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Restaurant Reviews List > New York / Tri-State Area Restaurant Reviews > New Jersey - North Restaurant Reviews > Montclair Restaurant Reviews > French Restaurant Reviews

Restaurant Reviews for Passionné

Passionné

77 Walnut Street
Montclair, NJ 07042

Quickly becoming a local favorite and destination hot spot, Restaurant Passionne has won accolaides from such publications as the New York Times, Zagat dining guide and much more. Join Chef Mike Carrino, a recent winner on Food Networks "Chopped", for an evening of divine cuisine in a warm invinting atmosphere. Chef Carrino offers French inspired dishes with world influences. Join us for a celebration, a special event or just for a night of great food. Viva la cuisine!!!

Dining Style: Casual Elegant
Price: $31 to $50
Parking: Street Parking
Cross Street: Grove St

See more Passionné details

Average Diner Rating
Overall Rating		4.3 out of 5 (76 Reviews)

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Very Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

Summary of Special Features

Diners classify this restaurant as:

fit for foodies (57)
neighborhood gem (52)
special occasion (45)
romantic (36)
good for groups (8)
hot spot (5)
great for brunch (1)
great for lunch (1)
great for outdoor dining (1)
late-night find (1)
notable wine list (1)

Passionné Reviews List

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"Our dining experience was wonderful. We had 4 people in our party and we were celebrating a birthday. The food was outstanding and our waitress, Madison, was extremely attentive, pleasant and knowledgable.
I would (and will) highly recommend this restaurant to friends."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Energetic)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 03/13/2010

(review submitted 03/15/2010)

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Review 2 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Second time at Passionne. The food was to die for. Plenty of butter and salt, but heh! French and delicious. Try the mussel appetizer - very nice. The service was nicely done. Small downside was the choice and volume of music. Not cheap, but worth every penny. Overall a great experience. Highly recommend."

Special Features: fit for foodies, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Very Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 03/07/2010

(review submitted 03/09/2010)

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Review 3 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Great experience. Food was excellent. Service was outstanding."

Special Features: neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/12/2010

(review submitted 03/07/2010)

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Review 4 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"It was a very quiet Wednesday night but the service and food was great. Interesting menu, great service."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, romantic

Food		(Very Good)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/24/2010

(review submitted 02/26/2010)

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Review 5 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Passionné never fails to please. The food is amazing. You can tell the chef has a real passion for his craft. The menu changes according to what is in season and uses local farmers. It is always a treat to see what will be on the menu. I have never had a bad experience. The prices are reasonable for the quality of food and service they provide, and the restaurant is BYOB which is always a plus. Check out Passionné for a NYC dining experience close to home."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, special occasion, great for lunch

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Very Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/20/2010

(review submitted 02/23/2010)

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Review 6 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"I would highly recommend Passionne! I was quite impressed with the food and service! I chose the Valentine's day pre fixe, while my wife ordered off the regular menu...the food was outstanding! Our server Marisol provided great service..Overall - Great job!"

Special Features: fit for foodies, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/13/2010

(review submitted 02/20/2010)

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Review 7 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Took my wife to here on Valentine's Day. I found the restaurant through OpenTable.I didn't know anything about it, but after I read some reviews I found out that the chef won Chopped on Food Network—I figured that it must be good and it exceeded my expectations. We had a 9pm reservation and were sat immediately. The servers were great and knowledgable. The food was FANTASTIC. It wasn't too expensive—since it's BYO, in reality, it's a super bargain. If you like Escargot—you MUST order it here. It's served out of shell and all of them are served in a pile inside of puff pastry with an amazing creme sauce. The chef also came out and spoke w/ us--invited us they have wine and beer tastings here too!!!! Go here!!!!"

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/14/2010

(review submitted 02/19/2010)

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Review 8 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"I found this place by searching open table and reading the reviews. The comments were right on! Excellent food. Perfect Portions. Knowledgeable, Friendly, attentive wait staff. My wife and I throughly enjoyed our date!"

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/12/2010

(review submitted 02/14/2010)

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Review 9 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Good)

"Although we found the menu to be exciting, the lackluster service really put a damper on our meal. Despite the small number of diners, the wait between courses was far too long...most of our food was a touch overcooked as well, and we wondered if it had sat under the salamander while our waitress dilly-dallied with friends at a nearby table. We really think this place has potential but under delivered that night ~"

Food		(Good)
Ambiance		(Good)
Service		(Fair)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/03/2010

(review submitted 02/11/2010)

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Review 10 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Passionne is one of my favorite restaurants:consistant, inventive with being coy, and welcoming."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/05/2010

(review submitted 02/09/2010)

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Review 11 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"Overall, I enjoyed the experience. The only drawback that I can recall was the waiting time for each course. Too long."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, romantic

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/04/2010

(review submitted 02/06/2010)

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Review 12 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Top three in Montclair. Fantastic!!!"

Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion, hot spot

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 02/03/2010

(review submitted 02/05/2010)

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Review 13 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"They had a restaurant week prix fixe menu which had 3 apps, 3 entrees, and 3 desserts (each course had one item for a small charge). Each course was flavorful with a pleasant texture (app - mussels were soft, but not chewy in a wonderful sauce; skate - very tender; passion fruit creme brulee had just the right amount of passion fruit flavor would being overpowering).

The wait staff was attentive and the time between courses was as expected."

Special Features: neighborhood gem

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Very Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 01/28/2010

(review submitted 02/04/2010)

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Review 14 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"Excellent, attentive staff. Food beautifully presented. Drawback in the winter, can be cold due to full street front French doors and no wind blocking from restaurant door."

Special Features: neighborhood gem

Food		(Good)
Ambiance		(Good)
Service		(Very Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 01/03/2010

(review submitted 02/02/2010)

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Review 15 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"The service was slow; we were not served first course until 35 minutes after ordering. The wait for the entree's was about that long too. The restaurant blamed it on "restaurant week". There was a large table of 12 guests that could account for some delay."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Fair)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 01/29/2010

(review submitted 01/31/2010)

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Review 16 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Service and food here is outstanding - extremely tasty food, beautifully prepared, and sane-sized portions. Excellent for foodies. Noise level later in the night can be extreme, however."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Energetic)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 01/16/2010

(review submitted 01/19/2010)

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Review 17 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Always a great time at Passionne! Chef Michael always comes thru with great local ingredients expertly crafted into beautiful, delicious works of art! We will definitely be back soon! Cheers!"

Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 01/06/2010

(review submitted 01/08/2010)

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Review 18 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"One of my favorite restaurants. A solid 10."

Special Features: fit for foodies, romantic, hot spot

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 12/26/2009

(review submitted 12/28/2009)

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Review 19 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"This is one of my favorite restaurants. My friend and I were there for four hours and lost track of time because we enjoyed ourselves so much!"

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 12/23/2009

(review submitted 12/25/2009)

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Review 20 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"I look forward to dining at Passionne. I especially like that it is BYOB."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, special occasion

Food		(Very Good)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 12/18/2009

(review submitted 12/21/2009)

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Review 21 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"This place is extraordinary. The service strikes a perfect balance- attentive and skilled, but you feel like you are dealing with actual people with personalities, not robots. Very pleasant. Often referred to as a "French" restaurant, but the flavors seem to come from everywhere in the world that makes great food. They make everything themselves in-house; the delicately cured bacon which wraps the monkfish, even the bread. Chef is also a serious oenophile- we spoke to him when he came out at the end of the meal, and he suggested that next time we could call and let him know what bottle we were bringing, and he'd be ready with recommendations and maybe a special dish or two. Talent, technique and charisma- that is Passionne."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 12/19/2009

(review submitted 12/21/2009)

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Review 22 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Great restaurant. Food id fantastic and the service is superb.
Will go again."

Special Features: neighborhood gem

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 12/13/2009

(review submitted 12/16/2009)

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Review 23 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"The food was absolute perfection, and each course was unique and thoroughly appealing. The service was excellent, and we will be going back as often as possible."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 12/11/2009

(review submitted 12/13/2009)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Review 24 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"Excellent on all counts. Always impressed, particularly with a level of service that you don't expect in the suburbs. The food is exceptional - delicious and innovative, right down to the desserts. The decor is charming and unpretentious. Even though it's usually well filled to crowded, the noise level is under control. (Note that it is BYOB - the dishes are well priced so all combines for great value.)"

Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Very Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 12/09/2009

(review submitted 12/11/2009)

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Review 25 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"Food would have gotten 5 stars except for the flavorless short ribs. Otherwise food is always excellent although prices remain high for typically small to moderate European style portions (Yes - I know it's a French restaurant). Service is friendly although not crisply professional (had to ask repeatedly for bread and its accompaniments). Noise levels remain just below intolerable (tin ceiling in a small space is primary culprit)."

Special Features: fit for foodies, special occasion

Food		(Very Good)
Ambiance		(Good)
Service		(Very Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Energetic)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 12/04/2009

(review submitted 12/06/2009)

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Review 26 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Fabulous dining - food, service and ambiance are excellent. Highly recommend for a fabulous dining experience."

Special Features: fit for foodies, neighborhood gem, romantic, hot spot

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 11/21/2009

(review submitted 12/05/2009)

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Review 27 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"Creative, well-executed, flavorful and seasonal/local menu. Our selections included short ribs, sautéed boneless pork chop, chicken breast with flageolets, escargots, pumpkin pot de creme, chocolate soufflé, all highly recommended."

Special Features: fit for foodies, romantic, special occasion

Food		(Very Good)
Ambiance		(Outstanding)
Service		(Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 11/29/2009

(review submitted 12/01/2009)

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Review 28 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"Food was exquisite! Friendly and helpful service (Madison was great) and very welcoming, warm and intimate atmosphere. Can't wait to go back.

Oh yeah, The entirely edible pumpkin (minus the stem) was outta this world."

Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, neighborhood gem, romantic, special occasion, hot spot

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 11/19/2009

(review submitted 11/23/2009)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Review 29 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

"We were there for a fixe prix special to raise money for the Salvation Army Thanksgiving dinner. The meal was delicious, well served and a good value for the food and the support to a good cause.

We felt based on the prices on the regular menu this would clearly be a special ocassion, rather than a drop in restaurant."

Special Features: fit for foodies, special occasion

Food		(Very Good)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 11/19/2009

(review submitted 11/21/2009)

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Review 30 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Outstanding)

"had wanted to dine here for some time; did not disappoint..chef is creative and skilled..wait staff knowledgeable..my friend and I would definitely visit again."

Special Features: special occasion

Food		(Outstanding)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Quiet)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 11/19/2009

(review submitted 11/21/2009)

1 of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Review 31 for Passionné

Overall Rating

(Fair)

"This is the second time (this time with another couple) that we have dined at Passione, and probably the last! Although we found the food to be well presented, we all felt that everything was a bit overpriced could have been better seasoned.
We had all checked the menu on line before meeting at the restaurant and were surprised that the menu of the evening was rather different from what we had just seen. The on line menu had differed from the actual menu to an even greated extent the first time we were there for dinner. All in all, the evening was a disappointment."

Food		(Fair)
Ambiance		(Fair)
Service		(Fair)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Energetic)

By an OpenTable.com user

who dined on 11/18/2009

(review submitted 11/20/2009)

0 of 1 people found this review helpful.

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Ratings-Only Reviews for Passionné

Based on the average of (45) ratings-only reviews

Overall Rating

(Very Good)

Food		(Very Good)
Ambiance		(Very Good)
Service		(Very Good)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level		(Moderate)

Restaurant Reviews for Passionné

Passionné Reviews List

Review 1 for Passionné

Review 2 for Passionné

Review 3 for Passionné

Review 4 for Passionné

Review 5 for Passionné

Review 6 for Passionné

Review 7 for Passionné

Review 8 for Passionné

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Review 10 for Passionné

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Review 29 for Passionné

Review 30 for Passionné

Review 31 for Passionné