Joined a few friends here, wasn’t expecting much & thought the name of the restaurant was silly. Forget all of that!!! This is the 1st restaurant I have ever sat in & eaten ALL my food & then ordered food “to go” for myself. The...shrimp, Kale, Brussels sprouts, calamari, it was all simply fabulous!! The white beans are firm, I happen to love that, it mimicked nuts for me, albeit not nearly as hard as a nut. Hopefully you get my drift without turning anyone off because they were absolutely delicious. I do understand that some people may not be into firm veggies or Legumes. I love them. They did run out of a few items, which must be extremely popular like the crab cakes. So don’t go within an hour of closing like I did. We sat outside & the ambiance was beautiful. Enjoy this place. I most certainly did!!More

Have a wonderful experience by sharing many flavors with small plates. Our family had a fabulous time tasting everything from lobster bisque shooters, fired kale to spicy shrimp, scallops, mahi-mahi tacos, burger sliders, coconut shrimp to perfectly grilled steak. We topped it off with desserts...all made in the restaurant and accompanied by delighted laughter for a truly enjoyable evening. Have a s’more in a cup or a delicious cheesecake bite. Ask for wine recommendations, they serve house bottles drawn from a barrel or bottles of your favorite. I recommend trying the barrel wine. Ask Chef JR or Jackie for recommendations. You won’t go wrong. They also have a beautiful patio complete with overhead fans for the warm Illinois evenings. Go on a Friday, just the two of you or make it a celebration for the whole gang!More

We traveled over an hour specifically to try the restaurant based on a recommendation. We did have a reservation & were seated quickly. Our server was very attentive, explained the concept (which we were vaguely familiar with) and made recommendations. We ordered several items so...our party of 4 would be able to try multiple things. The Fig & the Pig at $14 was 2 sausage balls wrapped in warmed bacon on the plate. We also ordered Ahi Nachos, also at $14, was 4 chips with some ahi tuna, scallions, wasabi sauce. We got through a handful of the plates & decided to order the NY Strip ($39) as it did say it was 16 oz, so we were sure we could actually divvy that up between the 4 of us. The food did have good flavor, but there's no way the men in our party will ever return.More

Fresh fish is the landmark of this restaurant, probably making it the only one in a large radius. This explains why it is always crowded: even with a reservation (highly recommended!) you may have to wait 10-15 minutes to be seated. But the wait is...worth: the food is amazing, the choices are many and all of them are creative, tasty, well presented. Go for the octopus with polenta, or the incredibly tasty and tender brisket (yes, there is meat too), or the cauliflower... Go for anything in the menu: you can't go wrong! We also enjoyed the flight of white wine: a reasonably priced wine offer that is sure to please. And the staff i warm and friendly!More

Oh my God ! Amazing food and service. Just eat here. You won’t be disappointed. The menu changes each season that keeps us coming back

I think the title says it all...SOOOO delicious. While the food is always delicious, the staff is what makes it perfect. I highly recommend. If you have never had bone marrow, you must try it. The beef pierogi has so many layers of flavor that...I cannot begin to describe its deliciousness. It will cost a little bit of money but it is worth every penny.More

The Ambiance was wonderful. James was a wonderful server. The drinks were NOT watered down as another reviewer suggested. I liked the idea of sharing several items. One does not leave bloated. The scallops though... There were only four and they were so delicious.... I...didn’t want to share with my husband. Since that was the main course, maybe there should have been six.More

I would recommend it for a cocktail and a snack only. For a restaurant that has the appearance of healthy, fresh food, I was surprised with each dish. Examples: Starting off with fried kale.....wonderful light crisp texture but coated with so much oil. Lobster bisque....so...incredibly salty I couldn't finish the 4oz little cup. Little Bit of Chicken....heavily breaded. Pig and Fig....hard to believe but not much flavor and underside of the bacon was pretty raw. Beet salad was good. Cocktails were VERY good. We are major foodies and don't mind paying $150 for dinner, but we'd like to really enjoy it for that price. Our server, Blue M, was outstanding!! Her service is what saved the night for us!!!More

Loud, crowded, watered down mixed drinks, “small plates” equal big prices. We had a party of 6 sitting at a long plank table folks at other end of the table couldn’t be heard. Portions are for 2-4 people so additional pieces are extra. Mixed drinks...were very weak, they had speciality cocktails that were premixed also weak hardly any alcohol in them. Food was OK came out as ordered, but again small portions. I understand concept of a tapas bar, but disappointed in their presentation.More

I liked the concept of the restaurant and the ambiance, and had great service. The only issue was that the food didn’t tase nearly as good as it sounded. Unfortunately food is the most thing at a restaurant. I’m not saying it’s terrible, just not...as good as you would think.More

A bunch of phenomenal apps, and Great prices on wine!! Crab dip, General Tso's cauliflower. It's great at the Marlin!!

Went on a Friday night at 7pm. Place was packed. Very very conversationally challenging. The tables were long not round so that was a bit awkward and added to the difficulty of talking to anyone at the table. That being said, the food was great....We ordered pretty much everything on the menu and loved all of it. They have a flight of different drinks which was so cool, don’t see that a lot. Our waiter was really good, though the young servers bringing the food to the tables need some help and some etiquette training. The restaurant is small, would love to see a bigger space. Will be backMore