Turtle + the Wolf

My boyfriend and I went for brunch a couple weeks ago. It was a pretty nice place and the service started out great but it kind of slowed down throughout the meal but that wasn’t really a huge deal I guess.
Food came out a little slow but again, not a big deal. There were some things that annoyed me however. I got the breakfast focaccia, and although it was really good, they were a little cheap with the toppings and my egg was basically cooked all the way so I couldn’t really break it and have nice liquid yolk. Also, there was a mountain of spinach thrown onto the focaccia and about half of it was old/​dead. I would have rather them tell me I couldn’t have any spinach than them serve me dead spinach.
I’d probably go back and give it another chance. Hopefully it’s faster and a little more fresh.

Looks cool from the outside, but the food is overpriced, took forever to come out, and was very bland and unsatisfying. My iced tea was $ 5 — it was nothing special. There are several other restaurants in the area that are not as disappointing as this place.

First time at Turtle and the Wolf and 3 items were pretty great and 1 item was a miss. The chicken liver mousse appetizer was great – I really liked the mousse combined with the tart cherries and pickled onions. My husband got the soft shell crab and loved it! The pickled onions with the soft shell crab was a great combination. The aioli served with it would have been better served on top of the crab. The pork confit dish was disappointing. The pork and shrimp were pretty tasty but they were served with grits that were totally bland and watery. The maple pot de crème was delicious-​fantastic maple flavor!

Ok– best thing I ever ate — the chicken liver mousse! I mean, the combination of pickled onion, sweet dark cherries and the mousse was absolutely amazing! My one complaint about the whole meal was with the other appetizer we ordered-​the charred escarole with pancetta, golden raisins and capers. It was delish, but really difficult to eat. The escarole was a head split in half and was impossible to cut-​even when I requested a steak knife. I ended up stuffing big unwieldy bites in my mouth. Definitely not a good first date menu item. The white clam lasagna was vey good, but very rich. It was suppose to have sea urchin in it somewhere but I couldn’t tell. Mine had not not enough pesto and my husband’s had too much! Flourless chocolate cake was ok– a bit dry but yummy. Will return!

Food was good. Slightly under seasoned. My only concern were the shrimp served with the grits. The grits were rich. Very nice texture but didnt pop. Pork belly was very very good. Nice crispy skin to it. The shrimp tho. I believe they came from a bag from china. That doesn’t fly. If your using truffles from «france». Use wild shrimp. Wild shrimp not farm raised bagged rubbery tail splintered shrimp from china from costco. If im wrong please let me know.

My fiancée and I try a new restaurant every week and open table brought us to this restaurant.
I was skeptical at first, but the second I walked in and smelled the special sauce on their signature wings I was hooked.
I had the beef and she had the chicken — both were absolutely delicious. My beef was super tender. Her chicken was perfectly seasoned. I was impressed.
This place is amazing. The food was great and the service matched. Even when our waitress was swamped with tables her colleagues lent helping hands to make sure we weren’t waiting.
I recommend this place to everyone.

Loved it.
We sat at the kitchen bar and enjoyed watching the action.
The best octopus with chorizo and potatoes we have ever had. Great beet salad w/​oranges and pistachios… halibut & pork belly with white asparagus for entrees. All delish.
Nice décor and pleasant efficient service.
Wish they had hooks for my handbag underneath the bar…(pet peeve of mine).
My only gripe is I wish Montclair wasn’t such a pain to get to from Summit! (it took us 50 minutes and horrible parking in that town). Not the fault of the restaurant.
Would love to go back… if I lived closer I would be there weekly.
Great place. :)

Awesome stylish friendly place. The service is first rate and the waitress was intelligent welcoming and cheerful.
Went there last weekend for brunch and they told me there’s a 2 week booking needed for evenings at the weekend.
Coffee was strong but very smooth. The to go though wasn’t the same quality stuff so that was disappointing but overall a definite 5 stars!

I came into Turtle and Wolf for brunch with big expectations and was a little underwhelmed.
Let me start off by saying the ambiance is beautiful and waitstaff is attentive.
The baked egg dish I had was just okay. I emphasize just «okay» as it felt like it was missing something; I’m not too keen on bacon, however since this place is known for their pork entrees perhaps it could be a nice add with the sweetness of the red peppers. I also had coffee which was also good.
I plan on returning to try something a bit more interesting. Perhaps I shouldn’t have ordered eggs.

Why does a chicken cross the street ?
So it can become a delicious meal at the Turtle.
Best prepared chicken I have had in a long time. I wanted dark meat but was surprised how Delicious. Keep clucking and good eating.

Service: amazing
Food: best thing that’s happened to Montclair!
Must try: Chicken Liver Mousse
New favorite spot !!!

I was lucky enough to try half the menu as I ate with a big group. Everything we ordered was delicious: pork belly, brisket, seafood chowder, tilefish, chicken liver, roasted vegetables with burrata, roasted cauliflower with anchovies, pasta, roasted beets, focaccia, rice balls, crème brûlée, vanilla cake, and zeppoles.
Like many city transplants, I miss the restaurants, and this restaurant feels like a little bit of the city closer to home. Interesting dishes, and menu that evolves based on the season and fresh ingredients.
It is BYOB and there is a wine store across the street.
We’ll be back with more friends.

We came out from the City to visit some friends and were delighted to discover this gem.
The wait staff was excellent and the open kitchen a warm and inviting presence.
Cris DeOteris selected some great menu choices for us, including the chicken liver (what a surprise!) and the duck pie.
We look forward to coming back again.

Turtle and wolf is a nice new spot located in a prime location in Montclair, I was a big fan of the outside and a bigger fan of the interior, the décor was really neat!
Heads up if you plan to come with a group, their reservations start at 6 persons and they will not seat you if you aren’t complete.
With that being said, we came for brunch and found the food to be pretty decent. The kitchen is open so you can see the chefs at work after you order, this is a nice touch because you can see that their keep a very tidy kitchen. I wouldn’t say the brunch menu is limited, just different, it’s certainly not a menu you would find everywhere else, which is excellent if you want to be adventurous.
I ordered the egg frittata which came with sweet peppers and potatoes, it was good but I would definitely opt in to adding meat to it, it didn’t feel complete. The homefries were very delicious.
Overall my party was pretty happy with the place, the food was fresh and definitely made with tlc, I would go back.
Enjoy.

Trendy new restaurant!
Décor is unique and modern. Service was great… hip young workers that were as friendly as they were attentive. Neither my water or wine glass went below half full the whole night.
Food was good and very fresh. We started with the beet salad which I would highly recommend. For my entrée I had the pork and beans… pork was cooked well and the skin was so crispy it tasted like bacon. Shared a side of cauliflower which was flavored well. Completely full, we still went for the zeppolis for dessert which were light and airy, nice and sweet.
Great place!

I was very impressed with Turtle + the Wolf. Specifically, I really liked their food.
Other aspects of the restaurant (I’m sure) would impress others. Eating in this restaurant feels like eating in one of the dining rooms in a West Elm catalogue — not necessarily a bad thing.
The service was very attentive. Our water glasses were always full and they poured our BYO red wine generously.
Now, the food. I wish the portion sizes were bigger because it was so delicious. For entrees in Montclair hovering mostly around the $ 20-​$ 30 range, though, it was reasonable. There are plenty of restaurants that score a $$$ on Unilocal in Montclair that charge more. We tried the tilefish and brisket. The brisket was moist and tender and well balanced by the sides. The tilefish was fantastic — a really good piece of fish I don’t usually get to try as most restaurants seem to think Chilean Sea Bass is an excuse to give up experimenting on tasty seafood. It was paired with, per our waitress — sunchokes — another new food for me. For some people it reminds them on artichokes, for me it was kohlrabi. Either way, that dish was amazing.
Finally, we sampled the flourless chocolate cake and apple pastry for dessert. Both outstanding. Not much to say about that.
I almost forgot the appetizer. We had raw oysters that were nice and fresh. The waitress was knowledgeable enough to let us know where they were from, their size and how they were likely to taste — all information on point.
Even without the Brooklyn-​style décor, I would still come back here. What a great experience!
P. S. I THINK there is parking in the back, or at least off the main street. Saw many patrons come in through the back door. Doesn’t hurt to check. Don’t be like us walking a block in the bitter cold because we were afraid we wouldn’t find parking closer.

Let me tell you a story about a turtle and a wolf. Actually, I don’t know anything about it, so let Lauren, the chef/​owner tell you about it on the «vision» tab of the restaurant’s web site. After reading up on his (not her) culinary background, I now understand why everyone has been raving about this place and why we had such a great meal here.
We walked in around 7:30 on a Friday night. We were asked if we had a reservation, which we did not, so the host directed us to the bar. Our waitress Megan (sp?) gave us plenty of time to settle in before coming over to introduce herself and explain the menu, which is the perfect size. Probably about 10 appetizers, 6 or 7 entrees, 5 or 6 sides, and 3 desserts.
We didn’t know where to begin (or end), so we spread out the enjoyment by sharing just about everything.
Started with the deviled eggs (1 ½ eggs). For $ 3, how could anyone pass these up? They were super fresh and delicious. Just the right amount of filling and paprika.
The Beausoleil oysters ($ 18 for ½ dozen) were equally fresh. Kudos for the addition of the peppercorns in the mignonette.
The baked clams carried a nice enough amount of herbs, I think anyone who doesn’t like clams would probably appreciate these.
The roasted beet salad with pistachios and goat cheese wasn’t a first for me. This combination seems to be picking up steam at other farm-​to-​table concepts, but the freshness theme continued throughout.
When it came to entrée choices, it didn’t matter what Megan recommended. I saw that brisket on the menu before I even walked in the door. No one was going to talk me out of it. It was as tender as I dreamed of, though the parsnips were probably just a tad undercooked and the puréed potatoes a few seconds overpuréed.
The exotic mushrooms with crème fraîche as a side didn’t do it for me, probably because the mushrooms were cold. I almost think these could have been served warm on the same plate as the brisket, less the crème fraîche.
Megan really sold me on this place when it was time to order dessert. The three choices were the flourless chocolate cake (no thanks), the zeppoles or the apple and cranberry tart. When asked if the tart came with ice cream, Megan informed us T&W doesn’t have a freezer. SOLD. A true sign these people have the whole farm-​to-​table thing down. Instead, the tart came with mascarpone, and it rocked!
Elisa (sp?), the floor manager, also came over at one point to see how everything was. Classy.
Overall, excellent service, food and ambiance. All that, combined with BYOB, means 5 stars from me! The only thing I’d say they need to chill out on are the espresso prices. $ 5 for a single; $ 8 for a double. Yikes. In fairness, though, all that we did order only came to $ 114, not including tip.

Our meal at Turtle + The Wolf was decadent and delicious. The staff was charming and professional from the moment we walked in, and we loved the open kitchen.
The mousse was very interesting and had a flavor than I’ve never had in a pâté previously.
The rabbit was perfectly cooked flavorful.
My husband’s brisket moist and flavorful, and a pleasant surprise for ‘Northeastern’ BBQ.
Our desserts were the perfect sweet ending the a long and relaxing meal. It was a treat to see each person walk away looking as pleasantly full as we were!
My only regret is not ordering the fried chicken meal. There’s always next time!
Thanks, T+W.

This weekend we made it to T+W; after hearing much about this new place on social media we made it a must to come try ourselves.
The service was friendly and attentive.
We ordered trout, brisket escarole and a mushroom appetizer. The mushrooms were served cold which surprised me but after my second bite I decided I loved them and the sauce they were served with. The brisket dish was full of fresh vegetables and the meat was very flavorful and tender. My husband’s trout was so delish I’m sure we’ll be going back next weekend and he’ll order that again.
Oh yes one last thing, it’s BYO so don’t forget your wine at home like I did. Thankfully there is liquor store just across the street.

My boyfriend and I were able to secure same day dinner reservations through T+W’s website (via Open Table) this past Sunday. Courteously, the restaurant had called a few hours before our booked time to confirm. I had selected 6pm for our reservation time thinking that it would be first: enough time to go home early on a Sunday evening and the latter: less people would be at the restaurant. To my surprise, the place was near full when we arrived! I’m glad I had booked when I did!
Turtle + the Wolf fulfilled my expectations and more. Having read of the history of the chefs, I was a little skeptical at first to hear that such high quality food and craft (pun intended) would make it in little Montclair, especially after reading «$ 125 Tasting Menu» on their website. After my first dining experience, I welcome them with open arms!
By BF and I had truly stretched our stomachs to try as much as we could the other night. We had ordered the ROSEMARY FOCCACIA and AUTUMN SQUASH to start. For our entrees, the increasingly popular TROUT and RABBIT dishes. In addition to the mains, we also had ordered the ROASTED CAULIFLOWER side. And to put ourselves in stumbling food coma, we had finished with the FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE.
The ROSEMARY FOCCACIA was perfectly seasoned with salt flakes and the right amount of rosemary. I found it peculiar that it wasn’t brushed with any olive oil, but soon enough our server had asked if we had wanted olive oil or butter with the bread. (Personally, I think it should have been brushed with olive oil to begin with. It’s foccacia).
The AUTUMN SQUASH, which was compiled of korbacha, spaghetti, and yellow (I think? — don’t quote me) topped with candied walnuts over a smooth ricotta base, was a pleasantly nice cold dish. (If I were to change this slightly, I would have like a little more smoke or char on the squashes if still served cold. For non-​vegetarian version, perhaps some pork belly or bacon).
For my main, I had ordered the TROUT. It was a perfectly constructed dish and I had thoroughly enjoyed every bite of it! The Frisee gave the dish the right amount of freshness and texture. The lemon added great acidity to cut through the fish and potatoes. I had a taste of the RABBIT which too was wonderfully cooked, the only complaint I think my other half had was the amount of bones he had to filter through.
The roasted CAULIFLOWER side dish with anchovy vinaigrette, wasn’t really needed since our main were large enough to fill us, but equally up to par as the rest of the dishes we had. My only complaint is that the dish was rather oily and lacked the vinaigrette to cut through the richness.
Last but not least, our server had recited the only two dessert dishes available: an Apple Crisp and obviously the FLOURLESS CHOCOLATE CAKE. Our neighboring table had ordered the crisp which turned out notably huge, thus why we went the flourless cake route. It was served with a fresh Cranberry compote and whipped cream, but I personally would have like something a little more solid/​denser like a creamy sorbet or frozen yogurt to mellow out the tartness of the cranberry. All in all it was an excellent cake, with great body, which is hard to find in flourless cakes.
AMBIANCE: 5.0 — by far the best in Montclair
SERVICE: 4.5 — my water glass was almost near empty at one point
FOOD: 4.75
VALUE: 4.5
The fine touches were impressive (don’t think I didn’t notice your Restoration Hardware flatware and the Jono Pandolfi dinnerware, T+W). All in all the highly anticipated Turtle + the Wolf was a hit! Everyone deserves quality food and quality dining in such a trendy modern setting. It truly is a piece of New York City in Montclair. I cannot wait to go back and try the suckling pig. The tasting menu for a $ 125 still sounds rather steep for Montclair, let alone NJ, (I’m sure they are fully capable of serving something with that price tag).