Friendly staff + unique ambiance + great food/drink = winning combo. Will definitely add Café Mars to my dining rotation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jessica Giordano
Fun ambience, kind staff, interesting food. Def coming back and recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tony
Cafe Mars is truly out of this world! The food is delicious, exciting, and fun — the Waves pasta dish is our favorite in the city. They have excellent wine and amaro/grappa lists and are eager to find ways to introduce you to new tastes. The ambience is one of bright, upbeat, whimsy, with a number of surprises that I won't spoil here. But the star of Cafe Mars is the staff. Everyone you encounter from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave makes you feel like a beloved guest at their wonderfully wubulous dinner party. They are all warm and welcoming with just the right amount of weird, and they've mastered the art of authentic hospitality. Can't wait for our next visit!
Rima Bakhru
I love Cafe Mars!! Funky and refreshing neon/nordic aesthetic that is a huge contrast to most Italian places. The food is also stand out and unique! My favorites this time around were the jell-olives (which are as tasty as they are IG worthy) the anchovies (wish the portion was larger - I would pay more and have them as a before rather than a snack, so flavorful!!!) the buccatini with mussels and the parm pork ribs. I've had the calabrian shrimp pasta in the past and can also highly recommend! The ribs are huge so if you go for them, you likely only need 1 pasta and a snack or two for 2 people. We didn't have room for dessert!I didn't personally love highly recommended parm striped sea bass crudo as much as I wanted to, felt a bit bland after those anchovies, but that might be a personal preference bc I'm a spice queen.I was talking about how one of the paintings seemed similar to the art at Leroy's Place and turns out the owner is married to the artist/owner of Leroy's Place (a fun art/gift shop in south slope) which makes so much sense in terms of the aesthetic. He even came by and chatted with us for a bit and told us how much be loves his wife, lol. I also happen to know that he sourced his plants from another local business - Brooklyn Horticulture! Love local supporting local.My onlyyyy minor gripe is that they close the kitchen relatively early (9:10 on a Saturday) and we had to order everything at once - ended up way over-ordering. I get it though, and respect the choice to allow staff to get home at a decent hour. The vibe is so fun though I wish it was open later - has potential to be a cool neighborhood cocktail bar, esp if snacks/dessert were served late!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Fredo
What a gem! Very stylish, fun interior (what attracted our attention in the first place). Beyond that, the service was impeccable: friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. They brought a little taste of aperitif before (a sparkling wine or a N/A homebrew kombucha). The food is stellar, plated beautifully with a real sense of playful silliness. Every plate was terrific and very creative. This is to say nothing of the cocktails. Off-the-wall cocktails like the Blue Meanie next to modern classics like a Red Hook. Everything's worth a taste. We didn't dig deep into the wine list, but that's nothing to sneeze at either. Before the end of the meal we were already talking about who we wanted to bring when we came back. New favorite spot in Gowanus for sure. Will be back ASAP.
Great spot for a date night or more intimate party, as tables are booths that seat four. Service was top notch. Waiter was very knowledgeable of both food and drink menu. Loved the ambiance, unique and vibrant design. Highly recommend the monkey bread and lemon pasta.
Dominic
We've been twice now and have consistently had great service, and delicious food. We really enjoy the ritual of picking out glasses at the start of the meal as well. Nice touches and fun, vibrant dining room.
DanielK
We will be back! Want to try more on the menu. But - It's a hit or miss sort of place: Hits: -Service and ambiance are great! Truly outstanding. -The pasta dishes are excellent. Unique pasta shapes. Great flavors -Monkey bread is so good. Misses: -I was so disappointed by the squash main dish. There are 3 mains on the menu. You'd expect all 3 to be excellent. Unfortunately, the squash dish is really not good. The rice was way too salty. The squash was missing flavor. The portion size is embarrassing (!!!) for $28. -The olive marble cake is super interesting...but dry :( We will be back. But wanted to owners to know about the big misses - especially the squash dish.
Marisa Bippus
Some dishes were great - others not so much. Did not like the jello olives at all. They were much sweeter than I thought it was going to be. The spaghetti salad as the side to the rib parm was also odd.The shrimp pasta and the tilefish were the stars of the night.
Reza
Amazing dishes, great service, such a unique place.
Cafe Mars is a great spot for a date or catching up with friends. The staff was very friendly and willing to answer any questions about the menu. It's a very fun vibe and the food was excellent!
Cee24
This pace has some good food options. I was much more excited the first time I was there. The second time I felt it was too kitschy, menu boring and some of the food really not good. Also too expensive for what they offer. I wouldn't recommend.
Got seated 20 mins after reservation. Food portions small. Food tasted great though just not enough for 4 to share. The server could have guided better. The interior is fun. Ambience great. We were encouraged to order cocktail as waiting for table, was intimated would be in the house. But wasn't. Mixed feelings as fun local spot with tasty food but marred a bit by experience.
Simon L.
Come to this place. Full stop. The food is great but honestly it seems like that is table stakes nowadays. What sets Cafe Mars apart in my opinion is the incredibly high standard the team has set in terms of customer experience and delight. The consistent attention to detail, from the food itself to the way staff engaged us end to end, is insanely impressive. Hats off to them if they can replicate and scale that out but I would absolutely follow this culinary team around. FWIW - am not from NY and happened to stop in.
AaronL
So fun and so delicious - top to bottom. A great date or celebration spot, but it's tiny and really loud so be ready for high energy. The team should dim the lights a tad! Can't wait to go back. ?
Friendly staff + unique ambiance + great food/drink = winning combo. Will definitely add Café Mars to my dining rotation.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Fun ambience, kind staff, interesting food. Def coming back and recommend!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cafe Mars is truly out of this world! The food is delicious, exciting, and fun — the Waves pasta dish is our favorite in the city. They have excellent wine and amaro/grappa lists and are eager to find ways to introduce you to new tastes. The ambience is one of bright, upbeat, whimsy, with a number of surprises that I won't spoil here. But the star of Cafe Mars is the staff. Everyone you encounter from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave makes you feel like a beloved guest at their wonderfully wubulous dinner party. They are all warm and welcoming with just the right amount of weird, and they've mastered the art of authentic hospitality. Can't wait for our next visit!
I love Cafe Mars!! Funky and refreshing neon/nordic aesthetic that is a huge contrast to most Italian places. The food is also stand out and unique! My favorites this time around were the jell-olives (which are as tasty as they are IG worthy) the anchovies (wish the portion was larger - I would pay more and have them as a before rather than a snack, so flavorful!!!) the buccatini with mussels and the parm pork ribs. I've had the calabrian shrimp pasta in the past and can also highly recommend! The ribs are huge so if you go for them, you likely only need 1 pasta and a snack or two for 2 people. We didn't have room for dessert!I didn't personally love highly recommended parm striped sea bass crudo as much as I wanted to, felt a bit bland after those anchovies, but that might be a personal preference bc I'm a spice queen.I was talking about how one of the paintings seemed similar to the art at Leroy's Place and turns out the owner is married to the artist/owner of Leroy's Place (a fun art/gift shop in south slope) which makes so much sense in terms of the aesthetic. He even came by and chatted with us for a bit and told us how much be loves his wife, lol. I also happen to know that he sourced his plants from another local business - Brooklyn Horticulture! Love local supporting local.My onlyyyy minor gripe is that they close the kitchen relatively early (9:10 on a Saturday) and we had to order everything at once - ended up way over-ordering. I get it though, and respect the choice to allow staff to get home at a decent hour. The vibe is so fun though I wish it was open later - has potential to be a cool neighborhood cocktail bar, esp if snacks/dessert were served late!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
What a gem! Very stylish, fun interior (what attracted our attention in the first place). Beyond that, the service was impeccable: friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. They brought a little taste of aperitif before (a sparkling wine or a N/A homebrew kombucha). The food is stellar, plated beautifully with a real sense of playful silliness. Every plate was terrific and very creative. This is to say nothing of the cocktails. Off-the-wall cocktails like the Blue Meanie next to modern classics like a Red Hook. Everything's worth a taste. We didn't dig deep into the wine list, but that's nothing to sneeze at either. Before the end of the meal we were already talking about who we wanted to bring when we came back. New favorite spot in Gowanus for sure. Will be back ASAP.
Great spot for a date night or more intimate party, as tables are booths that seat four. Service was top notch. Waiter was very knowledgeable of both food and drink menu. Loved the ambiance, unique and vibrant design. Highly recommend the monkey bread and lemon pasta.
We've been twice now and have consistently had great service, and delicious food. We really enjoy the ritual of picking out glasses at the start of the meal as well. Nice touches and fun, vibrant dining room.
We will be back! Want to try more on the menu. But - It's a hit or miss sort of place: Hits: -Service and ambiance are great! Truly outstanding. -The pasta dishes are excellent. Unique pasta shapes. Great flavors -Monkey bread is so good. Misses: -I was so disappointed by the squash main dish. There are 3 mains on the menu. You'd expect all 3 to be excellent. Unfortunately, the squash dish is really not good. The rice was way too salty. The squash was missing flavor. The portion size is embarrassing (!!!) for $28. -The olive marble cake is super interesting...but dry :( We will be back. But wanted to owners to know about the big misses - especially the squash dish.
Some dishes were great - others not so much. Did not like the jello olives at all. They were much sweeter than I thought it was going to be. The spaghetti salad as the side to the rib parm was also odd.The shrimp pasta and the tilefish were the stars of the night.
Amazing dishes, great service, such a unique place.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Cafe Mars is a great spot for a date or catching up with friends. The staff was very friendly and willing to answer any questions about the menu. It's a very fun vibe and the food was excellent!
This pace has some good food options. I was much more excited the first time I was there. The second time I felt it was too kitschy, menu boring and some of the food really not good. Also too expensive for what they offer. I wouldn't recommend.
Got seated 20 mins after reservation. Food portions small. Food tasted great though just not enough for 4 to share. The server could have guided better. The interior is fun. Ambience great. We were encouraged to order cocktail as waiting for table, was intimated would be in the house. But wasn't. Mixed feelings as fun local spot with tasty food but marred a bit by experience.
Come to this place. Full stop. The food is great but honestly it seems like that is table stakes nowadays. What sets Cafe Mars apart in my opinion is the incredibly high standard the team has set in terms of customer experience and delight. The consistent attention to detail, from the food itself to the way staff engaged us end to end, is insanely impressive. Hats off to them if they can replicate and scale that out but I would absolutely follow this culinary team around. FWIW - am not from NY and happened to stop in.
So fun and so delicious - top to bottom. A great date or celebration spot, but it's tiny and really loud so be ready for high energy. The team should dim the lights a tad! Can't wait to go back. ?