Especially through its varied cuisine and relaxed setting. With an expansive menu, ample seating, and the fact that it is open seven days a week, Marco’s is a great choice for lunch, dinner, or whenever you are feeling like a bite to eat with friends.
On first impression, the restaurant is cozy and laid back. The bar stretches across the dining room on one side, and on the other side, you can watch the sushi chef Jeff work his magic at the raw bar. Ferns surround the tables in the center of the room, and high-top tables along the front of the dining room overlook the patio seating area, which provides ample outdoor dining under colorful um ellas during warmer months.
Looking at the menu, Marco’s offers a mix of cuisine that is inspired by the travels of Marco Polo. Variety is the spice of life, and they mean it here—Asian, Italian, and Eastern Shore cuisines are complemented by an assortment of local and international beers and wines.
My wife, Nicole, and I came for dinner and were determined to try several different styles of cuisine off the expansive menu. Kathy, our server, was also the bartender the night we visited, and she was remarkable. It is always difficult when the first thing you try to order—calamari, in this case—is sold out, but she handled it with poise and led us in the right direction.
We started with an appetizer sampler ($18), which included coconut shrimp, spring rolls, fried oysters, and fried dumplings. Nicole raved about the coconut shrimp, which retained a nice crunch and had a distinct coconut zest. However, my favorite was the spring rolls in the sweet chili sauce. We were also led to try the sushi special of the day, the Garden Roll ($14), which was an absolute knockout. The fish was fresh, the amount of spice was just right, and the portion was huge!
We continued our culinary tour with our entrees. My wife ordered from the Italian section of the menu, selecting the Seafood a la Samantha ($23), and I tried the Asian cuisine, a lemongrass rotisserie chicken ($15), touted on the menu as the house special. When the entrees arrived, the portion sizes were more than ample. My wife had a full bowl of linguini piled high with shrimp, clams, and mussels. The white sauce was lacking a bit of zest that we had found in the appetizers and sushi, but the seafood was delicious, and everything was cooked to perfection. The lemongrass rotisserie chicken dish came as half a chicken with a large serving of white rice and occoli. I prefer a slightly moister chicken, but the flavors were good and I left the meal completely satisfied.r
Chef and owner Mark Chew, formerly the chef at Bay Hundred in Tilghman, and his wife, Lan, have done a wonderful job in their new venture. Marco's provides its customers with not only plenty of local seafood, but also an exciting and diverse menu unseen elsewhere in the region.
Marcus van Winden has more than 15 years of experience in the restaurant industry. He has worked as the fine dining chef de cuisine on both Holland American and Regent Seven Seas cruise lines, and currently runs The Oaks Waterfront Inn in Royal Oak, Maryland, with his wife, Nicole.
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Marco's Sushi and Raw Bar
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105 North Talbot Street, St. Michaels
410-745-5557; Marcosbar.com
11 a.m.–11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday
8 a.m.–1 a.m. Friday and Saturday
Appetizers/Soups/Salads: $6–18
Sushi Rolls: $5–12
Sandwiches: $8–13
Entrees: $13–23
Wines by the Glass: $7
Wines by the Bottle: $26–55
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