Had eaten here a couple of years ago, no more than 2. Simple Italian set up inside with some recent upgrades, nice, sort of homey. Ok - ordered Chicken Parma plated & linguine w/sauce on the side. Sauce, terrific & parm - well 2 huge pieces, just the right thickness, breading & sauce - delicious. Had to take some home there was so much.
1st - 2015 review
Ok, fast forward to last Saturday Night, about 4:45.There are wider sidewalks in Montclair now & lots of outdoor table seating (most chairs were in "questionably safe" condition - I swap mine, I'm not teeny tiny) & surprise, some light Jazzy entertainment, ok.
My friend & I decide to order only 1 appetizer - Eggplant Rolitini - nice size, sauce good, yummy, and 2 entrees to share. Since we remembered how much there was last time & we each took some of ours home. We order Carbonara & Veal Parm w/side of linguine. Carbonara plate seems much smaller then before & Veal Parm comes, only 1 medium sized cutlet, & very thin - like a bra insert. Ok, for an B cup. Yikes. I get it, Veal costs more than Chicken, but Carbonara, mostly pasta & not homemade, cheap to make. We each have half of the entrees. Poor Lamb that gave it's life for this meal - not juicy & tender, and Carbonara was tasty more chop meat but not much panchetta. Ordered Garlic bread too - overly browned more like "giant croutons" than bread slices. That's why this Italian Girl prefers her own food. Rather eat other cuisine I dont prepare better at home.
The entertainment was really super, no credit for that to the restaurant. But to make our stay at the table worth it we finish eating relax about 10 mins & order some dessert, which we rarely do after a meal that is filling, this really wasn't & we want to stay to enjoy the Jazz - WHAT! - NO CAPPUCINO - broken machine, busy weekend evening crowd & 2 great Italian Desserts with AMERICAN Coffee - oh the humanity!!! Leone's WTF?
Needless to say I was not too pleased, but my friend decides to treat me & I know she leaves great tips. I wasnt that satisfied with the meal, I expect better than my own when eating out.
2nd - 2015 review
Decide to take myself out again the next day, Sunday, for lunch there. I want to try the Eggplant Parm - comes to me like a narrow slice of lasagna floating in so much sauce it looked like they murdered it.
Changed my order to the Chicken Parm & got only 1 cutlet, like a lop sided show girl who lost her padding. A tiny side of linguine and cold "used" Italian bread pieces that had sauce on them before my entree even came. Ew - gross. BTW cost the same as the dinner menu, not lunch pricing. Had to stare down the hostess to get her attention to replace the marinara stained bread.
Not busy, not "packed" actually more women employees outside than Saturday night & way WORSE service. A lot of chatter between both the male & female employees & not much attention to customers. My tip: The owner or Management needs to step up THEIR game. There are literally dozens of Italian Restaurants all around you. Plus, after table cleared, I sat there & had to finally get up & go inside myself to pay my bill & got back talk besides - Absolutely NO cash tip from me. read more