David Burke Fromagerie

Im a new yelper and just wanna share my experience about my visit to  the fromagerie  , the food was incredible ,BBQ chicken dumpling was tasty , our apps and entrees were simply delectable , the cotton candy was a nice touch , waitress was good but seemed alittle exhausted , we were left with no water for some time untill a guy got closer to us ,introduced himself as mohamad and did ask if we needed more water or anything else , he poured both our waters & drinks and came back to check on us
Overall , it was a nice experience

We wanted to love this place. We really really REALLY did but we were thoroughly underwhelmed. For starters, we walk in and the host is real ya know "Heyyyy..." which is fine but he kept fawning over us. Whatever it's fine. Then he seemed to have this other guy who was not a server but not a host kind of fluttering and floating around us asking various questions you dont get asked at a normal restaurant. So we get seated and its in this very small section of the restaurant. What made this TERRIBLE was that the host takes us into the 1/4 filled room, looks around at allllll the empty tables and sits us next to these two girls who were in their 20's like us and just gossiping away. Only issue is that the tables are ridiculously close together so there was zero privacy. Total f*** up on the host's part. Dumbest decision he could've made.

So our waitress shows up. Big older lady in her 50's who looked like she didn't want to be there at all. And when we told her we wouldn't be drinking wine? Forget it. She wrote us off like a bad check and just turned her nose up at us the rest of the night the way so many servers at high-end restaurants do when you decline to fill your body not only with food but with wine which is not going to give you any sort of buzz when combined with solid material in your stomach. Not to mention all the extra calories. Forgive us if we choose not to leave like a balloon and to have to be rolled to our cars by the pimple-faced kids working the valet. SORRY.

The bread was banging which was good but then our app shows up which was the grilled squid salad. $20 and barely any squid or salad on the plate. Thoroughly disappointed. Our entrees come. I get the 30oz ribeye which was not 30oz although tasty, while Kim got the scallops which were as under-portioned as the squid salad. We get it, you want to keep that rep as a fine dining establishment and people in Rumson will pay for fine food as will I, but this is crazy. As a chef and meticulous kitchen manager, I'm aware of what the finest ingredients cost and they are not enough to warrant these prices. Unlike the Raven and The Peach down the street in Fair Haven, there is nothing at Fromagerie to warrant the prices they command. The service was bad, the decor and ambiance were terrible and the food was just eh.

Overall, we'd have to advise you to choose another place close by. I feel terrible saying this because of the reputation anything associated with David Burke should bring but come on, get it together Fromage'...

Few places deliver a more thoroughly satisfying dining experience than Fromagerie.  Came here for my wife's birthday dinner and we got right to work.

First off, they deliver a basket of assorted warm breads, including flaky, puffy cheese popovers, spicy cornbread, and a couple of others. So much better than your standard bread and butter you'd get elsewhere. The next nice touch was the delivery of a bbq chicken dimpling amuse bouche, which was fun and tasty but nothing to write home about. We then split a delicious, classic Caesar salad with a kick, including some delicate and delicious anchovies, garlic,and  lemon juice.

If you like fish, you will love the entrees here. I got the "Proud Mary" cod which was so good I can barely contain myself. The amazingly flaky fresh fish was baked with hot cherry peppers, chorizo, clams, and potatoes. Save your leftover bread so you can soak up all that crazy sauce! My wife got the filet mignon, and while it was a touch over medium rare, the flavor and texture, and quality was still on point. If you happen to go and get lucky enough to come on a night  the halibut special with endive and apricot is on the menu, do not miss the chance. My mother in law got it and it was insane good! It was so tender and golden brown I almost didn't want her to mess up the beauty of the plate by eating it. The other gentleman at the table got the short rib entree; while it was rich, melty, and satisfying, it was a bit one note on the pallet.  We finished the meal off with the kickin hot donuts...do I honestly need to say more? (I will, GET THEM!)
Love how this place always sends you home with a treat too. A plate of cotton candy and a little box of cookies show the restaurants gratitude for your patronage, classy touch (and tasty).

Service was good for the most part; they took a while to bring us our drinks, but everything else was great. The waiter knew the food and knew it well, and the staff must have asked us at least 100 times of we were ok and if we needed anything. Be warned however that the dining area can get noisy, but at least it means people are actually talking and enjoying themselves.

The place is certainly not cheap, but we got what we paid for. I can't wait to get a job making more money so I can come more than once a year.