Review submitted on August 17th, 2010 by Mack – from Marshfield/Quincy

Strike two

While vacationing in Marshfield, I decided to give Garlic another try. It was a tuesday, and my wife and I were the only people in the dining room, though a couple of people were eating at the bar. I ordered a pasta dish, and my wife, unwisely, ordered sirloin tips. Mine was okay, but not worth the $20.00 price.
My wife's meal was inedible. It was, I suppose, some sort of beef, but not sirloin, and as tough as old leather. Seeing the meal uneaten, the waitress, who was lovely,could only express her sympathy, yet didn't seem a bit surprised.

Review submitted on August 13th, 2010 by Maggs – from Marshfield

Meh

Dinner time and there were only 5 customers in the whole place. All employees were extremely nice and friendly. It took almost a half an hour for our food to come out and there were only two of us. Food was ok but the price was double what it should have been for the small portions that we were served. I might try it again but it's not likely.

Review submitted on July 21st, 2010 by MR – from Marshfield

We always enjoy it

We are frequent diners at The Garlic and have always had a positive, pleasurable experience. Not knowing the owners personally, we can still appreciate the hard work and time their whole family puts in. We have tried many, many dishes on their menu and have always been pleased. We enjoy the casual atmosphere and friendly service that we always receive. The specials are often very original and comforting. When they first opened we felt the portions were way, way too big and we did mention it, now they are much more reasonably sized. The pricing has always been fair in our opinion, we are not choosing to go to a hamburger joint or pizza place.(although I do love their homemade pizzas). In our opinion this is a great place and more people should give it a try.

Review submitted on July 9th, 2010 anonymously – from marshfield

quantity of food

visited the restaurant and ordered caeser salad with chicken to the price of $11 - the salad was soo small and chicken just a slice - totally disappointed. Have gone to many restaurants in Marshfield and ordered same thing to my surprise I got more than I expected. The Garlic is a beautiful restaurant but their quantity of food is disasterous. Very, very disappointing. Hope the owners can see the damage they do by cutting back on skimpy amounts of food. Lot of improvement to be done with this restuarant. Good luck!

Review submitted on July 6th, 2010 anonymously – from Marshfield

Food has changed because......

They have gone through chef after chef after chef and now the owner is cooking in the back. It is NOT the same at all and we don't frequent the place anymore either. It's too bad because the atmosphere is very nice. For me, if I owned a restaurant the #1 thing I would put money into besides the decor would be a chef. It's unfortunate that it's gone so down hill but if the owners read reviews on their place, they might make a change. I have heard many times that people have waited a long time for their food and that's due to a regular person cooking one meal at a time. A real chef knows how to coordinate dishes in a timely fashion. Plus when you can cook better at home, why would you pay $20 for a meal. We're done with the place until we hear a chef is there or it's under new management.

Review submitted on June 28th, 2010 anonymously – from Marshfield, MA

If I wanted my food raw, I would have gone for sushi!

One of my meatballs was raw in the middle and I waited up to 45 minutes for my food when it wasn't even busy. I ordered Fettuccini Bolognese with a side of meatballs. I would think cooking meatballs at an "Italian" restaurant would be a simple task...

Furthermore, I have been on one other occasion and the same meal that I had before tasted very different. No consistency. I gave it more than one shot and The Garlic's chances with me have run out. I won't return.

Review submitted on May 29th, 2010 by CC – from Marshfield

A Trip to the Garlic; "How could a restaurant mess up pasta?!"

Just came back from the Garlic; big mistake! My husband and I thought we would try a different restaurant; thought a pasta dish could be simple and delicious....no! The restaurant was essentially empty, on a Friday night, holiday weekend...should have been our first clue. I have never eaten a "capresse" salad of grape tomatoes/hard mozzarella/basil served on a skewer/cubed! My Mediterranean pasta contained a fleck of feta,steamed red peppers ,uncooked sun dried tomatoes; all in a bowl of broth? Entering the restaurant; the room had an odor of rug cleaning solution; our waitpersons' uniform/shirt was all stained. Truly, we never complain about food; can always find something to eat; we both realize how hard the restaurant business is to maintain in these times....BUT....The Garlic is just a poor representation of an Italian restaurant. Too bad, Marshfield has such a minimal number of tasty restaurants.......won't be spreading the word on this one.

Review submitted on March 25th, 2010 by GG

Not good!

I had only been to the garlic once before. The first time in 08 it was ok. Just went again last night 3/24/10 and the food was not good. Athough the place is clean and attractive, the food left a lot to be desired. I had "the chop" for $16.99 and it was like sawdust. Not to mention I'd be suprize if it hit the 4 0z mark! The garlic mash that came with it was like wallpaper paste. The portion was very small for the price. No wonder the place was dead. It struck me as a place on it's last leg.

Review submitted on October 6th, 2009 by dtpfv3.0 – from Marshfield

Pretty Good

I finally got around to trying the Garlic (as you can see I'm not an early adopter).

Had a few houseguests from the big city last weekend and I didn't feel like cooking every night for them.

Our appetizer was good (Rhode Island style calamari).

I had the swordfish, and my friends had the pork chop and the pasta bolognese. We all thought our meals were very good, we thought the prices were pretty good, and the service was fantastic. The menu was very big and diverse, and I would go back again.

Review submitted on August 17th, 2009 by Mack – from Marshfield

Not the best

I have only been to The Garlic once, but was, frankly, disappointed. My wife had veal Parmesan, while I tried veal marsala. The service was slow and the food, when it reached us, was only warm. Beyond that, mine, at least, was rather bland and tasteless. My wife's meal was, in her words, "okay, but not worth the price."
We always like to try new places, but there are better restaurants in Marshfield.

Review submitted on April 4th, 2009 by George & Dot – from Marshfield

One of the best places on the South Shore

My wife and I frequently eat at the Garlic with its newly redesigned and beautiful interior. We have been to Italy many times over the past few years and its decor parallels some of the more modern upscale establishments in the Northern and Tuscan areas of Italy. The dinner menu has a wide variety of Italian dishes, reasonably priced and nicely presented. We usually sit at the bar and make a meal of the many low-cost, delicious appetizers and thoughtfully selected wines from the wine menu($5.50 -$8.00).
Upon entering, don't be put-off by the ambiance by thinking, "We can't eat here. It must be very expensive." It will likely cost you less than Haddad's or the Lobster Tail.
Give it a try and I'm sure you'll come back.

Review submitted on March 21st, 2009 by John & Anne from Quincy – from Marshfirld

One of the best.

We hsve been to the Garlic 3 times now and each time it seems to get better.
We eat italian food several times a month, we recently mover to Marshfield frpopm Quincy. The Garlic certainly compares to any Italian restaraunt there.We are concerned that the business may not survive this economic downturn

We Will return

Review submitted on November 29th, 2008 by Mr. & Mrs. Foodie – from Pembroke

Awesome & Getting Busier

We have been there a few times and we went Thanksgiving Eve and it was packed -I mean beyond packed. They had Jim Silva (a Jimmy Buffet kind of singer) and he was great. The food is great and the bread you get in the beginning of the meal is exceptional. Plus they have piano music on Friday and Saturday nights and that is what draws me in. Nobody has that anymore and it's romantic and a pleasant atmosphere. The owners always stop by your table or come up to the bar whereever you are sitting to say hello and see if everything is ok. Sorry to hear about the people who feel they had a bad experience there. I think you need to try it again, everyone needs more than 5 weeks to work their kinks out.

Review submitted on August 30th, 2008 by Galgay – from Marshfield

Not likely to return

We like to give restaurants a chance, especially a local business. Our first trip to The Garlic was five days after it opened. Poor service, incorrect orders; ordered fettuccini and was served pasta with clam sauce. On top of that, not one but two(!) clams on top of the pasta wouldn't open! The kitchen should have known better than to send that out! We decided to wait a month or two for the place to work the kinks out. We also followed the posts here about excellent food and service and decided to try again last week.
The Garlic wasn't as busy as the first time which we hoped would mean better service. Unfortunatly, we still had to ask the waitstaff for bread and salad dressing like we did on our first visit. One of us ordered the eggplant without pasta. We asked if a salad could be substituted and were told no. Sixteen dollars for eggplant that wouldn't fill a sub roll! Nicely done but certainly not worth the money.
The plus side of the evening was the excellent martini and the looks of the dessert. One thing that made us laugh was the addition of pizza to the bar menu. On our first visit we were told, "We are not a pizzeria, we sell Italian food." Now rustic pizza is served at the bar. Maybe that means sitting at the bar for pizza and a drink, maybe not.

Review submitted on August 24th, 2008 anonymously – from Marshfield

No sibstitutions

Hi,

My husband, adult son and I ate there. The portions were generous and the food was good as well as the service. The dinner menu is a bit pricey but I have been told the early fird specials are better. However my husband is diabetic and we asked for a vegtable subtituion for his pasta and were told "no substituions". For the price we paid for the meal we will not be going back.

Review submitted on August 14th, 2008 by Chipper – from Marshfield

2nd visit, Maybe my last

Been to The Garlic two times. The first visit was good, I had the eggplant and my wife had the chicken parm (She didn't like the sauce). She doesn't want to go back, but I recently decided to try it again a few nights ago. I sat at the bar, ordered my drink and started watching the Red Sox. A couple of chairs over from me there was a "Regular" customer eating his meal (I knew he was a regular because he was telling the bartender that he was going to finish his meal that night, something he hadn't done during his last few visits). Anyway, after a couple of minutes listening to this guy "SLURPING" his food I had to move to a seat further away.

I ordered the mussels with white sauce and they showed up a few minutes later. I enjoyed the mussels, but had noticed that a couple of them tasted really strong. I've eaten mussels many times and have had a few that were a little bit strong, so I just ignored it. I then ordered something for take out (lunch for the next day) and went home.

About 2 hours later I became sick. I figured it may have been from the mussels because the only other thing I ate that day was my morning toast. I was feeling quite lousy until late the next night (I won't give you the details). I can only come to the conclusion that the mussels were what made me ill. It may have been from the strong tasting mussels, but who knows. My personal feeling, don't eat any mussels that have a strong taste.

Anyway, I've lost the desire to return to that restaurant. I threw out the food I ordered for take out and don't plan to eat mussels again anytime soon. I see other people like the restaurant so it's worth a try. I just wanted to give my review as well.

Review submitted on July 4th, 2008 by Fish On! – from Green Harbor

An exceptional Restaurant

My wife and I went to "The Garlic" for our first visit last night ( 7/3/08 )
We were warmly greeted by the owner Tom and his wife. We decided to eat at the beautiful Tuscan Style bar and enjoyed ourselves very much. The service, wine and food were all first rate. The atmosphere perfect. The menue has a wide selection to please all. The desserts were North End quality. Two glasses of wine, a veal dish, chicken marsala, fried spinach ravioli as an appitizer, a canoli and a tiera missu (best attempt at spelling this, sorry), all for about $65.00. Please, Do Not Miss The Garlic!!!

Review submitted on June 13th, 2008 by Herb – from marshfield ma 02050

Just ate at the Garlic and found it to be great. The atmosphere is cozy and a piano player enhances the atmosphere. The bar had a great choice of craft draft beers and stocked good bourbons. This is how I rate a good bar. The menu was varied from the appetizers to the entrees. We had the antipasto which was huge and chock full of good stuff. It was also served on a bed of mesclun greens, which is a cut above iceberg. The give you a cruet of dressing to apply yourself and also leave the pepper mill so you can apply to your likeing. The dressing was delicious with a nice bite. The bread was served on a bread board to slice yourself. It was a mini loaf, hot and custy served with flavored olive oil for dipping. Just the right size. My wife had the pasta puttenseca, which was excellent. I had the combo meatball, susage and mini pork osso bucco seved over penne. It was mouth watering and I loved that it was served in a bowl. We ended taking home left over antipasto and both entrees because the portions were so big. We didn't have room for dessert but we watched as the dessert tray was shown. They looked great. The only caution I would advise is that if you want a leisurly meal do not order everything at once. The food comes out very quick. We are looking forward to returning and trying several other dishes.

Review submitted on April 30th, 2008 by Mae – from Pembroke

It's a great addition to Marshfield

I've been there twice and both times it's been great. I love the atmosphere and I also love the piano playing in the background, who even has that anymore - it's a nice touch. Last time we were there we tipped the piano guy $3. The first time I went, we ordered the calamari appetizer and it was delicious, lightly battered and it was a large portion for an appetizer. The bread is warm and seasoned and very delicious. I ordered Bolognese for my entree and I liked it but the sauce is very chunky and I just prefer the meat to be more ground up (the waitress said it is the owners grandmothers recipe).

The second time we went (which was only 48 hours later) I got the oil and garlic dish, again, very good and flavorful. I think the food seems to come out fairly quickly, which isn't a bad thing if you're hungry.

Our first visit we had a great waitress, I think her name was Morgan and she let us order an appetizer and then 45 minutes later we ordered our meal, she didn't rush us at all and let us enjoy the food, the piano and the ambiance.

The bar looks very inviting too and next time we might just belly up for a few appetizers, listen to some piano music and enjoy some wine.

Review submitted on April 4th, 2008 anonymously – from Marshfield

It's a keeper

We've visited The Garlic three times, and we plan to visit them once or twice a month in the future.

Some comments:

The calamari appetizer is better than most.

The puttenesca sauce is the best I've had anywhere.

I'd like to see a serrated knife to cut the bread.

Those fancy paper napkins are probably more expensive than cloth!

The decor is super -- and the place is as clean as a whistle.

I'm afraid that the summer people will crowd us out when they discover it.

Review submitted on April 4th, 2008 by LJD – from Duxbury

Food is great, Service fair

Greeted quickly, nice atmosphere. I love the colors and the wood, the grapes well, not my favorite. When we did get our food it was great, bread wonderful and hot. The problem was with the service. We ordered cocktails and did not get what we ordered. As we have both been in the business we let it go. The second round we ordered we specified how we liked them made just in case the bar was unfamiliar. Wrong again. The server was pleasant enough but had very little knowledge of the dishes, or the wines, so after a few uncomfortable questions we dove in and got lucky. We were very pleased with the food. As we were leaving we were thanked for coming and asked if everything was o.k.. Having been asked I expected the man to wait for my answer, he just kind of walked away. So food: nice, place: nice, service: room for improvement and two or three uncomfortable moments due to lack of knowledge or insincerity are too many.

Review submitted on April 3rd, 2008 by Pat and Sue – from Marshfield

Nothing less than wonderful

After reading the good review in the Ledger and hearing so many good things on the forum, and (certainly not least) learning that there were some reasonably-priced early-bird specials, Sue and I tried The Garlic last night.

Our first impression was that everyone was very welcoming - probably to be expected at a newly opened restaurant, but still nice. The decor is beautiful. Very rustic Tuscan style with lots of yellows, browns and orange - garlic bunches hanging here and there, etc. I suspect it looks especially nice after dark, but the downside of the early-bird specials is that you've got to live with the full sun streaming in through the windows.

There are six early-bird ($12) specials: Chicken Parmigiano, Eggplant Parmigiano, Pasta Pomodoro, Pasta Puttanesca, Haddock Aragosta and Quattro Cheese Manicotti. (No, I don't have a photographic memory - I have a take-out menu on my desk here.)

I ordered the chic parm, and Sue got the haddock. While we waited, we were brought some garlic bread with oil. We also ordered a couple of beers. Along with the usual bottled mega-brands, they have some of the "better" beers on tap (Sammy, Wachusett Ale, etc.).

My chic parm was perfect. The sauce was so good that I even finished the pasta - something I don't normally do. Sue liked the haddock, but thought it was a little on the salty side. But it should be said that we use very little salt on a regular basis, so this could be a simple preferences issue.

We decided to split a dessert, so our waitress brought a tray for us to drool over. Ultimately, we couldn't agree on just one, so Sue got a lemony cake concoction, and I had this chocolaty thing that was a sort of dense chocolate cake with chocolate on top, infused with chocolate, and had chocolate drizzled on the plate. It came with a strawberry, so I considered this a "healthy" dessert. 8-D

Along with everything being delicious, the presentation was outstanding. I didn't know if I should eat it or photograph it!

Definitely on our list for a return trip...