The Morris Proper — Restaurant in Morristown

Impressive setting, but the food needs work.

Only took a couple of photos.

The space is stunning, with a warm, inviting ambiance and highly attentive service. The bar program is excellent — cocktails are crafted with care and attention to detail. Fantastic cocktail and drinks menu!

We started with the focaccia, which came with more dips than bread. Unfortunately, the bread was overly crisp, almost fried. The fennel salad, however, was a highlight — fresh and well-balanced.

The fish fry was fine, but mostly calamari — about 90% — making it more of a fried calamari plate than a true variety of fish. There was only one other type of white fish.

From there, the meal dipped…

Clam pasta - arrived in a congealed mass. The pasta itself was cooked well, but the dish was dry and the starch had bound everything together and needed stirring just to separate it. See the clams in the photo.

Shrimp pasta - was built entirely on a chili base (not clear from the menu), and while the pasta was well-cooked, the dish was overly salty and one dimensional. No contrasting elements of acidity.

The ribeye - was the biggest miss. If you’re not a steakhouse, the plate needs thoughtful accompaniments on the plate like the other mains— two onions doesn’t make a complete dish. More importantly, one side of the steak was COMPLETELY blackened, with an acrid burnt smell that carried into the taste on the unburnt side. It was handled professionally and removed from the bill, but it’s hard to imagine how something that visibly and aromatically burnt made it past both the grill chef and the pass. Also — no steak knives? Surprising given the investment in every other detail and also a huge pork chop on the menu.

Dessert was a peach pie à la mode — very small, and served at room temperature, which made for an odd finish.

We’ll give it another shot, but right now the food feels average at best, and the missteps (especially the steak) undercut the otherwise gorgeous setting and great service. With adjustments in the kitchen, it could be something special — but they’re...

2nd visit - I have increased my score.

It is a solid 5 for food for lunch. For Morristown this is the best food option by far. It is the same standard as Jockey Hollow when they first opened. The crab cake was excellent and the burger was simple but how it should be - why can't other places achieve this simple formula? The Gazpacho was excellent as was the falafel pita. Great job.

Highly recommended - just groan at the uncomfortable chairs and hope they replace them soon...

Original review: Urban chic meets Country comfort in a train wreck that can easily be resolved.

So let's get this out of the way - the food we had was a solid 4 out of 5. Steak frites nicely served but the garlic was over cooked on the fries. Steak perfectly cooked. The falafel pita was excellent. The chocolate dessert was over-chilled so the caramel was poor.

The service was very average although the servers were very personable. 25 Minutes from arrival to drink orders being on the table is below average.

The restaurant has done a great job paying homage to NJ - the books and placements/pictures are hugely authentic. So that leads us to the tables. The place looks like a high end restaurant around the edges - the inner tables look like a kitchen diner. Not in a good way. The bar is worse. Messy glasses, copperware, bottles etc. all on display. The bartenders cannot actually reach the stools.

This is a high-end restaurant that looks like it is serving lunch to Sanofi with the country tables. Please upgrade the tables and chairs to something your diners deserve and it will be a better review...I hope the food stays the same as it was...

First of all, the food here was absolutely top-notch. Everything we tried was excellent, and I say this as someone who lives in NYC with access to countless world-renowned restaurants. This spot served some of the best food I’ve had recently—the bolognese pasta, in particular, was hands down the best I’ve ever tasted. And their carrots? Truly to die for!

That said, the service from the hosts was a major letdown. We arrived without a reservation, and although there were open seats at the kitchen bar, the hosts didn’t inform us or offer to check. Instead, they just told us to “go look,” leaving not only us but several other guests wandering around confused, trying to figure out where to sit. When we finally found seats at the kitchen bar, one host came over to tell us, “oh, not this side, the other side.” How were we supposed to know that? There was no guidance or explanation from them at all. Meanwhile, three hosts were just standing by without doing much to assist guests.

Thankfully, our disappointment was redeemed by our server, whose great service, paired with the incredible food, salvaged the experience. But if this restaurant wants to reach the level of a true top-tier establishment, they need to seriously invest in training their hosts. Poor hosting shouldn’t undermine an otherwise phenomenal...