When Salute, the long-promised brick oven bistro on the corner of Glenridge and Willow that was for months “coming soon,” (and then for many more months, on the verge of opening) finally opened, it was like seeing a mirage. Neighbors at the bus stop had been buzzing that they heard Salute was open, so I went down on Friday night to check it out. I didn’t think I needed reservations – how busy could it be, if it had just opened, I reasoned. I was wrong – the place was packed with nary an open table in sight (unless I wanted to eat at 10 pm). Disappointed but now even more intrigued, I walked the kids over to Ah Pizz, had a good meal and planned to come back the following Thursday. It was a rainy night, but the dining room was ¾ full by the time we finished dinner. We were actually more than ¾ full by the time our dinner was over, but very content and already planning our next meal.
Salute’s menu reads like the shopping list a great Italian grandmother would carry on her way to haggle at the marketplace. Every Italian ingredient you can think of is represented and the menu sings with unique pairings and authentic Old World flavors. Think braciole, speck, cotechino (the Modena-style sausage that’s a New Year’s staple, served here traditionally with lentils) and creamy burrata. How about pancetta, gorgonzola dolce, robiola, figs or truffle honey? They’re all here and well represented with many getting a tasty turn in Salute’s centerpiece brick oven.
The brick oven is located in the back of the restaurant; the entire room is an open space that seems to go on and on (you’ll remember it as the former Noel’s Place antique shop – and if you ever went in, you’ll be amazed at the transformation). Exposed brick, clay and concrete give the space a rustic ambiance that’s enhanced by piles of firewood, bushel baskets of colorful produce lining one wall and black boards with specials suspended from the loft ceilings hanging over a limestone bar, perfect for close viewing of the open kitchen. The space is framed by arched doors and windows (the latter open out in nice weather) that complement the Tuscan-inspired country menu.
You could easily make a meal with selections from the assaggini (first courses) at Salute and be very happy. Try the baccala (codfish-potato fritters, $9), adding in a salad (how about frisee with roasted beets, cipollini, pistachio and herbed robiola, $6?) or one of the brick oven pizzettes (the trifolati, shown here, features shiitake, porcini, butcher peppercorn and truffle oil, $9). A standout pasta dish was the humble pennoni ($14), featuring baby meatballs, sliced hardboiled egg, dried sausage and ricotta salata (oh – and Conan – and Crank! – they have what sounds like an interesting take on Amatriciana with quanciale). We were also wowed by the bottatrice ($18) featuring perfectly grilled monkfish, rock shrimp and a creamy squash risotto we never wanted to end. (A note on the pizza: The pizzette I tried featured a thin, crisp, but almost too cracker-like crust. The toppings were tasty, but I left the crust as I craved something that was crisp but not as dry. I asked the owner later about it; he said they were still tweaking the crust and getting to know the brick oven’s temperament).
Whatever you do – save room for dessert. We almost passed, but somehow found a way to, as Tim Gunn says, “make it work.” I’m glad we didn’t. We spooned into a heavenly semifreddo – a semi-frozen pistachio mousse that became a blissful mouthful with its pairing of pumpkin gelato on a tuile. The brick-oven warmed, flourless chocolate polenta cake served with a shot glass of milk was grown-up comfort food. There were another seven tempting items on the dessert menu including risotto bon-bons (chocolate dipped Arborio rice and fig dumplings with a crushed amaretto cookie crust), as well as a cheese plate for two if you prefer savory.
Salute won me over with its food, but I was equally impressed by the service. Going to a restaurant that just opened – some bumps and rough starts would be expected. There wasn’t one moment during our meal where we didn’t experience incredibly attentive service, bordering on omniscient. Credit goes to owner Gerry Cerrigone, who you might know from the restaurant now known as Luce in Caldwell or before that Il Tulipano in Cedar Grove. I noticed the same well-executed dance playing out at neighboring tables – wait staff, servers, an attentive manager who later introduced himself as Antonio, all moving in a calm, consistent pace, deftly weaving their way through the dining room tables and back to the open kitchen. There’s something satisfying about being able to sit back and see everything happening from table to order to oven to plate. Kind of like being in your great grandmother’s kitchen in Tuscany — minus the jet lag.
Salute, 173 Glenridge Ave., Montclair, (973) 746-2380; call for reservations, open for lunch and dinner.
You had me at the truffle honey.
Hey! Hey! I’m the resident pasta amatriciana freak around here!
How fast they forget.
(Conan may like the stuff too & is perfectly free to do so.)
Oops! Fixed. Props to Crank!
Hmmm, I thought it was State Street Pete or Mellon Brush who was the big Amatriciana lover… Shows you how much I know. Crank, great to see you back!
Liz, I forgot to ask — is this a BYOB place, or is the bar really a bar? Thanks!
Conan – it’s BYOB.
How was the bouillabaisse?
Why never a negative comment??
Is the a 30 in Zagat’s?
“Kind of like being in your great grandmother’s kitchen in Tuscany..”
As long as its not like being in my great grandmother’s kitchen in Bleary.
Though truth be told, “bleary” is often how you’d leave.
Thanks Liz & Conan! :=)
Yeah, I tend to drift in & out these days, since I’m no longer working in Montclair, there isn’t quite the same immediate connection. But I still like the place & get over there as often as possible.
RUN DON’T WALK to your phone and call (973) 746-2380 for reservations. My wife and I went there for the first time Fri. night. We are already thinking of our next visit. Also planning on taking our son and daughter in law when they return from S Korea next year. The rice ball was the best I have ever had. The owner, Gerry, made his way from table to table making sure everybody enjoyed the food. I alway feel that if the owner visits every table, than he has pride in his food and knows that its good. Don’t miss out, get your reservation cause the place was packed by the time we arrived for our 6:30 reservation.
Madonna, who writes these reviews? some chooch americana?
Been to Salute twice in the past week. Both times they were excellent! Had the Bronzini and squash one night then the roasted salmon the 2nd time. Service,quality,decor…all winners! Another great restaurant in Montclair!
One correction it wasnt squash with the fish it was risotto!
We went to dinner here on Sunday evening.Dinner was 3 hours.They were out of 3 different choices of appetizers and fish specials.The waiter was busy running around looking busy but never able to answers questions about where our entrees were and avoiding us after an hour wait between courses.Even though the food was good it is not worth the hassle and aggravation.The gentleman behing the desk was nowhere to be found except being busy eating @ 9 pm instead of dealing with all the service issues.Forget about going here until they get their act together.
My wife and I finally tried Salute. Thee were plusses and minuses. First the plusses. The appetizers were amazing. We tried a number of them and, owing largely to the quality of the ingredients, they were fresh and terrific.
Now for the minuses.
It is LOUD. Really LOUD. It’s nearly impossible to have a conversation. One of those clattering-sound kind of places where everyone is having a hard time hearing so everyone speaks louder and then it gets worse and the cycle repeats…
The entrees were nothing remarkable. Under-seasoned, bland and uninspiring. It was hard to imagine the same kitchen that turned out such stellar appetizers (and a salad) made the entrees.
We had a very similar experience to Nathan, we waited an hour for the appetizers and then another hour for the entrees. We kept being told the “kitchen is busy” when we asked for an ETA as if that should placate us. We very nearly cancelled the whole thing.
Anyway. They’ve got considerable issues to iron out.
We’ll give it another try in a few months with the hope they’ve worked it out. The pizza’s looked good on the other tables, and after our bland entrees we wished we had ordered a pizza. We’ll probably try that next time.
went sunday for the first time – the place was packed at 8 pm! ingredients obviously fresh and delish, opts are creative, not typical of the typical italian spot. i rarely eat italian out as i am italian and would usually rather dine out for fare that I don’t know how to make myself – however i’ll definitely revisit salute. great service (we forgot wine and the hostess ordered a delivery wine for us!). prices quite fair. anyone else notice dimitri in the kitchen?
As always, looking forward to dining out in Montclair. We had a gift certificate, and thankfully so…..in the end our dinner was a little money out of our pocket. This was a lovely, warm atmosphere as you enter. We were given the worst table in the place, right in front of the door @ 6:00pm, while the rest of the joint was practically empty.
Our wait staff was not well versed in the specials, she took 10 minutes to recite the way too long list and my husband had to correct her when she quoted “arctic-char” was an arctic fish,.. charred cooked. She did not know that “char” was the fish and not the way it was cooked. My 13 year old picked up on that too. Our appetizer was spicy hot potatoes and italian peppers, but when they came to the table, my italian husband did not recognize the pepper, and we were told italian hot italian peppers were out of season. From 6pm – 7pm we waited for our entree. My son had the pizzette, which was the only star of the evening, I had the spinach salad with pistachios, pear, panchetta, and blue cheese, which clearly was poured out of a bag, stems not clipped, no pistachios, but pignoli nuts, and the panchetta was a lum of fatty oscar meyer bacon. We won’t even talk about the size…tiny, tiny, tiny. My husband’s dish was a crashing disaster. A special called “stuffed pork chop”, with a sauce that looked like diarrhea, on top of which the pork chop was cold inside and way too red…a.k.a. undercooked. Food presentation was bad, bad, bad. Close your doors, or just cook pizzas in your stone ovens. My husband said it was by far, the worst meal he has had out in a Montclair establishment in a decade.
As my girlfriend can find something wrong with just about any restaurant, we chose to go to Salute for the first time last night. You can tell how your evening will go by their bread. (which was great) Before we got to our table, someone took our bottle of wine and had it opened before we sat down. The waitress was very responsive, suggesting the specials and noting the price of each. I hate when I order a special appetizer to find out it was twice as much as I thought it was worth. The calamari is the best that i’ve had in Montclair. The staff was pleasant and attentive. They cleared our plates and gave us fresh silverware between each course (something even the Manor didnt do on our last visit) The pizzas were so fresh that even though we ate like pigs, we ended up being full but not stuffed. The Tiramisu, which we had to-go, set a reminder when we got home of how much we enjoyed the restaurant. There are a lot of Italian restaurants in Baristaville, but most of them use canned tomatoes and dry herbs. Salute will be here for a long time so go check it out!
Quite possibly the worst dining experience I have ever had in Montclair.
We had a reservation for a party of 10 at 6:15. We ordered and were annoyed when our appetizers took 45 minutes to come out… but everything seemed pretty tasty and we believed we were in for a good meal. FAST FORWARD 2 HOURS LATER: it is 9 pm and we are STILL WAITING FOR OUR ENTREES TO COME OUT.
We tried to flag down the waiter many times, and when we finally did his excuse was that the restaurant was “very busy” and they had “seated everyone at the same time” so the kitchen was backed up. When our food FINALLY came out, it was freezing and practically inedible! I had the meatloaf, which was basically a frozen slab of meat on a bed of congealed potatoes. My friend had the risotto, which was ice cold and looked like a pile of vomit. Half the party sent the food back, and when it came out, it was no better.
I did not even bother sending my food back because I was so infuriated. We complained to the manager, who insisted on giving us FIVE free desserts, which were completely tasteless.
I will never go back here ever again.
STAY AWAY!
I ate at this incredibly noisy resataurant last night. First the waiter heard the appetizer wrong, which resulted in us waiting ANOTHER half hour for an appetizer. Then when the entrees finally came out, mine was so salty that I could barely eat it (I have nice salt licks under my eyes today). The service was just mediocre – we had to get up and get our own water after trying to flag down several people for it. Then the whole staff was on us.
The place looks great, but is way too noisy. And for me, the salt is a reason not to return.