Saveur Creole — Restaurant in Montclair

I called Saveur Créole on Saturday, April 1, 2023 during normal business hours (5:00–10:00 PM EST), to inquire about hosting a Bridal Shower. Ron Mompoint, Host & Proprietor answered my call. Mr. Mompoint informed me that July 1st was available to promise. Mr. Mompoint requested my phone number (which I provided) and he committed to returning my call. Following Church services on Sunday, April 2nd, my wife and decided to stop by the restaurant since we live nearby. Mr. Mompoint greeted us. I identified myself as the individual inquiring about the Bridal Shower. Mr. Mompoint said, “yes, welcome.” With permission from Mr. Mompoint, my wife and I glanced at the space. Immediately, I observed that the pictures of art that appeared on the images online were not on the walls. According to Mr. Mompoint, he sold them (which I considered to be unusual). Mr. Mompoint said that he was in the process of acquiring new art work (which he expected within two (2) weeks). My wife and I thanked Mr. Mompoint, who maintained that he would call us that evening. Mr. Mompoint never returned 0ur call. On Mon, Apr 3, 2:38 PM (7 days ago), I sent Mr. Mompoint an email thanking him for taking the time out of his schedule to speak with us albeit for five (5) minutes. I expressed continued interest in hosting the Bridal Shower, and I reiterated looking forward to discussing our options. To date, Monday, April 10, 2023, Mr. Mompoint neither acknowledged nor responded to my email. Mindful that things happen, I DO NOT RECOMMEND this establishment therefore. I found the actions or inactions of Mr. Mompoint to be rude and unprofessional to say the least (as I must maintain decorum). A business whose owner demonstrates such blatant disregard for potential client with high expectations MUST BE AVOIDED.

Status update: Potential client Reply to Business Owner

To the contrary, it is YOU who are toxic Mr. Mompoint! I thank God for exposing you for who you really are. You are correct about one thing – The reader(s) will see though your nonsense. To be clear, I never used derogatory terms to describe you or your restaurant. In fact, it is YOU who characterized me as “deranged” and “misaligned.” I would submit that you are projecting! For the benefit of the readers, I am a Christian. There is not one mean spirit in me; it is Christ instead my friend! In returning to the objective facts, I provided you seven (7) days to either call me on my cell phone (which I provided), or respond to my email; this is what I reported on without attacking you with disgusting language, as you did, but again, the readers will see this and draw their own conclusions. You displayed no humility at all! This is very telling of your personal character. A man of honor and integrity would NEVER reply to a potential client as you did; instead, he or she would have apologized and encouraged me to call you directly, to aim to resolve the matter. Ending your unprofessional comments with saying, “you are cancelled” further demonstrates your lack of maturity and child–like manners. I could NOT imagine that anyone reading this exchange would agree that you handled yourself with the dignity, respect and professionalism that is expected of a business owner. Just maybe this is acceptable behavior in Haiti, but not here in the United...

My family and I visited this restaurant with high hopes after it was recommended by locals. Unfortunately, our experience was not as pleasurable as we thought it would be.

Upon our arrival, we were warmly greeted by the owner who thanked us for coming out. Little did we know what was to come. As we were reviewing the menu for our orders, the owner and one of the servers brought out plates of soups and bread and we were informed that this was complimentary with each entree order. Since everyone in our party was not ordering an entree, some declined the soup. The owner said not to worry and gave soups to all 10 of us anyway. We said wow that was nice of him. When our server came to take our orders many of us ordered the Legume. My husband and I decided we would share the legume and order an extra side of rice. We decided to cancel the side order of rice (which was $15) and just order another entree since there was already a $12 sharing fee. It was at that moment our server asked "What are you going to eat the legume with?" We were all confused by this since legume is always accompanied by white rice and sos pwa (bean sauce). "So it doesn't come with any rice," we asked? "No", she said in an annoyed tone. I'm sorry but if I'm paying $29 for legume that doesn't even come with meat, I'm expecting rice to accompany it. No effort to explain was made. We were just simply met with the nonchalant answer of "that's how it is here". Oh and before anyone mentions a language barrier, all 10 of us present speak and read Haitian Creole fluently. We asked to speak with the owner/manager because things were just not making sense. After 10 to 15 minutes of waiting that same server came out. At that point, we asked to have our orders canceled and said that we would just pay for the soups. We almost passed out when we saw that our bill was $150 for soup and bread! As painful as it was, we paid our bill and thanked the server for her subpar service. As we were exiting, the owner was sitting outside with his legs crossed. "Oh, what happened" he asked like he didn't already know. When we tried to tell him the menu wasn't clear and that no mention of items being a la cart was found, he threw his hands up and turned away stating "SPARE ME". I was livid to the point I had to just walk away. As we left, we heard him calling out to the server "did they pay?" That right there told me all I needed to know. This man only cares about making money!

Fellow foodies help me out. Am I tripping?! Owners/managers usually welcome feedback/critique so that they can improve their services. This particular gentleman however uses reviews as an opportunity to berate his customers when they share anything negative. I cannot wait for your reply so I can see how you insult my intelligence, appearance and class as you do for all who leave an undesirable review.

As Haitians, our greatest strength is our pride. Oddly enough, it is also our greatest detriment and we wonder why there are so few Haitian owned businesses that are truly successful. As someone in the hospitality industry, you sure know how to make your guests feel valued. Some humility might do you some good. In your replies, you often compare your customers to the devil or call them evil but you seem to forget one key fact...God...

I’m wondering how I missed the negative reviews which I now 100% believe but I remembered I skipped reading the reviews when making my reservation since this is the 2nd time I’ve been to this restaurant.

Although the food is good - the customer service from the owner today left a bad taste in my mouth. I made this reservation 3 weeks ago for Father’s Day and had no idea it was ONLY pre-fixe menu. Usually restaurants inform guests so they know what to expect so you can accommodate for children, vegetarians, people with allergies, or special needs. My brother wanted to bring home food for his sick wife and the waitress said no so I asked to speak with the owner. The owner called us “high maintenance“ and told me I need to “read the room” because it’s busy. He basically said the more time he talks to us, the more time is wasted. He was so rude, so I let him know it’s most likely because the entire restaurant is full and there’s only 1 waitress and a busboy, on a Holiday at that. He decided to berate me, as if I’m a child. Sir, I’ve visited restaurants around the entire world and this was the worst hospitality ever. After some pushback he agreed to let us take a pre-fixe meal home but we’d have to wait. When the bill came I tried to explain to the waitress the to-go order was not on the bill and she left (I assumed to ask the owner about it) and came back and said it wasn’t being made at all. Then the owner comes with the food, hands it to my brother and when I tried to tell him it wasn’t on the bill he said “Why are you in business you don’t belong again?” Actually, it’s my business because I’m the one paying the $600+ bill with already included 20% gratuity - which I only did not ask him to lower because the busboy was phenomenal. I think the owner spoke to me like that because I’m a woman. The waitress realized what I was trying to tell her before about the bill and brought me a separate check which wasted more time that I was trying to save her. Unbelievably rude customer service by the owner. The waitress and busboy were clearly overwhelmed but the waitress made sure to sing Happy Birthday to my brother which I appreciated. Another piece of advice from someone who frequents restaurants, put the description of the dish under the dish name for pre-fixe, especially if it’s not cooked in a traditional way for people who have never been to the restaurant and have never read the menu. Imagine my dad’s disappointment when he orders Lambi and it’s made as a ceviche. It would save time of people asking questions. I also wish they played Konpa music. I could see people around our table enjoyed the Happy Birthday song. I’m embarrassed I chose this place to bring my family, which is a shame because I love to support my...