Marlow’s Tavern

First time I visited this fine establishment I had a fantastic steak salad. But the MAN in me wanted more! This time around I had their special, the Chicken Fried Steak Burger. My mind wandered and the first thing I thought of was a burger encrusted in a nice crispy batter smothered in gravy. To my surprise it was not only a fine grilled burger, but a Chicken Fried Steak ON TOP! A nice schmear of pimento cheese a half sour pickle and I was in Southern Heaven even Paula Deen would be proud of. Would I go back? Absofrickenloutley!

This was a first visit for me and my wife. We really enjoyed ourselves. Nice décor and very friendly and conscientious staff. Randy, our waiter, reviewed the menu with us and made a number of suggestions. My wife had the Shrimp and Grits and I had the Steak Salad. Both were very good. The chief came out and introduced himself to us and presented us with a serving of Kettle Chips which we both enjoyed. I think Marlow’s Tavern is a wonderful addition to the Carrollwood area and we look forward to visiting this restaurant often.

We came from
Orlando for the night and stopped here last minute. The bartender randy was awesome. He bought a drink for my boyfriends birthday and when we asked where the bathroom was, he walked us instead of pointing. The food was amaZing as well. Definitely will be going to the one in Orlando !

Very Good Quality Tavern food, with a great Service

This place had a good vibe to it. The one thing that I was pretty disappointed about was their lack of vegetarian options. If I recall correctly… there were a couple apps that were vegetarian, but one that we tried to order was unavailable (asparagus fries). The bartenders are good at their jobs. They chat well & gets drinks out quick (however I don’t think the drinks were actually poured correctly… and that isn’t something I say often). We may stop by to try this place again… but it isn’t necessarily on our list of «places to go».

Service and food both excellent. Knowledgeable staff. Attractive décor. Overall a great spot for a lunch date!

Marlow’s Tavern, well it wasn’t the best but not the worst. That seemed to be the theme of the evening. I came with a group of friends and we all had the same conclusion. The service was slow but extremely friendly and sweet. Our waiter said he had only just been working there a week, but I think with being there a little longer be would be fantastic. I really liked him and I felt as though he was giving it his all. The food was ok. Like I mentioned not the best but not the worst. I had the smoked trout dip and it was ok. Wished there had been more «chunks» of trout. I sampled my friends fondue and it was very different, like a vinegar salty taste. Once again not the best but not the worst. The shrimp and grits were great, the best dish of the evening. If your looking for traditional shrimp and grits this isn’t it, it’s more like a grit cake with sauteed shrimp. I got the new fashioned and it was a good drink, like in keeping up with the evening not the best and not the worst. All in all I wasn’t disappointed but I’m not rushing to go back.

Went for lunch today. This would be five stars but service was slow for one. Several servers walked by us without asking if we had been helped yet. Waited a good five minutes for our waitress.
After ordering a table was seated behind us and read special of the day, which our server didn’t do. To bad as we would have ordered the special.
I noticed other customers sitting for long periods of time also. Maybe servers should pay attention even if the tables aren’t theirs to wait on.
As for the food the Tavern Burger was delicious as was Buffalo Chicken Wrap.
Great food, slow service.

This place sucks don’t bother!
The food is overpriced and sucks… they have poor beer selections and the staff is horrible.
They pissed me off so much till I had to leave.
Go across to the Tap Room if you’re in that area instead. Much better food, beer, service and price

Not bad. Prices are decent and the food is presented well. The solo bartender today was very helpful and attentive. She announced food specials upon arrival and consistently checked in on food/​drink quality. The entire place is very clean and new. It was quiet on a Saturday afternoon and the food delivery was a bit slow. I tried the buffalo chicken wrap with jalapeño corn grits. Loved the grits, but the wrap was just so-​so. Nothing special, although as spicy as I had hoped. Beers on tap were not bad, but Tampa Tap Room (next door) has a better tap list. Worth a visit, but I don’t think I’d go out of my way for this again.

Marlow’s Tavern is an Atlanta-​based restaurant chain which describes itself as a «neighborhood tavern» where you’re encouraged to gather with your friends and enjoy food and drink. They describe the menu as a «diverse combination of classic dishes that are updated and elevated to a higher level». Unfortunately for me there is nothing unique or special about the menu which would bring me back.
I’ve tried eating here a couple of times in the hopes that I caught them on a bad day, and that things would be different this next time. That has not been my experience.
I stopped in on a Sunday afternoon to watch some football and have a late lunch. Even though Marlow’s has flat plasma TV’s surrounding the restaurant, the TV sound is turned off and instead you’re treated to some clubby hip-​hop music which was very popular with the servers who were bouncing around the room. Unfortunately I was hoping to enjoy a football game and not be entertained by «Disco Barbie» line-​dancing with some of the bar staff.
The food was OK, but felt very generic. I’ve tried the Shrimp & Crab nacho plate, the ahi tuna poke, and a few of their soups for appetizers. Nothing was bad, but nothing was memorable.
For entrées I’ve tried the Black & Bleu salad, the Asian ahi tuna salad, the grilled salmon, and the Shrimp & Grits. Again, everything was ok, but I honestly can’t call it spectacular and worth the price.
There is a large bar area serving craft and domestic beers, wine, and mixed drinks. That seemed to be the most popular area in the restaurant the last time that I was there. Marlow’s also has an outdoor covered patio, but if you’re not a smoker I doubt you’ll enjoy sitting outside as the fumes were quite intense and very ripe.
All in all, Marlow’s is ok, but it’s not for me. You’ll find Marlow’s Tavern in the shopping center with the Melting Pot, Public, Panera, Bonefish, and First Watch, at the corner of Dale Mabry and Fowler Avenue.
Give them a try and see what you think.

Being from Atlanta, Marlow’s are everywhere up there.
Do of course this will be a base line comparison.
Food was good. Corporate recipes so you can’t mess them up much.
Service was polite but a little slow and unresponsive.
Typical Florida mentality.

Was early for reservations & had never seen Marlow ’ s Tavern. It sounded festive & was eye catching, so we ventured in.
What a nice inviting atmosphere! We popped up to the bar & were warm greeted & treated great. After we got our perfect cocktails, great dirty martini, we had a chance to talk to the bartender. We explained we did not have long, but took a quick glimpse at the menu. It appeared inticing.
When the bartender realized we were celebrating my birthday, my drink was on him. How nice! We also got warm salutations & an invitation to return when we had more time.
Based on cocktails, ambiance, service, staff & cleanliness, I will definately retun, as a matter of fact I am looking forward to my return.
What’s a girl to do? If a place feels comfortable, you want to return & check it out!

Why 3 stars? Because many of the negative aspects of a chain are on display here.
— — —
I really try not to discriminate against chain restaurants, unless they give me a reason to. Sadly, a very large majority live up to their reputations for the quality just being a couple notches below the mean. That’s what happens, in general, when the business owner is not in-​house on a daily basis to make sure everything is as perfect as it should be.
Marlow’s is possibly the closest restaurant to my new house. I’ve been twice now, and just a bit underwhelmed. The staff is very nice, the build-​out is really great, but the food just didn’t hit the mark.
My first visit, I ordered the prime rib french dip, which I’d have to classify as false advertising. That may have been prime rib, but it certainly did not taste or look like it. There was nothing prime about it, from the cut, to the flavor.
I enjoy BBQ sauce with my french fries, so I asked for some on the side. It turns out that they don’t have BBQ sauce. That’s a pretty shocking statement, considering the variety of burgers and wings on the menu.
For my 2^nd trip, I just went with the tavern burger. It was an upgrade to the prime rib sandwich, but there are numerous options within a 2 mile radius, that serve significantly better burgers.
Another pet peeve that I observed here, is something that always annoys me when I run into it: the extremely long, rehearsed announcement of the specials, which lay out every ingredient of each dish. If announcing the specials is more efficient than printing them on a special menu each day, that’s fine. But give me the basic item description, and if I have follow-​up questions, then go into more detail. Because when I’ve either already decided what I want, OR, you mention an item that I definitely have no interest in, why waste everyone’s time by going into finite detail for 20 more seconds about that item? It causes for lots of time being wasted on everyone’s end, and the rehearsed speeches just give on a very disingenuous vibe.
If someone from Marlow’s happens to read this, please understand that the above criticism is meant to be constructive, and not some kind of personal attack. Maybe I’m totally wrong, and announcing the specials is a huge success for you, but I personally would prefer to keep it to something like this, rather than a dissertation about things that might not even be relevant to me:
«Tonight our specials are a chicken gordon bleu, a NY strip, and a seafood pasta, let me know if you have any questions about those, or anything else on the menu.»
Based on its proximity, I may end up at Marlow’s again, but I can’t say that I’ll be rushing back.

Amazing! If someone were to ask me where is a good place to grab a drink or eat some delicious food I wouldn’t hesitate for a second too say marlow’s tavern! Why five stars? Because I couldn’t find one thing wrong with this place. The staff are very friendly and professional. I had the black and blue burger witch no joke was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. The menu is a decent size and has everything from seafood to burgers with a nice drink menu as well. Prices range from 8.50 to around 17.50 not bad at all.
The atmosphere here is very nice. Big screen Tv’s are all around the restaurant. They also have really nice outdoor seating. The bar is a decent size and you can also sit at the bar from the outside witch I thought was pretty cool.
On my visit I had two 10 dollar off coupons. I thought I’d use one and save the other for next time but our waiter went out of his way and did two different transactions giving me a total of 20 dollars off! That was more then nice of him and the manager. That’s just all around good customer service in my opinion.
These guys earned their five star rating and I highly recommend this restaurant. Date night or just a night out with friends this is your spot. Give them a try you have my word you won’t be disappointed.

Today was the first time I tried this place. I have to say, it was an excellent experience. The service staff was extremely attentive, especially our server, Mike. The menu has so much variety and is comprised of all fresh ingredients. The drink menu is great, too! They use all fresh juices! I will definitely be coming back!

Great food and great service. We went around 8:30 pm on a Saturday night. We were quoted a wait time around an hour but we were seated 30 minutes later.
All of the food is made from scratch in the resturant. The salts, sugars, and syrups (for drinks) are also made in-​house.
We had the bree fondue and the kettle chips for an appetizer. My husband always has to try the blue cheese chips when he sees them on the menu. Although I’m typically not a fan of them, the ones here were very good and i found myself eating way too many.
For dinner he had the chicken stack which was amazing. I had the french dip with Caesar salad and a red sangria. The salad was fair in my opinion but the sandwich was great. The steak was high quality and tender.
Overall the food was great and the service was wonderful. They didn’t appear to have the challenges most newly opened resturants face with poor communication in the kitchen and confused wait staff. The waitress was knowledge and made wonderful recommendations. We can’t wait to return!

After becoming a customer of Marlow’s in Orlando, I’ve been really looking forward to this location opening in Carrollwood.
Surprise, surprise. The GM of this location is the same man that treated me very well at one of the Orlando locations and is now here permanently.
We talked at length about all the work it took to get this store open and future plans for more stores in the Tampa Bay area.
He asked what I liked about the concept and I told him that the combination of a comfortable, modern atmosphere combined with the style of menu and Monday through Friday happy hour (4−7pm) make it very appealing.
That menu has plenty of appetizers, sandwiches and salads prepared and plated impressively. And if you’re ordering a side dish, look hard to find your many choices listed on the menu before giving up and asking your server… since they probably have to point it out 90% of the time because of the creativity of the menu design itself.
Employees here are in their overly attentive stage with the store in its infancy, but I get that and it is better than the opposite attitude. Or maybe it was simply because the GM and I talked for such a long time and he sat down with his laptop to do some work just to my left as I enjoyed my lunch.
With Harold running Marlow’s Tavern and Dara and Jackie in charge of Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza next door, I have two tremendous options in that area for lunch after golf or dinner and drinks in the evening around a comedy show at Side Splitters.

Went back again for lunch– lots of business lunches going on which was nice to see. The brie fondue was rich and delightful and the cheeseburger was very good compared to a typical chain. We met the chef who is formerly of Bahama Breeze and our server Michael was very helpful with a fun sense of humor. Lots of reasons to come back soon!

If you’re looking for the new hot spot in the Carrollwood area, this is it. We started with the shrimp and crab nachos that were individually dressed and topped with a roasted, fresh cut jalapeño slice — awesome, and the ahi poke with avacado — so fresh and delicious! For dinner we went with the salmon with a cherry reduction sauce over couscous and kale, the shrimp and grits, and filet mignon. We put them to the test, and man did they deliver! Everything was delicious, perfectly prepared, seasoned well, and the plates were beautifully crafted.
We sat at the bar and were treated to the service of Sydney and Matt who both made cocktail after cocktail for us recommending some of their signature cocktails as they found out what we were into. Managers Melissa and Scottie came by to check on how we were enjoying everything and were very genuine and proud of the product they were putting out for us to enjoy.
All in all, the service we received was top notch and we enjoyed everything that we ordered, so we will definitely be back and recommend hitting this new hot spot up. Sit at the bar, you won’t regret it!