Gioia Mia — Restaurant in Montclair

This is an Italian restaurant that is much more on the cutting edge of Italian. Don't expect chicken parmigiano, etc., this is not that type of Italian, it's similar to what's happening at top restaurants in Rome, Bologna, Milan - super fresh seasonal & locavore sourced chosen for essence of taste. However, if you go on a Saturday night, expect a VERY leisurely dining experience, I wish that the service was more attentive; I wonder if the servers are doing this because the kitchen needed more time? We were in at 8:30 and it took 3 hours. 2 of party are vegetarians and had vegetarian tasting menu (which is really not only a great bargain $45 for 4 courses, but super great food), I had regular tasting menu ($60 for 5 courses), hubster had a la carte. Apps: I had grilled oysters: 2 oysters barely grilled covered in a cheesy buttery crisp crust, oysters bursting with briney, steely flavor melded with the incredible crust, any brine left absorbed by microgreens, I wanted much more; hubster had romaine "salad" crisp romaine, prosciutto & ricotta salata with a creamy roasted garlic sauce, he inhaled it; vege: squash soup: creamy, silky, intense squash taste with crisp mushrooms & maiatake mushroom & silky egglplant; A+++. Middle courses: vege: both had Polenta "fries" with marscapone gorgonzola fonduta, "fries" were delicate creamy polenta but the fonduta was heavenly, we had to call for more bread to enjoy the very generous portions; I had striped bass over crispy parmesan cheesy spaetzle & autumn vegetables: very crisp skin, perfectly done fish, delicious fruity sauce over tender very flavorful vege; hubbie had ravioli of the day which were 3 very large home made raviolis stuffed with braised short rib meat and nuts sauced in a herbed butter based sauce, these were not as good as Cafe Panache's filet mignon stuffed raviolis (I think my favorite of all time), but were very delicious; my plates were not large except for my next course, which was ricotta gnocchi in a sausage bolognese sauce: incredibly delicate, tender, whisps of gnocchi, melt-in-your-mouth superfabulous sauced in tomatoey/sweet sausagey (very fresh sausage taste, no fatty just clean pork flavor), this dish was the best I had all night, I could eat this every night and never tire of the juxtaposition of ethereal fluffiness & porky goodness; Mains: veges: both had orrechietta with caramelized cauliflower and basil pesto, the cauliflower made this dish, enhanced flavor, earthy, pungent but also sweet with the pesto, excellent; hubbie had the Kurobata pork chop, they recommended it be made medium rare, he opted for medium, but probably should have been medium rare, this pork is super flavorful, super moist, super tender, accompanied by lightly breaded very fragrant eggplant, truffled mashed, yum yum yum (so glad that he was full b/c we have 1/2 left to enjoy tonight); I had duck breast over winter vegetables, it was very tasty, the duck cooked perfectly but I was so full I brought most of it home. A+++++ Desserts: blackberry sorbet (huge portion, 3 large scoops); like eating fresh picked blackberries, not sweet at all, very dark, decadent with a bite of the seeds probably; molten deep dark chocalate hot lava cake with cold creamy, hazelnutty ice cream and crisp caramely sugar cookie: hands down, best dessert, what a fantastic combination. I also ordered a pistachio bread pudding to take out (5 course tasting). The coffee was excellent served with heated milk. The service was good, but probably a reflection of a very booked dining room. Very nice staff. This was an outstanding evening of fantastic food, great wine (I love BYOB's because you can bring a really great bottle of wine to match the excellent food and not have to take a...

I have never left a negative review in my life - until now.

The reason that I am against leaving negative reviews is because I realize that there are good days and bad days to every business and restaurant - and that a place of business is how individuals pay for their livelihoods...

However this restaurant went well beyond the pale...

I, and the person I attended with were instructed that there were only seats for 5 and 9 o' clock. We chose 5. Not a single soul at the restaurant other than another couple were present. Upon arrival we felt unwelcome by the staff, now I don't need someone to bow before me - but we truly felt unwanted, a pain.

As we sat, the other couple decided NOT to dine there and left before ordering. I and my friend ignored this and were attended to by a waitress.

We selected simple pasta dishes. Ok. The waitress tried to insist that we get appetizers - whatever- its her job, though she did not seem like she was truly paying attention.

Soon after, the music got TREMENDOUSLY LOUD. Since we were the ONLY patrons present, we felt it was ok to request that the music be turned down. It was.... for 2 minutes.

Then the music got even louder. THE HOSTESS RAISED THE VOLUME HIGHER out of sheer rebelliousness.

As Adele was blasting in my ears during her hit single - I could not hear what the person across from me was saying. I went up to the hostess, who behaved like the manager and owner (perhaps was) and pleaded that she lower the music as it was tremendously loud (this place is a restaurant, not a club).

She lied to me and said the system could not lower the volume any further. I was not born yesterday. But accepted it. Whatever, back to the table.

The music eventually was unbearable and we could not enjoy sitting down. The person I was present with had enough, stood up, and requested that the food be packed for home. - There goes our Saturday night.

The hostess/ manager made a sneer with her face that was the unspoken equivalent of an "F U." She told us that this was the place's style..... again, let me emphasize: WE WERE THE ONLY CUSTOMERS THERE- there was no one else to please with this loud music other than herself.

We were handed the food. We paid for it. No apology was given. We left the wannabe discotech soon after and had the food at home.

The food: Two pasta dishes, 60$, were good but not quality that warranted 60. More like 30. Life goes on. What upsets me is the sheer disrespect and the infantile tyranny we experienced from the manager. (I come from a family that has operated restaurants).

As a local, there will never be repeated...

Quite possibly one of the best meals I've ever had. That's the short review.

Here's the longer one. My girlfriend took me here for a surprise birthday dinner. The outside is nothing special and barely noticeable, but inside it's very nice - upscale and comfortable. Our waiter was extremely attentive and did a great job.

After having our first bottle of wine opened (it's BYOB), we kicked off with the cornmeal-crusted calamari and the mascarpone polenta fries, which are served with a gorgonzola fonduta. The calamari was absolutely the best I've had - cooked perfectly, tender, and tasteful. The mascarpone polenta fries were quite different from anything I've tasted before, in a very, very good way. The sweetness of the mascarpone playing with the texture of the polenta and the added taste of the gorgonzola really made for a fantastic dish that I highly recommend.

For dinner, I went with the truffle scented rigatoni with forest mushroom ragu and castelmagno cheese. I can't get enough of mushrooms, so this was the logical choice for me and I was so happy with it. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the mushrooms were tasty. My girlfriend got ricotta gnocchi in a sweet sausage bolognese with basil and pecorino and thought it was fantastic as well. I tried a piece of gnocchi - perfectly fluffy with a great taste.

We passed on dessert as we were very satisfied from our appetizers and entrees, but as it was my birthday they brought out a scoop of gelato and some biscotti, along with a birthday card from the family that owns the restaurant and the staff which I thought was a very personal touch and really appreciated.

In the end, the bill came out to be much lower than we expected. A pleasant surprise to end a very pleasant dining experience. We will absolutely be back and I can't wait to take my family and...