Samba Montclair
“I had the shrimp and yucca in a coconut cilantro type sauce and with the rice and beans it was flavorful and delicious!”
“Never a long wait and it's BYOB with a liqour store right next store you can't loose!”
“Get the chorizo and yucca appetizer, we also got the croquettes which had the perfect texture, soft and crispy.”
Samba Montclair
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Came here for my sisters birthday. My family is very picky when it comes to trying new restaurants, and this place passed the test for my picky Portuguese parents. BYOB is always a plus. We brought our own sangria. They honored our reservations right on time. The place is intimate with cute décor. They had some outdoor seating too.
For apps we had the cheesy breadlike balls they put on the table. Very good!
We also got the acorn squashed that was filled with shrimp and cheese and heaven. That was the best part of the entire night. Definitely try that! You wont be disappointed.
For dinner, I got the salmon which was good with a sweet sauce that was quite interesting. Everyone at the table enjoyed their meals.
The menu is quite small but they work with fresh ingredients which is a plus!
My girlfriend and I tried Samba as part of Restaurant Week in Montclair. They were offering a special $28 pre fixe per person for an app, entree, and dessert. Samba pays close attention to the details from the atmosphere to the food. They have a collection of pans hanging on the wall. There were little leaves painted subtly on the wall too. I especially enjoyed the wooden cutting boards that the menus are presented on. The service was spot on.
App: We ordered one of the salads with mango but they brought another salad accidentally. I had eaten half of it before I realized so I didn't make a fuss! It was still good! We also got the Salgadinhos Soritdos which were fried pastries filled with meat. They were delicious!
Entrees: After asking for a recommendation I ordered the Bobo de Camarao which was shrimp in a yucca puree. It was served in a deep skillet which had a banana leaf acting as the bottom of the bowl. The shrimp was in a cilantro and coconut milk broth. The coconut milk made it smooth and creamy where the cilantro added a little texture and leafy zest. My girlfriend ordered the Salmao ao molho de maracuja, which was salmon with passion fruit glaze. The passion fruit gave a citrusy tang that paired nicely with the fish.
Dessert: For dessert I went with the passion fruit mousse. It was a little bit too tart and citrusy to eat a lot of. I would have been fine with a smaller portion or a cookie to eat with it. I ordered it since it was different than a typical dessert that you could get anywhere. My girlfriend got the chocolate carrot cake which was more of a carrot muffin with chocolate sauce drizzled.
Overall, I would recommend Samba to anyone who wants to be adventurous and try different types of food.
I took my mom out to lunch on a cold weekday afternoon, and there were only 4 other pairs of diners there. They stuck us among the row of other two-tops in front of the door. All of the four-tops were empty and away from the door. I think they could have spread everyone out.
This is even worse considering there's nothing in between the door and the diners 6 feet away to shield us from the breeze.
Other than that, service was very good. The servers made sure that we had a very good dining experience – even letting us change our table when another table left.
They have interesting menu items such as Bolinho de mandioca – 3 little pastries made with yuca filled with dried beef and butternut squash and Salmão ao molho de maracujá Wild caught Atlantic grilled salmon with passion fruit reduction
Food was mostly ok. The bolinho de mandioca was really good; as were the rice and beans. I also enjoyed the flan. Everything else didn't really impress me much. I thought the Bobó de camarão (Shrimp with yuca purée, tomatoes, onions, coconut milk and cilantro) would have more flavor than it did. The passion fruit mousse was VERY tart. I couldn't finish it.
I think a little more tweaks to their recipe would work wonders. Other than that, I can't really say I would be excited about coming back.
Came back here again with my boyfriend since I couldn't stop thinking about this place since the last time we came.
I ordered the exact same thing– the special shrimp in acorn squash with coconut milk sans Parmesan cheese. It's so delicious and rich every bite feels luxurious. My boyfriend and I were so hungry so we definitely over-ordered but we enjoyed every bit of it even feeling painfully full afterwards.
I believe he ordered the beef stroganoff (not sure the name) and he loved it. I really don't think you can go wrong with anything on the menu.
We also ordered collard greens and steamed veggies on the side, which although unnecessary because the entrées were so filling, were very delicious accompaniments. Also, every entrée comes with rice and beans which although very simple are very delicious.
Maybe one day we'll have enough room for dessert and I can report back on that.
Once again, this place was a hit.
And it's BYOB, so we brought some red wine 🙂
3.75 to be exact. Samba Monclair is a great establishment in… Montclair, that provides great food with great ambiance and interior.
When I stumbled upon Samba, I was initially impressed with the interesting interior and creative way they decorate their walls. They have a variety of pots hanging on the walls that blend in really well with the surroundings. The service they provide here is very attentive and helpful.
I was able to try the Bife a cavalo dish, a sirloin steak with two eggs, sautéed collard greens and fried banana! My steak was cooked just the way I wanted it and the sides were cooked well. The steak had a nice flavor to it. I have to say though that the eggs were prepared okay and could have been better, but in the end, I was satisfied with what I had.
Samba is a place I would love to return and try more of their entrees!
Samba has been on my to-do list for quite some time now. I finally got around to checking it out tonight and found myself wishing I'd come here much sooner.
First off, if the food doesn't win you over, the decor will. The place is quaint, charming, and very inviting. It definitely has a cozy feel that is worthy of an intimate date night. BYOB is also a plus, and there's a liquor store conveniently located right around the corner on Bloomfield ave.
The fried yucca/butternut squash/dried beef appetizer was wonderful. It exceeded my expectations of a typical fried yucca appetizer, and the green dipping sauce was also tasty; definitely recommend. For my main course I had the mahi mahi and shrimp in a coconut broth with tomatoes which came with beans and rice. It was delicious and if I hadn't filled up on bread beforehand I probably would have licked my plate clean. Dessert was Brazilian chocolate cake with coconut ice cream. It was a no-go, because the cake was dry and rubbery and tasted microwaved. The ice cream was good but I wouldn't recommend getting the cake.
I would return to try some of their other appealing menu items. The service was also wonderfully attentive so that is always a plus.
Came here to celebrate my best friend Kim's birthday Friday night at this small little restaurant equip with really cool decor and dim lighting. This was my first time trying out Brazilian food and left extremely pleased and stuffed with a full on watermelon stomach.
We sat at a long table down the middle of the restaurant and started to pop open our bottles of wine, beer etc. and get the liquor flowing as we looked over the menu. This restaurant is BYOB and I believe there is a liquor store rite next door if I'm not mistaken. The wait staff here is very attentive and answered all my questions about the different menu items with no hesitation also lending a hand when it came to picking between different entrees. Thanks for the help!
We started with fresh bread being brought out to the table along with these amazing little cheese breads that I could much on all day long. We decided to order a bunch of appetizers for the table so we got salgadinhos sortidos which comes with cheese, chicken and beef and is kind of like an empanada with a twist, the cheese one was my personal favorite. Up next we got the camarão ao alho e oleo which are garlic shrimp and are very very good. The cod fish croquettes were really good here and I'm a big fan of them in general so I was happy to find another place to get my fix with these. mandioca frita com linguica calabresa e cebola aka sausage bits with fried yucca and onions were off the hook and everyone kept coming back for more. The frango a passarinho tasted like a chicken version of chicharones and I was not mad at that at all, they were delicious and crisp.
For dinner I ended up ordering the Bife ac cavala, a steak served with two fried eggs, two pieces of breaded fried banana, collard greens and rice and beans. I wasn't crazy about my meal but it was good overall. My absolute favorite thing I ate that night was my dessert. My friend Kristina and I decided on splitting the flourless yuca and coconut cake with dulce de leche & passion fruit sauce. I would travel to Montclair just for the dulce de leche alone!
All in all a great BYOB restaurant to have dinner I can't wait to come back and try some other entrees with friends!
I ordered an appetizer which was pastries consisting of 1 beef 1 chicken and 1 cheese. It was a little salty in my opinion and they all tasted the same. Aside from that I also ordered the salmon. The presentation was marvelous and it was in a delicious raspberry vinaigrette reduction. I would definitely get that again. Also it was cooked to perfection and the staff here was super attentative! would recommend this place. I will be returning shortly for more!