Laboratorio Kitchen
“The service was great, Byob and they will open your wine and even have some delivered from the local liquor store which is interesting.”
“We also had the fig & gorgonzola crostini which one person thought had a bit too much glaze drizzled on, the other two of us thought that they were excellent.”
“I had the sea bass on a cauliflower purée.”
Laboratorio Kitchen
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I randomly found this place walking along Bloomfield Ave and after seeing the good reviews decided to check it out for a date night. There were quite a few groups in there on a weeknight celebrating special occasions. They do not have alcohol so it is BYOB. However, they have a partnership with the nearby liquor store so you can always order a bottle and have it delivered!
I was impressed with the food. The menu has a lot of great options! They even have a seasonal menu of small plates that you can choose from to share or get 3 for $20 as your meal. I decided on the risotto with mushrooms and crabmeat. It was delicious! The free bread they give you on the table was also very warm and toasty.
I tasted some of the chicken and potatoes and it was also really well prepared.
I look forward to trying this place again!
We came here for a pre-Passover meal. At first, we were nervous because we had the entire restaurant to ourselves for a 7:00 pm reservation (and wondered why a reservation was needed at all). It gradually became busier after 7::30 and we saw why.
Both appetizers were delicious. I had a black garlic shrimp special that was yummy; he had a buffalo mozzarella that was good. The entrees were delicious as well. I had scallops that were nicely seared; he had the filet which was tender and served with really good potatoes.
The waiter was charming and communicated my various food allergies to the kitchen. Like most places we have visited in Montclair, it is BYOB and there is minimal parking but the ambience is nice. We will probably return.
Loud!
Young staff…lack sophistication. Simple things go a long ways.
Wasn't blown away although presentation was good
Going to be a test if they can maintain in the Montclair market
Two Chilean Sea Bass, Two Salads and one Pasta dish to share please!
We walked in without a reservation and my first thought of the ambiance was chic. The chandeliers gave the place a little touch of luxury. I like it.
Our waiter was pleasant but not really charismatic. When I asked about specific items on the menu, though he was very descriptive the only word that came out of him several times was "good," which didn't really help us make any choices. Nevertheless, we started with Burrata Salad. Glad we had a nice balance of salad. The fresh cheese, what a delicacy when it hit my lips and the capers did well with the over balance of salt in the salad. Nice starter.
The House Made Ravioli, now this was my favorite of the night. Ricotta, Pecorino, Pesto and Lump crab. Wow! I wanted another order! Perhaps three raviolis to share wasn't enough for me but I held back from ordering another. Personally, I thought the pesto and lump crab was well balanced and delicious. Texture of the sauce was perfect. It was like a pea soup texture without the hot temperature.
As I said earlier, it was tough making a decision for dinner but we both went with Chilean Sea Bass over cauliflower puree and spinach. No regret here. The cauliflower puree didn't taste like cauliflower. That's bonus points on my end. I don't like cauliflower at in any shape or form but I loved this. Spinach on the other hand was just spinach. Pan seared Chilean Sea bass was well prepared. Delicate golden crisp layer on the outside while moist, flaky from the inside all composed with taste of freshness in every bite. The wine pairing was, Sauvignon Blanc.
Dinner was plentiful. Neither of us felt pudgy. If you are craving Italian and want to go small, this is the place for you.
Buon appetito!
We held a party for 24 here today, and had booked it before ever dining here. After reading reviews, and walking in to look at the menu and speak with the chef about a month ago, we didn't need convincing. The chef is young, and is quite the up and comer. He was gracious when we met with him, and the party that we had was done to perfection. We had (3) family style appetizers – spicy chorizo, shrimp and a fig crostini. Salad service (organic greens) and we kept the main course options minimal for this crew – Dry rubbed Filet Mignon, organic chicken and Dover sole. Each dish was prepared with such attention and this was not treated as a typical party as i have seen at many other restaurants where they all come out at once and often times not done with care. There was nothing that we could complain about, and we plan on making the effort to come back often to Montclair specifically for this restaurant.
The chef has created a wonderful tasting menu so that you have an opportunity to come in and not have to spend money on a dinner, but still be able to get a taste of this little gem, and even better yet, this is a BYOB.
If you have a chance to get in here, i would suggest you do it sooner than later because i don't expect that within the next year, you will be able to get in unannounced. Prepare to be on a waiting list, or plan on booking in advance. This place is a hot spot. So glad we found it.
We liked our visit, but had to wait 20 minutes to be greeted by a waiter. Thankfully, we brought in a bottle of wine that was already open, and we were immediately greeted by a basket of bread by the busers. We were well on our way to buzztown before the waiter came for the first time. Could be because there were two large (+10 people) parties there the night we made our reservation.
The food is very reminiscient of Houston's in Bergen County, and in a good way. The chef's bio states he worked at Highlawn Pavilion before and it shows in the taste and quality of the food.
The ambiance is hip but noisy. Not a place to have a quiet and private dinner. Reservations definitely recommended for the weekends – and make sure you plan enough time to scout out a parking spot!
It is a very nice restaurant with entrees in a price range that is more affordable than return trips to Highlawn.
This place doesn't immediately pop up on the yelp searches so we actually came upon it just walking by it. The reason being could be that the enterees aren't focused on anything particular and more of what you'd see in an chef competition show where chefs try to come up with these high scale meals. you can choose to have one detailed entree or 3 smaller entrees if you want to sample more than one selection for a value price. I went with the organic chicken which is kind of a safety meal from all the fancy other choices that could may not be for my tastes but I must say it was not just your run of the mill chicken dinner. The lemon sauce was excellent being the core of the whole meal it made the chicken delicious, the mashed potatoes delicious and the carrots delicious. I had some of the mushroom chorizo which had a flavorful crab but the rest of it wasn't for me Bs just tasted bland. Not to mention anything mushroom is on my blacklist usually.
The service was great, Byob and they will open your wine and even have some delivered from the local liquor store which is interesting. The ambience is nice but better suited for a party more than 2. The food is is kinda high but based on my dinner alone I'd say it's worth the shot but bring the bucks.
Kind of disappointed after all the hype. Our friends showed up before us and they had to ask for ice for their champagne. The service was not amazing, we poured our own wine and had to ask for water many times.
Food wise we were disappointed as they were sold out of all red meat, the filet and ribeye!! Our appetizers were decent for the most part; I got the spinach salad which was very fresh, my husband got the burrata salad which he enjoyed but our friends got the mussels which weren't stellar and even had a few that tasted funky.
The main dishes were okay, since there was no red meat my husband got the salmon which he enjoyed. Our friends got the risotto which was good and the scallops which although great were tiny and the smallest portion you could imagine. I got the shrimp pasta which was okay but the pasta was incredibly overcooked and fell apart.
For dessert the server recommended the tres leches cake which I thought tasted stale and definitely not moist at all. The taste of the sauce was not the best either.
Let's put it this way: we weren't blown away by the food nor the service and probably wouldn't be back.