A Summer Restaurant Recap

It’s been a very busy summer in the Montclair restaurant scene. So here’s a quick wrapup of the season's events!  

Late spring, Montclair had a lot of interesting foodie news related to Church Street—specifically what was happening at 12 Church Street.  First, Market, the picket-fenced, organic restaurant, tried to reinvent itself as The Honest Dog. About two weeks after the opening, the honest dog and Cheryl and Greg Spinelli stepped in to open the space as a tapas restaurant, the creatively named Tapastry, in the space. 

In May, Cilantro, a new Mexican restaurant opened at 537 Bloomfield Avenue.

June was relatively slow on the restaurant news front and saw only the closing of Sesame, a Chinese restaurant, on Bloomfield Avenue. 

But in July things heated up a bit. Gordon Ramsay visited Leones and created a Kitchen Nightmare, and in the space formerly occupied by Tallmadge Cheese Market. 32 Church closed its doors, as did Restaurant Passionne, which shut down on Walnut Street to seek a larger space.   

July also saw one of Montclair’s when the smoking hot Brick Lane Curry House crossed the Hudson and opened on Valley Road. That’s Brick Lane’s third restaurant! Toward the end of July, Petit Paris opened its doors on Church Street and began selling French pastries and macaroons.

In August, Café Amici at 32 Church Street, and Café Eclectic announced it would be moving out—at some point. Mexicali Rose had its doors closed by NJ tax officials and then, across the street, Park St. Gourmet announced it would Montclair offering a Brazilian menu in the evening. Finally, Taqueria Autentica, the beloved taco truck, opened a brick and mortar restaurant on Broad Street in Bloomfield.

What can we expect this fall? Grid Iron Waffles will be opening in Upper Montclair in the space formerly occupied by Sticky Buns on Bellevue Avenue. Another Italian restaurant, Acapello, plans to open in the former Sesame location. October 1 will see the opening of Fin, a new raw bar on Glenridge Avenue, which will be operated by the same owners of Salute.

Lastly, I’m eager to see who and what fills the space at 77 Walnut Street.

What have been your favorite spots over the summer???