12 WEST Restaurant & Bar

Food superb, service gracious and efficient, atmosphere warm and congenial.

12 West is Upper Montclair's newest 'upscale' restaurant and [more importantly] bar. It is located in the Upper Montclair train station on NJ Transit's Montclair/Boonton line. Trains stop at main station stops Monday through Friday during extended business hours however only stop at the Bay Street Station on weekends. This takes a toll on NYC folks coming to Montclair and businesses will tell you how they suffer because of this.

Despite the random train schedule, 12 West is open seven days a week for both lunch and dinner. As many other reviews have stated, the acoustical scheme is not exactly optimum for dining. There is carpet and lush padded seats but sadly they don't help. The ceiling is vaulted, which causes the noise issue and what makes it worse is the piped-in music. The décor is modern and quasi-Potterybarnesque. The owner/manager is present and attentive to the satisfaction of the guests and the rest of the wait staff seems a touch disinterested in general. The service is not bad, it's just not great.

Before composing this review, I wanted to give 12 West a fair shot. I think after three visits, (2 lunches and a dinner) that's quite enough. Sadly each time my guest and I came to the restaurant, the food got progressively worse. The wine list, while concise does offer something for everyone and I have yet to be disappointed. Upon my first visit (a week after the grand opening), I got the grilled salmon. The 'almond' couscous had a substantial amount of cinnamon that completely obliterated and competed with the fish. It was a terrible combination. Cinnamon can certainly be used in savory dishes but one needs to know how. This couscous was bordering on a rice pudding flavor. When we paid our second visit about a month ago, I decided to try the Chilean sea bass and my guest got their arugula pizza. The bass, while well cooked, had an extremely briny flavor due to the soy sauce-based 'consommé'. The lobster tortellini were bordering on being bland and lacked imagination. The arugula pizza was just okay; nothing to call home about. Finally we came for dinner last night (June 8th) and were extremely unimpressed and almost insulted by the food. The restaurant was packed with dinner guests and the bar area was swarming with locals; some that could clearly not hold their liquor (cue two wine glasses crashing to the floor). I ordered the scallops and prawns and my dinner guest ordered the red snapper special. Before receiving our entrées, we were greeted with a bread basket of nominal proportions and a cup of olive oil (sadly not extra virgin). Despite the decibel raising volume of the room, we were enjoying ourselves so far. Once the entrées came however, our smile turned to a frown. The scallop and prawn entrée (priced at $24) was plated terribly and everything was overcooked. When the waiter came by and asked how everything was, I explained (and showed him) that the scallops were black: completely black. Also as my guest pointed out, the prawns (which weren't prawns at all but extra large shrimp) were overdone and rubbery. The sad pile of overseasoned carrots and heirloom potatoes did little to cheer up the lacking main components of the dish. The red snapper entrée, a special of the evening was perhaps the best thing I have had at 12 West: a complete 360 degree-difference from the usual menu items. It was roasted with the skin on and was atop a lobster, corn and tomato risotto with a seafood broth. The fish was cooked perfectly and while the risotto was thinner than it should be, it wasn't runny. The broth, infused with aromatics and seasoned properly, added another level of flavors that both rounded out and enhanced the dish. That snapper special I would rate 8 out of 10.

Overall our three visits (with the last one being an apparent hit and miss) have been severely unimpressed and to be honest, disappointed. I put a special care into this establishment; I really wanted it to work. Upper Montclair needs a fine dining restaurant with a coveted liquor license. Sadly, I would much rather travel further into southern Montclair or West Orange for relief of the great dinner-bug. If you want a nice glass of wine or a cocktail in a high octane environment, 12 West is the place to go. If you want a nice dinner, look elsewhere. Because of the poor food, I rate 12 West two out of five stars.

I've tried this place 3 times, and it gets worse with each visit.  They need to stop trying to be upscale and reserved, and do what the locals want because that is their base.  Management:  make the menu more hip and less traditional.  items need to be more accessible and less expensive.  Have some live music and have a Sunday Brunch!  It amazes me they can't see the success they would be if they did these things.  Currently - an extremely mediocre place that's would not return to again.