Fascino
“The menu selections are flexible so you can essentially order anything from anywhere and this is good because there are excellent selections from the vegan menu.”
“Get a reservation unless your going late and remember parking is challenging, it is Montclair.”
“With a brother (Ryan) as chef in the kitchen, sister(Cynthia) making deserts and a competent staff (Chris), this BYOB is a keeper.”
Fascino
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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I've been coming here for over 10 years. It's definitely stood the test of time. (Over 13 years last I checked.) I love that it's a BYO too. I brought a great bottle of Dom for dinner last tonight. (Dom is always great!) I always order the polenta fries for the table to share. I had the grilled octopus with fingerling potatoes and paperdelle with a lamb ragu for my main. As always everything was outstanding. Everything on their dessert menu sounds great but I've only ever had the chocolate/peanut butter mousse parfait. It's so good I never try anything else! Service is top notch. You never have to look for someone. Several staff are always in the area to refill water, wine, bread, or to check on you. Fantastic in every way!
Came for father's birthday dinner with my parents Monday night. Excellent food, excellent service, great inner ambience with jazzy sexy music. Pricey, but worth it for nicer occasions, and a hot romantic spot for a date night. There was a couple seated near us who seemed to just sit at their table for hours soaking up the atmosphere. This restaurant provides for that wonderfully. The food just melts in your mouth, my dad ordered the taster where you get to try one thing from each of the sections on the menu, my octopus just melted in my mouth. Heaven. This is higher end "haute" cuisine (Italian version), and definitely not the comfort red sauce food at Nauna's. Their motto is "Italian without borders" and it's definitely worth it to come in and try. Bring your own wine! I don't think they have a liquor license just yet.
Quite possibly one of the best meals I've ever had. That's the short review.
Here's the longer one. My girlfriend took me here for a surprise birthday dinner. The outside is nothing special and barely noticeable, but inside it's very nice – upscale and comfortable. Our waiter was extremely attentive and did a great job.
After having our first bottle of wine opened (it's BYOB), we kicked off with the cornmeal-crusted calamari and the mascarpone polenta fries, which are served with a gorgonzola fonduta. The calamari was absolutely the best I've had – cooked perfectly, tender, and tasteful. The mascarpone polenta fries were quite different from anything I've tasted before, in a very, very good way. The sweetness of the mascarpone playing with the texture of the polenta and the added taste of the gorgonzola really made for a fantastic dish that I highly recommend.
For dinner, I went with the truffle scented rigatoni with forest mushroom ragu and castelmagno cheese. I can't get enough of mushrooms, so this was the logical choice for me and I was so happy with it. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the mushrooms were tasty. My girlfriend got ricotta gnocchi in a sweet sausage bolognese with basil and pecorino and thought it was fantastic as well. I tried a piece of gnocchi – perfectly fluffy with a great taste.
We passed on dessert as we were very satisfied from our appetizers and entrees, but as it was my birthday they brought out a scoop of gelato and some biscotti, along with a birthday card from the family that owns the restaurant and the staff which I thought was a very personal touch and really appreciated.
In the end, the bill came out to be much lower than we expected. A pleasant surprise to end a very pleasant dining experience. We will absolutely be back and I can't wait to take my family and friends here!
this place is a real find. I am normally not a huge fan of italian restaurants, particularly in NJ, but i was a big fan of this place.
I showed up a bit early and asked them to decant my bottle of wine (tip, if you go there, bring a great bottle of wine with you as its BYOB). We then went around the corner to grab a cocktail at Pig & Whistle, which is a great place to grab a drink.
ambience is very nice. appropriately dark and it felt elegant (particularly for NJ). My decanted bottle of wine was awaiting (in a proper decanter, not just opened).
Service was great. they were appropriately attentive, but since i had a business dinner, allowed us to catch up without being obtrusive. we ordered a number of things to share and they brought us separately served half portions with proper presentation. that was a nice touch.
appetizers: the heirloom tomatoes with Burrata. One of the best damn salads I have had in a while. the tomatoes are in peak season, and the creamy burrata was coupled with just the right amount of balsamic, salt and basil. YUM. We also got the tuna Tartare. Was good as well.
Dinner- I got the the pasta with truffle/mushrooms. Perfect al dente pasta with a sauce that was creamy, but not overburdened. I didn't finish all the mushrooms that came with it, but was happy with my dish. My friend got one of the fish dishes and was pleased with his.
Desserts – we got the recommended blueberry bread pudding and the chocolate molten lava cake. I really wanted to try the zeppole's but will get them next time. We also got a coffee and capucinno.
Our wine paired extremely well with the food to make for a perfect meal.
The bill came out to be a shockingly low $112 before tip. for a meal of this caliber in NY you would be paying double.
I will be back.
Having been to Battello a handful of times and Nico being my go-to happy hour spot, I had high expectations for Fascino. Needless to say, we didn't leave fascin-ated.
We shared the octopus to start, which was delicious. And the fact that the kitchen actually split it deserves major kudos. They also split the gnocchi, even though we got the appetizer portion. They did not split the tuna, but it would have been awkward if they had.
The gnocchi was soft and overcooked, but I appreciated the thick shreds of cheese and the small skillet for the serving dish.
The tuna was underseasoned and frankly, uncreative. I also don't know who thought it was a good idea to only sear one side of the tuna, which was barely seared. The mint and diced watermelon were refreshing, but the mint was just thrown on the plate and left unchopped. Weird.
BYOB is a plus, but overall, the entree menu is really not all that Italian. I think I will not be back.
Before i begin, The service here is Good! So with that out of the way, let me begin… This place lacks consistency, value, and execution.
Consistency – Some items were incredible – Cauliflower and Apple soup, Veal and Pork Belly over Northern beans and swiss chard – Awesome ( except this was not what i wanted for dinner…. more later)
Value – $25 dollars for Pasta that is mediocre at best? A pesto should be prepared one of two ways…. I prefer the thick herb paste, but i can accept the creamy preparation as well. What I do not accept is a watery oregano mixture with a hint of cheese. So watery that the alleged sauce is unable to adhere to any pasta in the plate. Next … $8 dollars for Broccoli, flavorless and again in a bowl of water…. I suppose water is the theme of the restaurant, but in my culinary experience albeit years ago, water is rarely used for flavor.
Execution – Did the Chef that I read about get sick this week? Or perhaps has he been abducted by aliens? Either way, I would be embarrassed and would never allow the atrocities mentioned above, out of my kitchen, but lets discuss a few more issues. First, they had no Chicken, Steak, or Broccolini. A restaurant that runs out of that many ingredients on a Saturday at 9:00 PM? Poor planning. Next, as an Italian american, I know it was mentioned above, but that Pesto was terrible. Now onto the order mistakes (not the waitresses fault), my wife asked for no croutons on her soup due to a gluten allergy, but this was overlooked. Then she asked for no added cheese on her pasta, which was also overlooked…… This restaurant was not packed so perhaps a little training needs to occur?
Overall, for the price we paid, I am extremely annoyed and disappointed. I am happy spending money on good food and service, but unfortunately I only got one of this evening. For the money I spent, I am much better off at 3 other awesome Italian restaurants that I often visit in Montclair. I was hoping to add a new spot to our rotation, but I honestly have no reason to return!
Lastly,,,, The table next to me was offered a free dessert. Was there experience that much worse than ours? Im curious to know how messed up their meal must have been because we weren't even offered a free coffee for such a dismal experience.
*** One thing of note, they do try and accommodate gluten allergies by having gluten-free pasta in house
We hadn't been here in a while so to get acquainted with them again we chose the 5 course tasting menu.
Everything was fantastic. The restaurant is still very intimate and not too noisy. The staff was great as well. Could be a hair brighter in there for my taste. The food comes out perfectly timed no rush and no lapses in waiting on courses. They are BYOB as well, which is my favorite anyway.
I am very happy we did the tasting menu but loved the fish I had for the Piatto course so much I wish I had that as a full meal. It was that good.
The tasting menu so would argue was small but I feel it was portioned perfectly for the total amounts and giving us the ability to experience the menu without eating too full.
I definitely recommend this spot if your in the area.
Get a reservation unless your going late and remember parking is challenging, it is Montclair.
This place is simply amazing. The ambiance is so romantic, the servers know what they are doing and have a complete knowledge of the whole menu. I love to order the tasting menu for $65 per person to get a wonderful variety of food. Definitely the place to go for a special occasion.