Cafe Monet

Went here on a wet Friday nite around 6PM. There was nobody else other than us. And then 2 other tables filled up so it was not totally eerie. We ordered salmon and short ribs. The servers and owner dos have a French accent though and they were very sweet. Bread basket was ordinary. The food was not super extraordinary either and frankly was not very different from having the same things at an American Bistro. For BYOB we had a great bottle of wine so that enhanced the evening. The atmosphere was relaxed and not snobbish. It’s just ok and we will not be going back in a hurry.

We have not been here in a while. We’re very happy to have stopped. We’ve always had great meals here. The service is very nice. You’re not being rushed, even if we’re a large party who overstay after having their meal! Today was sept bit they’re still having a Bastille day special menu plus daily specials. Loved the ratatouille, which wasn’t a mush but u could taste all distinct vegetables. Escargots were very good. So was the steak frites. Always go for the duck. Today they had a duck confit as special which was divine. Do manage to make room for dessert. The berries with champagne zabaglione was so light & delicious. Tarte tatin didn’t disappoint and the ice cream which came with it was lovely.
We should come by more! In addition of good food, it’s a BYOB, so you don’t hVe that extra expense. If you have not been in a while, do go.

The owner, I think Tracey is her name, is very cool and doesn’t get crazy like some other chef/​owners when customers give sincere feedback. She came to the table after I made some comments about our meal to the server.
I had the prix fixe dinner which include an escargot app, steak frites and a chocolate pot de crème.
The escargot was cooked well, not rubbery from overcooking and the sauce tasted as you expected, buttery and herbaceous. But they topped the snails with a puff pastry. I didn’t get it. Puff pastry is so buttery already and the last thing I wanted with snails drowning in butter is more butter! I discarded the pastry and used crusty bread, which was awesome.
The steak frites were good, cooked well. No issues here.
The chocolate pot de crème was interesting, it had cinnamon in it. Personally, I think it’d be better without it but I can see how it would add an additional dimension. Certainly not a bad thing.
This is the third «French» brasserie, bistro, café that I’ve been to in the past couple of months so far I still can’t find the WOW factor I’m used to seeing in hole in the wall places in Manhattan. Again, nothing really wrong with Café Monet; pleasant atmosphere, good service, reasonable prices and decent food but still nothing memorable. Can’t figure it out.

We had a great time and a great meal at Café Monet. We sat by the window. The place is so quaint and everyone is so nice. It is also BYO. After all that the food is almost secondary but it was really good, so elegant, and so fresh. My salad tasted like it was just picked from the garden. The scallops were cooked perfectly and my dessert of berries and cream was the perfect ending. You can feel the care that went into the prep. I would not hesitate to go back. I hear the brunch is great.

My friend and I went for lunch and had a wonderful experience. It started when I asked for change to feed the meter and someone (I presume the owner) told me not to worry. He went out to my car himself and gave me two hours.
I ordered the soup special of kale and spinach with a touch of cream. It was good but I didn’t mention that I was GF and it looked like there were bread crumbs so I didn’t eat it. I didn’t feel the need to say anything and had fully expected to pay for the soup but the owner apologized (although it was clearly my fault) and took the soup off the bill.
I ordered the salmon «burger» (a piece of grilled fish) and asked for no bun. I received a nice presentation of salmon over a bed of mixed greens, both of which were delicious. I also had a refreshing glass of Lavender iced tea with fresh blueberries and strawberries.
The place is quaint and the staff so accommodating. I hope that the issues others had were one-​time experiences because Monet Café is a unique place in Millburn. I’ll be back.

Great little hole in the wall in downtown Millburn. Character galore and delicious food.

We came back to Café Monet because we had been there, and the experience had been very good.
But this time was unacceptable.
As entered, there was smoke and a burnt smell, like vegetable oil smoke. Slowest service. Mussels bland. Each person got a different type of plate (even the ones with the same entrée) and one had a big dent. Fries soggy. Presentation of the plates not in line with a good restaurant. We had to use a butter knife to eat the meat. The plate to collect the eaten Mussels was so tiny we had to reuse the entrée plate. Took forever to get the check, like 20 minutes, while the waiter was talking to someone in the other room.
The food is way overpriced for the quality. And btw, the Mussels were 17 $ in the menu, but we were charged 19 $. 2 dollars is not the end of the world and we did not want to complain for 4 $ in total. but we tipped accordingly.
Unfortunately we will never eat here again

After reading the other reviews on Unilocal I was hesitant to come here. However, I’m really glad that I did!
The space was charming, though empty for a Thursday night. My waiter was very attentive and sweet (and a bit nervous). The food was quite good… the dessert was Fantastic!
Perhaps it’s that I went in with low expectations but I was pleasantly surprised with the food and the service; I will definitely return.

My husband and I first discovered Café Monet when we went to a different local restaurant and found it closed. It looked inviting so we decided to give it a try. We have been back there many times since and so can attest to excellent food (the duck, skate, escargot, and berries with cream were particularly yummy). We have received attentive service and a very warm welcome every time we have visited. To enhance the experience, there is a Russian gypsy guitarist on Sunday evenings who plays a range of genres with creativity and flair– but not too loud to prevent you from enjoying the conversation as well as the food. A bit pricey but well worth it. It’s BYOB which helps keep things under control.

My first time here, with two other couples that had been before. With their guidance, I ordered the Arugula/​Tomato/​Goal Cheese Salad and the Chicken with red wine risotto. YUM! Almost forgot that it was BYOB, though you should know that Uncorked is just down the street (and they deliver to local restaurants)!!! Will definitely be going back for another visit! Staff was funny, friendly and very good!

We had mussels with frites
Mussels uninspired and bland. The frites were cold and perpetrated and cold which was strange as we were the second table to sit for dinner
Scallops for the entre were ok
With all of the restaurants in the area no need for a return visit

I wanted to like it … but I didn’t. We came on a groupon deal … they didn’t have half of the appetizers and half of the entrees available on a FRIDAY night so I opted to choose from the menu that was not included in the groupon options … and yes they charged me the difference of THREE DOLLARS … keep it classy Café Monet. Anyway, the woman at the front desk is very strange and kept saying weird things to us, and even said ‘I bet you are going to on on Unilocal and tell people that I am weird’. and that was the smartest thing she said all night. because she was very strange. The waiter, the same.
I felt more uncomfortable eating here than anything. There was construction going on right in front of the restaurant, which I am sure they had no control over, but it didn’t help the evening.
Hanger steak was not good, the duck appetizer was not good, the salad was not good and the dessert was not good. the only thing that was good was my company and the bottle of wine we brought.
don’t waste your time, or money, at this place. The fact that it is a ‘french restaunt’ is laughable.

If I had the chance to give them 0 stars, I would, the service is very slow, waitress was very rude, didn’t come back to check our table after my undercooked steak was served, meat didn’t have flavor and I’m very sure it came from the freezer.
Please don’t waste your money here.

It was extremely disappointing to eat here!
Slow service not friendly the food was bland
No taste my steak tastes like FISH!
The chicken had no flavor !! The desserts were
So small it took a 9 year one bite I asked for 2
Cappuccinos I got one! They don’t listen they
Have a bad attitude! I will not recommend this
Place to anyone. I will never come here again
I will make sure to tell my friends! Absolutely
horrendous!!! The chicken was black and the smell
Was vile ! Even the cappuchino was watery! I have never been to a restaurant in
Millburn this bad! DO NOT GO HERE!

This is a small restaurant on Millburn Ave. It looks like a family business, eating for a Thursday the place was empty. The hostess/​waiter is friendly. The food was average, and the main meal was just warm. We didn’t get dessert.

We ate here on a Groupon deal and enjoyed it very much, although it was more leisurely (2 hours 15 minutes) than we wanted and we had some difficulty getting enough water (surprised they do not just give you a bottle, especially as their nice, but too small waitstaff is overstretched).
The bread and salads were good (although the regular menu price of $ 12 per salad is high). The coq au vin, duck and hanger steak were all very good and very ample – the Unilocaler who stated that Groupon diners receive the smaller size of certain entrees is mistaken. Desserts were good and sizable. Being byo is a major plus.
The place is cute and not too noisy.

I would not recommend this place, with Groupon they really does not do justice. In the Groupon they states that entry up to $ 29 each, they have 2 menus prices on each entries and they serves you small size which is basically half of the price and half of the food of whole which is around $ 25 and they did not let me have rack of lamp which was $ 29 dish. We had salads which did not have fresh vegetables and ingredients were not very good. Crab meat was like straight from a can, served cold and it had shape of can when it came out. And 2 entries which were small portion and beef was overcook and hard, duck was okay medium, but vegetables came with it was not very good. I had café latte for drink and finished off with ice cream with sorbet (which definite was not worth $ 8 like menu priced portion was very small). Do not waist your money on this Groupon deal. They topped off with $ 18 tip automatically as well, even service was not very good. One point it took about 10 minutes just to get waiters attention. We were seated on other side of restaurant where no other diners were there and waiter was in the other side most of the time (there was 2 side the restaurant). Price is little over priced and food was just not up to the par with price on the menu. Groupon deal also was waste (cost $ 55 and real cost was $ 67, not like $ 110 like mentioned in Groupon deal).

What to expect:
1. Good Food (not great).
2. SLOW service.
What to do?!
1. Order the Skate — I’ve had it here several times — and IMHO it’s consistently very good — not at all bland as reported by some other Unilocalers. I agree that other items I have had were «uneven» in preparation — so choose wisely.
2. Bring an extra bottle of wine (Café Monet is BYOB) — and make sure you are enjoying the meal with someone with whom you want to spend some quality time!
:-)

I am still slightly confused by their menu with the un, deux, trois listing. 1 & 2 are served as appetizer size (aka, bite size) while 3 is half an entrée. To make it even more confusing their are two prices next to the 3’s, i.e. $ ¹⁷⁄₂₄. I’m not really sure how to interpret this. I didn’t see the bill at the end of the night, but I was never asked while ordering if I wanted a smaller or larger dish, so what does the price difference correlate to?
Salads were delicious. But at $ 12 a pop for nothing TOO special, or large I was slightly disappointed. I ordered the Salmon as my main dish which was actually phenomenal. Unlike my counterparts my Salmon came on a bed of vegetables whereas the chicken and meat were served a top Mashed potatoes.
One person in our group ordered the short rib… you can say short again. Not sure how that one tiny piece of beef can fill anyone up.
We ended our night with the warm chocolate tort which was delectable, albeit small as a shared piece.
Prices: Off the Un list, ~$ 12, deux list, ~$ 15 – 17, trois list ~$ 20 – 25. And bare in mind that no single dish will you fill up, unless you’re anorexic.
Don’t forget to BYOB, and enjoy your quasi-​French themed food in glorious Millburn NJ.
Plus enjoy nice décor while you stare at the pear paintings and other treats.

I was looking for a parking spot in the Millburn area to grab lunch, where I stumbled across Café Monet. I’ve been a fan of this place ever since. The price is very reasonable, despite the other comments; the owner/​wait staffs are very pleasant. The atmosphere is quiet (great for a meaningful conversation), the food comes out a bit slow, but it’s sure worth a wait. I can’t rave enough about the chicken sandwich here, I haven’t tried anything else menu because it’s that good. The French baguette is authentic, the chicken is crispy on the outside (with bursting flavors), and moist on the inside.
My Unilocaler friends, let’s give Café Monet a chance when you’re in the area.