My friend and I were shooting pool over at Christina's Place and didn't want to wait until 11pm to get our karaoke on. A group of lovely Spanish-speaking guys, who were kicking our butts on the pool table, suggested we take the party over to Marinero's and promised us pool and karaoke.
Everyone was super friendly from the customers to the staff. I don't know what a typical night is like here, but judging from the name and everyone there that night it caters to the Spanish-speaking community. However, we did not feel out of place. We were welcomed with open arms and encouraged to sing along (even though we didn't really understand half of the songs). I picked a Shakira song and my friend did La Bomba.
The bar is clean, the bathrooms were clean and the pool table is nice. Karaoke was hosted on a Saturday night and you better have a song in mind, because the book is kind of out of order. Not really listed by Artist or Song. It was a jumble and they have more songs than what are featured. Be sure to ask just in case. We had a good time.
This is barely a 2-star review. Â The service was not horribly slow (but it also wasn't crowded) and they didn't mess up our order... also, the decor is awesome: many fish on the walls, barrels, sombreros, anchors... not really sure, but the theme seems maritime-latin. Â Quality.
On the bad, I'll try to be brief: Â I think I said "gin and tonic" at least 4 times before the waitress grasped what I was saying. Â Then, when said g&ts arrived, they were woefully lacking their lime compatriots (I'm pretty sure I specifically asked for limes, but whatever). Â Then the bill for the first round came... eight people $25. Â Pretty reasonable, but then when someone tried to put the whole $25 tab on their credit card they took the card, went back to the bar, and then came back to inform us we needed to get cash from the ATM in the corner. Â I'll be damned if they are going to force me to pay their $2-3 ATM service charge. Â They looked disappointed when we gathered together some cash, and the waitress hovered over our table waiting to pick up the bill... like all 8 of us were suddenly going to run from the bar. Â Â The music was... a roller coaster ride. Â Heavy metal to bad 90s dance to decent latin dance music. Â Also, the music was unnecessarily loud.
Also, no beer on tap. Â Enough said.
Actually I change my mind. Â One star.
When this place first opened, it was called The Station. Â They had great specials, clean bathrooms, and a cool slate bar. Â It was fabulous, and then someone got stabbed/shot/gangked. Â The Latin Kings infiltrated, and before you knew what was going on, the name changed to "Marinero Bar and Grill." Â Even my neighbors, all Chicago Police Officers and DEA-types, told me to stay away from this place, since I am drawn to all things ghetto/gangsta fab. Â I'll stick with El Caballo Loco from now on.
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