De Novo European Pub — Restaurant in Montclair

First off place has a large parking lot in Montclair which is rare but great news! Inside is nice in regards to decorations but small. It was my girlfriend and I and you are on top of the couple right next to you and can hear there entire conversation and its hard to communicate with your significant other. When it came to the food for apps we ended up getting the plain flatbread sauce, and cheese which was basic kind of tasted like something you get at dominos . I recommend maybe investing in a woodfire type pizza it would be a hot seller. When it came to our other app we decided to do a pasta the Burrata pesto raviolis which were delicious and flavorful especially the bolognese sauce. Drinks were ok I don’t drink but my girlfriend said they were average nothing that wows you. Waiter was very nice and efficient. Was good at his job. The problems started when it came to the dinner. I ordered the chicken Milanese and my girlfriend ordered the short ribs. Food was good and tasty but the big problem was the wait time! We waited almost 45-50 mintues after the apps. Everyone who came in after us received there food before us and it seems odd. We waited and waited numerous times the waiter came over who was very nice and couldn’t explain why the food was taking so long. He was confused with the reasoning. He was blaming the cook in the back. Then I guess a manager came to our table with a white shirt I couldn’t even tell who he was because he didn’t introduce himself. He actually made the situation more worse. He wasn’t nice about it and was way too cocky. I am in the service industry and in a situation like this you want to diffuse but he did the opposite. His arrogance pissed us off even more where we almost wanted the check without getting our dinner. The waiters here are great but the hostesses and managers are not friendly. They have terrible customer service. They don’t smile and they make you uncomfortable. The owners definitely have to work with there front facing managers, hostesses on service because even if the food is decent it’s a turn off. By the time the dinners came out 45-50 minutes later we didn’t even eat it because we weren’t hungry anymore what a waste so we took it home. When the bill came I thought they would have discounted us or even said dessert is on the house but nothing!!! I surely didn’t feel valued especially because they made the mistake. We walked out and the same manager male hostess white shirt and female at register didn’t even try to acknowledge us. They were too busy chatting away together. Not sure if I will be back or recommend this place. Even though food was good the service from the front line team managers , hostess was awful besides the waiters and bus boys. Also, I still never received a clear cut answer why our food took so long to come out. All I ordered for dinner was a salad and a...

Made reservations at DeNovo for 8:00pm. Got there early, gave my name couldn’t find it but they said this must be yours and scratched it off. Proceeded to sit us early which was really nice. Waiter came over and took our drink order and wanted to order an app and told him to come back for our main order. The waiter said I will ask the chef if he can do that. Really? So we gave him our entire order. Then the host came to our table with his list of names on his reservation paper and asked me What’s your name again? The one that he crossed out came in for dinner. He found that my reservation was under my first name. All Ok. Lol. We ordered the mussels in garlic and white wine which also came with their frites (fries). Awesome app. Mains were short ribs with mashed and salmon with a blood orange sauce. Short ribs were so tender they fell off the bone but the salmon was a little over done. The orange sauce was spectacular. Could have used more. Sides for the salmon were just ok. We shared the flourless chocolate cake with mint gelato. The cake was still warm and the combination of the mint ice cream was decadent. One of the best I ever had. The restaurant was packed. And the acoustics are terrible because it is so loud. Very hard to hear the waiter and my spouse. The place is right next to the Upper Montclair train station. I’m assuming the building was once the train station. Bottomline, food was very good, service was good and I hope they find my reservation next time we go to...

I think Demetri would prefer to be described as simply a European pub or restaurant than the trendy "gastropub" label used here. But the definition of a gastropub is a bar that a bar that serves a more high-end selection of drinks and food than the old "bar menu" and that is certainly true here. I usually start off with the fried calamari with marinara, orange remoulade. Calamari is one of my tests for a restaurant because when it's poorly done, it is obvious. De Novo's is excellent and I was told that the chef soaks the squid all day in buttermilk to soften it. The salads and flatbreads are very good. My wife's test for an Italian restaurant is to try their gnocchi. She measures it against her own and her nonna's that she grew up eating. She gives the potato gnocchi here high marks. I am a real pasta fan and I have ordered and enjoyed here the pappardelle (with pulled short rib ragout), my beloved fettuccine (pork sausage, fennel cream), bucatini and the strozzapreti (with garlic oil, shrimp, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, mustard greens, & parmigiano), They open most days at noon and have a different lunch menu and the place fills quickly. The bar has a good selection of beers, wines and all the cocktails you could need and it is also busy, including during the gap when the kitchen is closed between lunch and...