Passionne

We had dinner here on a Thursday in May. It is a pleasant setting with pleasant staff. There was a small but adequate selection of entrees with a fairly small selection of appetizers and salads. The food was good, but the portions were really small. Is this typical of French cuisine??? Two of us had the striped bass, served over "forbidden" rice. Were my dear departed Dad here, he would had said "nice appetizer - where's my entree"? We ended up picking over the remainders of my husband's rabbit stew since we both still hungry after eating our entire entree, forbidden rice and all. Overall a nice dining experience, but I can't say I'd go again given the variety and quality of restuarants in this area.

I must say, I haven't had a French meal this good since dining at Payard. Chef Carrino and his staff put out a great product. The French strive to make you "satisfied" not STUFFED or FULL, but to make you satisfied or as I say, "pleasently full." The tart was Delicious and the tapenade should be bottled and sold in stores, it's that good. Our pork shank, steak and bass were TO DIE FOR! Just absolutley amazing. The chef is very personable and frequents the dining room. We have now eaten there three times and will be regulars for our "date night." The staff is friendly and very accomodating...We can't wait till their ordiance is approved for outside seating.... Keep up the good work guys.

SCRUMPTOUS !!!!!!!!!!!!!
My wife and I have eatten at Passionne twice now and we will continue to support this new establishment. What a great meal and fine service. Can’t wait for the outside seating to be available. The menu is plentiful, about 8-9 options for apps, 12-14 for entrees and about 8 for dessert, a great variety, something for every type of eater. I left feeling full and my wallet didn't take a hit, the entrees are very afforable. I can’t say enough about this fine establishment; watch out Epernay, we’ve found a new favorite.

I've been to a few French restaurants and have never seen a menu selection like Passionne. I usually can't find something on the menu that I like, not the case here. My fiance and I figured we would give it a try, a new restaurant and all, and we love it! We have been there four times, and will be going again this weekend. The food is amazing, and I have never walked out of a French restaurant as full as I do when I leave Passionne. My personal favorites are the spring onion soup and the crepe with homemade icecream! Enjoy!

A friend and I dined for the first time last night at Passionne. We were disappointed and here is why. This is a restaurant that charges New York prices and has little to offer that justifies the prices charged. The dining room is very plain, with hard edges, nothing to absorb the sound and consequently the restaurant is extremely noisy and just not that inviting. The food was just adequate. My friend ordered duck and it came to the table raw and so chewy as to almost inedible. Why is something like that sent out from the kitchen? I ordered steak frite, which was all right but at a $23.00 price tag certainly not the best one I've ever had. The appetizers, a mushroom tart and a frisee salad again were all right, but nothing was outstanding. The dessert was sad. It was sabayon and described as berries in a rich sauce. When delivered to our table it was a skimpy plate of berries of indifferent quality, strawberries chopped so fine as to be unrecognizable and the sauce was very thin and runny and there was little of it. The berries were served over small slices of hard baguette(?) The cappucino was so strong that we had to ask for cream to dilute it. The service was also inadequate. The waiter could not answer our questions about the menu offerings. He kept going back to the kitchen and coming back with information that was still sketchy such as what cut of steak constituted the steak portion of the steak frite. and not once during the meal did our waiter

smile at us or act friendly, And we had to continually ask for silverware, water refills, etc. I simply do not understand how a restaurant can charge these prices and feel justified in delivering such an inadequate product. I will not go back. There are too many other restaurants in our area that actually know what they are doing.

Good Morning gang-
My husband and I just dined at this establishment for the first time last night and what can I say I was blown away. We were sitting outside, it started to rain, the staff was very attentive to us sitting outside and was holding a table inside for us to sit at. We insisted to wait out the storm in which we did, but then the skies opened and just poured-they were so accommodating, we couldn't have asked for better service. Our server was very attentive to our needs. He explained that it's traditional French service to place silverware with each course as so we weren't confused or asking, reading the review above, I now see why he explained this tradition to us. We ordered the mushroom tart which has gotten rave reviews from our friends and from this site, and what can I say, the chef and his team should package this and sell it in grocery stores. My husband had steak frite and what a treat that was-a delicious cut of meat cooked to perfection, I had the tagine (sp??)which was just delightful and we split the lobster crepes just to taste and OH MY GOD, chef please never take these off the menu!!!! To finish off our meal we chose the crepe with berries and homemade ice cream and the chocolate tart. I'm pregnant and this tart was just "what the baby ordered". It was scrumptious! Just to die for. Just one last hats off to our waiter, we told him that we had walked there from our home and it was consistently raining, he told us that they could call us a cab, we could wait out the storm or if we were in a hurry or needed to get home, they had some umbrellas we were more than welcome to borrow to get home. Now that's what I call S-E-R-V-I-C-E!!!
Needless to say, we will definitely be back to this gem in our neighborhood. Please due your diligence and try this place out, you won't be disappointed as we were just blown away. Actually, my husband and I made reservations for their Bastille Day wine tasting dinner. We can't wait!!!!!

Tip to all Montclairians.....GO TO THIS RESTAURANT, you won't be disappointed. Such a dining culinary experience!! Hats off to this chef/owner!!!

We recently dined here with a group of people on a Friday night. The server was pleasant and the food was good. One of our companions tried a special "4 course tasting menu". He felt the portions offered for 60$ were beyond small. The wild boar had just four tiny morsels. On the other hand, everyone else at the table was thoroughly satisfied with their selections. The only thing that plagued our visit was the time between courses. We had to ask for bread twice before the entrees arrived, because there was such a long wait between the appetizer course and the entree. Again, the same thing occurred between the entree and dessert. Finally the check arrived after another lengthy wait. I'm not one to eat and run, but the time it took to get our food was ridiculous. I must re-state though, that the food was very good (the petite filets were perfect!) but the wait tarnished our visit.

I had read the good reviews of Passione and anticipated a decent meal. I enjoy eating out at all kinds of different restaurants. However, It seems that people are very accepting. The quality was inconsistant. When I am paying 25.00 for 4 small pieces of undercooked duck served in haphazard fashion over "faro tabbouleh"!. Since this meal I have read a review in the Star Ledger. This claimed that my "duck" was served with a "bevy of veggies". Where were they? Someone in the kitchen should be paying better attention.

I dined at Passionne again last night with two out of town couples, one of which had been there before. They were again very pleased with all of their food, as were the newbies. We must not be the only ones that love the food because the place was busy all night. We had a great time each ordering something different so we could taste a good portion of the menu. I tried Fois Gras (sp?) and frog legs for the first time, thinking I wouldn't enjoy them, but they were delicious. I ordered my favorite, tapanad (sp?) and filet. Two out of our party of 6 enjoyed the lobster crepe addition to the menu. I actually enjoy the fact that the entrees change slightly from time to time, since I like to dine here often, and I am always excited to try new creations by the chef. I look foward to my next visit.

I just called Passionne to make a reso for dinner on Sunday and I was pleasantly informed that they will be doing SUNDAY BRUNCH instead of dinner on Sundays beginning THIS SUNDAY!!!! Of course, we made our reservation, we can't wait to try it out!!!

I went to Passionne on 9/15 with my husband and folks, none of us being big French food eaters so not really knowing what to expect. We had a really good experience. The wait staff were very attentive, and the bathrooms were clean and well appointed. This attention to detail was indicative of the entire experience for us. I felt that the menu offered plenty of choice; the portion size was large enough that 3 of the 4 of us took 1/2 our dinner home. The food was exquisitely prepared and presented. The desserts were scrumptious. Between Corso 98, Culinairane and Passionne, Walnut Street is the place to eat!!

My wife and I loved Passionne. A French menu with both classics -- Foie Gras, Onion Soup, Steak Frite -- and modern interpretations -- Seared Halibut on a Bed of "Forbidden Rice". But no heavy sauces. The Chef is quite nice and takes great pride in his place. And now a lovely Sunday Brunch. In a town with plenty of restaurants, this is a special place.

Does anyone get the NJ Life and Leisure Magazine? Check out this months issue.

There's a great article in Montclair Magazine this month on Restaurant Passionne. I can't wait to go again, I hear they've recently updated to their fall menu.... Also I jumped on their website ... and it is definitly NEW & IMPROVED... check it out... www.restaurantpassionne.com

I dined there this weekend. Very attractive place inside with an attentive and friendly staff.
I had a mushroom tart that was advertised as being made from puff pastry. I would guess that it was instead made from Phyllo pastry (in my mind a major step down). The filling was tasty however. My wife had coquiles st. jaques as an appitizer, and it was excellent. I had the cassoulet as an entry and it was also excellent.

The desserts were fair. I had pear tatin. This did not even remotely resemble the pan then oven cooked upsidedown carmelized fruit dessert that I make at home (again made with Phyllo instead of pastry or puff pastry). The chocolate dessert was also unmemorable.

I will give them another chance (mainly because of the cassoulet and excellent service).

I must have gone on an off night because our dinner (two friends plus me)was only fair. We shared the mushroom tarte to start and as others have said -- ok but nothing to scream about. One friend's fish was overcooked and undersalted while my mussels ($24 for a dinner size portion) was so salty, they were virtually inedible. The so-called hand cut frites were just potato shavings with no seasoning whatsoever. The service was attentive but not what I'd expect at those prices. Perhaps I'll try it again sometime but more likely I'll just go back to my favorite Epernay.

We went with two other couples last saturday night. I had a nice time. I ordered the escargot on phyllo pastry, my husband ordered the french onion soup, w both liked our appetizers. For our main entree, i had the grilled loin of pork with mushroom risotto and cranberry compote, the loin was perfectly cooked not dry. My husband ordered the steak frites, the steak was okay too. Our friends enjoyed their food as well. They ordered the duck, lobster, steak we all had a good time.
The one thing i enjoyed most was we were not rushed with our food and we were there for almost 4 1/2 hours. This one restaurant i went to in montclair we were rushed with our dinner, and i did not like that at all. I will surely go back to Passionne.

Inside Montclair on Tv - 34- 9th Annual Holiday Show

One of our featured segments of the special " Dining in Montclair for the Holidays ", had Chef Michael , prepare a unique Holiday feast of culinary delights.

See him on Inside Montclair On Tv - 34.

Mon. Wed. Fri. 8:00pm

Visited Passionne just before the New Year and I must say it was delightful. My Husband and I enjoyed the special tarte, i beleive it was a homemade pork sausage, anyhow it was very tasty. We also tried the venison, very good. I really enjoy the slow pace that is set in Passionne, I don't feel rushed and never feel ignored. Defenatey a fav, will return again. Oh and the chef even came out and we had a lovely conversation with him, then he sent us a special dessert to try a spice cake with honey icecream, yummy!. A must try people. Go hungry and open minded!

I have never been a lover of French cooking until I visited this fine restaurant in Montclair. I am now a convert. I have been impressed each time with not only the delicious and unusual selections but also with the ambience of the surroundings. I felt as if I were in a Parisian Bistro. The chief has come out several times to enquire about our meal and has even sent out samplings for us to taste. I love the mushroom tart and I agree that this appetizer and the tapenade could be sold at a gourmet foodstore. Recently I had the mussels as a main course and I couldn't believe how large they were and how generous the portion was. Everytime my husband and I eat at Passione we chose a meat and a fish to share and have never been disappointed. I have to say that everything about this restaurant is first class. The staff is very attentive but never hurry us which makes for an even more delightful experience.

Thumbing through the NY Times yesterday, I realized in the NJ Section
that one of our local restaurants’ was reviewed.....and received a
VERY GOOD!!! I've eaten there multiple times so it didn't surprise
me that this establishment of French cuisine received such a fantastic rating!! I'm sure to call ahead now to make some of my holiday reservations (Valentine's, Mothers Day, Easter)!!!

Congratulations to the owner of Passionne and his staff!!!!

Trust me try it out folks, it's delicious!!!!

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/07/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/07njdine.ht
ml?_r=1&ref=nyregionspecial2&oref=slogin

My husband and I had the pleasure of dining at Passionne on Friday evening and boy were we glad we were able to get the reservation. We were warmly greeted by the hostess, who was extremely friendly upon our arrival.She also stopped by our table throughout our meal to just check on us and ensure we were having a good time. We asked about the painting of the two chefs and I didn't expect it to be painted by a local artist in Nutley and a friend of the chef.

Our waitress promptly arrived taking our drink order (sparkling H2O), and explained the menu and some specials... WOW we were certainly hoping that the coquilles would be on the menu and they were, THANKFULLY! Chef, please put these on the menu, they were the best scallops I have ever tasted and I have eaten all over NJ/NYC and the world. We ordered the tapenade, mushroom tart and the coquilles. All to die for good! NYC quality by far!
We also order the mélange salad, the duck that was on this salad was melt in your mouth confit. I truly wanted to speak w/ the chef to discuss his methods b/c it was so amazing.
We ordered our entrees after waiting a while between courses, we were not rushed through the meal but allowed to linger and just enjoy the warm brassiere environment of Passionne. We got the lamb, which fell off the bone, every morsel was mouth-watering and my husband got mussels mariniere w/ frites. The mussel’s sauce was scrumptious, perfect for dipping, I definitly exceeede my carb allotment for the day w/ this sauce! Truly amazing.
Now after asking the waitress to let us digest and take in this amazing meal we ordered dessert…… crepes and the pear tart. OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Both of these amazing desserts were delectable. Perfectly presented on each plate, we enjoyed every bite, we pretty much licked the plates.

I highly recommend this culinary delight to everyone, everywhere to enjoy! Chef Carrino and his staff are amazing! Angela was our waitress and she did a great job guiding us through the menu and this wonderful culinary experience. We have already made reservations for brunch and can’t wait to try that menu out! It looked amazing! We look forward to our next culinary experience at Passionne.

Our usual group of 8 dined at Passione for the first time last evening. While the food was quite good the service was unacceptably slow and got worse. Add in the arrogance of the chef/owner and we experienced the worst dinning experience of our lives.

Two of us were finished with our main courses before the last two entrées were served. We had ordered a few orders of French fries to accompany our main course and these came out in stages, with the last order arriving after all main courses were consumed. Naturally we sent it back. We next noticed the chef in an apparent confrontation with our waitress, who seem on the verge of tears. Apparently the returned fries met with his disapproval. We requested to see the waitress, as she had done nothing wrong. Nothing happened. In fact no one showed up for at least 10 minutes. We were apparently being punished & abandoned.

No one came to speak to us or take our dessert order. When another waitress did come by, we requested to speak with our waitress who had disappeared. She told us that the chef would be out to speak with us. He arrived shortly with a wooden box that contained our check. He curtly indicated that we had upset the waitress and so we should pay and leave. Voila. In all the restaurants I have eaten in, I ever never experienced such arrogance and sheer disrespect for the customer. Chef Carrino, while he may be good with ingredients, is terrible as a restauranteur.

To patronize his establishment with all of the good restaurants in Montclair is, in my opinion, foolish.

This is a great place to relax and enjoy some fine culinary delights.

Chef Michael really knows how to Set the Table right.

Go, you won't be sorry you did.

You and your table of friend's were probally one of those pompus assholes how frequent most of the best establishment's in Montclair.Try going to South Park for dinner!!!! They like people like you.

While Friday night was our parties first time dining at the restaurant... we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. The food, the service, the decor, and the atmosphere an overall A+++++. I loved the mussels and the lamb (which was honestly, to die for, I’ve never had anything like it) and the pear turnover!

Now I wasn't going to say anything until I read the above statements but I witnessed the entire encounter of MS as we were seated in the “upper tier” of the restaurant...and while his account for the situation is far skewed from what we saw happen. Yes, the waitress brought out fries late, but from what I saw, someone shoved the fries back at her by grabbing her hands and said something to the affect of returning them to the kitchen as their meal was done and they weren't enjoyable regardless. Now if I was an owner of an establishment and ANY guest touched in my staff in manner in which upset her/him, I would have asked you to leave as well. SO....also another patron said something to this rude party as they left about ruining their evening as well. YOU GO!

Don't let one person deter you from this culinary delight on Walnut Street, it's great for me to just pop in on the way home from the train and meet my friends and wife. I highly recommend this establishment and Chef Carrino’s culinary delicies! He sure knows how to do it right!!! We'll be back, actually we are going again on Friday. :)

Ray, perhaps you need glasses as your observations are incorrect.

Lorry, I do feel truly sorry for you.

Time will tell the truth of this establishment.

I dined at Passionne last night for the Valentine's prix fixe menu and let me tell you........ This guy was so creative he completely blew us out of our seats. Roses and champagne upon arrival for me and my wife (the rose for her of course), chocolate covered strawberries upon presentation of the check!! FIRST CLASS SERVICE all around! The menu was amazing the specialty items, very amorous for the day of love, he even had chocolate mashed potato, now that's creative and they were great. Chef Carrino and Angela, were amazing, I highly recommend this culinary treat. I plan to book all holidays hear to see what else Chef comes up with. Keep up the good work guys.

My Poopsy and I were here also on Valentine's Day: First visit, but definitely not the last. Chocolate
mashed potatoes? Who knew?

Ray, I witnessed this encounter between MS's group and the wait staff as well. In fact I felt they had ruined our dinner thanks to their relentless rudeness and complete disregard to the other customers trying to enjoy their meals. You are a terrible group of people to sit by during a meal. Our food and visit to Passionne was fabulous except for the terrible table sitting close by. You deserved to be asked to leave.

I usually frequent more upscale resaurants when it comes to French food. I'm definitely (sad to say) a French food snob. While visiting my parents back over the river in NJ last week, they had mentioned a new favorite eatery of theirs, Passionne.

The atmosphere was very nice. Definitely the kind of place that I could see myself frequenting each week.

Food... Yes, Food... i dont care what class of restaurant it is, this place is amazing. I've never tried cerf (venison) at a French place before. It was excellent. Mussels in white wine were very good, but nothing i've never had before... BUT, I sampled some of my mom's Mussels Nage (lobster, ginger, carrot juice) which was TOTALLY DIFFERENT AND DELICIOUS, which is what I love to see in a new restaurants... The lamb and the pork were also both very tasty.

ANYWAYS, Passionne passed with flying colors in my book, I'm definitely going to be visiting my parents a lot more and treating them for dinner (prices are wayyyyyy less than what I'm used to paying)

HAPPY 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PASSIONNE!!!!!

Congrats to Chef Carrino for his success and entry into the restaurant world of Montclair!!! I love this place and hope it's around for many many years to come!!!

Congrats again on your uber-success of your 1 year anniversary!

We aate there late Sat night. We enjoyed the attention to detail that goes into the food preparation. The crab salad, duck, and soft shell crabs were wonderful. Its great to have a new 'gourmet' choice in our town of many mediocre restaurants.

Visted Passionne this evening for dinner. Even though we waited a few minutes for our 9pm reservation, beleive me it was well worth it. Esquisite, to say the least. My wife and I began with the Artichoke souffle (amazing) and the crab salad. I had the soft shell crab special and my wife the Veal. Spot on. We finished by splitting the chocolate souffle with figs and sorbet. A perfect finish to a memorable meal. We will be retuning very soon.

My wife and I enjoyed an anniversary dinner at Passione this weekend. The emphasis is definitely on "enjoyed."

Our table was waiting when we arrived for our reservation at 9pm. We were encouraged to enjoy our meal at our own pace without feeling rushed.

Our server was courteous, prompt, knowledgable and friendly. The food was phenomenal.

The seared foie gras was a strong first course. Our waiter recommended the fresh blueberries and lime sorbet as a palate cleanser, which were delightful surprises. The braised pork was tasty, but was dwarfed by the veal.

As Tim also mentioned, the souffle/fig/sorbet dessert wrapped things up perfectly.

We'll definitely go back for a repeat performance.

Visted Passionee Sunday evening. The hostess did not inform the waitress that that we have arrived, so nobody came to our table for 20 minutes. It's BYOB so we brought two bottles of white wine, I had to ask twice for the ice bucket. When it finally arrived it was a cold water bucket not an ice bucket. They were out of fois gras. The Steak Tartar was OK, the raw quail egg was not nice touch. The cheese platter was outstanding but it's the cheese not the restaurant. Silverware finally came before the entree. The restaurant was half empty I really don't know how they handle a full restaurant. The duck I ordered was too chewy, I've made better duck myself. I'm never going back again. My friend has char and it was too greasy. For the prices they charged it was a disappointment. I would rather spend a little bit more and enjoy my food and the atmosphere at the Highlawn Pavilion or the Manor down the road. The wait staff would have been definitely more attentive and the food would have been amazing.

Love love love Passionee but a word to the wise. You are always treated to little tastes of this and that, but I was not happy to see the iced tea that had been offered 'to taste' upon seating appear on the bill. The peculiarity of the tea at the outset of the meal was compounded by the offer of an 'intermezzo' (hello - an italian course in a french restaurant?)of blueberries and sorbet (from the dessert menu) to 'cleanse the palate' between appetizer and entree. Dessert and tea before your entree....hmmm. Surprised me that people were actually going for the 'intermezzo', which was served with an announcement of 'your intermezzo!' while a nearby diner was served same, as a dessert, without a word. Excellent food, but the service is becoming pretentious.

So.. I have to admit I was at Passionne last night yet again (I think it's like my 8th time in the last 2 mths). I was so happy they are back from vacation! I was ALSO pleasantly surprised that the chef has yet again CHANGED THE MENU! I love the seasonal changes. The new menu is amazing. I had the new foie gras, potage, and the porc. ALL WERE AMAZING! This guy really knows his stuff and what's going out and coming in season! I highly recommend it!!

Enjoy! JR

My husband and I had dinner at Passionne last night and I must say, I cannot wait to go back. The meal and the service were flawless...the only tiny criticism we have is that maybe the lights should be slightly dimmer. We both had the rabbit-stuffed ravioli with mushrooms as a starter and the lamb chops with mustard as a main dish. We then split the bananas foster crepes and the chocolate souffle cake. Worth every calorie, all of it. We have been to many French restaurants in NYC and in Paris and this one is definitely up there with the best of them.

One of the BEST meals I've ever had! We went to Passionne last weekend for a family celebration and were amazed and delighted. The beet salad that folks above have raved about really is that good. If it's still on the menu, try the pork with blueberries and raisin risotto -- sounds odd, I know, but it's delicious. The space is lovely, the waiters are charming, and the blood orange and chocolate tart is to die for. It was perfect for our birthday celebration dinner, and we'll definitely be going back.

Had an absolutely delicious dinner at Passionne tonight. My husband and I tried a few things off the new summer menu. We shared 3 different appetizers and all were outstanding. There was a nice refreshing cold peach gazpacho with tiny bits of apple in it (and other flavors I can't remember). The rabbit spring roll had some pickled vegetables in it (again can't remember exactly which vegetables). I'm not big on pickled, but I did not detect a real pickled flavor at all. Delicious! The last appetizer was a foie gras with cherries jublilee over a thin toasted bread. Loved it!! For dinner we both decided to try the monkfish. It comes wrapped in bacon and was the most tender and delicious monkfish I've ever eaten. The chef makes his own bacon so it is not too salty and does not overpower the dish at all. Sorry that I can't remember all of the exact ingredients. I feel I'm doing the dishes a disservice, but just believe me - they were excellent!! I have eaten at Passione many times, but it just keeps getting better and better.

We ate at Passione several times in the last few months. While the food at Passione may occasionally be good, the last meal we had there (party of 6) included one fish entree which was served almost raw. When we couldn't get the waiter's attention to send it back, the host took it back to the kitchen. Then the inattentive waiter came by to ask how everything was, not noticing that one entree was missing. Very anmateurish. There are enough professionally run restaurants in Montclair for people to avoid this one, as I will.