Ask around Montclair for their favorite restaurants, and a long, diverse list comes up. This month the Montclair Pod put the question to people directly. Junior reporters Coco and Priya hit the street with one question: what’s your favorite restaurant in Montclair? The answers add up to a real snapshot of what this town is actually eating right now.
What’s Your Favorite Restaurant in Montclair?
One respondent pointed them to Turtle and the Wolf. The Valley Road restaurant is known for Lo’s Famous Fried Chicken, a ten-piece dinner served family style that’s been drawing reservations since chef Lauren Hirschberg opened the place in 2015. “My favorite restaurant is probably Turtle and the Wolf in uptown Montclair,” she said. “I love their seasonal menus, and I love how small and vibey the restaurant is.”
Another chose brunch over dinner. Bluestone Coffee Co. on Watchung Avenue roasts its own coffee on site, seats maybe a dozen tables and built a following around one dish in particular. “Usually you could find me at Bluestone for brunch because I’m obsessed with their smashed avocado.”
A third named Giotto. The Church Street cafe reopened in this smaller form after its predecessor, Osteria Giotto, closed and regulars mourned losing its lasagna Bolognese, which came right back on the new menu. “It’s like our go-to because it’s just easy to get food all the time.”
A fourth pointed around the corner, to Leone’s. The Upper Montclair restaurant has served brick oven pizza and pasta for decades, and its founder, Rosemary Leone, is the same person now bringing her old Tex-Mex spot Mexicali Rose back to Bloomfield Avenue. “My favorite restaurant is Leone’s, which is around the corner. I like Italian food.”
A fifth was headed to Sweet T’s Southern Eatery as the cameras rolled. The Bloomfield Avenue soul food restaurant built its menu around a lighter, farm to table take on dishes like fried chicken and short rib, sourced close to home rather than shipped in, plus buttermilk biscuits regulars ask for by name. “Favorite restaurant here we’re about to go to in a few minutes,” he said.
Farnoosh and Mike added a pick of their own: Minoru, the Japanese restaurant tucked up a stairwell on the second floor of 608 Valley Road. “It’s a real escape and an experience,” Farnoosh said. Mike backed her up on the service, “at a level that you just often don’t get in New Jersey,” and was upfront that the tab runs higher than most nights out in town.
More Montclair Favorites, According to Instagram
The Pod asked the same question on Instagram, and the comments filled in a few more names.
Someone pointed to Boschetto, the Grove Street spot where a Michelin-trained chef put counter service behind a full sit-down Italian menu. Someone else named Jackie’s, the Valley Road deli the Asheed family named after their daughter Jacqueline and has run for almost two decades. Luigino Parmigiana and De Novo European Pub came up too, on opposite ends of town. The list kept going from there, Faubourg, La Rocca Osteria, Mesob, Halcyon, SLA Thai and more. It’s not a complete tally, the full thread is still live on the Pod’s Instagram if you want to see the rest.
Got a pick that didn’t make this list? Drop it in the comments on our Instagram post.
