Maree Sky Lounge

A beautiful Netanya rooftop lounge, more party spot than chef restaurant

We came to Maree Sky Lounge on a motzei Shabbat, right after Shabbat went out, with a reservation. The setting is genuinely beautiful. It sits on the fifteenth floor of the Lagoon VERT Hotel in Netanya, the view over the sea is stunning, and the room is dramatic, all deep reds and moody lighting, with a DJ and live music setting the tone. If you are looking for atmosphere, this place has plenty of it. The evening did not start well. We were seated at a table that was clearly still dirty, and when we asked to move we had to argue about whether it was even dirty before they finally moved us. After that we waited around forty five minutes before anyone came to take our order. Our waitress was lovely and did her best, but she was very obviously running the whole floor on her own, and there were simply too many tables for one person. Let me be upfront about the prices, because they matter here. Everything is very expensive for what it is. A basic beef burger was around 150 shekels, which is two to three times what a comparable burger costs elsewhere. The steaks are priced by weight, a little over 100 shekels per 100 grams, so a 300 gram cut comes to more than 300 shekels, well above what felt fair for what actually arrived. Keep that in mind as you read the rest. Our starter was a brioche with goose liver. The foie gras itself was excellent, a generous 100 gram piece, rich and tasty. The problem was the brioche, which arrived completely soggy under a sweet sauce that was not balanced and was far too sweet. I understand what they were going for, a French style foie gras sauce, but it missed. The burger was actually good, cooked exactly as we asked. It arrives deconstructed on a wooden board with the vegetables on the side, so you build it yourself. At half or a third of the price I would happily call it a good burger and good value. At the price charged, it is two simple things for a lot of money. The steak was the bigger disappointment. I have a problem with restaurants that serve a very thin steak, because a thin cut is harder to cook well than a proper thick one. This was meant to be 300 grams, and honestly it did not stand out at all. So what is Maree Sky Lounge really? My conclusion is that it is first and foremost a party spot, not a chef restaurant. The ambience is great, the view is beautiful, and the team clearly pour their energy into the DJs and the live music. I would describe it as a high end nightclub that also serves food, which actually makes sense of both the prices and the style of service. Go in expecting a glamorous night out with a view and you will probably have a good time. Go in expecting serious cooking for what you are paying, and you may leave a little disappointed, as we did. For the record, the food is kosher under the Netanya Rabbinate. Maree Sky Lounge is sometimes also written as Marie.