Marlow & Sons

09. November 2009 American, Brooklyn 0

81 Broadway between Wythe and Berry Streets in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
718/384.1441
about $96 for two people, without drinks, with tip
♥

No paying customer should have to wait an hour and a half to be seated at any restaurant. No one deserves to wait an extra forty-five minutes to eat after that. Alas, we suffered both while sitting on a sliver of wood under some canned goods on a shelf. Twice someone had to excuse herself to reach for a few items while we ate. But at least there weren’t five of us squeezed in the corner of a shared table by the door like those next to us–they looked more uncomfortable on their small Goldilocks chairs than we were on our bench. Welcome to much-hyped Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

When our oysters came, the waiter couldn’t tell us which ones were briny. We had to share our beer and onion soup using one spoon because he never returned with our request for another. I had to get up and get our own forks and knives from the counter when he abruptly put down our plate of brick chicken on our table without a pause. It took another twenty minutes to get our tab; we could have probably just skipped and no one would have noticed our absence.

I liked the dimly-lit and wooden look of Marlow & Sons because I’ve always liked the idea of eating in a market setting, but the staff struggle during the week and can barely eke it out for weekend service. Luckily for them, a lot of New Yorkers will carry the burden of waiting for seats and food just to be surrounded by what’s new and hip.