I came here for what I thought would be a quick bite... instead it was more of a slow bite. Â The restaurant is nestled inside the Garfield Suites Hotel, so most of the guests who come here are hotel guests like myself. Â Overall, the food was not impressive. Â The food here is the basic American fare -- soups, salads, burgers, pizzas, salads. Â The name "Cafe Martin" is a bit of a misnomer here as the food here is not French as what one might think when he/she thinks of the French restaurant Cafe Martin in NYC.
I ordered the buffalo chicken salad and the Louisiana wrap, which were over seasoned. Â The food here was pretty tasty...but so salty! Â I had to ask for lots of water refills since the food made me pretty thirsty. Â
The service here is slow. Â I came here on a Wednesday night and it was pretty packed. Â From point of ordering, it took about 30+ minutes to get our food. Â There are only two waitresses who work here...they service all the tables and the bar area. Â I commend their hard work juggling their dual waitress and bartender roles at the restaurant. Â But I also feel pretty bad for them because they look overworked, stressed and a bit grumpy. Â
Overall the food is pretty decent, affordable, but just a bit overseasoned and oversalted. Â Service could improve a little, but that would probably help with more waitstaff and chefs/cooks. Â I give this place a solid 3 stars.
Before going to the Music Hall, my husband and I wanted to grab a quick bite. We were heading for Leboxx, to get a soup in a bread bowl, but as they were closed, we ended up going to Cafe Martin next doors.
We only had limited time (35 minutes), and weren't served very quickly. One girl seemed to be the only one around to attend to all the tables. The menu looked good though. I wasn't very hungry so I got a cup of tortilla soup. We had to wait for quite a long time and the food was ok but not wow. If anything, my soup was very spicy and I found it weird this wasn't mentioned in the menu. My husband's hamburger was ok, but nothing special.
I don't think we'll come here again - it's the kind of place we'd go to when nothing else is open, but otherwise, there are better options in Cincinnati for a good soup or burger.
After some drinks at Knockback Nat's, the bf and I headed out to find dinner. Â We passed Cafe Martin and decided to give it a try... looked nice, not crowded.
To start, the service was really good.... efficient and friendly.
The timing of the appetizer was solid (spinach and artichoke dip w/ veggies). Â The app itself was ok. Â Nothing to rave about.
The bf really like his pizza (buffalo chicken), which was loaded with cheese and large chunks of chicken and had a good flavor. Â So, star for that.
My pasta primavera left a little to be desired. Â It could have used a bit more "primavera." Â I'm really glad I ordered a side of broccoli and added it in. Â Also, it was drowning in a brownish, super salty, marsala-tasting type sauce. Â I probably ate about half of it (plus all the brocc, which was yummy), then mooched off the bf's pizza.
The prices were fairly reasonable.
To quote Dwight Schrute: Good, not great.
I came here numerous times during my stay at the Garfield Suites. The service is fast, and the servers were very nice. However, as far as the food goes, I'm finding it difficult to give it a high review.
Its not that the food was bad, it was just bland. Nothing really stood out for me, just your typical breakfast lunch dinner diner food. The only items on the menu that I would say really sparked my interest was the Louisiana Wrap. I perfect blend of flavors and spices. It left me wanting more.
However, everything else was just ok. The prices are reasonable and the ambiance is standard. I would say this place is perfect for a quick bite to eat or for someone on a budget, but it won't blow you away.
Thanks Cafe Martin for the wonderful service.
I've eaten here on probably five occasions and tried most everything on the (smallish) menu thus far. Â I think that aside from three menu items that Cafe Martin is very average, but I rated it four stars because those three menu items are all can't misses. Â Stick with these items and you'll be more than happy:
The burger. Â You can't really go wrong here no matter how you like it. Â My personal favorite is the BBQ bacon cheeseburger. Â It runs about a 1/3 lb. and is always juicy and very flavorful. Â A hidden jewel in the Cincy burger scene.
The potato skins. Â Sometimes they're listed on the menu and sometimes they're not. Â If they aren't listed make sure you ask for them anyway. Â I've yet to have potato skins that taste better than the ones here. They are FABULOUS.
The onion rings. Â Hands down the best anywhere. Â They're always cooked perfectly and have a very nice crunch that makes them very easy to scarf down (which you'll undoubtedly do!). Â My officemates make sure that I bring some of these back for them when they find out I'm going here for lunch. Â These rings are the stuff dreams are made of.
Went here for a quick lunch with two others.
My order: chicken noodle soup and garden salad- the soup tasted like Progresso but not as good (and that's saying a lot!)...the carrots were bitter, the chicken was sprinkled with black pepper, the only hint that maybe it wasn't canned soup? The broth was flavorless...had to add salt! Salad was a nice mix of fresh greens and a good portion
Friend #1: Cod and fries...she said the Tatar sauce tasted like it had cinnamon in it and only took a few bites. The waitress didn't comment on the nearly full plate (I like when they'll at least notice and ask if you'd like something else)
Friend #3: Veggie/cheese pizza. She likes her pizza a little underbaked (which this one was) so it was all good. The dough was a bit undercooked and the cheese just barely golden (but plentiful!)
Service: decent timing of taking/delivering orders...nice pace of drink refills...other than not noticing the one party who did not like her meal, decent service.
Probably wouldn't go back with the huge number of great (and plenty of untried) restaurants for lunch downtown.
Walk around the block to Izzy's...you'll be glad you did.
I just arrived in cinci for a conference and since i'm staying at the garfield suites i decided to eat here (there's an entrance through the lobby). The service was friendly and quick, my drink came quickly and so did my burger. I asked for it medium-well and it was VERY VERY pink. She offered to have it refired but i was too tired to deal with waiting for another burger. I noticed that someone at a table nearby was also dissapointed in his food- it was overly spicy (some sort of pasta dish), he asked for some cheese to kill the spice....the cook definitely came out of the kitchen to watch the flat screen tv (which is an indicator to me that perhaps food was being hurried along so that he could watch "the game") all in all i paid 13.95 for a drink and a burger + fries. it was "ok" but i won't be eating there again on this trip.
Review Source:Cafe Martin is right on my way home from work, so I end up there for dinner quite frequently. It's tucked inside the Garfield Hotel, so you can see any number of different types of people who are visiting Cincinnati eating at this cafe.
The food is the kind you'd expect in a hotel restaurant... pastas, burgers, etc. Nothing is too surprising, though everything's done well.
Prices can be a bit high, but my boyfriend and I purchase certificates on <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2FRestaurants.com&s=92a32e879a8bc9bad14f389149e0a62a99ba27f54b2dca87b4d713cffa7973a9" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://Restaurants.com</a> almost every time we visit (the rules say no more than once a month, which works out for us). GREAT bargain with that coupon, so be sure to print one out before you go!
My husband and I stopped for an impromptu dinner at Cafe Martin last night after a frustrating attempt to find something new on a Saturday night at dinner time. Â
There were only two other parties present when we arrived, which worried me a bit. Â It turned out that my concerns were unfounded. Â Although service was a bit slow (there was only one server who happened to have a broken wrist taking care of seating and serving), she was very friendly and the food was very good. Â My husband enjoyed their grilled shrimp appetizer and I absolutely adored their Black and Blue Steak Salad--the steak was seasoned and cooked perfectly and their balsamic vinaigrette was lovely. Â
For dessert, my husband I and split a piece of yummy peanut butter pie.
All and all, we enjoyed the experience and would not hesitate to return.
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