La Pergola

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  I came here with my boyfriend on a Tuesday night around 6:30 with a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon handy.  The reviews were iffy, but I'm not too picky and figured with the coupon it'd be a good deal.  I was wrong- as other reviewers pointed out, this food is marked up astronomically.  
  
  There were only 2 other tables occupied during our dinner.  There were more waiters then customers, so they were overly attentive out of their own boredom.  I ordered the spinach ricotta gnocchi and my boyfriend ordered the grilled pork chops.  The gnocchi was okay, and the portion was small, but enough.  My boyfriend thought the porkchops had way too many peppers/onions and not enough potatoes on the side.  The food was okay, but not worth the high prices.

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  Posted on 03.27.12 Jessica H.

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  Terrible Place! Saw it when it first opened and was interested in trying it. Got a <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> coupon which encouraged a visit. I ordered clams as appetizer and my date ordered salad. Both were just great. The entrees we ordered which happened to both be fish were presented to us raw before they were cooked. Mine was red snapper and his was flounder filet. When we got them cooked, the amount of fish was about 1/4 of what was presented before hand. I think they show the same fish to everyone but give them something else they have in the kitchen. The prices of both were astronomical. I had asked the waiter if I could have mashed potatoes with my fish. He told me that they usually only have mashed potatoes on the weekend but that he'd ask the cook if he could prepare some for me. He returned to tell me that the cook had refused. All they had were roasted potatoes. Then we ordered the dessert which was a raspberry tart in raspberry sauce. What we got was a hard piece of shoe leathery tart in a vanilla sauce. The wiaters weren't particularly friendly either. I got the feeling they weren't happy to be there. The owner came around at the end to thank us for our visit. It's too bad he doesn't realize that he won't be there much longer given the sub-par food and pricing.
  
  Don't bother going. You'll only be disappointed. Milllburn has a lot of nicer restaurants.

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  Posted on 02.20.12 Abbie D.

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  I've eaten at La Pergola now 4 times, and it keeps getting worse. I think the honeymoon is over.  The excitement of something new and different is now forgotten.
  We went last night for a mid-week, Tuesday-night dinner and our 2 apps and 2 entrees cost $120. Ok - it's fancy Millburn. Place is pretty and their rent is high (art work is bizarre and amateurish). So, to pay NYC prices (akin to Union Square Cafe, A Voce, et. al.) I'd expect the same quality. $40 for the Osso Bucco, and it was tough and stuck to the bone. The sauce was good, but not enough of it. And I had no access the marrow (if you love osso bucco, you love marrow!!) If i paid $25 for the osso bucco  - you get what you paid for and my expectations would be inline. This was a lot of money for mediocrity. I'll try it again, but I'll try the fresh fish they push. I hope the Branzino is not $40 or truly exceptional.

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  Posted on 12.28.11 William R.

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  If I were to choose a vibe for every one of my yelp reviews I would begin the tradition with the review of La Pergola. The unexpected strikes the most poignant moment.
  
  When my family told me about how nice this place was, I checked the reviews to find that previous yelpers have given La Pergola the snub. I came in with a mixed sense of the moment, but I did believe my step mom, a long time foodie, who publishes a range of works for Random House including cookbooks and has been a part of "food photo shoots", in giving Pergola the go.
  
  First glance of food was the bread, which was in fair shape of its bread life, not stale or anything, but not the most flavorful. I didn't indulge in much because I hoped to try as much of the food the waitors in their black and white would produce from the line down to the kitchen for me my five other family members of different interests and appetites.
  The tuna tartare I tried lost its mettle with its skin and was not for what I had hoped. At least for me, a feeling more sanguine and deep with sea structure like the water that takes a hold of the fish that is born. It was meek, not fishy as I appreciated, but meek, a loose collection of fishermen's havoc drowning on the plate. However in the mire was an avocado, a veritable interesting green monster of an avocado and I believe its slicer's mark was as unimaginable to me as snow in east coast summer. To me it dawned as golden a serendipity as the the house salad was actually one of my favorite segments of the meal because it dressed nicely, with salt and maybe a little pepper with vinegar mixed in with beets, upbeat music with a smooth pulse, well actually that was the atmosphere but...the salad was a treat. My grandfather in his wisdom ordered the seafood salad, a powerful assortment of octopus, conch, mussels scallops and gave me snippets and slices around the passing of oysters my dad and step mom beset. Yet, I forgot to drain some of the sea water out of my shell, oh well. The scallops I ordered were delicious but the sauce was thick and made me feel overwhelmed, I paused as my grandpa asked for a butterflied broiled branzino with the head included; he's wild. The branzino or zini as he said sometimes emerged from the depths with the chef of all people, tie and all. The texture was mildly flaky and fairly chewy the taste of the whitest part of the fish was deliciously tinged by the freshness of the life of the fish eating pristinely. I then watched my sister cut into a beautifully medium rare fillet mignon covered with thyme and Gorgonzola, I thought the evening was complete.
  Yet after a moment of excellence, the waitor suggested the almond cake with a strong side of vanilla, dulcet as it was very powerful, too much for one sitting.
  
  The majority of the options I experienced at La Pergola in my opinion merit four stars, but I would give the service a three out of five stars because towards the end of the meal the waitor forgot to bring my dad a cappuccino and to produce the check, which took a while. Also the headstrong chef shot down my grandfather's critique of the arrangement of the branzino butterflied and open faced. I had hoped that the man would have at least taken my grandpop's words into consideration and been receptive even if he the culinary aficionado was fairly certain that he could not have changed the presentation. The atmosphere was a three point five almost a four they had paintings of translucent pastels of oranges and blues with exaggerated highlights; the candlelight was warm. However, the room was cramped, strained by high saturday night capacity.
  
  Nota Bene, bring your own bottle.

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  Posted on 11.30.11 Ben F.

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  better to avoid this restaurant. one of those overpriced, 'manhattan-imitating' type places. lacks the sophistication and taste of many of the new york restaurants, although charging like new york restaurants.  ordered pasta primavera and got what looked like steam pasta with ragu sauce on it.  i am going back to basilico.

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  Posted on 08.07.11 Bala R.

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  We went to this restaurant as soon as it opened.  My fiance and I have tried every restaurant in Millburn and were excited for this to open.  WE had reservations and watched groups of ppl go in before us that obviously knew the owners.  We were seated about 15 minutes after our reservations.  The food was good but my fiance and I look for more than that in a restaurant.  The decor was spacious and white--boring to me.  Maybe it was because they had just opened but they were very disorganized.  We were served by a few different waiters; we didn't even know who to tip?! The waiters looked as if they were exemplifying STRESS--calm down! Look like this isn't your first time at the rodeo? Made us slightly uncomfortable!  Wanted them to slow down and enjoy the restaurant! Anyways-thought maybe it had gotten better since it has been open a while now but as I read the reviews, it sounds the same. If you want good food and don't care about anything else--sure: come on down! If your looking for a romantic dinner with dim lighting and calm service--try Cara Mia!

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  Posted on 06.21.11 Tori A.

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  Highlights:
  Food: Outstanding! Completely fresh as if every ingredient was pulled from a farm and prepared especially for our plates. Also, they are a BYOB with a liquor store a few doors down in case patrons forget or didn't know that they are.
  Parking: Large lot right across the street!
  Service: Exceptional! Each of their wait staff was friendly and made excellent recommendations on what to order
  Owners: The owners of this restaurant are a husband and wife from Albania who have put their heart and soul into opening this restaurant. They spend just enough time with us explaining their choice for the menu and location of their place. They were both really charming. I wish them nothing but success in their new life as restaurateurs.
  My family celebrated my fathers birthday at La Pergola last night. I cannot say enough how highly I recommend this restaurant. Instead of battling it out for a parking space like I have in past experiences dining in Millburn, this location is prime with parking right across the street. I also couldn't help but notice how convenient it is with the train station right across the street for out of towners.
  From the warm color of the walls to the unique seating they have chosen the overall ambiance is a ten out of ten. As we looked at the menu we couldn't help but note on how aggressive the menu was with a variety of offerings that would make anyone's mouth water. Despite the aggressive menu, every single dish was spot on and more than delivered on freshness, presentation and taste. Before we could even order we were brought Zucchini Fritti that was surprisingly light and airy compared to any fried item that I had tasted in the past. Our appetizers included their lobster salad, lobster risotto and a pasta sampler which were just phenomenal. Their homemade pasta (we had gnocchi, Tagliatelle and ravioli) melted in the mouth. All of our entrees were equally as delicious. Each course that we ate was so tasty that I found myself closing my eyes to savor each flavor that was carefully crafted into each dish.
  Dessert which included a chocolate mousse cake, red velvet cake and a warm apple crisp pie for the table to share capped our night. Like the pastas which are all homemade I believe the desserts were all made in house as well.  Each dessert was decadent in its own special way from the cream cheese icing on the red velvet to the warmth of the apple crisp pie.
  I will be recommending this restaurant to family, friends and all who I do business with. I am already looking forward to my next visit.

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  Posted on 05.24.11 Lindsay L.

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  Amateurish.  The wait staff has no idea what they are doing.  The husband and wife owners may be "warm" but they also have no idea how to run a restaurant.  They should thank the heavens for Sunday nights--when many real restaurants (including Scalini Fedeli) are closed.
  
  The stuffed artichoke appetizer had no taste whatsoever and even though hardly touched for that reason, elicited not an inquiry from the husband owner when he cleared the table of appetizers (he left behind the bread plates which had clam and mussel shells on them).  The rack of lamb, which was ordered medium rare, came out beyond medium (closer to medium well).  The husband owner, who should know better, noticed that it was untouched after being cut and asked if everything was alright.  When it was replaced, it was predictably (for a lousy restaurant) replaced with a rare rack of lamb, which was fatty and obviously had previously been frozen.  It was almost inedible.
  
  I couldn't tell whether we were supposed to pour the wine or the staff was--they did so intermittently.  On one occasion, when I went to pour red wine into a then-empty glass, the glass was inexplicably removed by a waiter who then knocked over a full water glass, which drenched a quarter of the table.  The staff tried to blot it up, which didn't work.  We were moved to another table, which was unset.  Then, the puzzled staff tried to figure out whose wine glasses were whose, quite unsuccessfully.  I had to travel back and forth to fetch some of the half full glasses and bring them to our "new" table.
  
  On each of the two courses, the waiters had no idea who had ordered each particular dish but that didn't keep them from putting something in front of us--it was then up to us to find the correct home for the dish.
  
  I have heard that the husband owner used to be a cook--he should stick to that and perhaps the kitchen would benefit (it couldn't hurt).  As for the staff, professional training would help (I tipped them at 20% knowing that I will never return and hoping that they will get some instruction).  The husband owner advised me when he brought the bill that he had "comped" us for the dessert and the coffee as a result of the "incident" (which I took to mean the water-drenched table)--he would have been better off just apologizing for the food and the service.  The "incident" was just one part of the incompetent puzzle.
  
  You would be much better served (literally) by paying the up at Scalini, Lorena's or The Grand Cafe--at least there you will get what you pay for.

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  Posted on 05.23.11 Stephen G.

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  Terrible experience.  it was  a crowded Saturday night and we were seated immediately for our 7:30 table.  When we got our entrees 2 hours later, my entree was incorrect.  They had substituted shrimp fra diavlo for the lobster that I had ordered on the menu.  When I pointed out the mistake, they insinuated that I had made the mistake, and asked me to point out what I had ordered on  the menu.  They then said that they ran out of lobster and substituted shrimp.  I asked what could be made quickly and after another half hour of waiting for what i ordered, had to leave -hungry.  It is a beautiful space, and I hope they can get their act together!
  By the way, the three other people that did receive their entrees were not happy either.

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  Posted on 03.19.11 Julia B.

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  Tried this restaurant tonight. Great decor. The owners did a great job making the place look very clean and classy. The menu was created by the owner himself who was inspired by the northern cuisine of italy. The wife is an interior designed and designed the place which looks fantastic. Its BYOB so make sure to bring your own wine or whatever you like to drink. Reservations are highly recommended especially on the weekends. The owners are very friendly and will go out of their way to make sure you are pleased and happy with your experience at their new restaurant. I usually dont like scallops but they were fantastic, especially the sauce they were prepared in. Go check out this place if you are looking for a new spot. Parking is right across the street, very convenient!

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  Posted on 03.13.11 Victoria S.

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