They sat us immediately and jokingly told us our server would be with us in "4-5 seconds". About 15 minutes later the manager finally came around and told us that the server asked her to take our drink order - there was no: hello, welcome to Mars, sorry you've been waiting. It was Friday night around 8:00pm or so and there were empty tables everywhere so they weren't overwhelmingly too busy to care for their guests. Eventually we get our drinks and when our waitress finally comes over to take our order , it's the same thing - no introduction, no how are you, no sorry to keep you waiting. When we started to ask her questions about the menu and the wine she responded to everything saying that it was "good". When the appetizer arrives it was dry, my soup was unbearably salty, and the beet salad actually tasted ok but the greens were wilted and it only had a few beets. Our entrees were no less lackluster: the ribs were smeared in a sticky sauce that tasted ok but the meat inside was dry and bland; the softshell crab was disgusting....watery, mushy and had flavor similar to a frozen product. (let me mention that I am from the Mid-Atlantic coast where I grew up eating softshell crab); the hearts of palm that came with the crab were raw and bland; and lamb tasted of nothing but salt, like they marinated it in beef broth. Whoever the head chef is should be ashamed of the food he/she is sending out to the guests. When we told the manager of our concerns about the food, she responded saying "let me get it out of your way so you don't have to deal with it anymore". They comped the food we sent back, but there was absolutely no apology or attempt to improve our experience in any way. My boyfriend and I both worked our way through college waiting tables in nice restaurants so we know what it takes to make a nice dining experience. It was obvious that the server, the chefs and the manangement at Mars simply have no pride in their product. I will never go back.
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