Palmers Restaurant

Went to Palmers with friends and sat at the bar. There were two other couples also sitting at the bar, no one at any tables. We all ordered drinks, my husband and our friends were served but I had to wait 10 minutes before my drink was served because the bartender kept starting and stopping mixing my drink to take care of the other couples. Appetizers took 20 minutes from the time we ordered them. Dinner also took 20 minutes (still hardly any other people in the place) and was extremely disappointing. I gave Palmers one star because one of our friends said her steak was good. I had lobster ravioli that tasted like rubber and had hardy any lobster filling, my husband said his salad was just ok, and our other friend said his salmon was dry and tasteless. They did not charge us for the salmon. I would not recommend this place.

I’ve been to Palmer’s a few times and have been surprised at the low ratings. There are very few places I will eat at again and again because there are so many choices locally, why limit myself? But Palmers is my go-​to place when in Marblehead. Great cocktail selection, and a very knowledgable staff who all go a long way to make it worth my while to stop in. I’ve never had a bad or even mediocre meal there (knock on wood!). My son is a big fan of the chicken and the clam chowder. My date and I have been for the mussels to start.

I just don’t get it. Marblehead is a wealthy community with people who like to eat out, but the restaurants are terrible. Palmers is no exception. It’s clean and the service is fine. The food just isn’t good. Tired of being disappointed, paying $$$ to eat out in Marblehead and not enjoying the food.

Average food, average service, which is a shame because the place is very nice and seems like it could be a promising up and coming spot. Very pricy dishes especially for quality and the staff came across as almost a little bit rude.

Palmers needs to step it up… I like the atmosphere a alot the bar is a great place to meet friends and have been to every wine dinner they have had all of them were great. The quality of the food is very good if only they took a little more care in the preperation and did not overcook the fish i.e.: I had the Sake Ginger Salmon last night, nice presentation, but they fall short on flavor and the fish was dry.
Last week I had the Clam Bake Haddock it was just okay… best bet is the burger and they overcook that too.
I was disappointed when Javier left and am familiar with Dave Fitzgerald“s food he should pay more attention.

Our food came out VERY quickly, much too quickly. I ordered the fish and chips and ate less than half of it. The fish was clearly a commercial frozen product. My husband ordered the pappardelle which was overlooked and the sauce was bland. The atmosphere is very nice. I cook most nights and would LOVE a local restaurant with decent food!

Will I ever learn? Apparently not, since I tried Palmers again and again left disgusted.
I met a friend at the bar for a quick drink around 4pm today (Sunday). I was there first and sat down at the empty bar. I ordered a Belvedere martini, as I commonly do. It was a smooth drink and I thought maybe my opinion of Palmers would change.
My friend arrived and ordered a glass of red wine. She asked the bartender if they had any nuts or crackers, as most bars do. The bartender, who seemed rather long in the tooth, very caustically responded to her that they «don’t do freebies, nobody does that.». But the snide senior citizen did manage to bring us a cocktail menu where we could order $ 14 hummus and chips. Needless to say, we politely declined and even skipped having a second cocktail because of his rotten attitude. Another younger bartender was much more attentive and acted more like a professional than the other twit.
When the bill came, I paid it and even tipped, against my better judgement. However, I did write across my receipt that perhaps they should not be rude to customers.
That’s all folks. I will not be returning. Perhaps the management needs to review their approach to customers. Maybe that’s why the bar was empty on a Sunday afternoon when there were different sports games. Perhaps the management should look for younger professional bartenders instead of hitting up the local senior center for a bartender whose idea of a good wine comes in a gallon bottle with a screw top.

So I’m seating at the bar trying to have a nice lunch just visiting the area and we have 2 locals getting drunk at 1231pm playing music on their phone so loud disturbing anyone around the bar. The bartender is doing NOTHING to control this situation. 20 minutes no food ask the bartender where is our salad and chicken? Oh um I see your salad… really?!? Go get! Finally my salad with grilled shrimp and the shrimp has its peel on it. You know what I say nothing because I want the hell out of here and away from this moron playing his iPhone for music entertainment. Thanks for nothing!!!

Have been to Palmers once in the café after a movie and twice in the restaurant for dinner. Have been delighted with the food and the service each time. Saturday evening’s meals (4 of us) were hot and tasty. Presentation was excellent. Susan, the manager, was extremely accommodating when I asked for a table change (spouse in wheelchair). Our waiter, Nasser, was professional and attentive, asking us if we wanted bread, filling water glasses often, being patient while we tried to decide what we wanted and overall being the personable waiter that you always hope you’ll get. We were very impressed with our treatment and eagerly look forward to returning.

Our food was very good and I’m a food snob. The restaurant was festive and extremely busy, it was FUN!

I want Palmers to be good! I have eaten there at least 4 times over the past year or so. The last meal there was so below average that I think we will no longer go there, though it is very convenient for us AND they seem to always have a table during the weekday (we eat out on the fly a lot).
The atmosphere is beautiful with the open kitchen. The bar scene looks very active and fun– so this keeps up the atmosphere here… but the food… middling at best. The best meal we had there was a brunch where we sat on the patio in the summer. We had mussels and I had the salmon last time we went. The mussels were not fresh… actually pretty awful… the waitress had to take them away with the little guys still in their shell because we concluded we might get sick if we ate more (we did not get sick). The salmon was kind of dry, the accompaniments were not anything I can remember. My husband was also completely underwhelmed. Lastly, if it is the same kitchen that cooks for the Warwick theater (which is attached) it is never good and the service in there is horrible. PLEASE… I want you guys to be good. Beautiful place and concept, but I don’t see anything working there but the bar.

Been there twice now and sat at the bar for beer and dinner. One of the two bartenders, both female had a bad attitude. She was only attentive when it came to grabbing our credit card. It was hard to watch the blonde work so hard while the other ignored all the customers. The food at Palmer’s is typical american fare. I was not impressed with the choices, which are not original. Palmer’s is impersonal and run like a corporation. Not interested in returning.

Went for dinner on a Friday night. The restaurant was full and bustling, lively atmosphere.
Ordered calamari app. The presentation was horrid. The romesco sauce was on the center of the plate, calamari dumped on top and some arugula on top of that. From the way the plate came to the table I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s how they actually «plated», by dumping the fryer basket onto the plate. The one saving grace was how delicious the romesco sauce was!
Had burger for dinner, fiancé had Cuban sandwich. My fries looked brown, his white, so I assumed mine were sweet potato and his were reg. Nope, just really overcooked and dry fries– his were great though. How do you bring two plates to the same table with fries with such a stark contrast??? Asked for new ones, which came quickly but were still over done, just not as bad as the first batch.
Burger itself was cooked perfectly & very tasty. Cuban was just okay according to fiancé.
Side note: The pickles they serve with both were AWFUL. Truly the worst I’ve ever had– not kosher, sour dill, or b&b, just gross.
Waitress was apologetic and nice about the fries but said they «do that all the time».

One of the worst meals in years. I’m giving one star for the tap beer only. The pumpkin gnocchi tasted like doughy paste with almost no recognizable pumpkin flavor and the brown butter sauce was watery and tasteless. I’m not trying to sound angry here but it may have been the worst entrée I have ever tasted from a restaurant that at least ‘appears’ legitimate. After not eating it the server even acknowledged it’s not that good (thanks for the heads up when ordering) and yet still charged us in full. The Cuban sandwich was also tasteless and dry and came with some form of an au jus dipping sauce that had a dirty water look and taste. If I can’t get back the $ 100 we wasted I want to at least warm others from doing the same. Such a shame because the space is fantastic and the area needs more upscale dining options

I want to like Palmer’s more than I do. I’ve been a couple of times, and the food has never made much of an impression. Not many veggie choices, which isn’t unusual around here, but even so. Whatever I’ve managed to have hasn’t been memorable. The vibe is fun and festive, and the location is great. I like that it’s here. High marks for service, especially the bartender. I consider Palmer’s a fun place for drinks and people watching more than for dining.

The food was good but pricy, the ambiance was good, loved the layout and design of the restaurant and was really excited to finally try it out! Our service on the other hand was where the shoe dropped.
Our server didn’t ask if we wanted bread or not, all the other tables around us had bread and we had to flag her down for 15 mins to wait for it. Then were told not to fill up on the bread when it was finally brought over. Never really checked on to fill our waters, see how the food tastes or if we needed another beer. With several other interactions with our server we felt more like being mothered than able to enjoy a meal out with friends. It was just a very odd feeling to be «mothered» by your server. The food was good but for the service I will not be giving Palmers another shot. Sorry!

We had not planned to eat at Palmer’s but it was there and we were hungry. The menu had many very tempting items, so it was hard to choice. My wife had very good clam chowder and pork tenderloin. I had oysters on the half shell and grilled scallops. Both the pork and scallops were served with very well prepared vegetables. The food was excellent. The service was good. I was pleased that our server asked us if we wanted bread because we rarely want it. We ate inside but the patio looked like it would be a pleasant place to eat on a warmer evening. We plan to return, perhaps for one of the dinner and a movie specials.

Every time we go it gets a little bit better. At first we weren’t sure but Palmer’s is now hitting stride.
It’s now our go-​to place for good good and friendly service.
Went last night and has flounder special that was truly outstanding.
Well done

My husband and I were eager to try Palmer’s (as someone else pointed out, it’s really only the second «fine dining» establishment to grace the Marblehead restaurant scene). Before spending the big bucks on dinner, we thought we’d stop by at lunch time.
We walked down Pleasant Street and turned around, confused as to where we actually enter the restaurant. We backpedaled to the entrance of the Warwick Place Café (adjacent to the theater) and found a small entrance there that led into the restaurant.
It was dead. We didn’t see any waiters, no hostess stand (which we soon learned was at the backside of the restaurant as the main entrance is off the parking lot), and there was no one behind the bar. The bartender was seated at the bar chopping fruit and another woman was eating on the other side. We asked, «are you open for lunch» and the woman eating answered, «yes, lunch isn’t very busy for us!» We had another moment of confusion before realizing that she actually worked there and was just having her lunch. *Shrug* Makes no difference to me.
So anyway, we decided to sidle up to the bar. The bartender came ’round and asked if he could start us with drinks. We each chose a beer (pretty good tap selection) and then he brings over one menu. Just one. Apparently, we just got to share one menu between the two of us!
So my DH decided on the filet sliders and I went for the toasted caprese. When my husband ordered, the bartender said, «just the sliders or do you want a side of fries» which again caused a moment of confusion as we didn’t know that the fries weren’t included. Whoops! Need to learn to read.
The plates came out quickly (too quickly IMO). With the restaurant so dead, I would think that you could take some time to make the meals as perfect as possible. My husbands sliders were tasty, but nothing to write home about. I did not enjoy my sandwich at all. The bread wasn’t on a true baguette (the crust was cut off and thus the bread was spongy and inedible). The insides of the sandwich could barely be called lukewarm. I ate the tomatoes and mozzarella but pushed aside the bread and the underwhelming side of arugula.
I am truly disheartened because we were prepared to LOVE Palmer’s. We wanted to so badly. But $ 50.00 for two beers and a couple sandwiches that weren’t anything special was not worth it. We agreed to come back for dinner some night and hopefully, that experience will change our minds for the better!

A friend and I had dinner at Palmers tonight. My friend and I thought it very odd that the hostess immediately asked us if we had a reservation when we asked for a table for two — as the restaurant was half empty! She then seated us in a bad location and then seated other diners on top of us a few minutes later — again, when the restaurant was less than half full. Not sure what the thinking was there, as the restaurant never filled up while we were eating. The atmosphere is chaotic — it’s nice to look at, but the servers are rushing around bumping into each other.
Our meal took a long time to come and the restaurant doesn’t serve bread. We had oysters on the half shell for appetizers, a fish entrée (him) and a lobster BLT (me). The food was unremarkable — my friend liked his entrée, but mine was just okay. After I was almost completely done with my sandwich, the waitress thought to ask me if I’d like a condiment. The aioli she brought over should have come with the order; the chef should just add it because the sandwich was bland. The crème brûlée I ordered for dessert was burnt to a bitter crust and had to be sent back, and the profiterole I ordered to replace it tasted like it came right out of the freezer storage.
With all the other dining choices in Marblehead, I would not return to Palmers. If I want a really good version of the kind of atmosphere and food that Palmers seems to want to offer, I’ll go to Burton’s at the mall.