There was no wait, got seated right away. The aesthetics and ambience are open, clean, and chic. The waitress and staff are friendly and helpful; however, the food took a while to come out. Now the food is delicious, the burger was seasoned well. They offer mocktails, keep that in mind. read more

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Food was good, but expensive for the portion size. The biggest issue was the overall attitude of the hostess and manager. When we arrived, we were sent to stand by the kitchen until our entire party was there, even though the restaurant was empty. Once everyone arrived, we were seated right next to the door on the coldest night of the year. We asked to sit at another table and were told we couldn't, even though other tables were empty. When the manager came by to ask how our dinner was, we told him about this and he couldn't care less. Why ask for feedback if he didn't care? There are way too many better places in Montclair to give my business. read more

The Saint Clair is a nice restaurant located in Montclair NJ. The ambiance is an upscale New York City vibe with black and white colors and warm lighting tones. The service is not the best when I was here. It was very slow even though there was a lot of people working. We asked for the check around two times we waited around 15 minutes just for the check. The food was very good and unique the burger was very different with caramelized onions and lettuce. I will be back. Not bad overall read more

Went on a Thursday date night to the Saint Clair. Immediately, the ambiance is very cool with large windows. The hostess was extremely friendly and we were sat right away. Our table was upstairs and enjoyed the more romantic feel up there. Also a plus it was BYOB! The waitress was super attentive. I have a nut allergy and I noticed there were a lot of nuts on the menu. She was so comforting and told me everything is pretty much made fresh so whatever I wanted they can make without nuts and they will be extra cautious with my meal. Definitely another plus! Onto the food - amazing! We shared the duck fat tater tots. We were pleasantly surprised by how delicious this was. Only note my fiancée made was he wished there were 4 instead of 3 ;) For our meals, I had the Graffiti Eggplant which was sooo delicious and fresh. My fiancée got the pork chops with cannellini beans. It was super tender and taste great with his side. We ended the night with the blueberry panna cotta. It was really good but it was a different take on the texture. It was very jello-like but overall good! We highly recommend and will definitely be back!! read more

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My fiancé and I dined at the St. Clair last Saturday evening, 5/2. We were seated at a lovely corner table, and our waitress was warm, bubbly, and provided wonderful recommendations for appetizers, dinner, and dessert. We were excited to enjoy a rare date night after arranging babysitting for my special needs son, and overall we were having a very enjoyable evening. At one point, our waitress even commented that we looked like "love birds." We were laughing, being playful, and simply enjoying each other's company. During the evening, I noticed the manager glancing over at our table several times, though I assumed perhaps they needed the table turned over. What was upsetting was what happened at the very end of the evening. After we had already paid our bill and finished our coffee, a man working near the kitchen approached us and stated that "management" wanted us to know there was a dress code and that we were not adhering to it. I was honestly shocked and embarrassed that this was brought to our attention only as we were leaving. If there had truly been an issue with our attire, I do not understand why it was not addressed when we arrived or at some point earlier in the evening before we spent several hours dining there. As we were leaving, the manager walked by our table and I expressed how upset I was by the comment and that we did not intend to return. He blamed the employee who approached us and stated he would speak with him. I questioned why an employee we had never interacted with would specifically say "management" if this had not come from management directly. The manager then asked us to wait and returned with a $50 gift card in an attempt to encourage us to come back. However, the entire interaction left us confused and uncomfortable. It felt unnecessary and humiliating to raise the issue only after our meal was over and our bill was paid. I am struggling to understand the purpose of addressing it at that point other than to ensure we would not want to return. It was especially disappointing because, up until that moment, we had truly enjoyed our evening and had been looking forward to coming back & sharing our experince with our Wine Club. Food was very good. The 2 stars were for how we were treated. read more

We had dinner at St. Clair last night and really enjoyed it. We ordered the tater tots, the steak and my girlfriend got the steak tartar for her entree. We enjoyed everything and the service was excellent. We would come back for sure. read more

They did a great job with the place. Nice atmosphere and excellent service. The pork chop was great and desserts was one of the best we've had. Will return read more

Given the impressive resume of the head chef and owners, we arrived at Saint Clair with high expectations, but unfortunately, the experience fell short from the very beginning. We arrived 15 minutes early and noticed three open tables at the front, but the hostesses told us our table wasn't ready and asked us to "walk around" while they would text us when it was. After returning 15 minutes later, we were seated at one of those same open tables. This lack of communication set the tone for the night. Once seated, it took far too long for our waitress to greet us. By the time she came over, we were ready to order, and she promised to return shortly to open our wine. However, we waited another 10 minutes, and after asking two other staff members to open it, they finally tracked down our waitress. A small thing, but for me, it's a major letdown when service isn't prioritized. To add to the frustration, we never received water for our table. After asking the waitress, she claimed they had no still water left. The manager eventually brought a bottle after we had already received our food, but it was placed on the floor because there was no room on the table with the appetizers. The waitress then showed up with another bottle of still water, only to be told we'd already been given one. She responded with, "But I walked all the way to the fridge to find this," as if that should have mattered. As for the food, the duck fat tater tots were soggy and bland, badly needing seasoning. The steak tartare was decent but nothing memorable, probably a solid 3 stars. The jumbo lump crab salad was fine, but again, nothing to write home about. The NY Strip was the standout dish for me, cooked perfectly, though my husband felt the sauce completely overpowered the steak. At the end of the meal, the manager offered us dessert on the house, though we couldn't figure out why. We politely declined, as by that point, we were just ready to leave. We ended up finishing the night at another restaurant down the street for sushi to salvage what remained of our evening. Sadly, based on this experience, I don't foresee us returning to Saint Clair. Even if they work out the staffing issues, the food didn't live up to the hype. A solid 3-star experience at best read more

Tried the monk fish, beers, and fluke crudo. The monk fish was fried and made it tougher to taste the fish but overall all dishes were quite nice, if not a little on the smaller side . The service when we arrived was great, and everyone was friendly even as we left. However, our particular waitress was not. She was extremely cold and inattentive, and had to be flagged down constantly. Even though we sat right next to where the wait staff were, she would be standing there and seem completely disinterested. read more

We finally made it out to top Chef Leia Gaccione's new restaurant, The Saint Clair, and enjoyed an outstanding dinner, including an excellent tuna crudo with GUM DROP GRAPES, GINGER CITRONETTE, FRESNO, QUINOA CRUNCH. The crispy quinoa crunch was the unexpected star. Steak tartare with crispy capers and Bernaise aioli; Crispy rice with jumbo lump crabmeat and squid ink aioli; a fantastic dry aged burger with FIVE HOUR VIDALIA ONIONS, COOPER'S SHARP, TRUFFLE AIOLI and sweet potato fries; short ribs (that they over charged me by $10! -$42 on menu and $52 on bill; which is NOT COOL!) with RED CHILE, COFFEE, MAPLE SWEET POTATOES, BRUSSELS SPROUTS. Please excuse the CAPS. I copy and pasted from the menu. I removed a star due to the price gouging of my short ribs. I would hope that Top Chef Leia would be better than that, than to over charge her customers. I didn't want to make a fuss since they were slammed. They did a beautiful job on the renovation. I also want to give a shout out to excellent General manager Josh and our server Kristen. read more

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We really enjoyed our experience! The restaurant had a great ambiance and the staff were very friendly. We enjoyed everything we tried. The crispy rice with crab meat was our favorite app and the burgers were delicious! read more

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Our first visit but big fans of South & Pine. We started with the jumbo lump crab salad- amazingly light and delicious! Like a reverse crabcake. We also had the cast iron cornbread-moist and flavorful-not to be missed! We also split the dry aged burger and the eggplant sandwich. Both excellent! The aioli and greens on the burger were sublime, as was the burger. The eggplant was so crisp but meltingly smooth in the center. Best eggplant I think I ever had! We finished with the devils food cake--so delicious and fresh! Love this place! We will be back soon. And the servers couldn't be nicer and knowledgeable about the menu. read more

Disappointing overall. I wanted to love this new restaurant, but nothing stood out. The potato-crusted monkfish was essentially just fried food--tough (which fish should never be), bland, and indistinguishable beneath its fried coating. More concerning is how they handle gluten-free claims. The menu notes that their French fries are gluten-free, but that's misleading. Potatoes are naturally gluten-free; the only reason to make that claim is if you use a dedicated fryer, which they do not. For celiacs, that's a serious issue. Unfortunately, with food that feels uninspired and misleading menu labeling, I don't see this place lasting. read more

We have been to the St. Clair several times (local Montclarians). The food is wonderful and it's got a cool vibe but when we went there recently for a birthday celebration., our experience was less than stellar. We made the reservation weeks in advance to sit in one of the upstairs booths. Reservation was confirmed and we were excited. Get to the restaurant the night of, the host was quite rude, told us the upstairs booth aren't guaranteed and basically walked off. So they took the reservation, they just didn't keep the reservation. It's a nice restaurant but truly hope it doesn't turn into another "too cool for school" destination in Montclair. We have enough of those. read more

Food was okay. Service was terrible. Truly sad because I had high expectations. Our waiter had such a smug attitude towards us as if we were insignificant. The place itself was beautiful. Just expected the service to match. Will not be returning, save your money. Truly terrible experience from start to finish read more

Excellent service and excellent seasonally centered food. They helpfully accommodated my elderly father with easily accessible table. Will definitely come back again. Beautiful dining area. read more

This place is definitely a vibe! Tried the beets, perhaps they just weren't for me, I didn't love them. Had a fish entree and it was excellent. Dessert was fine. I really appreciated that they had a coffee "bar" and I was able to get my drink iced. Service was amazing, they were so kind to us even though we were the last people to leave, didn't rush us at all. read more

Very good food. I just find the menu a little too limited. A few specials would go a long way. Great service and a pretty place. Liked it but it didn't get me excited to come back. read more

I brought my husband to Saint Clair for his birthday. I thought the food was okay. We ordered the monkfish, chicken, duck tater tots and corn bread. Out of all the dishes, the corn bread was the best with the drizzled honey butter. The monk fish and roast chicken were descent. Monkfish was nicely coated and fried. The tater tots really didn't have much taste. This is really what made me give a 3 star... the service! While the waiters and waitresses were nice and friendly, I felt like I was being rushed out. Honestly, I have not even finished eating my corn bread, and they already came to remove both my husband and my daughter plate. The same with our entree. It would be more courteous if they would only remove all of the plates once everyone is finished. Overall the ambience was okay. I wanted to like this place but I felt like everything was overpriced for the service that was given. read more

Amazing food and excellent service. Everything is delicious! Our waiter, Leo, was friendly, helpful and clearly loved working for this restaurant. read more

Let me begin by saying this type of cuisine has been much needed in Montclair for quite some time. High quality American food in a sea of Italian restaurants. So bravo for that. I wanted desperately to give this newcomer five stars, but when you reach the end of this review you'll see why I didn't. We started with a fairly traditional, but very tasty Caesar salad and anything but traditional corn dogs. They were delicious Merguez sausage dogs, unlike any you will find under any carnival tent, and extremely tasty. We split a fantastic burger and sweet potato fries. The burger was hefty enough and the price was extremely hefty at $28. For dessert we shared a warm, mouth-watering blueberry galette with vanilla gelato and savored every bite. Then came the bill. Just under $100 with a $5 sharing charge for the burger. It wasn't stated on the menu or by our server but regardless it was beyond appalling. Tacking a $5 service charge on a $28 burger is beyond tacky. I insisted it be removed from the bill, and it was, but it still left a really bad taste in my mouth after what was overall a delicious meal. Thus 4 stars, as opposed to what most likely would have been 5. read more

The food is excellent! The service was fantastic and the ambience was perfect. We very much enjoyed our meal, we had appetizers salads, main course and dessert. Every single thing we had was perfect, chef Leia did it again. read more

The Saint Clair is a great addition to our already wonderful restaurant scene. First of all, I love the decor. The main dining room has sky high ceilings and great artwork and huge, gorgeous mirrors. Our server was very nice and we were not rushed. I'm generally so sick of being rushed at high end restaurants so that was a huge plus. We shared the fresh crabmeat salad on a crisp zucchini fritter, hit with some fresh lemon juice. A lovely and super tasty starter. Our entrees included the salmon and the halibut. Both were very good, but I preferred the salmon on a bed of nice chewy farro with hazelnuts and sunchoke purée . The halibut, in a light coconut broth with couscous and sliced shitakes, was also tasty. Thank you for brewing fresh decaf for us! See you again soon. read more

Great vibes, fantastic food! We had a wonderful evening for my wife's birthday party in the lounge upstairs.

A friend and I had brunch here over the weekend. The food was deliciously prepared. We had the strawberries, beets, and labneh with pistachio granola, the tomato salad, and the oatmeal pancakes. We enjoyed everything. Our server was very friendly and helpful and we enjoyed dining in the Al fresco seating. read more

A huge welcome to this wonderful restaurant. In a town where mediocre food and service is the norm, this restaurant shines. Our server- Christine was terrific. Impeccable timing. Cleared plates as we finished course, brought clean silverware and plates, refreshed our water and made some great recommendations. It's rare to see this level of competence and care in the local restaurants. Her professionalism was a breath of fresh air. The corn bread appetizer is unique and delicious. We had the burger and the eggplant sandwich. Both delicious and cooked to perfection. Highly recommend. read more

I really wanted to love this place, however it was OK. We ordered the cast iron cornbread. It was OK. Duck Fat Tater tots were good...different and the Jersey heirloom salad I could of made at home. It was just typical. I ordered the salmon which was good, my friend ordered the monk fish which she thought was VERY over priced for a piece of fried fish and the pork chop was tough. Pink inside which our waitress said was OK to eat since it was such a high quality of meat. They took the charge for the pork chop off our bill and gave us a free dessert. The Devils Food cake was DRY. No moistness to it at all and not very tasty. Like a cake from an old Italian bakery with a lot of sugar. The gelato was very good and the milk and honey panna cotta was excellent. The place is a bit too bright - chandeliers are gorgeous. But the big decor problem came when my party members used the bathroom. The picture of the saint or Virgin Mary (whichever it was) was appauling. She is smoking a blunt with tatoos on her fingers. Why? Why is this necessary? I know the place is giving a cool, hipster kind of vibe and thought the picture would be a real NYC kind of derogatory art statement, and some people may get a real kick out of this, but we didn't. No need for this. None of us would go back. read more