La Pergola — Restaurant in Millburn

Unfortunately, our experience was not so great…we made reservations after doing a complete review on Yelp and Goggle to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday. We were a well dressed party of 4 (all AA women).

When we arrived, we were greeted by the host ( very nice young lady) and given the options of indoor or outdoor seating. We choose indoor because of the time of evening and weather temperature. We were seated within 5 minutes but noticed some back and forth between the host and waiter when she advised him that he would be taking care of our party. Not sure what the discrepancy was but either way it was noticeable and made us a little uncomfortable.

Once seated it took from 15-20 minutes before anyone came over to say hello. I don’t know the waiters name because I don’t think he ever properly introduced himself. We were given a one page menu with very limited selections but at some point the waiter did spill out the specials for the evening which sounded like a whole undocumented menu! (Not sure why these items are not on the actual menu).

We ordered our appetizers and main course meal while we had our waiters attention. Our appetizers came out fairly quickly through the food runner (very nice young man) but we waited almost an hour for our main course!! The waiter stopped by a nearby table and advised them that their food would be out shortly but proceeded to walk by us without saying a word!! I politely joked about it when he walked by saying “does that the mean same for us”? He brushed it off with a chuckle.

Once the food arrived it was not what we expected! I ordered the linguine clams which was tasty but a bit chewy. Another had the black linguine which she seemed to be pleased with. The last two ordered the salmon which was served over spinach and it was horrible! No taste and the spinach tasted as if it was boiled in water and not sautéed in olive oil as stated on the menu. They were wise and opted to take it home instead of trying to force it down. Well lucky for them because myself and the other person that did eat could not wait to get home…our stomachs were hurting so bad!! We knew it had to be the food because we were the only ones that ate our entrees!!!

I know this is a long review but I wanted to be sure to capture the entire experience….needless to say it was not what we expected! I did notice that the place was a little crowded and seemed to be understaffed but that’s no excuse. We should have complained to the manager but sadly because of our skin color and the stereotype around AA and complaining to get out of the bill we choose not to and just vow to never support this...

This is the second time we tried this restaurant & I will never go back again. The ambiance is nice & the waiters are very polite but the food is dangerous. On my first visit I had two drinks before dinner, ate my appetizer & ended up in their restroom vomiting. I didn't even touch my entree & went straight home to bed. I was very sick for two days & that was 3 years ago. On my second visit, last Thursday (2/22/18) it was our wedding anniversary so we decided to give it another try & did not drink any alcohol. We both had the shrimp stuffed with crabmeat and it was just ok. The shrimp had no flavor at all, like it was sitting in warm water for a while & my wife & I had the same reaction. We ordered the Frutta de Mare which were clams, shrimp, mussels & a piece of salmon in red sauce. The sauce was very sweet, the salmon was overcooked & mushy, the shrimp tasteless again & the mussels we're the size of the tip of my pinky, all for $36.00 per plate. The dish was so small that I asked my waiter for a side dish of spaghetti which was also very small for $9.00. We ordered dessert, Tiramisu & we both shared that. The bill was $125.00 & left a $25.00 tip for the waiter. Both of us were extremely disappointed & when we got home we both felt ill. We had stomach aches & ended up with food poisoning. Today is two nights later & we are still not 100% & will never return there ever again. If you decide to go to an Italian restaurant please know that there are no Italian chefs left. They are from other cultures because they can't afford good Italian chefs & make a profit. The only fresh item on the menu is the pasta which we make at home (2lbs) for about $1.00. Stay away & try Scalla de Nonna in Montclair. Not cheap but very fresh, tasty & the menu has a large selection of meats, fish, veggies, desserts,coffee & an...

We knew Father’s Day was going to be busy, so we opted to do take-out even though this would be our first time ever eating from La Pergola. After looking at the online reviews, my hubby and I landed on the ribeye steak and chicken parmigiana given the great feedback about these dishes. Excited to dig in as soon as my hubby got back home with the meal, we disappointingly saw that the temperature of the steak was wrong — a far and bloody cry from well done. I called the restaurant to complain and the chef insisted he wanted to make it right. He offered to make the steak well done in our very own kitchen. He offered, so we surprisingly obliged; and in a matter of minutes, this well dressed chef was in our kitchen asking for the olive oil and salt. While working his magic on our stove, and teaching our 7 year old some kitchen pointers, Chef Al spoke about his wife (also a chef) and their children who came to the restaurant to help their parents today. He shared about working in the fine restaurant scene in Manhattan in the 90s to moving to Jersey to start his own business with his wife and raise their kids. Next thing you know, voila — the steak was cooked to perfection. Chef Al plated the food and even cleaned the stove as he apologized for “making a mess.” I never could’ve thought our Father’s Day celebration would have made this turn, but I share the story to tell that the quality of the food and the service are simply unmatched. Thanks for an incredible meal, and the limoncello cake and chocolate mousse cake were equally fluffy as they were flavorful. You won over some new customers’...