Tillie’s

I was there with my husband just yesterday and had a delicious dinner. The décor of the place is very nice and warm. I had shrimp and grits and my husband had the steak. Both were very nicely presented, although some salt would’ve helped. My favorite part was the dessert, I had the best salted caramel sundae ever! The service was good and overall we had a nice dinner.

Really solid spot for this area. Comfortable, cozy, great service and beautiful food. We will definitely be back for a quiet dinner.

Awesome place! The whole vibe is different than any other place near by. Very down to earth, everyone was extremely friendly, and the food was great. My husband had the short ribs and loved it. I had the swordfish, which was fantastic and my friend loved her chicken dish. Caesar kale salad was lightly dressed and perfect, and we all split the key lime pie, which was the best I’ve had in any restaurant. I look forward to going back and having the vegetarian dish.

When Alice Waters opened Chez Panisse in 1971, she probably didn’t expect her philosophy of supporting small farms and sourcing locally grown ingredients to turn into a national movement. Nowadays, the «locavore» ethos is a huge trend. It seems that farm to table restaurants are popping up everywhere and bringing their fresh and local gospel to would-​be diners and there seems to be no shortage of people willing to pay for it.
Restaurants that provide F2T dining (yes, it even has its own abbreviation now) have been growing in popularity, enticing customers with names and addresses of local farmers on their menus and making sure that you know clearly that the vegetables are organic, the chickens are free range and the beef is grass fed. With so many restaurants using the F2T buzzword, its tough to tell which is the real thing and which just added a few token green market ingredients to the menu.
So when my friends invited me to dine with them at Tillie’s, I have admit I was a bit skeptical.
The slab bacon appetizer was the absolute star of the meal. It was perfectly cooked and had a wonderful balance of smoke and salt, the fat was rendered properly, which helped bring out its unctuousness. The accompanying slaw and grainy mustard was a smart addition that married the flavors well. This was a very strong dish.
The coarsely ground meal in the corn bread stood up to the thick bacon nicely. It was a good choice to go with something heartier than the usual finer grind. It was moist and had a lot of structure to it, not mention taste.
The braised short ribs was overall fairly tender but under seasoned and a tad stringy. It also needed a glaze to give it a proper finish and reinforce the earthy flavors of the braising liquid.
Serving any braised dish is difficult for a restaurant because it can’t be prepared to order and must be prepped well in advance of service. Cooks have to pay particular attention because if seasoned too early, it becomes too salty as the braising liquid reduces. If braised too long it becomes tough because the cellular structure of meat doesn’t allow moisture to be retained after a certain point. I can’t say it was the best I’ve had, but it certainly didn’t suck.
The Caesar salad, however, was over dressed and the anchovy flavor was very pronounced, which overpowered the subtle taste of the underlying greens. There was also too much grated cheese that when combined with the dressing made it too salty.
Aside from some textural and seasoning issues that could easily be adjusted, the more prominent issues were service and the dining room layout/​lighting. Upon arriving it would have been nice if the hostess got up from her chair and off her smart phone more promptly to greet us. Also, our server didn’t refill our water glasses throughout the evening, even after having asked.
The dining room lighting is quite dark, to the point I had to us my iPhone flashlight to read the menu. Also, the number of diners relative to the space made the room noticeably loud and uncomfortably crowded as customers began filling the restaurant. As for seating, the tables with a banquette apparently are in high demand as we were denied seating even though no one was seated on any of them. Apparently, they had all been «reserved». If you don’t care to be bumped by the person seated behind you, I highly recommend reserving a banquette table.
With a few tweaks in the kitchen and some realigning in the front of the house, Tillie’s could be a great restaurant. They have a good concept, promising menu, and some bold flavors in their dishes. It was also nice to see the chef/​co-​owner in the kitchen expediting orders.

Went to Tillie’s on a Friday night with two other couples. We were seated by the attentive staff and the wine (BYO) was quickly flowing. The restaurant is small and inviting. The breads they brought out were delicious and warm. I started withe slab bacon appetizer served with a an amazing slaw and very coarse grained mustard. I could eat this every day. It tasted almost like a slow roasted beef briscuit. Sublime! I then had as my main the cassoulet with Duck. Outstanding I wanted to lick the bowl. One of the most deeply satisfying dishes that I have had in some time. The staff was extremely helpful and was also able to navigate the menu for a friend who has some food allergies. My Wife got the steak which was nicely done and served with potatoes and mushrooms. She raved about her kale caesar sale as well. Another dish ordered by our group was the mussels appetizer which was shared and devoured. We had a chicken dish but I can’t remember what it was but the person who ate it enjoyed it. For dessert I had the sundae with sea salt caramel and pretzels which was in my opinion one of the better desserts that I have had in quite some time. Another dessert ordered was the cheesecake which was also well liked at our table. The menu is seasonal and locally sourced so I guess experiences vary. I saw the negative reviews and ignored them and I am glad that I did. I will be back there again. A welcome addition to the Millburn food scene which is somewhat tired. Yea for Tillie’s.

LOTS OF ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT.
The eclectic menu changes regularly according to our wait person. I find this an issue if that’s true.
Unfortunately even though the staff is very courteous and gracious, our wait person
had very little knowledge about the menu. With an eclectic menu that is constantly changing, having a server that is clueless on the details of the menu makes it very difficult on what to order.
The SQUASH SOUP had more of a heavy cream flavor than squash.
CAESAR SALAD with kale and romaine had an off taste and it came to the table at room temperature.
Conversely, the BEET SALAD was tasty and had good sweet and fresh tasting components.
BRAISED SHORT RIBS while OK as far as taste goes, they were a little fatty.
STRIP SIRLOIN STEAK was a good size and of good quality; tender, juicy and cooked perfect.
Unfortunately it was served just slightly tepid. Additionally, the sauce that it came with masked the quality taste of the meat. I was told it was grilled on wood but it did not taste like it did. Menu also said it came with Fingerling Potatoes but it came with small reds.
PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES for dessert were baked fresh to order but it took almost 15 minutes for them to arrive. We were not told in advance that they should be ordered ahead of time or that it takes time to prepare (like a soufflé).
Lastly, the COFFEE was very good and served individually in a «Press Pot».
The chef seems very creative but with items that keep changing on the menu, and the odds NOW, that I may not like what I ordered, I would have to be in the mood to try something that I have no idea what it would be like.
Note: I did take some left over steak home and had «steak and eggs» the next morning; pretty good.

Overall the food was ok. The service was good.
The good:
Beet salad app was good. Fresh and flavorful.
The Bad:
Shrimp and Grits entrée was very disappointing. After all the hype on the above reviews and the waitress recommendation… I tried the Shrimp. To qualify my comments I should mention I like food with lots of flavor. I felt the sauces was one dimensional — all I could taste was black pepper… The dish had heat but that’s it. Some salt and and an element of sweetness would have been good. Also I am not a fan of a lot of sautéed onions.
The Caesar Salad was just ok. Nothing special.
The dinner rolls should be changed to something more interesting as they taste like hotdog buns… Given the prices Tillie’s should try harder to impress.
I will give this place another try in a few months.

Went there last Saturday night with another couple and was pleasantly surprised. First off, it had no remnants of the Glenwood Diner which was the prior occupant of the building. It was completely redone and very simple and warm. We were greeted and seated promptly. The waiter was extremely pleasant and conversational and explained all about the menu and his favorites. We started with the Slab of Bacon (one order for the table) and it did not disappoint. It was perfectly cooked and fabulous. As an appetizer, I got the grilled wings and ordered them hot. It was a great spice and kick to them and they were very good, although to be fair, its not a ‘wings’ place and I believe some of the other apps looked better, but it was still delicious. The main course was the kicker. I ordered the Swordfish, which i very rarely get and it was Outstanding. I mean probably the best swordfish I have ever eaten. Very fresh, tasty and with a lentil, Spinach garnish that was out of this world. My wife got the shirmp with grits which she devoured and our friends got the Cod which i thought was outstanding also. Not to be missed though is the dessert. Some kind of pecan like pie with peanuts instead of pecans and salted caramel icecream. It was out of this world.
So happy Short Hills has a great restaurant… hoping that it will continue to be a winner.

We ate there with a large group and the wait staff were very attentive. The food was delicious and the portions were large. My caesar salad was flavorful and served with a cloud of freshly grated cheese. I had the shrimp and grits and again it was very flavorful. The table ordered all the desserts to sample and they were all great. Also loved the homemade cornbread. Going back this weekend!

If you haven’t been, GO! There has been a lot of buzz about Tillie’s in Short Hills, so I didn’t intend to post a review, but it was empty on Sunday night and this is a local business we should support. Excellent farm to table cuisine. We had two orders of the slab bacon which was slow smoked and almost brisket-​like in consistency (don’t judge). A delicate and delicious bowl of mussels with rye bread, the skirt steak with mushrooms (which could easily feed 2) and an order of the diver scallops and black rice both perfectly done. Kids had shrimp and grits and the hamburger. Great food, terrific ambiance. If you like A Toute Heure, this is our area’s closest approximation and it might just be better. I’m pretty sure that its the last Sunday I will see it empty.

My wife and I went Saturday evening. The appetizers were brilliantly prepared (duck confit served over kale and some type of bean with slivers of bacon; and a salad for my wife). Our entrees were swordfish with an interesting sauce; and scallops. I was amazed how well the seafood was prepared. The scallops were seared, and the inside was tender. Most restaurants overcook scallops and make them rubbery. These were perfection. I know it was not a fluke (no pun intended) because my swordfish was expertly grilled too.
I was impressed by the ample size of the portions. We were so stuffed, we skipped the dessert.
The waitstaff was as service oriented as the food was delicious. They seemed to use the team approach to cover tables. If your waitress, sorry, waitperson, was in the kitchen and another saw your water run low … he refilled. The staff was just so pleasant and attentive. It was such a pleasant and relaxing meal. Additionally, they were very accommodating with my wife’s food allergies.
If that’s not enough, they are BYOB!
By the way, the husband at the table next to us had the bacon slab. It looked as good as the previous reviewer stated.