Indigo Smoke

Very, very good Kansas City style BBQ. Brought a friend in from Missoui and he was floored. My only gripe is that it's such a nice, artsy place. I like my BBQ is loud joints with wooden tables and blasting R&B. Great place for a date; not a great place to yuk it up with friends.

Stumbled in for brunch one Sunday morning and found ourselves surrounded by smooth jazz and an impressive array of delicious food. Our server wasn't particularly attentive but the food and ambience made for a pleasant surprise.

killer food. go for lunch because it gets more expensive for dinner. nice lunch specials there - i love the lamb sausage. nice atmosphere, great restrooms, but seems a little uppity sometimes, clientelle-wise. but, who cares? eat up!

My husband and I absolutely love the food here. We used to eat here often. Because of their service, however, we started to simply call in our orders and pick up the food. Unfortunately, when calling in our last order, the person on the phone was completely rude to me for no reason. My husband thought it best that we don't eat there anymore. I can't say I disagree with him. To the Barista readers- it may seem like we are being petty for dropping this restaurant over one incident from one server, but it truly has been a progression of poor service over a period of time. It's one thing if the poor service was due to things like not having the table set, or not bringing drinks out, or forgetting a side dish, or even slow service- most times is forgiveable in my eyes. Though not the most professional- such things are understandable if the place is very busy or if a server is new. But rude behavior? Dining out is an experience that's more than just great food. I've hostessed, waitressed and worked retail- it's just as easy to be pleasant as it is to be nasty. As a consumer I don't want to feel like I am paying for food with someone's attitude problem tacked on to it.

Indigo Smoke has started a new feature called "Dinner for 4". At $30.00 it is a terrific deal for a family or an early couples evening (the special runs from 4:30 to 6:30 only). For the fixed price you get BBQ Chicken, Salad, Corn on the Cob, Indigo Fries, String Beans, Mac & Cheese, and Lemon Pound Cake. My daughter tried one of the new dessert items - "Hot Chocolate Pudding Cake" and the taste is a chocoholic's dream come true. Chocolate and fairly light usually don't go together, but this is certainly an exception.

The meal was terrific and a terrific value. They seem to have adjusted to the new space and the smiles were on the faces of all of the wait staff. The growing pains of the move seem to be just about over now and my family and I will continue to try to make the early special at least once a week.

We loved the Dinner for 4! It's a great value and the food is awesome. There are no substitutions, but there's enough food to feed an army (which makes up for the lack of mashed sweet potatoes which I love.) The new digs are really nice, but I do miss seeing the chefs as they cook the food.

the best chef. the best.

Awesome! Wonderful KC Barbeque. A special treat for all -- even my vegetarian wife, who could eat the excellent side dishes all night long.

I ordered food from there on Friday night for my boyfriend and I to take home. At first the food was good. My whipped sweet potatoes were excellent, BUT there was a huge problem.
My boyfriend's fried chicken was UNDERCOOKED. I was going to call the restaurant but my boyfriend figured it was better for us to never go there again. I'm not talking a little undercooked - it was completely pink on the inside.

Beyond phenomenal Kansas City BBQ.…the service hands down is the poorest in all of Montclair….maybe anywhere. To the servers at Indigo I apologize for inconviencing you last night and coming in for dinner. I promise we will never do it again and that is very unfortunate for the Owner and Chef because you have a very desirable establishment. Because of your less than poor service, my husband and our friends have no desire to return. As a fellow member of the food business you should be ashamed. I have never experienced feeling like such a burden. As an exceptional chef, how can you have front of the house personnel with lack of experience and absolutely no customer service? We were left to eat with the stick from the lamb kabob and when we asked for a fork it was as if we asked them to travel to Kansas City to retrieve it! .
Just a bit of advice, being a service employee can be very rewarding, give it a chance and don’t take out your anger on the customer. It’s your livelihood and you could benefit a great deal from providing a better than great service.

Beyond phenomenal Kansas City BBQ.…the service hands down is the poorest in all of Montclair….maybe anywhere. To the servers at Indigo I apologize for inconviencing you last night and coming in for dinner. I promise we will never do it again and that is very unfortunate for the Owner and Chef because you have a very desirable establishment. Because of your less than poor service, my husband and our friends have no desire to return. As a fellow member of the food business you should be ashamed. I have never experienced feeling like such a burden. As an exceptional chef, how can you have front of the house personnel with lack of experience and absolutely no customer service? We were left to eat with the stick from the lamb kabob and when we asked for a fork it was as if we asked them to travel to Kansas City to retrieve it! .
Just a bit of advice, being a service employee can be very rewarding, give it a chance and don’t take out your anger on the customer. It’s your livelihood and you could benefit a great deal from providing a better than great service.

I had dinner @ Indigo on wednesday nite as well. It seemed as if everyone in montclair had the same idea. I thought service was slow but not unfriendly, they were very very busy. Maybe a little short handed as well, due to all the take-out I saw leaving the place. Still my favourite restaurant.

Food was good but service was definately off. Be prepared to wait for a table-- double the time estimate the hostess gives you. They only take reservations for parties of 6 or more, therefore leaving very few 2 and 4 tops. Since they cater to bigger groups, those larger orders really throw the rhythm off in the kitchen.

The Food is excellent, probably my favorite restaurant in town. As for the service I have always found it to be excellent, friendly and proficient. A number of the waitstaff has been there for a long time which is always a good sign. If you have to wait for a table or service is slow because there are busy its really okay, enjoy the time, remember your not that important that you should be in a rush.

I am a Montclair resident that moved here from Kansas City, MO in April. I LOVED the food and it's authenticity to what I had at home. The service was wonderful as well. Kudos to Indigo, I will definitely be back!

Forget anything questionable you have ever heard about this place. It is wonderful. The food is consistently excellent, the service is fine, etc. The atmosphere is very friendly and the serivce has been excellent. They recently catered my birthday party and the food was, without question, the highlight of the event. People are still talking about it. It ain't cheap, but is worth every penny. I recently tried their new delivery service. Well worth it. Stop wondering and just go. One note. Get there early for dinner on Fri. and Sat. or plan for a wait. Being a beer and an opener and drink it while you wait. It's worth it.
Mike

Indigo Smoke is my favorite restaurant and I've even turned my brother and his wife onto them. They recently made the trek out from Westchester Co. in NY and they were amazed at the superb food and warm service. My sister-in-law wishes they had a chain of restaurants. Bravo!

The Lunch Buffet is back and it's only $12.99! My favorites (fried chicken, collard greens, whiting) are all included. It's a great lunch deal.

I went there with some friends a little while ago and found it to be disapointing -- mediocre food at too-high prices complete with slightly rude service. I took my girlfriend to the Jerk Pit tonight and found the bbq place that we should have gone to, better food at lower prices with friendlier people. Indigo Smoke has quite a nice location, and good decorations, however.

The food is okay. The service is EXTREMELY SLOW. Management/owner should increase the waitstaff on nights that tend to be busier. It is not normal to wait 15-20 mins for a dessert to go.

WOW!!! Food is astounding (although we had a moment of inconsistency when we had the wonderful beef brisket in the restaurant and a lesser version for home delivery). I could see where people might get a hint of slow or surly service, but honestly, I have to wonder how certain patrons present themselves in restaurants. Lots of times, you have overstressed staff in crowded places ... just sayin' ... in any case, everything ROCKED! Lamb sausage, beef brisket, ribs, and the sides ... collard greens, slow-cooked string (green) beans ... everything has an utterly mouthwatering smoky flavor ... OH, it's GOOD ... it satisfies my cravings when we can't get to the city to go to Blue Smoke (not affiliated, but another KILLER restaurant ... and for you BBQ fans, don't miss this: http://www.bigapplebbq.org/

WOW!!! Food is astounding (although we had a moment of inconsistency when we had the wonderful beef brisket in the restaurant and a lesser version for home delivery). I could see where people might get a hint of slow or surly service, but honestly, I have to wonder how certain patrons present themselves in restaurants. Lots of times, you have overstressed staff in crowded places ... just sayin' ... in any case, everything ROCKED! Lamb sausage, beef brisket, ribs, and the sides ... collard greens, slow-cooked string (green) beans ... everything has an utterly mouthwatering smoky flavor ... OH, it's GOOD ... it satisfies my cravings when we can't get to the city to go to Blue Smoke (not affiliated, but another KILLER restaurant ... and for you BBQ fans, don't miss this: http://www.bigapplebbq.org/

If you haven't tried Indigo Smoke's Sunday brunch buffet, run, do not walk! It's just terrific! Made-to-order omelets and waffles, fried chicken, BBQ ribs, cheese grits, crispy bacon, sausage and more! Pleasant jazz in the background -- who could ask for anything more.

I have eaten there and have gotten take out several times and the food is great! Some of the best ribs I've ever had anywhere. I have never had a problem with the service.
I would eat there more often but this isn't the healthiest type of food to eat.

Love the folk art Kansas City paintings adorning this place...since I was raised in both Montclair and KC, it has special meaning for me. Good food...really nice staff...brought my very, very rambuctious two-year old and they treated us like royalty. My only quibble: The sides are extra when you purchase an entree. Try it out.

food is good service is unfriendly and rude actually makes you feel uncomfortable everytime i eat there, either with family or friends, i feel like you have to walk on egg shells in order not to upset the person assigned to the table a mass firing is in order

Went for dinner (again) on Sunday night. Loved the brisket and had enough left to take home for a sandwich. My boyfriend had the boneless short ribs, cleaned his plate and was looking for a spoon to finish off the sauce. The service was great, warm and friendly.

ate here the other night. food is awesome but they really need another server or two working. it was a friday night and there were only two waitresses and one busboy working. that's insane. our appetizer share plates stayed stacked on our table throughout our entire meal. i don't enjoy eating with dirty plates in front of me. i really blame the managment/ownership for not hiring/scheduling more staff to work on a busy night. for what they charge for what are essentially cheap cuts of meat, the service should not be an issue.

Ate here the other night and as much as I like the food there are way too many negatives.You are NEVER greeted in less than five minutes after entering and are treated at first like an intruder.You might as well bring a pillow because you can wait forever for a server to wait on you.Then the wait between courses can be as long as thirty minutes on a weeknight.Ordered the wonderful fried chicken and recieved 3 thighs and a couple of drumsticks.Where is the chicken breast that used to be there.What a cheap way to cut corners when everything is al a carte.After begging twice for the check I will never go back!

Delivery is now available again. Also, they are now a member of http://www.MyOFO.com

Ate here a while ago in spite of the myofo connection, which has me concerned.

In any event, we were greeted relatively quickly, the wait wasn't too long and they didn't mind dealing with the kids.

The only thing that was bizarre was that we brought beer and they were out of beer glasses. I asked for water glasses, but they were out of those too, excepting the ones on our table. In any event, we swapped wine glasses for water glasses and used the latter for beer. A little strange, but so was the guy handling the water.

Still, all in all, not a bad place to go.

WOW!!! How many people have commented on how RUDE and seemingly BURDENED the staff are at Indigo Smoke... I am going to have to agree, for the most part anyway!!! There are a small few members of the staff that are doing a fine job. However, shouldn't that be the norm, not the exception??? I'll admit to the food being very delicious, well, at least until they lost their best chef, anyway. The owner is just as rude as his staff, not to mention, a HORRIBLE business man. Indigo Smoke COULD be a GOLD MINE, if it was run properly. Perhaps if the staff was TRAINED to be, I don't know, polite, courteous. Maybe they would be... If they were PAID ON TIME!!! I'll NEVER step foot in there again after experiencing the ATIITUDE that runs rampant within. WHAT A WASTE OF GREAT FOOD AND TIME!!! ALL POISENED BY ATTITUDE!!! When I go to eat at a "nice" restaurant, I have expectations, and I don't consider them to be outrageous either. It is not just the food that should be great, but the service, the ambiance... They should be up to par as well. It is HIGHLY UNFORTUNATE that Indigo Smoke is incapable of meeting what MOST people look for in a dining experience :( !!! Bottom Line, NOT WORTH THE INEVITABLE DISAPPOINTMENT, ESPECIALLY AT THAT PRICE!!! It's not cheap!!!

We just got back from our first (and perhaps last) visit to Indigo Smoke. While the food was excellent, and the decor very pleasing, the service was BAD. Our server was pleasant; however when my husband's meal came out we were told it would be "just a couple of more minutes" for mine to arrive. About 7 minutes later after having to ask how much longer I got my food. No apology from the servers for the delay, or the manager.
That, in conjunction with walking in to a cool reception (smiling doesn't cost anything-the manager/hostess should try it sometime)and having to ask if we could have the sodas we ordered 25 minutes ago, and waiting for my dinner while the other food got cold probably will not inspire me to return or recommend to friends.
It's too bad... I guess the owner just doesn't care though since people have been complaining about service for years now. Good luck to him!

To add insult to injury, a credit card number is now requested when making a reservation. I find this absurd. Indigo Smoke is not a "hot" NYC restaurant and is certainly not the best restaurant in Montclair. In fact, I've never been asked for my credit card number when making a reservation at any NYC restaurant that I've been to. I've had my credit card number stolen twice and I'm certainly not about to give it out freely to Indigo Smoke so it can be written down for all to see in the reservation book by the front door. Indigo Smoke is off my list!

The new Maplewood location has a nice feel to it.

Montclair location is currently closed, under renovation according to recorded message.

We gave up on going there for dinner, but take out has always been excellent.

Say it aint so, Indigo....

My husband and I frequent Indigo Smoke, and would rave about it frequently to anyone who'd listen. Ready to see what their new menu and remodeled space had to offer, we eagerly got take-out this evening. After a long week, we figured we deserved a little comfort food!

Well we were a little worried when we noticed that their new menu was lacking a few favorites... pull-apart bread, their great fried chicken, amongst other items. Undeterred, however, we ordered barbeque chicken, beef brisket, their heavenly fries and a new item, whipped sweet potatoes. Unfortunately, we opened the containers to find our chicken a bit overcooked, heavy sweet potatoes, a smaller portion of brisket (covered in sliced pickles, nonetheless.... seriously?), and the ultimate disappointment... their delicious, home cut potato wedges have been replaced with crinkle cut, unseasoned, supermarket french fries. Blasphemy!

We're hopeful that this is all attributable to grand re-opening drama.... that their best chef had the night off, that their potato order got lost in Newark somewhere, only to be replaced with a frozen alternative out of pure desperation. But for now, I think we'll wait a while before we return...

Anyone else been around since the renovations?

Went for lunch on saturday, not as good as i remember. The atmosphere is a nice change for casual dining.

We found the new set up confusing and not very cozy. Its not fast food (they still take a long time getting your order ready), but its not sit down either (now you have to interrupt your dining experience by getting up, and standing in line to place your order only to have to be interrupted again when you go back for your food when your name is called). They have replaced the floor with black painted plywood, now there is a TV and the tables are oversized so I guess they are meant to be community tables - but when you have little kids like us we would prefer to not have to wonder if we are going to have to end up sharing the table with some other family. Overall just not an enjoyable experience.