Marketplace Grill

Marketplace Grill has a comfortable, rustic atmosphere, great food and fast service.

On a recent office lunch excursion, my co-workers were unanimous. Thumbs were up for Marketplace Grill.

It had been a while since some of us had been to Marketplace Grill. We were impressed by the decor. Thoughtful touches like slow-moving fans in the skylight added a down-home ambiance and provided visual entertainment.

For an appetizer, we had Cancun shrimp ($7). The starter consisted of about 10 tasty, Gulf shrimp in a spicy cocktail sauce. We also sampled the gumbo ($3.50), which was the soup of the day. The gumbo was good, but it seemed a little more like vegetable soup with blackened chicken to us. We suggest adding okra to this soup to give it more of a Cajun flare.

For entrees, two of the diners at our table had the Greek salad ($7) and were elated. Each one said they would give the salad a perfect rating of five stars out of a possible five.

“It’s the best salad I’ve ever eaten,” our resident salad connoisseur said. “The lettuce was really crisp.”

The Greek salad consists of fresh greens, crispy chicken, cheese and homemade croutons. A vinaigrette dressing topped it off appropriately.

The grilled chicken Caesar salad ($6.79) received a high rating from another person in our party.

The pizza lovers were no less impressed.

Two diners at our table had the chicken Florentine pizza ($8), one of Marketplace Grill’s speciality dishes, and both ranked it very high. The pizza contains chicken, Parmesan spinach and two types of cheeses, mozzarella and fontina. Neither person could finish his pizza. They were so large the thin crust almost draped over the edges of the plates.

Other diners at our table had the barbecue chicken pizza ($8) and the croissant club ($.79). Both were deemed very good.

The co-worker who had the sandwich was more impressed with the burgundy mushrooms ($1.79) she got as a side dish, though.

The next time we’re in Springdale, we’ll make a point to eat at Marketplace Grill.