Dancing Marlin Restaurant
| Address: | 20590 South La Grange Road, Frankfort, IL 60423, USA |
| Phone: | +1 815-464-6646 |
| Site: | dancingmarlinrestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | Closed 4:30–10PM 4:30–10PM 4:30–10PM 4:30–11PM 3–11PM 10AM–2PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 12
FR
Fredrick Bates
Okay, so Im admittedly a bit of a wine snob, so I was quite skeptical when a dear friend and her husband suggested a "wine on tap" venue for a couple’s night out. WOW AM I GLAD THEY DID! Much to my surprise, the menu was quite eclectic, and was Tapas style service though I would not describe the food as the type you’d find in a traditional Spanish Tapas cuisine restaurant. We shared a number of dishes, so I hardly know where to begin. Let me start by saying EVERYTHING was OUTSTANDING! 1) Try the tacos—3 to an order. I highly recommend both the shrimp & chorizo, and avocado taco selections. They are both vibrant and refreshingly light, with just enough citrus to make them perfectly balanced offerings. 2) The crab stuffed peppers – piquillo peppers with jumbo white lump crab meat with a unique remoulade – were stunningly succulent. 3) The ahi tuna nachos (there’s a surprising dish huh?), and oysters “rockefellaz” were delectable, but the coup de grace was undoubtedly the scallops! Seared to perfection, not spongey and overcooked nor undercooked and rubbery. Served on a corn and brown butter puree with caramelized leeks, pickled corn and pistachios. 4) The mushroom flatbread was the most pedestrian dish we tried, and even that dish was exceptionally well prepared. PLEASE—save room for dessert, and might I highly recommend the “turtle cheesecake bites.” Just as the name indicates, this dessert dish is perfectly proportioned in four bite size decadent servings. WOW WERE THEY GOOD! (The rum banana bar was also quite tasty). By now you’re wondering why I haven’t mentioned the wine right? Well much to my amazement, wine that is served on tap was not the least bit oxidized. Technology! Ed, one of the owners, hearing that there was an armchair wine connoisseur with questions about his wine list took 15 minutes to sit with our table to explain the process. You will have to go there and ask for him to get more on this issue. Suffice it to say that the wine was excellent, though as you might imagine because it is served on tap the offerings are somewhat limited. I recommend either the Gotham Sauvignon Blanc (CA), Gazzera Pinot Grigio (Italy) or Numero Tres (Spain) if you like a dryer white wine, the De La Costa (CA) for a sweeter white, and the El Rede Malbec (Argentina) for a robust deep-flavored red wine. On a scale of 1 to 100, I give the Dancing Marlin a 99!
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Nick Manning
My wife and I brought our 4 year daughter with us to dinner at the Dancing Marlin. The whole experience was great, and we cant wait to get back. When you first walk in, you might not think its a good place to bring children, but it was a great experience for our whole family. Cocktails: Its great that they have all their cocktails on tap, the service is fast and they taste pretty good too! Wine is also on tap, which is great, because you can have a taste of any wine that youre interested in ordering. Food: The food was really good, and came out quickly, even though we could tell the kitchen was very busy. You have to try the portabella mushroom sliders, the shrimp and chorizo tacos, scallops, and duck perogies. The tuna nachos were good, but a bit hard to eat because the chips had a hard time supporting the weight of the tuna. Our daughter loves shrimp and when the manager (owner) stopped by our table she told him how much she liked the shrimp from the shrimp tacos. He then had the kitchen prepare an order of shrimp just for our daughter. The service was great, the atmosphere was great, and the food was incredible. This is just the place the south suburbs needs! We cant wait to go back and take our friends.
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David Brown
My wife and I go to the Dancing Marlin at least once a month and are always amazed by the food. We consider ourselves foodies as our son is a graduate of Le Courdon Bleu and has taught us a lot about being educated restaurant consumers. We enjoy sitting at the bar which provides a view of the kitchen where the chefs make these wonderful creations. The wine is "on-tap" which might scare you at first but this is not your grandmas box of wine. Its a real treat. We recently had the cheese plate. This is the first time in my life I have to say Wow to a cheese plate. The accompanying purees really complimented the freshest cheese I have ever had. Be sure to notice the crab on the tray. This is downtown fine restaurant dining in the southwest suburbs without having to drive downtown so have another glass of wine and enjoy.
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Jeremy Bengtson
Every single menu item is creative original and packed full of distinct flavors. much of the food is from local farms. the seafood is always meticulously prepared in an extremely unique way. Prices are acceptable and actually low when you consider how difficult it must be to keep fresh items from gorgonzola to piquillo peppers and carmelized leeks. I could eat here 7 nights a week. Thursdays have five dollar drinks.
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Lorain C
Excellent restaurant! Despite being there many times there are still menu items I want to try. The bone marrow and cheese dip is yummy. I always enjoy the bacon-wrapped meatball or crab-stuffed peppers. The food is fresh and thoughtfully prepared. Try a cocktail flight of 3 if you cant make up your mind. For dessert, the milk and cookies, peanut butter mousse or the turtle cheesecake bites are good choices.
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S & B Roberts
Great place! Went for Mothers Day Brunch and had such a variety. We had French onion dip that was delicious! Lobster Roll, Korean Shrimp, Mini Burgers, Peppers stuffed with crab. Pizza and fries were really good too! Each item was fresh and had great flavor. Food, service and atmosphere was wonderful! Cant wait to go back and sit on the adorable patio outside. Coolest place in Frankfort!
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Allison Reid
Patio seating.Flip Flop Dave playing music. Nice ambience. First time there. Shrimp and Chrazio tacos, crab stuffed peppers, Cachaca Chichen and fries made for a great meal. "Becky Blue," was our server, very friendly and attentive. WTTW Check Please was filming. Will definitely return.
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Liz Hyos
The Dancing Marlin is a nice enough place.But extremely noisy.Our waitress was gruff, and in need of some eticit lessons.The food was good , but a little pricy.You werent overly full when u left, but I do not like expensive and hungry still when you leave. Probably will not be back!
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scott hill
Way pricey, small serving size, if you like throwing money around come eat here. Sevice , poor server left our plates on table for entire evening. No offence to yuppies , but if your a young urban professianal and want to say you ate here for status, lucky you.
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Michael Lesniewicz
Prices are extremely high for small amounts of food!!! Food really wasnt that great. Also restrooms in basement smell absolutely horrible!!! Smells like they have some major plumbing issues!!! Make sure to hold your nose when using the facilities!!!
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David Jing
Great little tapas place in the south suburbs. The food was amazing and the atmosphere reminds me of the swanky downtown locations. Its surprising that this is their only location. A definite must if youre a fan of seafood. I will be back!
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Gretchen Dust
Small plates, huge tastes! Feels like youre in a trendy downtown restaurant in small town Frankfort. Menu changes seasonally so there is always something new to try! Good for a crowd or a dinner for one. Come hungry and leave happy!
