Montville - Columbia Inn

[Rail Paul]

Dee and I had dinner there on Sunday afternoon. Columbia Inn is a very open, airy restaurant with seating for about 150 people in the main room. There's an adjacent bar (more about that, later) and a banquet facility. We've dined there several times during the week, but never on a weekend. US 202, north of Boonton, just south of Lake Valhalla.

You walk in through the bar to the greeter. As with many places, there's a long row of tables for two. Then, a row of tables for six and eight, finally a row of tables for four along the far window.

Greeted, and immediately seated at a table for two. The place was about 1/3 full at 4 pm. Several families with gramps, mom, kids, etc. Attire ranged from shorts to ties. Menu and drink orders promptly handled. I was somewhat surprised with how overstaffed the room seemed to be, with seven waitstaff.

While waiting for the drinks, I noticed smoke from the bar had begun to drift over the low divider. We asked to be reseated, and were moved to a table for four by the window.

Big menu, lots of meat, fowl, fish. I ordered a puree of corn soup ($3 cup) and the red snapper stuffed with crab ($16) from the daily specials. Dee ordered stuffed eggplant, and the pork scallopini ($15). Other items included veal, steak, many different pastas, etc. Appy prices ran $7 - $12, entrees $12 - $25. They have great pizza, with many different toppings, typically $12 to $15.

The server came back to let us know the snapper was history, would I like the black bass with fava, red beans, etc? The appies came out about about 30 minutes later, which was fine (we were enjoying the place and our conversation). I noticed that the kitchen was consistent with other tables as well.

Soup was a deep yellow, slightly thickened corn broth, topped with a small nest of cilantro, finely shredded red pepper, and a small piece of grey sage. Impressive presentation, and tasted fine. Would be a wonderful harvest time idea.

Stuffed eggplant was adequate. Far too much ricotta cheese stuffed into it.

Pork scallopini was good. Very thin pieces of pork, cheese and a richly flavored tomato sauce. Shredded crystallized onions on top, and a signature plating item. A piping of mashed potatoes butted against a piping of sweet potatoes, with a deep fried tortilla triangle upright between them. A two inch carrot blossom rested on top of the sweet potato made it look like an orange flower.

The bass was very intriguing. Very flavorful, with the beans offering a vivid crunch. The flecks of cilantro offered color contrast. I liked it. Potato signature item was offered.

Positives: attentive, responsive service. Good food, well displayed.

Negatives: unruly children underfoot, causing problems for the servers. A few crying children, not promptly dispatched. Since we don't usually dine in places with little kids (rarely eat out on Sunday afternoon), I don't know if this is common, but may be more an indication of poor parenting. I did notice a few servers had trouble dodging the tykes.

I noticed the tables for two were mostly filled when we were leaving. They seemed awfully tight, and there was a mild commotion as people had to move tables to allow an 'inner" to exit. That's just not appropriate.

Price with three beers and tip, no dessert or coffee: $75.

Nice place, good food, but I'll confine my visiting to weekdays and evenings.

[Rosie]

I just finished writing a piece about a cooking class that Chef Francesco Brattoli will be doing in NYC. Anyway--I like the food and artistic presentations at the Columbia Inn. But it can get noisy and zooy. If you go later in the evening you have a better chance of dining without  children running around. But otherwise it is a popular family restaurant. The last time I was there I ordered the hot antipasto for my entree and could barely finish it. I like the pizzas there also.

[dodge621]

Rail Pail

Great Post. Seems like you were pretty patient. I am wondering was there a long wait between the appetizers and entrees.  30 minutes (less, more??

[Rail Paul]

Thanks.

I don't recall how long the wait between the appy and entrees was. Maybe 15-20 minutes after we finished our appies. There's enough "theater" that it wasn't burdensome. We arrived about four and left about six, so that seems about right.

I didn't mention desserts (we didn't order), but the plating looked equal to the entrees. Very vivid colors, interesting elements. I don't know if they are internal or outsourced.

[Curlz]

I was pleasantly surprised to find a thread on this place, 'tho the posts are rather dated at this point. Anyone been lately? I'm going to a 50th b'day dinner there later this month...what am I in for?

[Rosie]

Have always had great food here but haven't been in a long time. You're in for a treat.

[Cook456]

I was pleasantly surprised to find a thread on this place, 'tho the posts are rather dated at this point.  Anyone been lately?  I'm going to a 50th b'day dinner there later this month...what am I in for?

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It's one of the undiscovered places to dine. My bro found this place, shortly after he moved to Montville. Great pizza ( great clam pie) and great food at a reasonable price.

[bobferdon]

I had my wedding rehearsal dinner upstairs. This is a family (children friendly) place that serves great food at reasonable prices. If you are a pizza fan it is a great area. If you want thick crust you drive a few miles to Reservoir Tavern. But if you want one of the best thin crust pizzas around come to the Columbia Inn. The owners have been in the business for decades. I grew up in tow of their other places. The Locker Room in Cedar Grove and Time Out Tavern in Orange. Franco is a special chef. I love what he does and you can pick up a good bottle of wine and not get burned. The new manager Tony is terrific and makes sure you are treated properly. They get knocked for the tables being close but many times I find my family talking to other diners about their meal and our kids. This is a once a week stop for me.