Marz Bar

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By JEFF KORBELIK / GZO

This goes without saying: Marz Bar is the coolest-looking nightclub in town.

Former owner Jerry Luth was an artist. Using colorful orbs from Omaha’s Peony Park and stained glass from a Grand Island hospital, he created a club that rivals those in metropolitan cities.

Under new owner Nader Sepahpur, Marz has taken the next step.

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The Moons of Pluto entree at the new Marz Bar includes fried cheese and saffron risotto balls with spicy marinara sauce. (Heidi Hoffman)

Sepahpur is a longtime, respected Lincoln restaurateur. He runs Yia Yia’s and Oso Burrito (two locations) and used to own and operate The Grotto.

With Marz, Sepahpur has enhanced what Luth built and improved the food and bar service.

Marz is still a bar with food, but it’s very, very good food. Sepahpur and cook Jason Ables, the former owner of Baciami and Eighth Street Ironworks, have created a small, but serviceable, menu featuring favorites from Grotto and Baciami.

 Under Luth, Marz had decent food — a hidden treasure of sorts in downtown Lincoln. But the knock on the place was its service, with appetizers and/or entrees taking as long as an hour to come out of the kitchen.

And getting a drink was a whole different matter. Patrons often had to go the bar and stand in line to get their own. It was frustrating, to say the least.

Sepahpur bought Marz last year and re-opened it in October.

“To (Luth’s) credit, I didn’t change the name,” Sepahpur said. “I couldn’t claim what he had done as my own. I have improved it 500 percent. The place is a lot more friendlier, better lit and cleaner.”

Indeed it is. The service also has improved tenfold and food is as good as any of the top restaurants in town.

Sepahpur and Ables have spent the past few months fine-tuning the menu. Marz’s kitchen is small (an understatement), so the pair are limited to what they can do.

Their one-page menu features about 10 appetizers (Baciami was known for its tapas), ranging from $6 to $8 and five or six entrees, costing $15 to $20. The bar also features daily specials. Sepahpur and Ables hope to expand the menu once they get more comfortable with their kitchen.

On my visit, I enjoyed a grilled ribeye with blue cheese potatoes. My companion had the seafood pescatori, with shrimp and scallops in a tasty marinara sauce. Both entrees were delicious

Ables came out of the kitchen to check on us, and Sepahpur brought us some appetizers. I recommend trying the chicken wings with Marz’s special spicy/sweet sauce, the hummus and the fried cheese and saffron risotto balls with spicy marinara sauce.

Worth mentioning was the service — there was some, for a change. Our server was attentive and came back to the table often to check on us.

My only suggestion would be to add a small wine list. Marz features an assortment of house wines, but a choice among two or three pinot noirs or chardonnays would be nice. Maybe it will happen down the road as the bar gets more comfortable with its food service.

As of now, Sepahpur and Ables have turned Marz into something special. Little things from tinkering with the balcony setup (check out the lighted tables) to dividing the bar into two service stations have helped immensely.

Once the dinner hour is over, the bar becomes a comfortable hangout. Sepahpur often schedules live music — there’s a jazz trio scheduled for tonight — or a DJ on weekend evenings, beginning usually around 9 p.m.

Marz is still the coolest bar around. Now it has food and service comparable to its stellar atmosphere. Of course, I would expect nothing less from Sepahpur, who has a proven track record in Lincoln.

Reach Jeff Korbelik at 473-7213 or jkorbelik@journalstar.com.