Four of my friends and me dined at Epernay last night after hearing good things about it in various restaurant reviews. What a disappointment! Can’t say anything positive about it – from the seating situation to the wait staff to the food – all mediocre.
Had reservations and was told to go back to the “foyer” until the staff was ready for us. Bad, rude, first impression. When we were taken to our table, it was difficult to maneuver to our chairs due to the tables being so close to each other (not in a cute Paris way). Someone in my party commented that the fire marshal must not have visited lately.
Our main waiter was visibly intoxicated when we arrived and just didn’t make the cut. I’d brought Champagne and he insisted on chilling it for 10 minutes while we sat and waited for him to bring it for us, which he never didn’t. He instead opted to open the bottle and pour the wine behind a wall and bring each guest a glass. Major fail in the showmanship department, especially when serving a bottle at a higher price point – this is a bistro, not a stuffy high-end place where wine might be poured away from the table.
Epernay Duck
The menu consists of predictable French bistro fare: escargots, onion soup, beet salad for starters then steak frites, mussels, cassoulet and duck for entrees. Who could mess this up? The kitchen staff at Epernay does. Every dish was cold. None of the dishes were good. I had the lobster ravioli starter and it featured thick pasta and cold sauce. I ordered the duck medium-rare and it was cold and well done with flabby fat that hadn’t been rendered at all (caveat – the mashed potatoes were nice). The meats were likely par-cooked then microwaved to fully cook as all was grey and overdone. No “a la minute” at Epernay! My friend’s “seared” scallops were white and mostly boiled then served over what appeared to be canned corn.
Thank goodness Epernay is a BYOB as the stars of the meal were the fabulous wines we brought and sipped. This level of cooking/serving cannot happen in a town like Montclair with stellar restaurants on every corner.
Epernay, A French Brasserie
6 Park Street
Montclair, NJ 7042
Twitter: warrenbobrow1
This is precisely the kind of review I enjoy reading. It’s not fluff.. Not a service piece where everything is beautifully cooked and even garbage pail cooking is delicious. (which, if you know me is my bane, as is fusion and especially molecular gastronomy)
Epernay better wake up.. Time to cook with passion or get out of the business!
Thanks for the note Warren!
I’ve been to Paris a few times. I’ve been to most of the well known tourist-traps in Paris, including some of the restaurants and I must say I’d take ‘tourist-trap’ food on Rue Berthollet anytime over food at Epernay!
I read this review a few days ago, after someone invited me to Epernay for dinner. We went last night. Fortunately, my experience was alot better.
The curried mussels were great. My wife’s scallops were really tasty, not overcooked. The cassoulet was one of the most satisfying dishes I’ve eaten in a long time. That is french comfort food! It would have been perfect if the duck leg had been stewed for a while longer to make it more tender. I checked around our table of nine. Everyone’s meal was served hot. The things we ordered that I didn’t like were the fried calamari which was way too greasy and the frites which were not crispy enough for my liking. Obviously, they have deep fryer issues.
We had no problems with the wait staff. All the wine was opened at our table. They’re a competent bunch.
The chick is right about the table spacing. It’s almost laughable. The waiters move in a serpentine like fashion, from one side of the dining room to the other, based on where they can squeeze between chairs. I wonder if this is any better during the summer when they have outdoor seating.
In the end, I would go back any time for those mussels and the cassoulet.
Love your reply to my post! Thanks for sharing your own experience at Epernay, not sure it’s completely convinced me to dine there again, but it might. I’d love to hear of other Montclair-area restos you might enjoy. Cheers, Veronique
Thank you Veronique. Mes Reves in Bloomfield is an interesting new restaurant. I went on Wednesday night for a business dinner. The Reader’s Digest version of my restaurant review is very good food, really awful service, kinda expensive.
Looking forward to reading more of your stuff.
Bernie@Bloomfield
We remember how extraordinary Epernay used to be. We tried it under the new owners today. They put us in a dark corner and forgot us. When the waiter finally came to take the orders he disappeared for over half an hour. Nobody even dropped by to fill the water glasses. A busboy asked if we wanted more bread and when we said ‘yes,’ he never returned. My wife’s citrus salad sounded enticing on the menu but turned out to be sad and wilted greens that may have been sitting around longer than we were. Her onion soup was seasoned with mysterious over seasoned spices. I ordered a “special of the day,” braised short ribs on a bed of mashed potatoes. I nearly fell asleep waiting for my meal; my wife had finished hers. Not bad but no five stars either. We considered ordering dessert, but thought better of it as the staff didn’t bother to ask if we wanted to see the menu–and in fact again forgot we were there. When we saw them filling other customer’s glasses on the other side of the room, we’d had enough and just asked for the check. That took a long time in coming, too. I’d never wanted to skimp on the waiter’s tip. Until now!
Thanks for commenting Norman. With so many neat restos in Montclair, places like Epernay must keep up with their standards to stay competitive. Alas, they haven’t.
Veronique