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    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar

    4.5 (129 reviews)
    Closed 4:00 pm - 9:00 PM
    Updated 3 months ago

    Order Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar Takeout or Delivery

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    Business Info

    MARINAS BISTRO & RUM BAR ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Happy hour specials

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    Recommended Reviews - Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar

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    Reviews With Photos

    Empanada and avocado salad
    Brianna R.

    Came for restaurant week. I had the jibarito which was rich in flavor. I liked the avocado salad but the empanada was on the dry side. Cute atmosphere. Great service. Server was friendly and the chef came out to check in and introduce himself.

    Bianca L.

    We Came Here To Celebrate My Dads Birthday And There Are So Many Great Things About This Place! First Off, The Staff Is Super Friendly, Personable, And Incredibly Accommodating. The Vibe Is Fun, Welcoming, And Makes This Small, Quaint Spot Feel Special. Now For The Good Stuff, The Cocktails? Absolute Fire. The Food? Chef's Kiss! Every Single Dish We Ordered Was Amazing, Full Of Flavor And Clearly Made With Love. If You're Looking For Authentic Puerto Rican Food Paired With A Great Atmosphere, I Highly Recommend Marina's Bistro. This Spot Is A Gem!

    Pollo Al Ajillo (Garlic Chicken)
    Madonna B.

    Food quality is so much better dining in than delivery. The garlic chicken is saltier than its supposed garlic flavor. The bistec was dry and tasteless through delivery - but when I've had it at the restaurant, it was perfect!

    Inside
    Munsanje M.

    If you're looking for authentic Puerto Rican food, this place will definitely do the job! The pastellios made us want to go back to PR, immediately! It's a small spot, with a nice bar and few seats and the servers and owner were SO nice! Our favorites were the empanadas and bisteca (fried pork chop). Highly recommend if you're in the area!

    Budin de pan
    Sabrina R.

    Wow, this place is AMAZING. I am saddened that I only am now discovering this amazing Chef and restaurant. From the moment we walked in, we were greeted and sat with a smile, and our waiter was attentive and kind the small space made it feel like you were eating in a family friends home and you could taste the care and love and passion in the meals my group and I participated in the Chicago restaurant week menu and while this was a bang for your buck, kind of deal. We left full and delighted. Starting with the first course the ensalada was fresh. The avocados were Perfect, and it was such a great beginning, pallet, cleanser. Course. The croqueta was like, biting into a memory of my past. It was soft with a flaky outside crust and it had a gooey middle. It was also huge!! For me. The star of the show was the pork chop. I have never had a pork chop that was juicy Perfectly fried and left me thinking about when I could come back to order it! Pork is not my usual. Go to protein of choice, but don't skip out on this dish. Lastly, that bread pudding was something to write home to my abuelita about again. All these dishes just tasted with immense passion and love. I would scream from the rooftops that you need to try this place 10 out of 10 experience.

    Menu
    Briana L.

    Marina's brings Puerto Rico to Chicago! Super attentive service. Definitely make a reservation on a Friday night because it will get packed! -Bartenders make fresh & tropical drinks, including great non-alc selections - Homemade plantain chips with a sweet cream dip - Def order the sweet plantains (we may have gotten 2 orders) - Croquette trio sampler are huge with different sauces - Lechon Asado is super tender & loved their twist on mofongo!

    Booth area
    Mark O.

    So glad we found this spot in wandering around Uptown. We stopped for a Saturday lunch around 12:30 and it wasn't crowded, but was nearly full before we left. The atmosphere in a small strip center space was intimate, clean, with nice lighting and decor. We opted for sandwiches - both (the tripleta and the bistec) were delicious, meaty and flavorful. The malanga chips served when we were seated were a pleasant surprise (guava based dip was a tad sweet for me). We tried the el chillin mocktail (not too sweet) and the Medalla light beer - both cool and refreshing. Service was perfect and friendly. We will definitely put Marina's on the return visit list!

    Clarissa H.

    I'm so happy I finally got to check out Marina's! It's tucked in a little plaza off Wilson, so it's very easy to get to from the red line or the 36 bus. The restaurant did such an amazing job transforming the space. It truly feels like you've entered a beautiful little outdoor patio. We got lucky getting a table without a reservation. They were very nice to squeeze us in! The space is pretty small so you should make a reservation in advance. I love Puerto Rican food and was so happy to see how many veggie options they had on the menu! I got the passion fruit juice to start and it was so fresh it had some seeds at the bottom too! They have a full bar and a nice mocktail list as well. For food, we decided to split things so we could try different options. We ordered the queso frito con tamarindo, berenjena frita, and the jibarito impossible. The queso frito was SO good. I am obsessed with tamarind and I loved the addition of the rosemary as well. The berenjena was good but I wish it had a bit more of a kick to it. The sauce and parsley it came with was good, but I think I wanted just a little more flavor from this one. The jibarito was very good! Since being vegetarian, I have not been able to find one without meat. I was SO happy to see this on the menu! I was hoping to try dessert but honestly this was incredibly filling and I couldn't even finish all the food. I will have to come back!

    Drink menu
    Mary M.

    I cannot rate Marina's highly enough! Don't question it, just go!! The food was delicious, freshly prepared, and authentic to my meals in PR. The arroz con gandules is TOP TIER. The chef himself checked in on us twice. He even gave us a loaf of pan sabor to go after I complimented how delicious it was! It's shipped (frozen) directly from Puerto Rico to Marina's!! I will be back!! And I'm bringing my Puerto Rican father in law!

    Sonia R.

    Anna was our server, she was very friendly and helpful. Small place but very delicious! All the food quality was great and served hot. The drink was delicious great bar tender! Good options of non alcoholic beverages. Large portions and great music playing as well. Recommend doing reservations for the weekends. We got lucky with no reservations. Definitely going back! The owner also came to the table asking, how the food was as he also went around all the tables as well! Great place

    Guava Butter
    Pan J.

    I LOVE THIS PLACE. Highly recommend making a reservation because they get booked up. Staff is very kind and helpful. The vibe is relaxing but fun. Food is amazingggg. I think about the mashed taro in my sleep. The meat is soooo tender and I've never been a plantains girl but there's are perfect, especially with the guava butter. Everything I've tried has been amazing.

    Croquetas
    Nicole R.

    We were lucky to snag a spot here before a show at the Riviera. There was a sign at the door that they were booked for the evening, so reservations are highly recommended. The appetizers were great, including the complimentary taro chips with guava butter. The restaurant itself reminded me of a place in Viejo San Juan. If you want excellent food & cocktails while being transported to Puerto Rico, check this place out!

    Complimentary plantain chips and guava butter (delicious)

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    8 months ago

    The food was extremely flavorful and fresh. This is a very small restaurant that is beautifully decorated. The service was great.

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    2 years ago

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    4 months ago

    I wanted to love it but I thought it was just fine. Good atmosphere but kinda pricey for what you get.

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    7 months ago

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    3 years ago

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    1 year ago

    The food, cocktails and attention was excellent. The food mofongo / lechón amazing! The server was attentive and so cordial

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    Page 1 of 4

    Ask the Community - Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar

    I love Bistec encebollado ! . Is the picture I've seen on here( Sonia C) closer to simmered or more like the other restaurants that pan fry it? I want to go try it but if it's pan fried I'll skip ordering it. Thank you in advance🤗

    It is stewed as seen as the pic . We make it differently than the other restaurants

    Are reservations accepted?

    Yes they do reservations

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    On our first night in Boystown, Jamie W and I were pretty overwhelmed by the crowds at Sidetrack…read moreand Roscoe's, so we ended up coming here to make Jamie's virginal gay bar debut. It was the right move because it had the kind of chill vibe we were seeking after a long flight from SFO. Fortunately there were two seats at the bar with our names on them. Figuratively speaking. They had quite a signature cocktail list on hand, and we felt it was our obligation to try as many as we could. At least that was what we said to ourselves as the evening wore on. Each cocktail was $14. We started with a couple of familiar libations. Jamie ordered the Mint Julep, a delightfully Deep South mix of bourbon, simple syrup, and fresh mint (photo: https://yelp.to/u-td8LdPLj). I went further south with the Pineapple Margarita which was emboldened by a tropically potent mix of pineapple infused tequila, lime juice, and agave (photo: https://yelp.to/V-Sf6Q_2qK). We got a bit bolder with our second round and found mixed results. Jamie had the Not Your Mom's Daiquiri which amped up the margarita by blending pineapple-infused tequila with Bacardi 8-year rum. Along with fresh lime and simple syrup, this one definitely had more of a kick (photo: https://yelp.to/1ZijDf6wMV). However, my order, the Pontiac Pony, was a spicy miss for me. It was a rather oddball mix of apple-cinnamon infused vodka, pear liqueur, fresh squeezed lemon juice, and ginger beer (photo: https://yelp.to/5dQoFdzG98). There was just a harshness that didn't sit well on my tongue. Oh well, the mellow vibe was cool. COCKTAILS - 4 stars...three out of four cocktails were aces, just one clinker AMBIANCE - 4 stars...very chill, fairly quiet for Boystown SERVICE - 4 stars...cool bartenders TOTAL - 4 stars...check it out when you take a break from your Boystown cruising RELATED - Exploring Chicago? Here's my collection of places I've visited and reviewed: https://bit.ly/44c4CZO

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    9 TO "7"5, "NEVER" MULE, Poison apple shot
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    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar - puertorican - Updated July 2026

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