Help with BYO choice...

[RO94]

Help.  I am trying to plan a birthday dinner for my wife.  I would like to take a small group of her friends out for dinner.  I've narrowed my restaurants to the following BYOB's.  Would you recommend any others??  What do you think of the ones I have listed?  I know Scalini has a prix fix for about ็.  I would love to stay under 1K.  I'm think 10-12 people??

IL MONDO VECCHIO

72 Main Street

Madison, NJ

(973-301-0024).

AQUILA CUCINA

30 South Street

New Providence, NJ

(908-464-8383)

TWENTYEIGHT

28 Church Street

Montclair, NJ

(973-744-9263)

SCALINI FEDELI

63 Main Street

Chatham, New Jersey

Any help would be appreciated.

[Jason Perlow]

Il Mondo Vecchio and Scalini Fideli are both very nice restaurants. Also Garlic Rose Cafe in Madison if you guys like garlic-themed dishes.

Trattoria Toscana in East Hanover is also very nice, its a small cozy romantic place.

Cinque Figlie in Whippany is also considered to be one of the best italian restaurants in the area. Actually I'd place it over both scalini fideli and il mondo vecchio but thats just my personal taste.

Rosie is also a big fan of Blue Sky Cafe in Montclair, I've been there as well, its got some very interesting new american/fusion dishes and phenomenal desserts. They have a special room upstairs with a table that can take about a dozen people and they are also byob.

[Rosie]

Il Mondo Vecchio can get very noisy and crowded. The food is great though. Scalini is a very special place and I wouldn't hesitate to go there. As Jason said, Cinque Figlie in Morris Plains is very good but they have a liquor license. Basilico in Millburn is very good. In Montclair check out Corso 98 and Blue Sky Cafe. Both BYO. Also in Peapack the Limestone Cafe is lovely.

[Rail Paul]

Twenty Eight in Montclair gets VERY loud. Great people watching, though.

Tre Piani in Madison (the former Three Central) is good, with several large tables. Not in the same league as Scalini or Il Mondo Vecchio, but less than half the price.

I like Liberte in Montclair. Nice, French country house atmosphere set adjacent to a garden waterfall (probably turned off, now). Not loud.

You might want to try out a few of these places (perhaps as a couple) and see how you feel about them.

[RO94]

Thanks so much for all the input.  I called around and finally went with:

Aquilla Cucina Italiana

It's in New Providence and they gave me a good price for a prix fix dinner.  12 people and I can drop off the wine and champagne early.  :-)

I will let everyone know how it goes..

Here is their site if anyone is interested...

http://www.aquilarestaurant.com/Aquila.htm

Thanks again.

[Rosie]

I have eaten there and the food was very good. Looking forward to your report.

[SIPiller]

Aquilla is a great choice.  The food is excellent as is the service.  They know how to treat groups and serve your wine.

I must take exception to the positive comments on Cinque Figlie.  I was there this past Saturday night.  Although the food is quite good, the service is horrible.  No one seems to know what they are doing.  Furthermore, the room is extremely noisy.

[Rachel Perlow]

re: Cinque Figlie: Interesting post. I hope that the success-has-prompted-them-to-get-a-bigger-location-but-now-is-ruining-the-restaurant phenomena is not at work. I hate it when that happens to our favorite places. I will admit that we haven't been there on a Saturday night since the move, but our experience in the past with them has been excellent service any night.

I hope that this was just an aberation, but we'll have to go back soon to check.