Marco Island has plenty of dining options, both casual and upscale. We visited one of the upscale restaurant for dinner. Marco Prime is located at a mall, where they have several other restaurants, movie theater, and Beebe’s Ice Cream shop. This restaurant did not have any noticeable signage outside, so you just have to know which corner it is located… They had a small outdoor seating, although on the evening we visited, it was raining so no one was sitting outside. (I took the exterior photos during the daytime.)
The inside was rustic and cozy. Not as big as it looked from outside, but still a plenty of seating. They had an additional space to the left, semi-separated by curtains.
Our table was all the way to the back, passing a wall filled with wine bottles. I liked the glass chandeliers, a bit antique-feel to it, especially when paired with such heavy use of woods everywhere. Warm, relaxing atmosphere.
Once we were settled, a staff brought over some complimentary bread. It came with two accompaniment, a fruit preserve and some kind of white thing… We usually think bread comes with butter, but it didn’t taste like butter. It had sweetness to it, strange… So I inquired about it, and the server told us it is mascarpone cheese! Interesting, and it made total sense why it was sweet! The preserve was nice too, sweet without being too sweet. The bread basket contained several different kinds, they went quickly among the four of us. We asked for more bread, but our server forgot about it, so we never received any more bread…
We started off with some cocktails. I chose Fall Light ($13), made with Pear Vodka, Sweet Vermouth, Cognac, Angostura Bitters, and Peychaud’s Bitters. It had really nice pear flavor, very fruity and lovely. Just what I wanted.
My hubby went with M.P. Margarita ($13), made with Tequila, Cointreau, Fresh Lemon Juice, Fresh Lime Juice, Topped with Grand Marnier Foam. It was elegant, a bit on sweet side. The foam on top was very interesting for margarita, but certainly excellent.
For main, we all ordered something different. The first one up was Bone-In Pork Chop ($32). It is herb marinated, and comes with red cabbage and sweet potato cobbler, asparagus, smoked applesauce and bing cherry compote. It was a bit dry and tough, also too thick. Not the best pork chop… The sweet potato cobbler was nice, creamy and sweet, very satisfying.
The second item was Wagyu Beef Tips ($29), cooked with shallots, wild mushrooms, Dijon mustard, and cream sauce. Comes with house-mashed potato, asparagus, and crispy onions. They did a good job on this dish, it was great!
The third item was 14 oz. Bone-In NY Strip ($46). Since this item does not come with any sides, we added Creamed Spinach ($8), cooked with smoked gouda cream. We requested the steak to be cooked medium rare. It was between rare and medium rare, but cooked quite nicely. Charred outside and juicy inside, packed with flavor. It was seasoned perfectly, tender and yes, definitely meaty! It came with a roasted garlic cloves which was another plus.
The Creamed spinach was not as “creamed” as I’d hoped, but had a nice texture. I really liked the cheesy bread crumbs on top. Not the best I’ve had, but it was still very nice.
Last but not least… Miso-Glazed Chilean Sea Bass ($38). When you are in a “Steaks & Seafood” place, you got to get both steak and seafood! This dish comes with mashed potato, Szechuan green beans, and sake-miso glaze. I asked to substitute my mashed potato with Truffle & Parmesan Fries. They didn’t charge any extra for that, and fries came with tangy sauce that was almost like a BBQ sauce? The fries didn’t have much aroma or flavor of the truffle. Parmesan was weak too. It would be good as a “regular” fries… The sea bass had great miso flavor, tangy and a bit sweet. It was cooked perfectly, flaky and juicy. And it was a nice size too, I believe it was 8 oz? Green beans were great, coated in the miso glaze, I loved it! It also had just a tiny bit kick to it too. Overall, a very nice dish.
Then the dessert… Even though we were all pretty stuffed, but we could share a small dessert among the four of us, especially if it was already pre-ordered! I knew I wanted this dessert before I came to Marco Prime, and with my research, I also knew it takes 30 minutes to make. So, it would be best if you put in your order when you receive your entrée item. What is this dessert? It is Chocolate Soufflé ($14). Once it arrived to our table, our server poked a hole in the middle and drizzled warm Chocolate Ganache Sauce into it. O.M.G!!!
To go with this chocolate delight, we added a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream ($3). It came with a thin chocolate with Marco Prime logo on it. And yes, the combination was marriage made in chocolate-vanilla heaven.
I poured in the remaining Chocolate Ganache Sauce in it, not a single drop left…well, as the best I could, and then we were ready to dig in! The soufflé might look super small, but actually, it was not too small. A perfect size to share after a satisfying meal. It was really hot, especially in the middle. Gooey chocolate goodness. Really tasty and we all love it. The ice cream was small but quite tasty. Did I mentioned how were all quite stuffed? Well, we didn’t have any trouble eating this baby up clean!
The food and drinks were all very good, some better than others. Our server was not as great, again, with the fact that he forgot to bring more bread after we asked for them, and few other things here and there. Also, for a high-end steakhouse, I was surprised to see that our table was never cleaned between the meals with some crumbs and mess on it… The service has some areas of improvements. Otherwise, it was a pleasant dinner.
Marco Prime Steaks & Seafood – 599 S Collier Blvd, Marco Island, FL 34145