I haven't written a review in a while, well since moving to Marco Island two years ago but I feel obliged to after my recent experience at Marco Island Brewery. Â
This is the first time I have eaten here since moving to the island. Â I typically don't go to restaurants during season so this was the perfect time to go. Â the small crowed seemed in good spirits and I was ready for a good beer and some good food.
First the good:
I sit down at their very expansive bar area in front of the many TVs and am immediately greeted by a friendly bartender who promptly asked what I wanted. Â They have a decent selection of beers on tap as well as their own brewed selection. Â Normally when I go to a microbrewery I want to taste their wares but this time I noticed that they had 312 on tap and being a Chicago transplant, I had to have it. Â it was the first place I have seen on the island that had Goose Island beers. Â It was promptly and courtesy server to me at which time I gave my food order. Â What could possibly go better than a cold wheat beer than a cheese burger and fries. Â I make my order, Cheese burger, medium with cheddar, and a side of fries. Â I received the dish within about 10 minutes (albeit delivered to the wrong patron initially).
The bad:
What I received was a well done burger on a stale bun. Â The "cheese" was a single, thin square of translucent what I could only imagine was cheddar since I couldn't actually taste it. Â The meat itself was of ample size but dry as a bone due to it being WAY overcooked, which was only outdone by the dryness of the toasted bread. Â I bit into it and could barely swallow the flavorless, dry, sad little burger. Â I took another bite to make sure I wasn't dreaming. Â I wasn't. Â This was literally the worst burger I have ever eaten, anywhere. And I have eaten some really bad 3AM burgers. Â
The fries were the icing on the cake. Served at a temperature that rivals the surface of the sun, I had to wait to eat them. Â So there I am, looking at this sad little burger, while my fries cooled feeling sorry for the cow that this was made from. Â The fries finally cooled after a couple minutes and immediately I could taste the salt. Â Not the salt they were coated in but the salt from what I could only imagine was a week long brine bath they soaked in. Â I had two fries, just to make sure, and that was all I could manage.
I can count the number of times on one hand that I have sent food back, and this was one of them.
Back to the good:
The bartender immediately recognized what was going on. Â Apologized left and right, offered me several other alternatives which I thanked him and turned down. Â I was comped the food, paid for my 312 with tip and left, not hungry anymore and a little sad.
The verdict:
Seems like a good place to hang out with some friends over a few beers. Â The staff was courteous and prompt. Â Based on my experience, I would avoid the food, at least the burger.
We had to decide quickly where we were eating lunch as the sky was about to pour buckets on us...and the choice was the Marco Island Brewery. Â As we pulled up I had no idea what I wanted, but I checked the reviews and decided not to go with anything that wasn't going to be fresh fish (not a big fan of eating bulk farm raised fish that isn't fresh). Â Anyway...
We actually had an absolutely great lunch. Â My daughter started with an order of steamed clams in a wine and garlic broth-perfectly cooked, lot's of them and delicious! Â The broth was so good I wouldn't let the waiter take it away, I used it to dip my my Brewhouse Dip (think French Dip) and tater tots in along with the au jus. Â If I could mkae a broth like that to put steamers in I might ONLY eat steamers for the rest of my life.
My wife ordered the Ahi tuna tacos and had a simple one word description...WOW. Â Plentiful, fresh, and the toppings and salsa made her want to come back. Â My daughter (yes the one who ordered the clams) was starving so she ordered the shrimp basket with fries AND a side Caesar salad...and other than one taste of one shrimp and a couple fries-I got nothing. Â She ate the whole thing. Â Damn her metabolism! Â My son ordered the meatball parm with onion rings. Â The rings were delicious (we split the rings and my tater tots) and weren't overly battered. Â The sandwich was just ok. Â Not bad at all, but coming from Jersey, I mean c'mon, are they going to make a better meatball parm than I can get at home? Â No way. Â
Since it was a brewhouse, I tried their homemade Red Ale and it was good. Â I was hoping for a bolder flavor and something ice cold, but it was just ok. Â I'd order it again as I tend to drink local or microbrews over commercial beers if I can get them. Â
I'd probably give this place 3.5 stars if Yelp would let us do so, but three is too low so I'll round UP this time and give them the 4th star. Â Thank You Marco Island Brewery for the good food and for keeping us dry during the worst thunderstorm I've been in in years...even if it was only a short-lived one.
We stopped in for a beer one afternoon. Loved their happy hour special, 22 oz beer for $3 and change! Their hefeweizen was pretty good. Not as good as some of our local hefeweizen brews in St. Louis, but you can't knock them since it was only $3. The nachos were OK, but overpriced for $7.
Review Source:We recently dined at the M.I. Brewery during our vacation. Â The warning signs began fairly early on here. Â We asked the waitress if the shrimp used in one of the dishes were local Gulf shrimp. Â Her response was, "I don't know, I think so". More flags went up as reviewed the menu. Â Most of the seafood dishes simply listed "whitefish" as the type of fish in the dish. Â I asked the waitress what kind of fish were they using as the whitefish. Â It turned out to be Swai. Â This is a freshwater farm fish that is usually imported from Southeast Asia and wholesales for two or three George Washington's per pound. Â If you are reading this you probably know that Marco Island is a fisherman's paradise with some of the best tasting fish in the world in the local waters. It seems very odd to me that any restaurant in this region wouldn't be using the incredible seafood on the doorstep.
Since the restaurant is also a brewery (although brewing equipment appeared to be onsite) I decided to try the sampler of the four house brews that were currently being served. I don't claim to be a beer expert but I think I know more about beer types than the average person and I prefer stronger flavor "craft" beers over the commercial giants. Â Of the four beers I tasted only one tasted good and only two had flavor profiles that matched the type of beer that it was supposed to be. Â For example, the I.P.A. had very little hop character and was more sweet than bitter.
As for the rest of the meal, it was bad, the food and the service. I really don't want to spend any more time writing about this restaurant because Marco offers so many great places to choose from. Â I recommend going to one of them.
Didn't have the food, came over for one drink and that was enough to win a 1-star rating. I loved the idea of having a brewery on the island and was anxious to try the microbrews. I rolled up to the outside bar with my friend and we ordered two of their Reds. There was no head whatsoever on the beer and it smelled very sweet, like unfermented beer smells. I tasted the beer and sure enough, way too sweet to be fermented.
I kindly asked the hostess/waitress if we could have a different beer as this beer seemed to be flat. She actually told us that no one likes the Red Ale. So she has the bartender pour us a 312 instead, with a lot of attitude as well. We were basically ignored the rest of the time there and never checked up on. We had to flag someone down to get the tab and left no tip as I feel the service warranted no tip. As we were walking away the bartender yells from the bar, "Thanks for the tip! NOT!". We immediately ask to see the manager on staff which was pointless.
Long story short, bad brews, bad service.
The food was excellent - fish tacos and rodeo burger. The service was just ok and the restaurant was dirty. We got a highchair and had to use a washcloth to wipe it down ourselves. The dirt on the chair almost made us leave, but the food was suprisingly above par for what we were expecting.
Review Source:Really liked the amount of TVs and the marg pizza. Wasnt overly impressed with the clams because they were tiny and to few. Wish that they had more on tap instead of in bottles. Very good service but no recommendations and seemed like they wanted tourists to leave. Over all positive experience but not as good as i wanted it to be
Review Source:If I were coming here for dinner I would give it 3 stars, 4 stars to have a drink and watch the game. No question this is one of the best places to watch sports on the island. Tons of TV's, bar seating and a cool bar that opens up to the outside with plenty of patio seating.
  We came here for dinner and since their website wasn't working to check the menu, I was hoping for more than just bar food. Surprisingly the menu was rather extensive. The usual bar type stuff with some high dollar fish and steak items too.
  We started with the chips, guac and salsa. Nothin special there, just somethin to snack on. I opted for the mahi mahi special with rice and veggies. The mahi was clearly shipped in frozen and very over cooked. It also had a layer of red and green chilis on top that seemed out of place. Mom had the chicken sandwich which tasted good and dad had the burger which elicited an "ok".
  Our server was very attentive. In addition the beer and wine selection is very good for the area. For these reasons I would recommend the brewery as a great place to watch a game and have a few drinks. Though I would stick to the low brow food options
MahiMahi was recommended but was fair at best.  Salmon was a reasonable portion but was over cooked (burnt).  Salad and mashed potatoes very bland. Burger $10 was good but no fries, expected more for the price.  Final thought is that it is an ok bar but the food over priced  for the quality as compared to the other restaurants in the area. Will not return.
Review Source:This is a great place for good drinks, food and entertainment on the island.
Definitely more of an 'upscale' place compared to other places you'll find around town. Food is excellent.
I've had the bbq chicken flatbread - the fish tacos - a burger - and some other items. Â It's all great. Â You get a lot of food and the quality is excellent.
Be sure to get the tater tots with cheese!!!
They also have amazing desserts. Â I feel like most places skimp out on the dessert menu - but not here!
The drinks are great - including the micro brew. Â
There are a lot of tv's - so you won't miss any sports event.
There's great indoor and outdoor seating.
There is also a game room with pool and video games - so it's great to bring the kids to as well!
Ok so I managed a very successful sports bar and this my friends it is not. It certainly is a bar, but the food was rough to say the least. Ordered the linguine and meatballs and not good is an understatement. Meatballs were bland to no flavor at all, the pasta sauce was overpowering with basil basil basil... So much basil. Balance it with some oregano or something. I ate two meatballs and was done with the entire dinner. Â Cost of this one entree split between my wife and I: $23. Salad that came with meal was relatively good and server was very friendly and accommodating. Service alone will not bring me back to this establishment. Hopefully others will have better luck.
Review Source:I ate at the major fish places on Marco and the best fish I had was here. Â The beer list was great if you avoid the house -made beers (holy crap it was bad) and I just tried a fork full of my daughters leftover pasta dish and that rocked too. Â Do not feel like you must eat on the bay. Â Loved this.
Review Source:Good bar food and then some!! Â The beer was cold, and our salads were crisp. Â Two of us had the lobster tail and it was delicious! Â It was also reasonably priced. Â Two other friends split a Hawaiian pizza, and said it was really good also. Â Server, Nate, was efficient and funny. Â Try this place!! Â $$
Review Source:After being scared away by O'Donoghue's around the corner, my friends and I stopped here. Â This place is EXACTLY what we were looking for! Â Knowledgeable bartenders who were quick to offer samples of the brews on tap. Â I particularly enjoyed the indoor/outdoor vibe with the bar extending on to the sidewalk. Â My only complaint is that the bar closed at 1am on a Saturday.... but that seems to be more of a Marco Island issue than the bar's. Â The vibe of the patrons was just as consistent as the service, clearly everyone was here to relax and have some craft brews. Â Cheers!
Review Source:I liked this place. Had the Bleus Burger and it was one of the better burgers I've had all year. They're a brewery, with at least 5 good size brewing kettles, but only the pilsner was on tap. I tried a pint, it was mediocre, but I'm not a pilsner fan so don't take my word on it. Seems weird that they were out of so much. Prices reasonable. Good vibe overall. Like the set up. If you don't want sports in your face you can sit on one side of the bar. If you're there for the sports, sit on the other side. Really liked the burger enough to go back for it again the next night. Note: when it says "chips" with the burger, they really mean potato chips, not chips as in french fries. Overall I would say a 3 star place, but when you compare it to other area options, and the superb burger, I'm bumping it up.
Review Source:Relaxing setting in a strip mall, half inside and half outside. Â The first test, the wings, good sauce, nicely crisp, not to much coating. Â For a craft beer place it took intense questioning of the waiter to produce a printed list of craft beers, the reason why is that the list of out of date, and he informed us that probably half the list was out of stock, and about half of what they had wasn't on the list. Â We moved on to the entree, we ordered the chicken quesadilla and a cheese burger, nothing special about the quesadilla, the burger was okay, we ordered it medium rare and it came out medium well.
Review Source:We had nothing but fun here! First of all, though, we had to find it. The address leads to the Publix parking lot but the brewery is actually around the corner in the strip mall. This actually worked in our favor, because we sat outside on the covered sidewalk, and traffic wasn't distracting or horrible.
Our waitress was cute, spunky, and most of all a good server. We had a flight of beer, which was fine. Not the best microbrew I've had - all were definitely on the bitter side. But they were still good. We started with an order of onion rings and tots covered in cheese and bacon. I had the whitefish sandwich, which is literally just a piece of whitefish on a bun... wish they would have added the option of condiments (lettuce, etc). Â The rest of the food our group ordered was fantastic though, great bar food!
What a great hidden gem from the main traffic in the Island. Great food, better beer and just a nice place to hang out away from the crowds.
We love to go and get away from Miami, and Marco Island is such a great place to do it..Close yet generations away !!!
Dont miss a stop in Goodland, a place dug up from a century ago Florida11
Marco Island Brewery is a fun bar with great food! We ordered onion rings for an appetizer. They were delicious and the dipping sauce had the perfect amount of spice. The crab cakes were fresh and light. The shrimp were lightly battered to perfection. The rueben sandwich was gigantic but satisfying. The burger was juicy and cooked just right. The fries were amazing too. The Mediterranean white fish was mouthwatering and the capers added a nice touch. I must add that the piña coladas here are probably the best on the island. Our waitress was attentive and bubbly. She enhanced our dinning experience.
Review Source:I was excited to think of a place on Marco you could get a real beer! Â Wrong. Â How can you call yourself a microbrew and then say of the four beers you brew you only have one available? Â So I tried the pilsner--not bad but nothing to remember. Â I can say they had a large bottled beer list but apparently not a craft beer expert selecting these. Â I will say that maybe due to poor 'real beer' distribution in the FL market. Â Food was average. Â The bar food seemed better than anything else. Â Kids chicken nuggets were very good as they seemed homemade. Â The calamari was rubbery but the sauce was excellent. Â The service was good. I would consider going back for beer selection which is better than the bud/ bud light choice everywhere else, but in general it wasn't all that exciting.
Review Source:Great place for food and service. Â We had the Chee-z bleu bread, blue cheese, mozzarella cheese on garlic bread appetizer...fabulous with the homemade Italian red sauce that the owner Frank makes daily. Â Clearly this guy knows sauce as it was rich and robust, plus he does not share the recipe...a true sign of a great sauce.
We got the French dip, my wife loved it with the onions and au jus and I had the NY NY corned beef sandwich. Â Both were huge and very tasty, enough for lunch tomorrow for the two of us. Â
Aubrey waited on us and she was fantastic. Â The atmosphere was fun and inviting...I highly recommend this place.
Food is mediocre at best. Â prices are way too high, but the kicker??? FLIES! Â FLIES EVERYWHERE. Â It was disgusting. Â leaving the bar open during the summer is the dumbest thing. Â The flies were nesting in the faux plants. Â They were everywhere. Â That's a major health hazard. Â Wifi may be free, but it doesn't connect well at all. Â We live here full time and will NEVER go back there. Â Â The service was good.
Review Source:Besides the fact that there was a gecko in the bathroom, in the stall with me, I enjoyed my experience here. Â Those in the dining room all heard me scream when I looked up and saw my little dinosuar friend. Â I laugh now, but at the time the bathroom was much too small to support both of us comfortably. Â I realize, thats not why you are reading my rendition of my visit to this brewery, so I will get along with my review. Â My brother picked this dining location on our vacation to Marco Island. Â We were anxious to try the beer and visit a restaurant that was wasn't stuffy or expensive. Â Plus it was a brewery. Â My husband and I ordered wings. Â Other items ordered in our party included pizza, french fries, loaded fries, potatoe skins, baked fish, and a burger. Â We also made numerous selections from the micro brew menu. Â Our server was great. Â He was very patient and attentive to our large indecisive party. Â He had no control over it, but the food came out so slow. Â Could be because everything is cooked to order. Â The wings were very lightly breaded and fried crispy- not over done, just perfect. Â The fries were fries... my favorite were the loaded fries with cheese, sour cream, and bacon bits. Â The atmosphere was typical bar like of place. Â There is a pool table and a few video games off to one side of the place. Â There is an inside bar and one that is outside. Â The view stinks- its the parking lot of an outdated strip mall. Â I say its outdated, but I would not guess the shopping is particularlly geared toward the tourist. Â The locals may not mind the look since its beachy, simple and nondescript. Â But for me it was not really alluring and just decided to sit inside to eat and drink.
Review Source:Was excited to hear that a brewery opened up on Marco. The space is big...great outdoor patio and bar. However if you are not a smoker you wont want to go anywhere near the outdoor bar...when we were there the outside area probably had a good 15 people out there and all of them were smoking. We reluctantly sat inside on a beautiful night. Menu has a lot of options but something about the place did not make me trust that anything other than your standard bar food was worth trying. I was excited to try a couple of their micro brews starting with the IPA that was listed on their website. Unfortunately they only had 3 of their beers on tap at the time so i went with the Red. It was really bad...could not even finish it. The boneless buffalo wings were good. Thats all we ordered...ended up going elsewhere for dinner.
I could definitely see hanging out at this place to play some pool or watch a game...but would not go to eat a meal or drink their beer. They have bottled beer...that would be the way to go.
I know they have not been opened long...maybe their beer will get better.
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