have to see the scruffy tatterdemalion who made it through their sieve of affluence. Indeed, my disheveled disposition may explain why I was never offered a look at either the wine or cocktail lists--did they think I had already been drinking at noon on a Wednesday?--and why no one was seated within a two-table proximity of me. I can tell when I'm unwanted, so I didn't bother looking at the dessert menu. Instead, I ambled across Columbus Circle over to Jean-Georges where I enjoyed two desserts! read more

This might be my perfect meal of the year. I went to Marea for lunch. My request for a table by a window was honored and I was led to nice sunny spot with a good view of the dining room. It took me some time to deliberate over my selections. I was trying to figure out whether I should do the lunch prix-fixe with add-ons, or just go with the tasting menu. My server Melissa was most patient explaining the tasting menu to me and despite my numerous questions, she had no issues running to the kitchen to check whether my proposals would be permitted. Upon discovering the tasting menu wasn't to my liking after all and deciding to do the prix-fixe with add-ons instead, I felt bad about having made her run back and forth over my hypothetical tasting menu choices. The entire time, Melissa was incredibly kind and gracious about it all. Very impressive. My choices were the following: 1. Astice - lobster with burrata What a wonderful starter to the meal. The tender chunks of lobster meat paired perfectly with the creamy burrata. The cherry tomatoes were juicy and sweet and together with the basil, provided excellent flavor and textural balance to the dish. Delicious, light, and refreshing. 2. Polipo - grilled octopus with smoked potatoes Astounding. This was my first time eating octopus and it far exceeded my expectations. I couldn't believe how tender, meaty, and satisfying it tasted. The potatoes had the most beautiful, enticing smoky scent and oh dear, was fantastic when eaten together with the octopus and the tonnato sauce. I was so pleased that my first experience with octopus was so successful. 3. Fusilli - braised octopus with bone marrow Of course I had to order this. This dish completely lived up to its hype! The first thing that hit my tongue was the ultra-umami basil-and-tomato sauce. The strands of house made fusilli were delightfuly toothsome, oh my. The bone marrow cubes, so rich and decadent, it was like eating soft butter. Having already had the octopus validated in the previous dish, I bit into the sauce-laden tentacles with enthusiasm. So good. This dish made me literally sigh out loud in pleasure. There were still quite a bit of the delicious sauce left after I finished everything else, so I asked for more bread to wipe the plate clean. 4. Affogato - zabaglione gelato, espresso and amaro I'm not a coffee person, yet I love coffee flavored sweets. I was pleased when a runner finished up this dessert at the table because I saw the glass contained three scoops of gelato. Yes! The Affogato tasted like coffee ice cream, but one hundred times more awesome. I was very happy about the high ratio of ice cream in this dessert (90% ice cream and 10% coffee and alcohol). It was just enough to give the gelato a lovely coffee flavor and a hint of the bitter amaro kick. Excellent. By time the meal ended, I was in food coma. I have an average appetite for a female. Honestly, I'd have been perfectly happy with just an appetizer, a pasta, and maaaybe a dessert. It was really a perfect meal experience. For once this year, I had absolutely nothing to pick on at a fine dining restaurant. Everything about the meal, the food, service, and ambiance, just came together perfectly. I will definitely return. read more