My husband and I just wasted our morning trying to go to Allegory. Our reservation was made for 11am. We arrived at 10:30 and were told there was a wedding party and we'd have to come back at 11am. Ok, fine. We respect that. We came back at 11 and were seated. About 10 minutes later, our waitress came out and took our order. A few minutes later, the waitress came back out and said "The manager wanted me to let you know that the wedding party is still working on their food. The wait time on your food will be about 45 minutes.". Disgusted, my husband and I looked at each other and decided to leave. First off, if you knew a wedding party was coming in, don't take reservations you can't honor. Second off, it would have been appreciated if the manager themselves had the courage to come talk to us. And third, they obviously knew at 10:30 they wouldn't be able to serve us, so why not just be upfront with us at 10:30? We already wasted the time getting to the restaurant and parking. To make us wait a half hour, then 10 more minutes was absolutely a waste of our time. We are no strangers to fine dining, and the experience isn't just about food. It's about the staff and the level of service you expect. My husband raves about their steak frites, but after this type of treatment, we will never return. We will definitely deter others from going to Allegory. read more

Was sooo excited to go! And then soooo bummed! Online it said it was Mediterranean the hostess when we called said it was Mediterranean and then you have nothing Mediterranean on the menu! Service was very nice and sweet but the food was so bland for $13 we had a bowl filled with bean sprouts vegetables and four shrimp I don't understand what that was supposed to be. We really aren't fussy eaters at all I had dumplings that tasted like paste in a small bowl with some tiny bits of shiitake mushroom my husband had cod and he said it was the blandest thing he ever had again we are not fussy but we were so disappointed I hope they get the kinks out and I hope they serve Mediterranean food like they keep advertising. The drinks were on point and the dessert was fabulous read more

Great atmosphere. Cocktails are pricey but delicious!! Service is flustered - they still seem to be working out the kinks. Understandable I guess considering it's new. Food is just ok overall. The lamb appetizer and pork chop were delicious. But the portions are small. All the entrees come with a small handful of salad, which is pretty lame considering the prices. The fish was mediocre. read more

Absolutely horrible service. Sat at a table for 20 minutes with no service. Then a waiter with horrible attitude came to the table to take our drink order. After 15 minutes drinks finally came. The almond milk was curdled. Finally someone took our food order. After and hour and a half we asked for a manager and we were told the was no manager at the restaurant. 5 minutes later one magically appeared. Instead of helping and being hospitable he stood there and laughed in my cousins face. Let me also say we were a table of 10 and one of 4 tables in the restaurant. Will never return to this restaurant. read more

I am staying at the hotel and have "free" breakfast included with my status. The breakfast includes a pastry item, fruit and either juice or coffee. This isn't a deal breaker... but it took 39 min for my cold bagel to be brought to me... and the juice (though fresh squeezed) was so full of pulp it was messy to drink. I also had to ask for my check which took some time. What should have been a 20 min. Breakfast was an hour. For a cold bagel and bowl of fruit.. a little disappointed read more

Weird menu with few choices. Service was terrible. Attitude from all we had contact with was..."who cares". Will never return.

We went here for our anniversary dinner. What a regret. The menu had about five items on it, total. When we asked for the Brussels sprouts (the only vegetable offered as a side), they said, sorry we're sold out. It was 8pm. The food was average at best -- and that's being generous. The molten cake for dessert was supposed to come with whipped cream, which was either sour or replaced with sour cream. It's trying to be a boutique hotel restaurant, but instead you feel like you're sitting in a sub-par lobby and pay a lot to leave hungry. Don't go, or just go for drinks. We would have had a better experience at a diner. read more

Went here to celebrate my friends early birthday dinner. We had a great time and our food was outstanding! I normally never eat spicy meals, but I had their spicy chicken that came with potatoes and greens and I loved it. Our serve Clemence was wonderful she was quick and efficient. I'll be back soon! read more

Was so excited to take my husband here for his birthday but that lasted about ten minutes into us arriving. While the hotel is beautifully designed, the service is absolutely terrible and the food is mediocre at best. We sat down and waited about 10 minutes before anyone even came to greet us, we watched the wait staff scurry and scramble all over the place and hand out wrong food to multiple tables. Totally disorganized. The rooftop bar is really cool and the only reason I gave this review more than one star. If you want a great meal, go to Faubourg instead right up the road... read more

Went for dinner with friends last night. The place is lovely and they have a good liquor selection. For disclosure we are in our early 50s and probably not their target audience however the place was very loud... Like can't talk to the person across the table from you loud. The lights were on some weird controller and kept dimming and undimming.... Also odd. Service was OK... Food... Really underwhelming. I got the chicken tagine. It was served in a high sided bowl... More like a soup. The bowl made it very difficult to cut the chicken... And it had no particular flavor... Dull... Essentially tasteless. The pours were very small and clearly measured. Overall I won't bother going back as there is nothing to make me do so. Any one of these things would be excusable but together... A very lack luster dining experience read more

Had a positively awful dining experience. Sat for at least 15 minutes before anyone came to table with water or to take order. Food ranged from mediocre (tomato salad, pea hummus with stale pita, and yellowtail ceviche) to inedible (chicken tangine). Server was earnest but overall service was amateurish. Management made no effort to inquire about the experience even though server told him we had sat for a while and thought food was barely edible - then seemed shocked when we told manager how awful the food was. Have lived in Montclair for many years, eat out all the time. Will not return and recommend you don't even bother. Sad because it is always nice to have another good restaurant in town. read more

It was horrible soup was cold, steak was cold, and salad was so tiny and had no dressing. Waiters don't know who ordered what and didn't know anything about the menu read more

Second time eating here and still disappointing! First time I had the hummus which was ok also had the pea dumplings, they were so bland and not tasty at all! Second time I had a business meeting and was sitting for 10/15 minutes before anyone offered me water and it was not busy. I tried the burger and it tasted like a frozen patty my boss had the chicken sandwich and it was dry and chicken looked grey. The waiter was very nice, took the entree and said the manger would come over. Needless to say, they offered to comp the meal and he ordered a burger however, we couldn't expense just one meal for a business meeting so we suggested to keep the meal on the bill and a GC would suffice and guess what... nothing, no GC and no manger ever came over to address anything at all. I'm a Local and know so many locals that have been looking forward to this opening and as lovely as the place is the food and experience was below sub par definitely won't be eating here again!! read more

I've stayed at the hotel a few times and generally have had a wonderful night's sleep. I can highly recommend that experience but the restaurant is rather mediocre. The breakfast offers some rather imaginative ideas of a delicious meal but the food is poorly presented on the plate and sometimes surprisingly dense. The egg souffle is a lot like the sous vide eggs at Starbucks and the MC Egg sandwich is probably made with two to three eggs, overwhelming the brioche bun. It also lacks seasoning and the bun was toasted too much creating a weird texture when biting into it--soft outside, hard inside. Besides breakfast, I've had drinks at around 7pm. The drinks were alright but nothing to make you change from your preferred night spot. In both cases, drinks and breakfast, there were more wait staff than customers, yet service was slow and no reassurance was given when food was taking awhile--about half an hour. Frequently the wait staff is talking amongst themselves and appear to ignore simple requests. My waiter walked away before hearing that my mother wanted orange juice after we had declined coffee, which was all he offered. Overall the restaurant has yet to truly feel a part of Montclair's foodie scene. Some of that has to do with the atmosphere, playing club music or "lo-fi beats" that fits more in a clothing retail venue than a restaurant in suburban New Jersey. I think the restaurant for its price and curb appeal could become a staple of Montclair, it just isn't there yet. Perhaps in a year all the kinks will be worked out and can be the perfect venue for out of towners, returning grown-up Montclair kids, and parents out for a date. But there is such a variety in Montclair that Allegory just can't be recommended. If you are looking for really good faire, better service, and a great atmosphere, head down the street to Faubourg. read more

We just had our anniversary dinner at Allegory-our first time at the restaurant. The decor is wonderful, the staff attentive and the food was very good. Our server, Ava, recommended the whipped ricotta which was excellent and the Spaetzle, which we enjoyed. I ordered the Salmon which was nicely prepared! We'll definitely come back and also try the rooftop! read more

When a new restaurant opens it is usually chaos for the first month or so so we usually wait and hope they work the kinks out. It seems to have paid off at Allegory as our first visit was just great. It was a Monday so it was fairly slow. Kevin was our waiter and he was very friendly and courteous. We shared the eggplant to start and then had the potato crusted cod and the Bolognese for our mains. All of the food was very good. Instead of dessert we headed up to the rooftop bar and it did not disappoint. We sat outside and the views are spectacular. Advice if you want to sit outside - dress warmly because the heaters while quite nice to look at provide little heat. We enjoyed everything about our experience at Allegory and will certainly return. read more

Beautiful new restaurant in Montclair that feels like it's NOT in Montclair, in a good way! Overalll feeling is like being in a W hotel--very nice, sophisticated decor, very good service, (a major rarity in Montclair where crappy service is the norm). Expensive, but fun for a treat or a date night. Food was very good, excellent drinks, very pricey though. Some bad reviews here, so proceed with caution--perhaps we had a better experience because we were there quite early (around 5:30) and it was not yet very busy. read more