Leone's

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This place is great! Friendly staff in a fun, no-nonsense setting. My family and I like Marzullo's a lot, but we prefer Leones. Try the specials and you'll see why. We've been there now, easily, ten times without a single bad meal among them.

For Italian... I have definitely had better.

Finally, pizza with real mozzarella. IMHO, they have the best pie in Montclair.

We had dinner here last Sat night and it was awful. The oil at the table was pure veg oil; the waitress couldnt find real olive oil and said the restaurant mixes veg oil & olive oil and calls it the "house blend". The Leone's pasta was over-salted and bland at the same time. The Leone salad was over-priced and looked like it came from a supermarket bagged salad blend. The worst part, however, were the bathrooms and the bar/wait station. Never have I been in a more filthy bathroom (no soap, no paper towel), and the wait station was overflowing w/trash. We will never go back.

A few years ago Leone's was my favorite restaurant. After a long absense, mostly caused by Montclair's parking problems, I decided to stop in this week and try it again. Last time I was there the pizza oven was just being built so I tried the pizza. It was terrible. I've had better pizza in Arizona. The Pizza Margherita was overcooked and flavorless. It had almost no basil on it. When I asked the waiter for more basil he brought a container of dried oregano. There are too many good pizza options in NJ to settle for what is being sold at Leone's. I have to admit that the parking was a lot easier so it wasn't a complete loss.

The bf and I ate here the Friday after Valentine's day, as a belated celebration. We had a nice experience - attentive service, willingness to alter a dish for my tastes and good portions (I brought home leftovers enough for lunch the next day, and I have an appetite). The food wasn't spectacular, but it was certainly tasty and I very much liked my entree (portobello mushrooms & broccoli rabe) - overall, a far superior experience to what we had at Marzullo's.

What I also liked was that while being family friendly, they had two separate rooms - one where they seated couples and small groups without kids, and the other for families. We hardly noticed the noisy kids after we were seated, save one (brief) escapee.

No idea what that person is talking about who didn't like the pizza. Maybe they've changed things since he went. Regardless, the pizza here is amazing. AMAZING. The fresh mozzarella is so creamy and fresh that it must be tasted to be believed.

To elaborate: it's the margherita pie that's amazing. I haven't tried their regular pie.

The food is exceptional. Everytime I eat there I am never disappointed. Recently I had the chicken florentine and it was by far one of the best meals I've ever eaten. Anyone who has anything bad to say about this restaurant is out of their mind.

We took the kids to celebrate a successful year in school. The staff here is always patient with kids and the atmosphere is perfect for treating the young'uns to a dinner out. That said...the food is really disappointing. Calamari should have flavor..and snap...or the marinara should at least have some zing to it. The leaves of the arugula salad were gigantic and flavorless. A chicken special lacked any seasoning save salt. And the kids pasta with meatballs had less flavor than Ragu. And, if the food weren't disappointing enough, they ran out of ice and their credit card machine wasn't working when it came time to pay. Next time..Marzullo's.

The first time we went the service was awful, but the food was ok. Then we went twice more and sat there for 20-30 minutes without being served, or even given a menu. And we couldn't get anyone to even acknowledge our presence.. Never going back..

Exceptionally poor. They advertise as BYOB but have a wine list on the table. We put our wine away thinking it was no longer a BYOB. The glass of wine was $5.00 and tasted like cooking wine. The mussels were huge green lipped with chopped tomatoes right out of the can. No spices or flavor. Salad was OK, extra $1.00 for teaspoon of goat cheese. Eggplant parm was poor. Could not find the eggplant. Got a "special", veal and eggplant with risotto. Menu did not say it had a bar-b-que sauce on it. My taste buds were not ready for that combo. I did not eat one bite it was so bad. I told the waiter I did not want it and he let it sit on the table the whole meal. I was never offered another meal. Then they asked me if I wanted it wrapped!! Will never go there again. Poor service, poor food, poor management.

Man, I'm amazed, really. I wouldn't say the service was ever outstanding, but I never had a bad experience. I found all the waiters to always be very nice and helpful. Also, I LOVE their margherita pizza.

I went there once, and I'd never go again. Craptastic!

I agree Brian. Flavorless sauce, snotty service & overcooked pasta (even when you ask for it al dente) We went there three times when we first moved to Montclair and then switched to Nauna's & Marzulos (mostly Nauna's though). Both places are much better than Leone's and Nauna's has the best parking in town which is important when you have kids to schlep around.

I disagree. The owner and the staff are all down to earth. Rose has been in town since 1991 as the original "Mexicali Rose". She has ALWAYS treated me as family and is kind and giving.

The pizza is by far the best in town. The brick oven taste just melts in your mouth. The chicken savoy is delightful and you will not find a better Vodka sauce north of Italy.I'm sorry that you just "moved to Montclair", but the locals will agree that Leones is a nice touch of the old country.

This restaurant plays it incredibly safe, nothing you couldn't get somewhere else, and just flat out nothing special. Totally interchangeable with 1000 other Italian places around NJ.

YUCK! What makes this place different from other low end Italian places is the HIGH PRICES! The "Shrimp Scampi" was one of the worst dishes I have ever been served in a restaurant. Everything else was just ok, and too expensive - weird considering they use cheaper napkins then I have ever received in a sit-down restaurant. Service was fine. Just seems like they're coasting here.

Just at there & I can say it is a truly awful place. I agree about the weird el-cheapo napkins & nutty-high prices. Why is it that there are no really good simple Italian places in Montclair? You know - just a reasonable pasta/salad/eggplant parm place. The best place for this kind of stuff (IMHO) is Villa Victoria - but their food is inconsistant & when they're busy delivery can take a LONG time. But back to Leone's - it's a weird place. The help is almost too relaxed, and the food is to little for too much.

The Bolognese sauce is the best we've ever had. The stuffed artichoke appetizer is to die for. My wife, an expert in chicken orzo soup, loves the chicken soup at Leone's. Our son "loves" the Pasta Fagiola(Pasta Fazool). Also, Leone's is huge, and you seldom have to wait to eat.
Our experience with the service staff has been great.

We found what looked like a mangled staple in the pasta bolognese for lunch, but were "reassured" that it was only a remnant from a steel scouring pad used to clean pots and pans.

We ate at Leone's once and sat for way too long waiting for menus to think that the waitstaff was interested in customer service. The meal was forgettable. When the bill was presented, we gave a credit card to the server who indicated we could pay the bill by credit card, but we couldn't add the tip to the credit card.The owner doesn't want to deal with the bank fee for the tip, too bad! Won't be back.

We have recently started frequenting this place for their pizza - its the best in town hands down. And they are always very friendly.

Their magherita pizza is completely amazing; however, I got their regular pie the other day and it was really bad. Mind-boggling how they could do one right and the other wrong, but I guess that's life.

Food is great! And the pizza is some of the best in the area. I had the 4 cheese (white) pizza and it was so good I could not stop eating it. The service has always been good too.