Mar’sel

Jeffrey Breedlove was our server and he was amazing! He knew the whole menu and the wine list I was very impressed with his service and his quick response without a delay and constantly checking to see if we were doing ok. I will go back again and specifically request him !

I have to share the wonderful experience we had last night in celebration of Valentine’s Day at Mar’sel. The service was impeccable with Adam in the bar area creating a special drink of his own for my wife and Claudia’s detail to service with such pride for her job and care for her customers. We had the lamb and the bass and both plates were delicious and the presentation was fantastic. A must is the english muffins they serve prior to your meal they are delicious with their butter and sea salt. We topped it off with an amazing dessert so the night was perfect. Overall, the experience was fantastic and both Adam and Claudia added to our delightful evening with such professional and personal service. Go to Mar’sel for a special evening and celebrate!

This place is amazing!!! The food meet every expectation, great service!!! It’s a hidden Gem in the South Bay! It’s pricy but worth every cent for the experience !! I will go back !!

Ate here a couple of nights ago. Very nice place. Great service. The food was very good. They have an extensive wine list. This place is pretty expensive, but given the location and the quality of service it was to be expected.

Truly spectacular in every way. The food is exquisite. We had a black truffle tasting menu, and all five courses rocked. The service is first-​rate, and the décor and views are fantastic. Great wine list, including a Vintage Port flight of four ports, all from legendary years, including 1970. 1970! They have both indoor and patio dining, where the ocean view is spectacular. Great for a special occasion. I put this in the top 10 in Southern California.

My God Is This Place Amazingly Great !!!
Let’s began with what shocked me the most …
SERVICE I mean, really wow! They Set Their Own Standards. They are beyind your expectations as a guest. It doesn’t matter if your just dining or you are staying at the resort, they treat you with equal respect. They are always noticing every single detail and no kididng, they pick a dirty plate, right when you just finished, they refill without questioning and they make sure you enjoy what your having. I’m just so shocked in how attentive this guys are. ! I went during brunch with my sister and got the $ 65 deal, COMPLETLY WORTH IT !!! I ordered champagne but then realized it was a little too strong as my first meal, Immediately the bartender comes with a sample of a much lighter type as long as I wasn’t dissatisfied, it was so nice from her part. Although, I still went with coffee instead, I greatly appreciated .
Food: Quality. Quality. Amazing. Worth It. Couldn’t be More Satisfied. I had the Salmon/​Tuna as start, Then a Steak/​and finally my dessert. I can’t wait to have brunch there again.
Ambiance: Really? Lets say its with a beautiful view to the Ocean. Very Clean. Very Fancy. Perfect size but really, The Service they Provide and Quality Is What Blower My Mind.
Thank You So Much Marcel’s. I Can’t Wait To Visit You Again.

This used to be a favorite. Last night received a terrible meal there. Shells in the crab salad (not to mention a strange taste) raw Brussel sprouts (and when we asked to have then cooked more they just burned them under a broiler or something) still raw but burned on the outside.)
My lamb shank was edible but certainly not something I enjoyed. The worst I ever had.
We were going to skip dessert but they offered one on the house «to make up for the entrée». Nice gesture but the flourless chocolate cake was terrible too.
My wife’s scallops were excellent.
They said they had a new chef.
So sad. We can walk there when we want a good meal. And often recommend it. I suppose we will try this again some time. But it won’t be soon.

For that EXTRA SPECIAL occasion, Mar’sel s is hands down the GO TO place!!! Shoutout of gratitude to our server Cenobio out on the patio for making our mini-​reunion/​pre-​28^th Wedding Anniversary AMAZING!!! For starters, can’t go wrong w/​Foie Gras & our chef did not disappoint. The Foie was kept warm the entire atop a hot stone taken from the beaches below. …LITERALLY melts in your mouth!!! Our celebrants ordered their own version of surf & turf, Halibut & Duck… OFF THE HOOK!!! The Mar’sel Staff was so hospitable & accommodating they moved us over to the fire pit when the wind started to pick up. A most PERFECT place for dessert & to raise a final CELEBRATORY glass… CHEERS to you Terranea!!! Merci beaucoup :)

Loved everything about this place. From ambiance to wonderful customer service. All servers were so polite & proper. The food was amazing and their wine selection was great. What better way to spend an afternoon wining & dining overlooking the ocean. Pricing was reasonable. Brunch was $ 65, which includes bottomless champagne, coffee or orange juice as well as choice of starter, entrée & dessert. Their food portion was perfect. Not too much and not too little. Definitely coming back.

Great restaurant one of the best in the Southbay with breathtaking view. Chef Bernard has out Down himself by using fresh ingredients from his garden and by creating a incredible menu. It is hard to have a favorite dish when everything tastes so great. Last night we had the beef Wellington which melt ‘s in your mouth and also the seafood stew with mole sauce which was incredible and it was a green mole sauce. This is a must go to restaurant if you’re ever visiting Los Angeles area I highly recommend it.

We love to visit Terranea and usually eat at the more casual Nelson’s yesterday. But I made reservations for my father’s birthday at Mar’sel, expecting a nice brunch with my parents, my husband and kids, and my brother, his girlfriend and her parents. The servers were nice and accommodating to our rather large party and our repeated requests to adjust the outdoor umbrellas but the food was subpar at best. This is the only reason I gave 2 stars instead of 1.
My parents are vegetarians and both ordered the omelette with no ham. My dad got an egg-​white omelette but my mom went with the whole eggs. After a few bites, she realized it had ham in it and had to get the server to come and take the food away and try again. At this point, the rest of the group all had our food and only my poor mom was not eating. Another person in our group also asked for the ham to be removed and his omelette came with ham too — but he’s not a strict vegetarian so he picked around it. My mom’s second omelette also came out with ham — at that point it became clear that the omelette is pre-​made and they were trying to scoop a pre-​made batter of egg yolk while working around the ham. I must say for an almost $ 20 omelette that is a pretty cheap and unacceptable way to make it vegetarian. Couldn’t they have cracked open a few new eggs? At that point my mom had already shared some food with everyone else so she didn’t even want the omelette. It kinda put a damper on the meal.
The server did remove both omelettes from the bill, but my mom had to haggle with him to take off some more items to compensate for the bad taste that was left behind (pun intended!). In my experience, when these mistakes happen — especially given that it happened twice here (three times if you include the other person who also had ham in his omelette when asking for it without) — they usually comp more than just the mistaken item or offer free dessert. I expected more from such a nice restaurant.
On top of all this, another person in our group got food poisoning from the fish sandwich! She was the only one who had the fish and the only one who got sick.
We will definitely not be going back to Mar’Sel, which is too bad since the location is beautiful and it has the potential to be a great restaurant.

Thought we would give this place second try and it was terrible. The halibut was fishy and didn’t have any exciting crust. It was not as fresh as it should be. We ordered steak medium well for the kids and it came out black. The replacement was also black, but not brown all the way through. Turn down the heat and you won’t scorch the poor steak. Potatoes were boring and some not even cooked through. If they stuck with classic steakhouse fries, they would make people happy. Other veggie side items were nothing spectacular. Next time packing a cooler and making fresh deli sandwiches. Two stars are only for good service. Lastly, when we called to make reservations, they acted like they were fully committed and lucky to even get any time to dine there. When we went, the restaurant was all of 25% occupied. The rest empty.

We had a great experience celebrating our anniversary here; breathtaking view, good food, VIP service which included champagne or dessert on them for our celebration — even after I said I was stuffed, they wouldn’t take no for an answer!
Got my foie gras fix on, foie gras on a rock, that is! Neat presentation. Everything was good. The Japanese eggplant dish was especially tasty and I’m not even a huge eggplant fan. The few bites I took of his rib eye were just ok, a lot of fat. Maybe bc he ordered it rare, I prefer it medium rare.
Of course the view was perfect! Aloys, the general manager, made sure we had the table with the best view! Kristina, our server and the entire staff were awesome — Special thanks for making our evening so perfect!
I seldom go out of OC for more reasons than one but PV will always have a special place in my heart! And this restaurant/​resort is worth the drive! Not hating on OC but I’ll take this experience over establishments with a view in Laguna Beach, like Studio restaurant. Just bc LB is often crowded and congested, I prefer serene and private. Plus, the drive along the quiet ocean here is awesome!

Not sure why some of the reviews here are so negative because my trip here was quite pleasant!
Came for brunch with a party of 9 to celebrate my grandma’s birthday and the service was great. From the moment I called to make a reservation, the staff was accommodating and friendly. Our waiter was attentive and all of our waters & coffee were constantly refilled! The weather was overcast but the view was still stunning. This is a great place to bring family on special occasions!
We ordered several items off of the menu:
— Pastry Basket: nice variety of pastries. My favorite was the jalapeño-​cheddar biscuit and my least favorite was the cinnamon bun– it seemed kind of undercooked and not that yummy in general.
— Shrimp Benedict: an interesting twist on traditional Benedict that was ordered by several people in my family. Everyone seemed to enjoy it!
— Crispy jidori chicken & waffles: my cousin ordered this and he said the chicken was really delicious! Though I didn’t taste the dish myself, I’d take his word for it.
— Breakfast plate: a nice variety of breakfast foods: eggs cooked your way, bacon, chicken sausage, home fries… nothing out of this world, just OK.
— Steak Frites: probably the best (and most expensive) dish ordered at the table. The steak was well cooked (medium rare) and the fries & garlic aioli were really good! A+
We got a complimentary dessert (caramel pudding) to celebrate the birthday which was a nice touch. It was pretty decent considering I’d never tried a dessert like that before.
FYI they charge $ 5/​person cutting fee if you bring your own cake, which is kind of annoying especially because their dessert menu has only 3 choices. Oh well! We cut our own cake back at home.
Overall good experience here!

Took some guests out at this spot. Mar’sel has the feel and look of a high end restaurant. The only thing that was great was probably the view of the ocean.
I don’t know if it was just me but the service here was sooo slow. It was about a 3 hour meal.
The food was not as good as I had expected it to be. It’s hard to justify paying that type of money for food that tasted like something I could have cooked myself. We all ordered different dinner entrées on the menu and none of them looked that good.
I can’t say this was my worst experience but I would not be so quick to recommend this place.

If I could give them 10 starts I would.
I had the pleasure of celebrating my birthday aka honeymoon (lol inside joke) dinner here with the most amazing company and staff.
Pulled up to the valet and they drove us over the restaurant in a golf cart…
Once we arrived to the restaurant the host was quick to seat us. Beautiful restaurant inside (almost sat inside but the host said the outside was heated and we wanted a lil privacy to speak freely)
Our waitress was one, if not the MOST AMAZING waitress I’ve ever had! She was so sweet, well informed, spoken, and checked up on us at the perfect time every time. I’m not just saying I liked her because we have the same unexplainable obsession with Malbec (we became friends immediately lol) but she was truly a pleasure.
Definitely left her over 20% tip. Well deserved.
All her recommendations were perfect.
Started off with house bread and our bottle of Catena Zapata Argentina — Malbec
Crab cake balls, we each tried one of each oyster offered (total 6, of which were all amazing)
Then we had the citrus Brussels sprouts which were so good! Along with the eggplant skillet which was so delicious! And the halibut. Everything was so delicious.
Then our awesome waitress brought out the salted caramel pudding with cookies on the side and a happy birthday note written in chocolate.
The pudding WAS TO DIE FOR. Lol
Best birthday dinner ever.
Romantic, delicious, beautiful, friendly and last but not least memorable.
Best experience ever.
Thank you.

Located in the beautiful Terranea resort, Mar’sel is a very welcome addition to the South Bay/​Palos Verdes restaurant scene. Mar’sel has a great view of the ocean. Go on a warm evening specially in Summer time. They have outside seating with heaters and some glass for windbreaks.
Mostly locally sourced ingredients used in dishes served in a setting showcasing views of the Pacific and the cliffs of Palos Verdes. Herbs and some vegetables come from the garden outside the restaurant. The iPad-​based wine list was fairly extensive — even a Palos Verdes (Rolling Hills)-sourced chardonnay :-)
We arrived at 8:30 pm on a Saturday night party of 5 and we did have reservation and we originally requested outdoor seating but it was cold and we asked to be moved inside and our request was granted right away and we were seated inside next to fireplace :-)
Our waitress balanced being professional with being personable and down to earth. Her knowledge of the menu and not being reluctant to let us in on her favorites helped us pick the perfect dinners. We never felt rushed rather we felt encouraged to take our time and enjoy the experience.
Menu is seasonal and changes often and everything we ordered was OUTSTANDING as far as taste, quality and presentation goes.
Great wine, great food, great view, great company. A perfect night!

Came back for dinner with a friend last night. Had heard at the hotel that a new chef had taken over, so I was excited to go back and the concierge at the hotel made me reservations for that evening.
We took a golf cart over from the resort (hey don’t judge, it was drizzling & we had heels). Upon entry, we were immediately greeted and taken to a very intimate table. However, when seated, I was surprised at how loud it was inside the restaurant (last time I was here, I ate outside with a private group). There were a couple of tables of larger groups, which I think contributed to it being louder that usual.
We were immediately greeted by a friendly waiter and upon waiter’s recommendation we started with Ingénue cocktails. It was excellent. Ketel One Citron, Fresh Harrys strawberries, agave & prosecco.
I started with a half dozen Shigoku oysters (served with lambrusco migonette, ponzu, & fresh horseradish). Excellent. My friend ordered the Caladonia blue prawns (cooked a la plancha, taro leaf & crispy rice). Excellent.
When I asked the waiter the influences of the new chef, he told me he has some Filipino influence. (Given that I’m half Filipino, I was so excited.) I could not believe there was Spicy Longganis on the menu. Awesome. I didn’t order it, but excited to see.
For my main entrée, I ordered the Spanish turbot (pommes mousseline, braised salsify, truffle sabayon). Excellent. I had a glass of the Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars «Karia» 2012 Chardonnay (great wine selection by the glass).
We couldn’t get dessert, because we were too full. But overall, excellent service and the food was fantastic.
So why downgrade to 4 stars? I have to admit, my husband was there the night before for a business dinner and he complained that his steak was terrible and the service was inconsistent. He was very disappointed so that influenced me. Plus, I think my last dinner there was unique and probably not indicative of a typical experience. So 4 is probably more appropriate.

Had a fantastic dinner here on Friday night. The setting is incredible, we sat outside and had a view over looking the Pacific ocean. The service from Sophia was also excellent. She was very attentive and offered great recommendations.
We started with the smoked octopus and the black bass with black truffle sauce. The bass was actually an entrée but we shared it with the table (4 of us). It was cooked to perfection and the sauce was to die for. For our entrée we chose the red snapper cooked with a salt crust and served with coconut jasmine rice. Between the snapper and bass it was two of the best fish dishes I can remember having in a long time.
Excellent food and service and a million dollar view.

Mar’sel you disappointed me on this last visit. We’ve been to Mar’sel a couple times now and it’s been wonderful. This time, Mar’sel fell short. We were seated promptly and greeted by our server right away. We were dazzled by the iPad they left at our table to use as a drink menu, it seemed like the evening was off to a good start!
It took about 20 minutes for our server to come back and take our drink order, and while she was very friendly and helpful when she was actually at our table, her visits were few and far between and our requests seemed to take forever to fulfill. The english muffins were delicious as usual, I could make a meal of them!
All of our starters were good. We enjoyed the Grilled Spanish Octopus as well as the tomato composition (salad) however our entrees really fell short of what we have come to expect from Mar’sel. My husband and I both had the pork chop and our friend had the Halibut. My pork chop was supposed to be cooked medium, as per their suggestion and my husband had requested his cooked medium rare. When they arrived they were both well done. My husband ended up sending his pork back, I should have as well. It was SO dry I didn’t enjoy it at all. When they brought out his replacement pork chop it still wasn’t medium rare, but at least it wasn’t cooked to death. The server informed us that cooking pork is «tricky». Um. Ok. They halibut was also super dry, none of us were happy with our main courses.
Our dessert was very good as well but the main course just fell so short that we left feeling disappointed. Our waitress did say they have a brand new chef and a brand new menu so perhaps they are just ironing things out but that doesn’t really explain our less than stellar service.