Osteria Giotto

This restaurant has been an establishment in Montclair for more than a decade. It was very good in the past but 2 recent encounters were very disappointing. At a recent lunch, My wife and I split a lasagna preceded by house salads. The salads were very good and fresh but the lasagna tasted like airline pasta. Mushy, tasteless and glue-​like in consistency. On a different visit, the mussels were insipid and service was horrible. I hope they elevate their game and get back to their past level of performance.

Giotto is one of our family’s favorite restaurants and we have had many excellent experiences there. However, I feel that I should share one detail of our most recent visit for the sake of other customers. I wanted something light and decided to order an antipasto I hadn’t tried, timballo, as my main course. When we received the check, we saw that we had been charged $ 30 for the dish instead of $ 16 as I expected. The waitress then explained that the main course timballo was larger and therefore more expensive than the antipasto. However, the main course timballo is not listed in the menu and the waitress did not explain the different sizes when we ordered, so we could not have known this. Naturally we did not contest the charge for something we’d already eaten and enjoyed, but I was nevertheless disappointed by what I perceived as a lack of transparency at an otherwise welcoming restaurant.

Excellent food marred by a lapse in the kitchen.
Got here on a Thursday at 7pm on a beautiful evening without a reservation. They were kind enough to set up another table outside.
However, they might have set up too many tables as the kitchen got severely backed up. 1 hour backed up. I actually understood as the hostess added a table just for us, except that a table was set up 20 minutes after us and got their food 5 minutes before we did.
Oh, and in that one hour, the waiter had visited our table only one time. That was to tell us that our food would be out shortly. And I think he only told us because he knew they would be serving the other table before us.
As for the food?
Bread basket was wonderful. Breadsticks with sesame seeds, 2 other types of rolls, bowl full of at least 3 types of olives. We definitely needed it for our 1 hour wait.
I got a ribeye with escarole and potatoes. Flavor was great. While not steakhouse quality preparation, it was definitely a decent cut of beef.
Mommy dearest got the ‘Cape Sante Saltate Con Peperoni, Cipolle e Patate’ (Pan-​seared scallops over sautéed peppers, onions, and potatoes). What a nice sear they got on those scallops! Great flavor.
All the food lived up to the hype. I just wish the service wasn’t such a disappointment.

My family and I went here after the funeral for my wife’s aunt. My wife had the pasta which was supposed to have eggplant but she couldn’t find any. I had the chicken entrée with mushroom sauce and new potatoes.

5 of us went here last night. It was good. 3 of us had the linguini special with lobster and shrimp (there was 1 shrimp, fyi). It sounded great, but was just ok. The stand-​out dish was the Halibut. I would come here again and order that. We all also LOVED the special desert. It was the Neapolitan w fresh berries. I would definitely come back for that dessert and get my own! Not sharing!

Went for dinner last night and it was amazing. The shrimp with ginger sauce, salmon, and stracciatella were all great. The layout of the restaurant worked well with the open doors. The waiter was friendly also. It’s on the pricier side so keep that in mind. BYOB is always a plus. We even easily found street parking in Montclair which was a surprise.

Excellent food with generous portions. The tilapia over a bed of spinach was cooked to perfection. My colleague had the mushroom risotto, which was equally delicious. We went during lunch hour on a week day and it was rather quiet but I’ve heard it gets very busy on the weekends — especially with the great outdoor seating. BYOB was a big plus. I look forward to coming back often.

Great dinner! Handmade pasta. We had the Lasagna and the Halibut special which was amazing. The beet salad was also very good. Bread service was also a very nice selection of different breads along with the olives. If you go its BYOB but with a liquor store on the corner no issue. First time there but we will definately be back.

Great date night place. We went kid free this time. Tight seating, close quarters. It gets packed so make reservations or you’ll have to sit in the patio area. Food and service was excellent.

My friend just went here since I recommended. I asked her how it was she texted me «I went with 12 people half the table didn’t even have water and then the waitor stunk like smoke and was obnoxiously inappropriately hitting on me the whole time. He kept making little comments and then like I went to the ladies room and when I came out he was standing there all creepy and then like every time he come to the table he would touch my shoulder and squeeze it»
I know you are a great restaurant food wise. I’m sure whoever owns this place wouldn’t want a disposable waiter ruining his/​her business so check your wait staff’s etiquette.

Easily one of my favorite Italian places in the Montclair/​Bloomfield area, Osteria is a nice, little place right off Bloomfield Ave. that is sure to fill you up.
My wife and I discovered this spot through Unilocal a few years back when we lived in Bloomfield, and we revisited it last night with my in-​laws. Paired with a BYOB rule, another solid night of dining went down at the OG.
+Wine
What I really like about Osteria is that the waiter kept our white wine on ice right by the register. Big bucket. No ice WATER, so it wasn’t dropping all over when he’s refill us. Opened our white and red bottles quickly for us. Beautiful.
+Bread
Four different types, including the tasty sticks of bread. Butter, EVOO to dip, olives to suckle on.
+Appetizer
House salad with lemon vinaigrette — delicious. Salad was really fresh and leafy, and reminiscent of an old-​school, basic dressing my parents make for salad at their house. Delicious. Tangy dressing, but not over the top by any means.
+Meal
Tagliatelle with a bolognese sauce — also really good. The pasta was done very well; big portion, great sauce, and my cheese dish on the side. The meat pieces were in a nice sauce broth, which added to an already solid-​sized pasta dish. Spiced nicely (just a LITTLE kick), and meat sauce seasoned very well.

We went as soon as the place opened at 5pm, and there was no wait, but by the time we left at around 6:00 or so, there were at least 3 tables worth of people waiting to be seated. It’s worth going early.
It’s BYOB and there’s a liquor store up the block that’s open till around midnight. We got our wine there and the guy at the register said they actually deliver to the local BYOB places. (Not sure how that works exactly, but it’s so close it’s worth just grabbin a bottle on the way.)
As for the food…
Omg. The homemade pasta literally melts in your mouth. I ordered the meat lasagna and it was in true Italian fashion: mascarpone cheese, meat, Parmesan crust. My fiancé said the spaghetti was better than when we went to Rome. Also, If you like Parmesan cheese, you MUST try the soufflé appetizer.

Excellent! Everything tasted so good and you can taste the quality in every bite. My fiancé and I will definitely be back!

Last night was one of the best dinning sessions with great friends and, in unison with great food and traditional Italian ambience, we felt at home.
Likely, we’ve been here before, but last nights experience made us have a complete different positive perspective for this place.
It took a while to be seated, but once we seated, everything fell in place. It was loud, but that’s typical of people enjoying company of friendship, family and satiety with good Italian food.
The waiter was very good, new the menu inside out. His presentation and persona towards his job, made the eating experience exceptional.
The calamari appetizer Mama Mia! The BYOB concept was perfect, sets the mood for more future visits. We talked and talked and caught up in all happenings in our lives.
The lasagna was out of this world! Let’s repeat that again, the Lasagna was out of this world!!! Such a great experience, and trust that you would have the same also.

Does the expression shit on a stick mean anything to you?
This place was packed and I don’t have a clue why.
Italian cooking is not a mystery, it is easy to taste when it is done right and when it barely edible. Sadly this place falls into the latter category.
The tuna tartar looked red tuna fish mixed with gelatin and had no flavor.
The frito misto was a fried muckidy meh. How do you mess up fried shrimp and calamari? Seriously?
The Salmon was under cooked and under flavored.
The penne pasta was so al dente, i’m not even sure it was cooked. But it was definitely not fresh pasta.
The mushroom soufflé was mildly passable.
The bread on the table was «ok».
The gnocchi looked like spagetthi O’s in block form, honestly, it looked like a kids meal at Friendly’s.
Needless to say, we did not bother staying for dessert.
Has dining in Montclair gotten such a sad state that people wait for this slop?
Maybe I will have to just open a restaurant…

Delicious Italian food with BYOB and right in the heart of adorable Montclair. We sat at the ample outdoor seating to isolate a very tiny baby and my sometimes rowdy little one, which worked out well as it seemed outdoors turned into a self-​segregated kids area as the other tables filled up. My little broke a glass on the side walk accidentally and the staff was gracious and helpful. The seafood was all excellent, from calamari to fruitti du mar. Very reasonable prices for enormous portions.

First time here and my husband and I just loved it. We found the prices great and the portions huge. Best lentil soup I ever had and our entrees were wonderful– can’t wait to come back. We got lucky and grabbed a parking space right out front otherwise parking could be a slight problem. BYOB

I loved the atmosphere, friendly service and food was really good. There dessert looks great and taste great.
The food was pricey.

Italian restaurants are not my thing since I feel like they are the same, so I’m not usually impressed. That’s just me. However, this place was superb. We started off with the fried calamari, which was served in a fried potato chip bowl and the fried balls which were stuffed with risotto or mozzarella cheese. Both were scrumptious. For dinner, I had the 9 layer lasagna which was DELICIOUS. The pasta and sauce were perfect. I have to say their red sauce is one of the best going. My family had the sirloin with broccoli rabe, the salmon with balsamic glaze and the pasta and sausage. They were all raving about their food. The place has a nice ambiance and they also have outdoor seating. One last tip DONT FORGET YOUR WINE. BYOB.

This has become one of our favorite Italian restaurants over the last few months. Whenever someone asks us where to go for dinner, this is now one of our top recommendations.
Osteria is always busy. Even on a random Monday night, nearly every table is seated. Definitely recommend making a reservation. The service is good; friendly and descriptive. For people who had never been here, they were super helpful in directing us when there was so much we wanted on the menu.
My husband is in love with their lasagna. He says it’s the best he’s had and is like «heaven» in his mouth. I’m a huge and frequent fan of the homemade pasta with seafood; chock full of lobster, shrimp and crab in a light tomato sauce. I would eat this every single night of my life if I could. Both are typically specials, but almost always one of the menu selections (there are a lot of menu specials to choose from each night). Also highly recommend the mussels in a white wine sauce. It’s sweet and tangy; accompanied by some crusty bread to dip right in, it’s one of my favorite apps. The salads are good as well; refreshing and seasonal with ingredients like mandarins, cranberries, etc. I’ve watched a lot of meals go by, as I stare with envy at other people’s plates while I decide what to order, and I can’t wait to try their fresh fish.
Love this place for date night but also can’t wait to go and enjoy Osteria’s delicious food with friends. BYOB and accepts credit cards. They also provide outdoor dining in the summer months.