Marly’s Byo

I don’t understand why this place is still in business. I find the food mediocre, very strange (cost effective for them) and just a bizarre menu. It’s kind of like a tourist trap— in Phoenixville. I wish they would close and someone who can make delicious food would move in. It’s a nice spot.

I have been here a few times and my faves are the crab cakes and the shrimp & grits but this time I went for the Hanger Steak cooked medium. Again they hit the nail on the head with whatever they marinade their meat in, I mean it is down right delicious. They also seem to have overly large portions so expect to take some home.

I love this place– I have never been disappointed with anything i have ever ordered. I have eaten here 4 or 5 times in the last 4 years– consistently amazing. I always suggests the Hangar Steak to anyone I bring here for the first time– The kitchen even stayed open a little late for us the last time we went because I ran into car trouble.
Get the Hangar Steak or the Scallops– The Fried Green tomatoes are also amazing (appetizer)

Just awesome… First time tonight. Had a scallop and risotto dish that was just beautiful and delicious… Bread pudding with chocolate and peanut butter was very good. Service was friendly even if we were the last party to leave the restaurant. Really excellent!

Phoenixville has excelled. Marly’s is a culinary adventure.
What distinctive flavor combos, creative cuisine and pleasant taste surprises. Service attentive and friendly. Holly’s recitation of specials was theater. Kudos.
Apps: green fried tomatoes, wontons, ahi all good. Hangar steak and edamame risotto entrée delish but barely room temp. Shrimp and grits, too too.
Wld give 4 stars but atmosphere the worst. Might as well have been at a Phillies game. The noise!!! Those braying f@”*%%‘s at the nxt table. Couldn’t wait to get out on the street. A shame really to dampen the delight of such a creative kitchen.
Wld return and demand a quiet corner.

This place gets an A for the food. The crab cakes are delicious. The filet is good, a bit heavy on the blue cheese. The service again, I give it a solid A. The place is just too small. You can hear everyone’s conversation. Not recommended if you don’t want the whole place to hear you talk.

I love Marly’s byob! The food is consistently delicious. I love going where the food is prepared in a creative way I’ve never had before and all the better for it. The ambiance inside is nice but I especially like dining alfresco in their backyard. The beautiful lights, plants, flowers & music make me feel I’m at a party at a friends house… it’s relaxed and inviting. The wait staff has always been exceptional.

A group of 8 of us visited Marly’s last Friday night for our annual holiday friend dinner. I recommend making reservations as the place is small although it was not crowded for dinner on a Friday night. We like BYOB places so we can drink lots of wine and beer even had a champagne toast. What I loved was no corkage fee and our waitress happily brought us out champagne glasses. The cornbread they served was delicious– very moist. We started with 3 appetizers– the brushetta, dates with goat cheese (appetizer special) and fried tomatoes. The brushetta was delicious– lots of fresh tomatoes and cheese. I did not try the dates but those in my party loved them! The menu does not have a ton of entrée choices and they were out of 2 which is my pet peeve. Take note Marly’s when you only have 10 entrée choices you cannot be out of anything. Many of the options were fish which many in our group went with including the crab cakes and scallops-​each came with high reviews. I ordered the steak which came with mashed potatoes and green beans. All very delicious and they cooked the steak perfectly although it was a very tiny piece and not worth $ 34. My only complaint about the entrees was one in our group ordered the Mac and cheese with sausage (her second choice entrée as they were out of the hanger steak). The Mac and cheese was delicious but came out in a scalding hot skillet which did not cool down until after we finished dinner so she was never able to eat it. The waitress apologized but unacceptable. For dessert which we did save room for (the entrees are very small) I split the peanut butter chocolate banana bread pudding. Very delicious but the small dollop of ice cream they serve it with is laughable. This restaurant has potential and hopefully they can improve.

Wouldn’t go back and would not recommend. Did not live up to our expectations. On a Saturday night, at 7PM, they were out of the 2 entrée’s that we planned on ordering already. My meal, which was a hanger steak, tasted like it was marinated with a Teriyaki sauce, nothing special about either meal we had (husband had the pork chop)…and mine was not a full steak. The waitress, who was extremely friendly, never came over to ask if everything was ok after we both ordered basically a substitute for what we originally went there for. Not impressed with our experience and was upset with the money we spent on meals that we didn’t want.

I had dinner on July 30, 2014 at Marly’s BYO. Before even setting foot in the restaurant, you are faced with the dilemma of finding a parking spot as they don’t have their own lot or a valet. Upon setting foot in the restaurant, you are greeted by the hostess, who is also the waitress, and pretty much only person in the restaurant at 7:15 PM on a Thursday night. By this point in my review, it might be pointless to mention how disappointing the food (and service) was, but I will proceed anyways.
I will only mention my entrée, though the appetizers were equally disappointing. I had the «Marly’s ‘Cheesesteak’». Here is the description.
Pan-​seared filet mignon, topped with a roquefort-​walnut crust served with the potato of the day
I am not an expert, but what I got was not a roqeufort-​walnut crust, instead I received a burnt crust with an overbearing taste of alcohol topped with grapes and feta cheese (thus the cheese pun), overcooked (I requested medium rare) and paired with potatoes and snap peas? Strangest tasting combination ever.
The service was virtually non-​existent despite there being one waitress and only one seated table.
But we could have just ended this review at «empty at 7:15 PM».

Worth the trek out there from the city… a pleasant surprise for a local joint.
Special shrimp and grits was phenomenal. Black bean hummus was perfect. Linguine in pesto white sauce was friggin’ awesome. Croquettes starter was unexplainably good.
Dim and comfortable décor with lots of cozy components. «Perfectly noisy» with the sound of people having a great time chit-​chatting over multiple bottles of BYO (every table seemed to bring copious amounts). Servers were polite and didn’t mind us being a tad bit obnoxious. It’s always a good sign for me when I walk into a restaurant where you see people smiling, enjoying food, laughter and servers on the constant move.
This restaurant is good.

Fantastic! Hangar steak was incredible — so full of flavor. Salmon was pretty good. I loved how the foods were presented. The croquettes were also pretty amazing. Overall the food and the service was great! Love that it’s a BYO as well. Will definitely be back.

I went to a friends birthday party here last September. I enjoyed it a lot and was thrilled when I saw a deal on CBS. Marly’s is a small byob in Phoenixville. I adore a good byob, so my husband and I made a reservation for Friday. We arrived and were promptly seated. Our server was super friendly. I wish I could remember her name, I believe she has some tattoos, but she was excellent. Asked if we had any dietary restrictions and shared with us some information about the menu. She opened our bottle of wine, brought an ice bucket and we looked over the menu. I was immediately drawn to the grilled romaine hearts with goat cheese as an appetizer. My husband chose the shrimp tostada. For a main dish I chose the hanger steak with the risotto and my husband chose the 5 spice duck. However, when we ordered we were told they were out of shrimp… on a Friday night… at 8p. I was disappointed, so my husband changed his appetizer to the crab wontons.
Food came out timely. I love my salad, a little over dressed. The hanger steak with risotto was amazing. My husband’s wontons were great, but missing the peas. His duck was a little over cooked and therefore dry. And the sides were ok. I wasn’t a huge fan of his maim dish overall.
We had a very pleasant experience and will certainly return for a date night again.

Our favorite restaurant, go there at least once a month. Bento boxes are amazing and hopefully they bring them back! Right now they have a hummus of the day which is just as good, by far the best hummus I’ve ever had, always something sweet in it. Entrees are great too… hanger steak, crab cakes, the seasonal gnocchi, pappardelle pasta, cheese steak, all amazing. To top it if, BYO!
Definitely top 2 restaurants in phoenixville (toss up with Black Lab)

Pros: food was good. The shrimps n grits was yummy. And, my friend enjoyed the ribs.
Cons: the food selection was limited, and the prices were a little high. All the fish had a type of nut and they could not make it without. All the desserts had a nut or chocolate which I cannot eat so I was unable to get a dessert.
Also, I took someone there for his birthday and they did nothing special, so truly 2.5 stars but I rounded to the nearest star.
Last it’s byob, so we brought a white wine. And the waiter offered to put it on the floor. I said no, we need it at a table level and they put it on a chair. :-/

We went with a party of 17 and had an amazing experience. I was pleasantly surprised by the outstanding service and delicious food. It’s also a BYO which makes it my new favorite place to go with a group.
Although we had a reservation, it took awhile to be seated. However, we were seated in a private area, which was much appreciated but not requested. Appetizers were waiting for us — chicken dumplings and bruschetta — both well received by everyone.
We ordered many different entrees and all were amazing. Particularly the shrimp and grits and the «cheesesteak».
Simply put, go here now. You won’t be disappointed.

A group of us went for my friends birthday celebration. I didn’t really know what to expect since I’d never heard of the place before. It’s a short menu, which I prefer, because it lends to dishes that have been refined through lots of repetition. We were seated in a semi-​private room that was well lit, with exposed brick walls and cool wine themed art. The servers we had handled the large group well.
The fact that it’s BYO helps, because the entrees are all over $ 20. I had the shrimp and grits which were very creamy and the bacon in it was a good texture contrast. I thought it was a little too cheesy, but that’s a minority opinion. The greens were very good, and I’m snobby about greens. I was also really impressed with the crab cake. It’s a big portion with little filler. The accompanied cream corn was good enough that my girl hoarded it. Overall, I would go back but the cost makes it not a regular spot.

I had a great dinner here the other night. The service was great, as was the food, and it was BYOB so we had brought some bottles of wine to enjoy with dinner. The menu is an eclectic mix of american, southern, italian, and asian. There is something for everyone on this menu!

When we first walked in, I knew that this place would appeal to many folks, dark heavy wood furniture, lots of candles, very casual, a good vibe. More like a tavern than an ecelectic Italian restaurant, but who cares?
Unfortunately we were seated 17 minutes late, not a big deal since we all had already had a cocktail at home so we were all nicely lubed up! The restaurant was quite crowded and loud, great for a large group but maybe not for a date. (there were 6 of us)
Service was generally attentive and very homey-​friendly, but most of us were laughing and talking too much to notice. The waitress had to come back twice to tell us that they were out of something we ordered, not a big deal again but you can see why this place isn’t getting 5 stars already.
The menu is huge, and mostly Italian, but many dishes were eclectic with Asian influence. A huge menu is usually not a great sign, (think Applebees and TGI Fridays) but in this case it didn’t detract a whole lot from the quality of the food, which was decent. This is not a gourmet restaurant, but everyone’s food was tasty, and they didn’t make any mistakes.
I had the Tuscan white bean soup with sausage and escarole in it. It was seasoned perfectly, and very tasty. I had the veal main course, can’t remember exactly what they call it since the name of it was a whole sentence long! But when I saw some of the menu items I started thinking about that famous Spam and bloody Vikings Monty Python skit:
«Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pâté, brandy with a fried egg on top and spam.»
So you’re like thinking: how did they come up with all that? And will it make sense, tastewise? Hmmmmm.
But anyways. the veal had a marsala sauce, creamy mascarpone polenta underneath and olives, sun-​dried tomatoes and capers. The combination was a bit odd, but I ate it all!
The 3 chicks of course ordered dessert, and all 3 desserts had chocolate in them. I don’t know how they remembered what the waitress even said because they didn’t have dessert menus and she must have rattled off about 50 desserts. The men just sat, glassy-​eyed, while the women clucked and clucked about who was going to get what. I had a bite of all 3 and they were all passable.
All in all, a fun experience, and I would go to this restaurant again.

Went for dinner a few days ago and ordered:
— Grilled balsamic romaine salad w/​goat cheese — delicious salad but I wish they would crisp up the pancetta which seemed to be cold and soggy.
— Shrimp and grits — Creamy smooth grits, smothered with jumbo shrimp in a slightly spiced sauce. It would have been perfect were it not for pre-​sauteed Brussels sprouts and pancetta which were soggy instead of the crispy texture they could have contributed to the dish, making it divine.
— Crab cakes — Well made with not a lot of filler, served on a bed of slightly creamed corn.
Service was attentive and seemed to have improved. Guests at other tables seemed to like their dishes as well, so that is another good sign.