Best Places to eat in montclair

[ghostrider]

A Taste of Asia Part II 245-247 Main St. Chatham 973-796-0546 BYO

A Taste of Asia, 54-56 W South Orange Ave, South Orange (973-378-8818). BYO

Not that far from Montclair and we found the parking to be much easier.

Sadly, it is that far when you're starting out from 10 miles on the far side of Montclair.

You could park for dinner at Taste of Asia in the Montclair Art Museum lot. You can still do that for Taj Palace, the Indian place next door which has some virtues.

I do miss Taste of Asia tho.

[Catfood]

Aozora is my pick for favorite new sushi place in Montclair. I've eaten there several times and the food has always been amazingly fresh and beautifully presented. The wait staff has been very attentive (in a good way) and on monday nights they were having live music. The last time it was asian inspired flute. Just beautiful!

Aozora Japanese Restaurant 407 Bloomfield Ave Montclair 973.233.9400

[Rosie]

Welcome to eGullet Catfood. Looking forward to your posts.

[carya]

Greek Delights tends to be our all around favorite. Don't forget, they'll do take out. One restaurant that should be, but isn't on members' list is Giotto, on Midland. Outstanding.

Agree that Mexicali Rose is a great palace for fun with a group, but best Sushi is, in my opinion, Yoshi on Watchung. Very fresh, very authentic.

Also, in the "quick" category:

Bon Jour Montclair for great crepes and sandwiches

Tinga for surprisingly good Mexican (on Bellevue)

Nauna's for good, inexpensive Italian with GREAT service

Watchung Deli for "deli" type sandwiches, quick service, platters for parties, etc.

Cary

[Rosie]

Welcome carya. More info on Osteria Giotto is here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry462678

[Rosie]

You can also read about eGullet at:

http://www.baristanet.com/barista/2004/08/..._.html#comments

There is also a list of Montclair restaurants on this site.

[rhubarbz]

FWIW, adding my 2¢ to the mix ...

Just posted about Taro, a pan-Asian place on Church Street that's quite good, if a bit pricey. We like it a lot and have gone there for years. Have never understood the buzz about Mexicali Rose. The owner is a charming guy, but we have always found the place dirty and the food, gloppy. Greek Delights is fabulous. We order lunch from there @ work once or twice a week. The real-deal Italian deli across from Whole Foods is called Belgiovine's, and it is indeed special. Try their marinated grilled eggplant & homemade mozzarella.

[roverinexile]

I'm also new to Montclair, so appreciate all the suggestions. In the few weeks we've been here, we've tried Aozora (excellent), Thai Chef (maybe an off night, but not great), Taj Palace (good Indian) and the deli opposite Whole Foods, which had a fantastic ham & mozzarella sandwich. I wish I was back from work early enough to visit that deli more often!

We're going to Fascino on Friday, so looking forward to that. Am I right in thinking it is BYOB? If so, any suggestions for what sort of wine would be most suitable for the food?

[Rosie]

roverinexile--Welcome to eGullet. Fascino is one of the restaurants that the NJ egullet posters love. More info here:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=33311&st=0

Be sure to give us a report on your dinner.

Also, I'd bring two bottles ---one white and one red.

[nanyun]

Going to Montclair tonight and will try Greek Delights from all the good recommendations here. Thanks!

My younger stepbrother lives there and we try to take him out from time to time. The past few times, we have tried Mexicali Rose, Thai Chef, and Raymond's. Mexicali Rose was fun but the food was not very good, middling Mexican-American food. The food at Thai Chef was good, not the best, but we have been to Thailand and I thought the seafood curry at Thai Chef was better than almost all I have had in the states. Raymond's was for lunch, very good we thought, with shockingly good coffee. I never had such good coffee in a diner (is it considered a diner?).

[emilymarie]

When you go to Greek Delights make sure to work their pita bread as much as possible into your meal. It's just some of the most delicious pita bread I've ever tasted--a far cry from the usual dry, paper-thin stuff in the plastic bag. This is just heavenly, in my opinion, doughy but not heavy. And they heat it up on the griddle before serving. I have found all of the food here impeccably fresh. Their hummus is usually quite good, sometimes smoother than others, but with a nice tahini flavor. Yum! Have fun.

[tomfromwo]

hi all

i am new to this forum but i eat at montclair at least twice a month.

these are our favorites.

TARO- asian. Favorite dishes are the Grilled Salmon,Seafood hotpot, asian crabcakes, edamame salad. Desert - Chocolate hazlenut gelato

Leones kitchen - I never see any reviews on this place. Good old fashioned

italian food. Service is just ok but the food makes up for it.Usually have some excellent fish specials (ie stuffed flounder).

favorite desert Dark side of the moon cake

Thai Chef - Thai . no special favorite dish here. We usually order something diferent on the menu each time. Nice to eat outside when weather is nice

South park - Nice pub (they have a liquor license). Food is good. Nice to go on a friday nite when you get home from work and would like a nice casuall meal and

a couple of drinks (also have outdoor seating but its on a busy sidewalk)

greek delights- Nice casual greek food. All dishes are excellent

dmetris(sp) - mediteranean . Diverse menu (chicken/fish/meats) with a greek/med flair

tom

[pete ganz]

Does Greek Delights take reservations? Doesn't seem like they would, but you never know....

[Rosie]

Does Greek Delights take reservations? Doesn't seem like they would, but you never know....

NO.

[menton1]

Speaking of Montclair, I was there last night at Taro (report on separate thread). It was disturbing to see that at the end of lovely Church Street, where they spent a fortune beautifying the street with fancy paving stones and a wide sidewalk, benches, and plantings, that the corner of the street is still plagued with that eyesore, that old abandoned department store just rotting away. I believe someone mentioned a year ago on Eg that by now this place would have either been razed or made into modern offices.

It is a shame that this building is still there, it is a blight on an otherwise terrific town. Why can't the city fathers get something in motion with this building? If I lived in Montclair, I would be at every town meeting!!

[Rail Paul]

The town has authorized the destruction of the Hahne's building, and its replacement with a seven story building. The building may have retail on the ground level, 100 condo / rental residence units, and several levels of parking.

It's my understanding that certain neighbors feel this is an overly intrusive use, and have filed to scale back the project. Several other proposed uses have been considered during the decade or so the building has been vacant, but none has met community approval

The Hahne's project is tied into the construction of a multi-story parking deck on the site of the nearby Crescent lot, which will temporarily wipe out 150 parking spaces in chronically parking-short Montclair. Many merchants and residents would like to see replacement parking available before good parking disappears.

[emilymarie]

Corso 98 report: My family and I dined at Corso 98 last Friday evening. I was quite excited, as my own relatives who live in town have told me that this is one of the better restaurants in the area, and the restaurant has made it on a few egulleters' lists of places to eat in Montclair.

The restaurant space itself is pleasant enough. I expected the menu to be more Italian in character. There was pasta and risotto and the roasted pig with agro dolce sauce, but some of the entrees seemed more "Continental" in character. I started out with the rock shrimp risotto cakes, which were quite tasty--toothsome risotto and plump bites of shrimp with a creamy tomato-based sauce. Licked the plate clean. A special roasted fig salad was good, but definitely wanting for more figs and less mesculin mix. The warm goat cheese and roasted tomatoes pleased--the goat cheese was warm and melted served with grilled bread and sweet, plump roasted tomatoes.

I hate to say this, but the dinner disappointed. It was not bad, but two of the dishes were rather bland and a steak ordered was way too tough. I ordered the roasted pig, and that was delicious, if not a big too fatty for my personal taste. Still, the meat was just melting off of the pig, tender, and sweet. The portion was huge, though the agro dolce sauce reminded me of something that should have gone on top of an order or Chinese take-out orange beef. The pig sat atop steamed (and unseasoned) broccoli rabe and surrounded by rosemary roasted potatoes (which also garnished the steak). I hate to see ingredients repeated. The shrimp saltimbocca was underseasoned, though the shrimp themselves were large, plump, and tasty. The polenta and accompanying vegetables needed a serious dose of salt. The Angus steak tasted as if it had been cooked in bacon fat, and old bacon fat at that. It was tough and cooked beyond the ordered medium. The risotto was grainy. We did not go for dessert b/c it was my sister's birthday and we had a cake waiting at home.

Again, I don't mean to be so critical of the place, but I found the food to be very so-so. Perhaps I need to go back to sample the pasta dishes, which sounded good.

Any other recent experiences to report? Did I just go on a bad night?

[Rosie]

Thanks for your report. I only order steak at a steak house and never bother to order it anywhere else. Did you send the steak back? Elio, the maitre 'd is very concerned about quality and service and would have wanted to know that you weren't happy with some aspects of your dinner.

[emilymarie]

Rosie, we did not send it back, though we should have. That, for some reason, is something I've never been comfortable doing, though I realize that telling the truth would be beneficial to me and the restaurant owners. Let's hope I don't run into an occasion where I'd need to send something back anytime soon.

[adegiulio]

A friend of mine just asked if I had been to the new steakhouse in Montclair on Bloomfield Ave. I had no idea there was one. Is there, or is she smoking crack again?

[Curlz]

She's not talking about Charlie Brown's, is she?!? Sorry. Had to ask. But seriously--I can only think of CB's and Bloomfield Steak House, which I don't think is on Bloomfield Ave.

[Rosie]

A friend of mine just asked if I had been to the new steakhouse in Montclair on Bloomfield Ave. I had no idea there was one. Is there, or is she smoking crack again?

There is a new place called Arnolds that serves hamburgers. That's close to steak isn't it???

[adegiulio]

Umm, I don't think its either place, but one never knows...

[hitmanoo]

A great place to try in Montclair is Richie Cecere's.

Star Ledger Review I figured I'd post this newspaper review that may help you out a bit more.

Located next to the Walnut train station, Richi Cecere's offers some delicious food with a solid menu. They offer a variety of steaks and seafood dishes that are all tasty, and the specials change often and are usually excellent.

Bear in mind, the prices are moderate to expensive, so it's not a place to hit 5 nights a week. They have a liquor license, and the drinks are not cheap. They do have some more reasonably priced entrés, but the higher end dishes come with a premium.

The last time I was there, I had pistacio encrusted lamb chops that were just sensational. The look on the waiter's face when I ordered them was priceless, and I knew I was in for a treat. I must say that they exceeded my expectations, and I could not have been more pleased.

They offer a tuna sashimi appetizer that is well garnished and delicious.

If you plan to go, dress accordingly. During the week, you can get away with a pair of jeans and a button down, on the weekend, perhaps a nice pair of slacks. Not quite a sports jacket place, but if you wore one, you wouldn't be out of place any day of the week, due to the weeknight business crowd, and the weekend night on the town crowd.

I highly recommend that you give this place a try if you're a fan of surf and/or turf, as the food is well prepared, the service more than adequate, and the prices not out of control. I'd love to hear what others have to say about this place--I'm a fan.

Edited September 13, 2004 by hitmanoo (log)

[Catfood]

I have not had dinner at Richie Cecere's but I have been there for cocktails on a couple of occasions and each time it has been a great experience - especially last Friday night. The bartenders were really friendly and make the best martinis we've had in New Jersey. They also will make up a beautiful cheese plate - at no charge - to have with your drinks. We had such a nice time we ended up sharing the king crab cocktail and chatting with others at the bar for quite some time. Before we left we also checked out the 15 piece big band that was playing upstairs - they were amazing! We're definitely planning to go back and have a proper dinner some time real soon.

A great place to try in Montclair is Richie Cecere's.

Star Ledger Review  I figured I'd post this newspaper review that may help you out a bit more.

Located next to the Walnut train station, Richi Cecere's (RC's) offers some delicious food with a solid menu.  They offer a variety of steaks and seafood dishes that are all tasty, and the specials change often and are usually excellent.

Bear in mind, the prices are moderate to expensive, so it's not a place to hit 5 nights a week.  They have a liquor license, and the drinks are not cheap.  They do have some more reasonably priced entrés, but the higher end dishes come with a premium. 

The last time I was there, I had pistacio encrusted lamb chops that were just sensational.  The look on the waiter's face when I ordered them was priceless, and I knew I was in for a treat.  I must say that they exceeded my expectations, and I could not have been more pleased.

They offer a tuna sashimi appetizer that is well garnished and delicious.

If you plan to go, dress accordingly.  During the week, you can get away with a pair of jeans and a button down, on the weekend, perhaps a nice pair of slacks.  Not quite a sports jacket place, but if you wore one, you wouldn't be out of place any day of the week, due to the weeknight business crowd, and the weekend night on the town crowd.

I highly recommend that you give this place a try if you're a fan of surf and/or turf, as the food is well prepared, the service more than adequate, and the prices not out of control.  I'd love to hear what others have to say about this place--I'm a fan.

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