Porta Montclair Reviews Summary

Food Quality

Pros:

• "The fresh mozzarella ($10) with a side of bread ($2 extra). It is a delight."
• "Enjoyed every appetizer. My salad was fresh and perfectly dressed."
• "The gnocchi were amazing. Eggplant parm was slightly dry. Fried calamari tasted great."
• "Pizzas and meatballs were delicious and cocktails were well made!"
• "Absolutely delicious pizza."
• "The food is amazing! The arugula pizza and meatballs were both incredible!"
• "Great Italian restaurant! The food was delicious, especially the eggplant parm, and the portions were perfect for sharing on a date night."

Cons:

• "The salad they had instead was awful. We also tried a new pasta (caucia pepe) and it was inedible."
• "Our pasta was pretty mediocre (no seasoning and wet, actual water, at the bottom of the bowl)."
• "A summer pizza which was undercooked, and very middle of the road."
• "The meatballs weren’t completely cooked and they came out COLD."
• "The pizza’s had no flavor."
• "The brick oven pizza was burnt (black) underneath - we couldn’t eat it. Calamari was dry and without flavor."
• "The pie was SO BITTER, and they told our orderer 'we don’t have cheese'."

Service

Pros:

• "The staff was friendly and helpful."
• "Our server was Michael and he was nice and attentive."
• "Our waitress was personable and upbeat."
• "Dylan, the Event Manager, made sure to walk us through all aspects of the party and went above and beyond the day of to cater to any requests that arose."
• "Theo was our waiter and was very attentive and made sure we always had what we needed."
• "Our server, Ivy, was fantastic! She walked us through the menu and made solid recommendation’s."
• "Staff was wonderful! Dylan at the bar and Sayeed at the table."

Cons:

• "The manager or person in charge was really disrespectful and nasty."
• "We sat down to eat and no one came to take our order. we were there for over 30 min and not one person approached us."
• "Parking is a problem but that’s not the restaurant but Bloomfield Avenue problem in Montclair."
• "Biggest gripe is that they never seem to have anywhere near enough bartenders working resulting in twenty-minute waits to get a drink."
• "The waitress was MIA. Food came out before our drinks!"
• "Management never acknowledged or apologized after I said something to the wait staff."
• "Our waiter followed our group outside and berated us asking why we would give him such a low tip."

Ambiance

Pros:

• "This place has the perfect space to become a prominent evening place for food and entertainment in Montclair."
• "Way different vibe than the other Portas, more queer friendly and diverse."
• "Their newly opened upstairs space is large and beautiful with live music on Thursday nights and a dance party/DJ on Friday and Saturday nights."
• "Great location and atmosphere and a super fun club in evenings."
• "It's pleasant and inviting, even if it's arguably not quite as hip as its siblings."
• "Nice place, great vibes inside, ambiance, music, very nice staff."
• "Porta has a beautiful, cozy atmosphere that can also pull off a club scene when they have late night DJs on after 10:00."

Cons:

• "The music is absurdly loud."
• "It was rather loud."
• "This is one of the worst restaurants I've ever been too."
• "We left without ordering a meal in fear of waiting another half hour for food."
• "The night club music is so outdated."
• "Very slow service - waited 45 minutes for 1 appetizer."
• "The ceiling isn't nearly as high and the outdoor seating options are more limited."