Escape
“Chef and owner Bryan Gregg uses fresh and local produce from neighboring farms and changes the menu weekly.”
“It's Montclair so it's byob which keeps it reasonable.”
“The portion size left us room for dessert, including a dense carrot cake wedge and an impossibly rich chocolate semifreddo.”
Escape
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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When I hear southern menu I automatically think "sloppy" barbecue food. Escape is far from that. The menu is a southern influence with a gourmet flair.
I ordered the fried oysters with bacon and balsamic as an appetizer. At first the dish was a bit too salty but then balanced out. The bread bowl was also excellent. The biscuits reminded me a bit of christmas sugar cookies.
For my entrée I ordered the pork chop which melted in your mouth. The butternut squash mash was another highlight. It was creamy and smooth. My girlfriend ordered the burger which was cooked to order. It came with caramelized onions which gave a nice sweet and tang.
The service was very pleasant. They explained things on the menu.
Solid 4 stars would recommend to friends.
What a lovely menu and great service.
As everyone has said, the mustached waiter is great, extremely knowledgeable and helpful. He made various suggestions on what we could add to our meal, he wasn't pushy, suggestive.
The bread service is really awesome, warm biscuits and madelines!?!?
We started out with a foie gras dish with blueberries, perfectly seared foie gras, great portion and well balanced flavors; crab salad with fennel fronds, refreshing and light; we split the Halibut, perfectly cooked almost fluffy in texture.
Our meal was perfectly prepared, there were no complaints. I thought it was a good amount of food for 2 people even though the crab salad was on the small side. For the quality, the price was great.
I also think it's important to judge a restaurant on their cleanliness, the bathroom has a log sheet that has to be initialed every hour to ensure a member of the staff has gone in and at least looked to see if things were put together. If the bathroom is this clean, then the kitchen is, it shows a sense of pride.
I will be back here!!
First impressions are everything, Escape's first impression was as they say..no bueno. I hate writing negative reviews, I really do, but my experience was not even close to okay.
I met my two best friends here for dinner for our yearly Holiday dinner.
Small place, unassuming. 7pm reservation on a Friday evening.
Host/Manager was delightful and welcoming – the one of the only two high points of the evening.
Waiter was right off the bat anxious, rushing us, and he gave off frenetic energy which in turn made us all anxious, felt rushed, and very uncomfortable. He never once made eye contact with me and he did not know the menu. (later to find out he was on the newer side)
Small menu, BYOB, they provided an ice bucket for our chosen poison for the evening.
Two orders of chicken and waffles for the friends, and one EM burger for moi. (gimme that foie gras!) I inquired if the burger came with fries, as not denoted on the menu. The server informed that everything was a la carte, so I ordered a side of frites.
I informed my server of my lactose sensitivity. I was not having a good day with dairy so opted to be on the more careful side with dinner even with medication that helps. (its great being a human sometimes! Sometimes my body will accept dairy, sometimes it won't….thanks body!) No cheese on the burger for me please.
First high point of the night – the delicious corn bread madeleines and biscuits. The Madeleine was great, I didn't eat the biscuit since I chanced things with the madeleine.
Our mains came quickly, and we were kind of shocked.
First, the burger DOES come with fries. Because on my plate were fries, and then we were served a side of fries. We were fine if they took the fries away but the food runner said he'd have them taken off the bill. (those side of fries are close to costing a Hamilton)
You know the size of the refrigerated biscuits you pop open the tube, that was the size of the bun of my burger. I also discovered the bun to be drenched in some sort of grease…I'd assume from the foie gras or burger so I took a bite. The burger while seasoned nicely, was ruined by the bun. It was so dry, even drenched in whatever grease may be it, and rather tasteless. So I ditched the bun off to the side and forked and knived the burger. The slice of foie gras was so thin….but the burger itself was very nice. And those fries, nothing to write home about. Limp and not crispy, sadly.
My friends weren't too happy with their chicken and waffles either. The waffle was the diameter of a coffee filter and very thin. My friends had some issues with cutting the chicken and even picking up to eat. For some reason the chicken seemed awkwardly fabricated. (cutting a chicken into parts is called fabricating, I'm not fabricating this! ha!) I honestly think it felt weird because the waiter was incessantly checking on us which kept making us feel rushed.
So my friends gave up on their chicken, I at least got the burger patty down and we were still hungry so we opted for dessert. Maybe that would be better!
I asked my server if the chocolate, pretzel dessert had ice cream or cream and he said no. (again, lactose sensitive) I was under the impression it was a cake as the description left a lot to be imagined. I said okay great, just make sure it's not decorated, no whip cream, no ice cream etc. Friend went with carrot cake. Other friend didn't want to risk something else bad so she opted for just our conversation. 🙂
Dessert came, carrot cake was a good size serving, maybe dessert is the way to go in this place.
Chocolate pretzel thing, turned out to be a chocolate ganache on top of pretzels. And guess what……..it was served to me decorated with whipped cream. Ganache is made with cream, so I opted to take the dessert to go – sans whipped cream – my bf would eat it.
Then the bill came….and those damn side of fries were still on the bill. I was SO close to screaming…and so were my even tempered friends. Restraint and calmness, I got the attention of the food runner and showed him the fries were still on the bill. He did immediately apologize and took the bill from me. A few moments later, the very professional and calm manager/host came over and sincerely apologized about the fries mix up, the server was on the newer side and still learning the menu. I took this opportunity to let him know about the server basically ignoring my lactose sensitivity. I wasn't looking to have the dessert taken off the bill, as I knew my bf would like it – I was more concerned about an allergy/sensitivity not being taken seriously. While my sensitivity is not severe, if someone had a major allergy (shellfish) they could be in serious trouble. He sincerely apologized again, and I accepted that and he hoped we'd return and give them another chance.
Sadly, as I said in the beginning – first impressions – this was not a good one, and we will not be returning.
Escape is, without a doubt, one of THE best places to enjoy a meal in Essex County. My wife and I came here on Saturday night for a nice dinner, and we were completely blown away.
LEGGO:
+Ambiance: Escape (minus the cheesy name) has a great ambiance about it. It's rustic, and since it's an organic spot, it fits well with the menu and items offered. Dimly-lit, plenty of tables.
+Service: Our waiter, Monte, was fantastic. Younger dude with the ole' stache. He was really nice, knowledgeable about the menu items, and checked up on us to refill our white wine frequently (drinking problem?). The food came out in perfect timings across the board, and manager made himself visible and was very cordial to a lot of the guests. We were seated immediately and had no wait at all…
*Disclaimer: The waiter said they change their menu often, so chances are, you might not see the following items on when you go. You may, you may not.*
+Appetizers: CRISPY DUCK HEARTS with a sweet glaze and spiced peanuts. Absolutely fantastic. We'd never had duck hearts before, but Escape did them in such fantastic fashion. The perfect texture, a bit chewy but soft enough to enjoy. The sweet glaze was a perfect pairing, and the spiced peanuts added a nice combination of spicy and sweet to the appetizer. The hearts were done beautifully.
+Entree: Fresh Sea Scallops and greens. Again, a killer. I've had plenty of scallop dishes, and Escape did BEYOND an amazing job at prepping and serving this. The dishes they came out on were even superb. Fitted to the meal itself, it showed off the elegance of the scallops and greens. A small touch, but done well. The texture of the scallops were perfect, and the glaze accompanying it was just icing on the cake.
+Price: Pricey. Absolutely. HOWEVER, the motto of "you get what you pay for" has always been true, and doesn't ring truer here. If you're in the mood for a nice, romantic dinner and don't mind spending the extra dollar, Escape is one of the best dining experiences you'll find in Montclair. Bar non. It's a bold statement, but I haven't said it yet.
Escape will do that for you.
3.75
Having been on my radar for quite some time, I had finally tried Escape for the first time last Friday night for dinner. We made very very late reservations, I'm talking 10 minutes before actually showing up, but thankfully we were easily accommodated and showed up in a timely fashion (damn that Montclair street parking).
So here's what we ordered:
Mussels w/ Spiced Sausage and Foie Gras with French Toast for appetizers. I had gotten the Duck Breast and my other half a Ribeye Steak. And as for our side, we had the Mac & Cheese. Complimentary pickles and cornbread madeleines and a biscuit were given to us in the beginning of the meal, and since we didn't order dessert, chocolate chip cookies were also given to us as we paid for our meal.
Look, I appreciate any restaurant that is "Farm to Table" for all sorts of reasons, I think more and more restaurants should try to adapt that approach, but my issue with them overall is value. I was going to give them a 4.0 for bringing in clutch complimentary cookies before we left, but it didn't add up. The food is tasty and fresh, and rich, I'll give them that. The ingredients: well within A grade. And I'm sure if I were to go back and order from a brand new line of dishes, the execution and quality would be the same. But the whole menu it's a blow to your buck if you ask me. Their entrees are priced from $23 – $35. Their starters are anywhere between $9 – $14. I'm aware that they have Prix-Fixe lunches here for $45 which may absolutely be the better route if you come to visit, but if I'm paying for full priced dishes, I shouldn't be given small sized plates as if I were eating a 6- 8 course meal. My ratio in grits to duck breast meat should be the same throughout the length of time to eat that dish. If my foie gras is 4 inches in length by 2 inches in width, and got more than one piece, my french toast should be bigger a 3" x 3" post-it. It was no bigger than than an oreo that night.
Escape is one of the best restaurants in Montclair. I was skeptical because I have yet to find a 5 star dining experience to share with my parents in Montclair, but I finally think I have found my place. I think Escape is definitely better than Fascino in terms of gourmet dining.
To start, the corn bread madelines and the biscuits are SO tasty. The butter is extra sweet which only adds to the rich flavor of the baking.
We had the duck hearts to start which were SO amazing in terms of flavor and texture. I ordered the snapper and my husband ordered the scallops. While we are both not people who gravitate towards seafood when dining out, we were both BEYOND satisfied. They were both sitting on a bed of tasty rice and greens. My husbands came with ramps which I had never heard of! They were similar to broccoli rabe. We also ordered a side of bacon mac and cheese. SO RICH and SO worth the money.
We did not get to dessert because we were beyond our budget and belts, but next time we will definitely save room for dessert…and…invite my parents to treat!!
I brought a party of 6 here. We came at 7PM and there was just a single couple occupying a corner table. By 8PM the place was packed and jumping.
I'm just now noticing all of the reviewers commenting upon the cluelessness of the wait staff. Several members of my dinner party said the same. At the time, I found their criticism annoying. I intended to focus upon the food and not the eccentricities or even the perceived state of disorientation that the waiters and servers appeared to be in. I was not at all annoyed when they mixed up plates and delivered medium rare to someone who ordered well done and vice versa.
The waiter came over several times, but we were all just staring at the menu…desperately trying to find something enticing to order. After 20 minutes I began to question my decision to bring us here. The waiter advised us that the EM burger was voted top 5 in NJ by NJ Monthly. I went with it. Ultimately, it was similar to but not as good nor anywhere the size of the burger you can get up the street at Stuffed. It had the identical bacon jam, but the bun was annoyingly soaked in butter. I love butter, but this was horrible and so rich it was inedible.
Unlike others, I was less than impressed with the buttermilk biscuits. I tried the cheese plate and a few other appetizers. I also sampled the hangar steak. The portions are indeed quite small for the extreme mark up. I take comfort in the farm to table aspect, but that's practically a given these days for a good restaurant. Overall I was disappointed. Dessert was well presented and a decent palate cleanse, but like the rest, it was overpriced.
Montclair can lend itself to a Manhattan-ish vibe, from upscale Italian, to endless cafes and bars…and this New American eatery.
I went out to dinner with my family in celebration of my mom's birthday. I usually roll my eyes when a restaurant prides itself on 'farm-to-table cuisine', since there's usually a fine line between a meal that's well executed and one that wallows in pretension. But, damn if Escape didn't deliver one fantastic meal.
This is not a big restaurant, seating only about half a dozen tables. The decor is sparse, though chalkboards on the wall proudly list the local farms supplying the goods. As expected, portions were on the small side but more than made up for it in quality. The six of us each began with an appetizer, with offerings such as crab & farro, an arugala salad, and uni over apple. I went with the uni, which was present as a sliver of sea urchin roe atop a smaller pieces of apple. A tiny taste, but it packed an incredible amount of flavour with the intense brine of the roe tempered perfectly by the crisp sweetness of apple.
The portions were only slightly larger for the entrees, but the quality remained outstanding. I went with a braised rabbit over grits, with others leaning towards steak or duck. The rabbit meltingly tender and well seasoned, with the creamy grits providing a nice balance of texture. The portion size left us room for dessert, including a dense carrot cake wedge and an impossibly rich chocolate semifreddo.
Where Escape falls short is where most its counterparts in Manhattan often do: a lack of ambiance and sky-high prices can bring down what could otherwise be a flawless meal.