Madame — Restaurant in Jersey City

In the subterranean depths of a century-old Polish immigrant building, Jersey City's Madame serves oysters that would make a Parisian blush. East coast bivalves arrive dressed in apple and cucumber mignonette with fennel—a sophisticated twist that adds unexpected sweetness to the briny classics.

The happy hour runs Wednesday through Friday, 5-7 PM, plus Sundays from 4 PM to close, exclusively at the bar. But this isn't your typical discounted-drinks affair. This is Jersey City channeling downtown Manhattan's late-night energy circa 2000.

The backstory reads like French noir fiction. The restaurant honors Madame Claude, the infamous 1960s French madam who claimed JFK as a client before her arrest. The current logo cheekily crosses out "Claude" from the predecessor "Madame Claude Bis."

When French owners Alice Troietto and Mattias Gustafsson retired in 2022 after running their beloved bistro since 2002, they personally called chef Jamie Knott to take over. Smart move. Knott overcame nearly 20 years of alcoholism to become one of New Jersey's most celebrated restaurateurs, transforming the iconic Saddle River Inn and building a restaurant empire.

Knott wanted "a naughty, night-owl mood" inspired by downtown Manhattan's late-night scene—"a funky mix of club kids, fashion people, artists and writers." Mission accomplished in this 54-seat cellar with sultry purple velvet booths and chic neon signage.

The drinks program is seriously French. Beverage Director Gabriel Rieben, from Lyon, created an exclusively French wine list—no Spain, Italy, or Napa—tasting 300 bottles to select options unavailable anywhere else in Jersey City. The signature Spicy Demoiselle margarita teases with hibiscus, espelette chili, strawberry, mint, and orchid blossom perfume.

Madame shares a door with sister restaurant Cellar 335 (Asian tiki bar), hosting monthly dual-DJ parties. Sunday nights feature the speakeasy bar "Panache" with password entry.

Quirky touches abound: dining room portraits have altered eyes conveying "what happens at Madame stays at Madame," and plans include monthly Drag Brunch and Thursday "All the Queens' Men" Pride nights.

The food matches the atmosphere's sophistication. Prime Angus beef tartare comes with pickled mayo-based remoulade, while bone marrow gets braised in red wine and port. But it's those French-kissed oysters that steal the show, proving that sometimes the best happy hour isn't about the deals—it's about the experience.

At Madame, you're not just slurping mollusks; you're participating in a love letter to French decadence, one perfectly dressed...

To be honest, Madam is a total experience. Reminiscent of a 18th Century Hotel Particulier. With it's dimly lit chandeliers, votives on every table, beautiful and well stocked bar and the Marie Antoinette movie playing. All very cozy and intimate. The staff, my personal tour guide for food and beverage were all phenomenal.

My tour guide Ms Isabella asked  questions to get a feel for my beverage profile and suggested I may want to start with the lovely Provence Fizz cocktail.  After I read the menu I knew I wanted everything. In the spirit of restraint and a general semse of, I ought to know better... I chose the respectable Duck L'Orange kale salad. Such a nice treat to have a delicious salad with delicate slices of perfectly cooked duck with sectioned orange slices. There were spicy carrots on the menu of course I had to try them. These carrots were epic. Tooth tender, mildly spicy with a drizzle of creme fraiche just for good measure. The presentation of the carrots was rustic and elegant, authentic bistro fare.

I needed a light table wine to accompany my dishes. Once again Ms Isabella to the rescue, and I enjoyed a nice white blend. This evening there was an appetizer special of foie gras moose adorned with a pleasantly acidic herb topping served with garlic rubbed toast points.

This was sooooo delicious after three bites of the creamy and  sublime appetizer, I realize this was the gateway to my lack of control. The next thing I knew the famed escargot dish miraculously appeared at my table. I was surprised but I didn't want to let on that I didn't remember ordering that. After 2 beverages, it was possible my memory was a bit shaky. One bite of the truly decadent escargot and I was off the rails completely. Next came the Dressed West coast and East coast oysters! Don't mind if I do! 🤣  The super plump succulent Westies and the slightly sweet Eastside oysters both were served with diced watermelon, chives and little citrus pearls aka finger lime.

...then- came- the dessert special. Cheesecake mousse with  a berry maceration, incredibly light and exquisite

I cant, I just cant. 🤦🏾‍♀️🤦🏾‍♀️ Madame is certainly one of a kind and  true to form becoming an obsession.  "Nothing exceeds life like excess" As I walked out I met Chef Chris!

I let him know this was a real experience. Oh and the fancy azz dressed oysters, yeah I'm...

I'm highly disappointed with last visit to this place and here's why:

We had a reservation for 7 at 8 PM on a Friday. We were all seated and ready by 8:15 PM

All seems well so far but here is where it goes down hill

The early arrivals had ordered drinks and asked on the status after the whole table was seated. Response "I don't know, we'll look"

I asked if they can if they can split the check at the begging of the order and their response was "We can't do that?" Ummm you're already charging us 20% gratuity you can split a check and add the 20%. You're using an iPad to take orders it's not rocket science.

In the meantime they take the rest of our drink orders and they arrive promptly except the two people who ordered first. Later they explain "The drink order didn't have a table number so they sat at the bar unattended" Yeah not a good excuse.

Later food orders kept coming to our table for the table next to us. Once is a mistake but this happened 3x. The tables are numbered how hard is it to deliver to the correct table?

Appetizers arrived at a decent time business as usual so the expectation is our main courses will shortly follow.

We wait... wait some more... get another round of drinks... wait some more... get a third round of drinks... NO FOOD!!!

-It's now 9:57PM and we haven't gotten an update from anybody so I ask for the manager and ask what is going on his response was "The kitchen is slow I don't know why?" Really!!! That's it!!! No thanks that didn't address any of our concerns.

(Reminder all indoor dining needs to shut down by 10PM as mandated by the state of NJ)

The food arrives at 9:59PM and the lights go on and they start clearing tables.

I sent my food back after speaking to the manager. The wait staff was going to pack it to go after I clearly stated my disappointment and that I was no longer interested in spending any more time in the establishment and would pay only for what I consumed.

The rest of the party had to rush to eat as the lights came on and the staff started clearing the space out.

I usually wouldn't leave a lengthy response but it's been 10 months since the pandemic began so there's no excuse and the service staff and manager had the weakest response to a customers concern I have ever heard. Needless to say I will...