Once upon a time, Maison Martinique was one of Vero’s top restaurants – a pricey place, to be sure, but certainly the island’s classiest dining spot, and arguably its best.
Now, after a few rough years, Maison Martinique is a good restaurant again. Management has brought in two veteran chefs, Chet Parrotti and Patrick Hughes, and they are turning out good dishes – some better than good.
But having said that, Maison Martinique is not what it used to be. Rarely does this South Beach restaurant come up any longer in discussions of Vero’s top places to dine. Asked to describe this restaurant today, the adjective that most frequently survives from a decade ago is pricey.
Last Wednesday, our party of two arrived for our reservation at 7:30, and were ushered into the slightly faded elegance of the Bamboo Room. A very attentive server, Rebecca, quickly took our order for a couple of glasses of wine.
I decided to start with Maison Martinique’s soup du jour ($9), on this evening a Mediterranean seafood chowder, and my husband opted for the pulpo salad ($16), sliced tender octopus tossed with red onions, grape tomatoes, and celery with olive oil and lemon served over arugula.
My tomato-based chowder was good. My husband’s salad, on the other hand, can only be termed strange. It was large enough to feed a family of four, but the tiny bits of sliced octopus were lost among an enormous quantity of chopped celery and assorted other chopped raw vegetables. The stiff price of this appetizer could only be explained by the quantity.
Then for entrées, we decided to go with two seafood specials. I ordered the fresh pompano piccata style (the menu said $36, but the bill said $38), and my husband chose the halibut ($38).
My pompano, sautéed with white wine lemon butter with capers, was served over a vegetable medley. My husband’s broiled halibut topped with lump crab was perfectly prepared, and came – at my husband’s request – with delicious fresh spears of asparagus. Both dishes were very nice.
Dinner for two, with two glasses of wine each, ran $160 before tax and tip.
There is no question that chefs Chet and Patrick know their way around a kitchen, and are capable of producing good dishes. You can have a good meal here.
But our bottom line would be that for Maison Martinique prices, Vero today offers a number of better dining options.
I welcome your comments, and encourage you to send feedback to me at tina@verobeach32963.com.
The reviewer is a beachside resident who dines anonymously at restaurants at the expense of this newspaper.