It would be hard to overstate how different Miami restaurants were when Marion opened back in 2015. It’d take just one hand to count the good restaurants in Brickell and downtown. Years would pass before every New York restaurant transplanted here—and we hadn’t yet entered the era of the clubstaurant.
Now, after a brief closure and $4 million renovation, Marion has reopened, transforming from a charming market-slash-restaurant into a blinged-out supper club. It feels very much like it wants to be the spot for your next outrageous night out, but generally stops short of a place you’d go on your next bender.
I dined on a Thursday, which I’d heard was the biggest party night at Marion, with promised entertainment starting at 9pm. The space is a study in maximalism: rainbow-hued glass partitions, speckled terrazzo floors, wild patterned upholstery with gold and burgundy splashed everywhere else.
The menu covers a lot of ground. From the sushi side of the menu, we got yellowtail crunchy tacos and tuna crudo crackers, followed by a pair of rolls, the salmon torched tableside. Prime beef tartare arrived with lots of truffles shaved over top.
For the entrees, a branzino swam above a sweet carrot puree, and sliced skirt steak was topped with parm and arugula. We finished with a lava cake that was the only true miss, tasty but with an oddly grainy texture. Though it was decadent, the meal itself wasn’t very memorable.
We were at dessert when three women ascended the elevated walkway between the big baller booths. They wore high-slit pencil skirts and did a choreographed dance number. Spotlights spun between large speakers mounted to the ceilings and the staff clapped to the DJ’s beats.
If we were way back in 2015, we might have been dazzled by it all. Now, though, Miami is a city full of clubstaurants, and a good half-dozen where the food can stand on its own without the tabletop dancing. Marion simply isn’t as good as Queen, MILA or the current star of them all, Delilah.
Will you have fun at Marion? Sure. Just be ready to party like it’s 2015.