On my first visit to the charming and quaint Montclair area, we had a late lunch at Allegory, the Montclair Hotels' in-house restaurant. The atmosphere was festive, with a large, live, decorated gold Christmas tree. Our meal was a steak sandwich with tasty waffle fries and cocktails. The bartender/server provided excellent service with our meal choices and check-ins. read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Our cocktails: a glass of the effervescent Prosecco and a crafted seasonal Orange and Bloom drink. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

See all

some of the dishes were OK, some not so much, none of them worth the price. The wait staff were truly awful, service profession not for them, I guess read more

Decent food. All overpriced for what you get. Nothing special, but basic food options especially when you are on Bloomfield Avenue. Convenient if staying in the hotel. read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Menu - Breakfast and Lunch/Dinner - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

I went here for brunch with a group of five, and had a good experience! Pros: - the hostess, Veronica, is friendly and it was very easy to make changes to my reservation - they were basically empty for an 11 am brunch, up until we left around 12:30 pm. If you're looking for a quiet spot, this is it! - Food was good and fairly priced! Brunch for 5, with no alcohol, was around $100. Portions are normal-sized, not large. Cons: - Our waitress didn't really know what she was doing; for example, she didn't know how to split a check - It took a while for her to come and take our order - There's a TON of construction in the area so parking is crazy! Overall, I would definitely come back for brunch! read more

See all

We went to watch the Wimbledon Finals over brunch. Staff was really nice. It opens early for the time difference. It's the only restaurant open at 9am in the area. Not crowded at all. Good food. read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

See all

We visited the Allegory for dinner reservations at 930 on NYE as we stayed at the MC Hotel. We went to the bar and it was not too crowded at around 630 for a few Drinks. The hotel was hosting an event on the roof top however we decided to just stay in. The bartender was very unfriendly but the drinks were decent. The band was excellent. The food was very good. We had the big Ol' pretzel at the bar which was fluffy and perfection. When we arrived for dinner at 9:30 there were plenty of empty tables. We opted for a table in the dining room to be further away from the bar and band. The first table we were seated at was extremely wobbly. We were moved to the table immediately behind this on (no table cloth). We ordered drinks. We waited a long time for drinks. Finally asked the manager for our drinks and they were comped. We had Cobb salads as starters which were very good. For entrees we split Prime rib and fried chicken both of which were very good. Sides of garlic mashed potatoes which were some of the best I have ever had (they may have been out of a box!). The side of broccoli could have been cooked a bit longer and was completely unseasoned. We waited for drinks for a long time. The waiter was apologetic and we were in no rush as we planned on being in the bar / restaurant for midnight but we were still sitting waiting for a drink. P read more

Atmosphere is cool; drinks were good. But my dish had a surprise ingredient that had nuts, which the waiter promptly fixed with no issue. The dish was remade but it was a little frozen on the inside. The waiter, Cisse, was great and apologized and took it off the bill. But it was a major disappointment. read more

This was a short stay at MC hotel where the restaurant located. Very nice ambiance. You feel homey. A lot of light with nice wall murals. Our food was delicious, trio lunch special. Service, friendly employees work here. Lunch menu doesn't include dessert menu. read more

See all

total horsecrap. took me a goddamn hour to get my v soup. then another hour to get entrees and a frickin miller lite!!! never got my water. waitress was pretty chill but ode slow. kitchen sucked and i work in the industry so i should know. gave us champagne as a special surprise when we wanted beer tower!!! i do not recommend. Ambiance was kinda fire. read more

I enjoyed my visit at Allegory. They provide free valet parking for the first 5 hours which is great because Montclair parking can be extremely difficult. The ambiance was very nice. Lounge type tables and a big bar you can sit at. Starting with drinks I had a nice glass of champagne, they have a good cocktail menu. The food menu is a little small but has options for everyone. The fried calamari was very tasty. The branzino was delicious. Portions are just enough to keep you satisfied and have room for dessert. The gelato was very good. Service was good. They seemed understaffed a little but other than that very helpful. read more

See all

I went to Allegory for lunch and my experience was pretty good. I ended up getting the oysters, fries and tuna tacos which were all delicious. I did order 2 drinks but my food was much better than the drinks were. The service was really good and everyone was really friendly and attentive and the ambiance was nice and very similar to most restaurants in hotels. I would love to go back for dinner to see how the experience differs since i was sitting in the bar area this time around. read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Had breakfast here because I was staying at the hotel , the food wasn't bad but wasn't anything special. Service was really really slow and took forever to place an order - it was a Monday morning lol . Luckily for me I had hours to kill . read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Poached eggs with fixings , eggs were over cooked - best thing was the potato . - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

I heard about Allegory having a new executive chef and I needed to try it. Unless I stay at a hotel I don't usually go out of my way to dine at a restaurant located at a hotel. Well Allegory changes the equation for me. The atmosphere, decor and food is just fantastic. We had the oysters, Burrata cheese salad, charted cauliflower and tuna tartare. Everything was amazing. To top it all the service was fantastic. Did I mentioned that they had a live music. I will be differently coming back. read more

See all

I am not sure why this adorable restaurant with a personality only has three stars on here! First of all the service is outstanding. Everyone from the host to the waitresses, Busser, bartenders and the chef is very talented! It's not easy being in the restaurant industry during normal times but right now to still be able to have the turnout that allegory did tonight on an evening where most places are empty says so much! The chefs yes both chefs were on Hells Kitchen. They killed it!!! They're special was the Caesar salad with grilled yes grilled romaine, naturally bc of my FOMO I HAD to try it... DELISH!! And for dinner I had the steak which I never get steak anymore and when o do it's a treat and boy was it a treat!!! (Boy was it a treat? Who talks like that lol) okay well anyway it was delicious they topped it with shredded Parmesan cheese and the tri colored fingerling potatoes with the gyuyere Dijon balsamic wee melt in your mouth finger licking good! (I'm doing it again with the finger licking good arent I!) Bottom line is I was impressed and I left feeling over 80% full which is something I try not to do anymore because I read this whole article about how you should only get 80% full yet here I am at at least 95% full and you know what it feels good!!! I may rethink that at some point but right now I'm happy with my fullness... read more

See all

We had a Christmas party last week with 25 of our family members. The food was delicious and the service was AMAZING. The waiter worked so hard and made sure we were all happy. We really had such a great experience here and will definitely be making it a yearly tradition. The ambience is great and everything was above and beyond what we expected. read more

Was recommended this restaurant by a friend and BOY OH BOY am I happy I ate here. Honestly the appetizers alone are to die for. I've had some of the best oysters in the New England area and this competes neck and neck they're delicious. The charred cauliflower I didn't know was something to order but the waitress Clemence recommended them and they didn't disappoint, the sauce is simple yet unbelievably delicious. I'm so happy I came here, I hate being behind on what's the best restaurants especially here in Montclair but glad Im ahead on this spot and im gonna bring everyone here as this spot became one of my favorites. read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Delicious oysters - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

See all

Wow, the food here was exceptional. Chef Ryan is damn good at what he does. The octopus was the most tender, delicious octopus I've ever had. The artichokes. The veal ragu. The donuts. The cheesecake. Everything was amazing. Also the service was great (thanks Mary!). Will definitely be back here. 10/10 would recommend. read more

See all

We happened to be walking down Bloomfield Ave heading to dinner at a different restaurant and saw that the new hotel opened with a bar/restaurant. Always looking for new places to try, we decided to sit at the bar to have an appetizer and drink since we were a little early for our reservation. I had the Paloma for my cocktail and it was excellent. We shared the whipped ricotta and the focaccia as a couple snacks. The whipped ricotta was excellent. I was a little thrown off because there were roasted vegetables in the ricotta, which was not stated on the menu. The menu said it was just honey, lemon and black pepper. It was delicious, the restaurant just needs to adjust their menu to reflect this. I thought the focaccia was amazing. Just a warning if you order it, it is spicy! I love spice so I enjoyed it, but it was too much for my husband so he didn't finish his share. Keep in mind when you try this bar, it is in a hotel lobby. It is a very elegant space and doesn't really have that "hotel lobby" feel, but you do see guests walking around. Definitely a great spot to swing by and have a drink. We will be back to sit down and try the dinner menu! read more

See all

This is a fun place with some great food. Located inside Montclair's MC Hotel, this restaurant has an open and elegant atmosphere and a lively bar area where you can eat and drink. We started with a great bottle of wine, Ruca Malen, a malbec from Argentina. The Whipped Ricotta and Escarole Salad appetizers were delicious. The Potato Crusted Cod I had was a great dish served over spinach and a whole grain mustard on the side. Really enjoyed this. My wife had the Bolognese with Tagliatelle, Braised Beef and Vegetables which she also thoroughly enjoyed. We ended with a special Lava Cake dessert that was just OK but overall a great meal was had. I do have to mention that there was an issue with the quality of one of our dishes. Don't want go in to too much detail other than to say the issue was handled wonderfully and professionally by the management and wait staff. They couldn't have been nicer and they truly corrected and saved what could have been a bad experience. After our meal we proceeded to the rooftop bar for a nightcap. Well, the rooftop is amazing. Great drinks, great ambience and spectacular views of Montclair, NYC and the surrounding areas. We will definitely be coming here again and this will be a regular stop for us as we live in the area. read more

See all

Recently came here for brunch and was happily impressed. The food was delicious and kombucha on tap was a great addition for the meal. I enjoyed the lobster sandwich and we shared a burger which was very good too. Next time I'm coming back for the live music and also the new rooftop! Heard it has the best view of the town and NYC and delicious cocktails! read more

Yowza - understand they have a new chef. SO GOOD. No one is here. Will go into our rotation! Really great farm salad and roasted chicken. Yum!!! read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Roasted Chicken - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

Went here for Valentines Day Weekend. Extremely cozy place. We watched the sunset with our fire pit and blanket that they provided. There's also a beautiful view of NYC. We had the steak and creamed spinach. The steak was a little salty but still tender. Looking for something romantic definitely visit. read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Rooftop Bar - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

See all

Allegory was a very pleasant surprise. Normally i do not go out to restaurant less than 4 stars but this place definitely proved me wrong. I would highly recommend it for ladies night out. Excellent drinks, atmosphere, service and off course food. I will definitely come back again. Did I mention awesome service!! I will highly recommend to all my friends!! I LOVED Clemence's recommendation. read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - Amazing Oysters!!! - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

The food was great, staff was polite and helpful and the atmosphere was very relaxing and inviting. The bread bowl was to die for. read more

See all

Unfortunately for allegory upper management doesn't care to see their establishment succeed. The service formally was excellent. Now I think the line cooks are serving dinner as opposed to cooking it. The quality of food has steadily declined. How can you call your self a chef and fail to preform a 15 item menu? It seems they like to hire talentless hacks. That is most likely because upper management is largely devoid of talent scope vision and any degree of class in general. Avoid at all costs. read more

The MC Hotel opened in August and we have already enjoyed several special occasions at Allegory. I compliment their delicious food, great live music, & incredible views from the rooftop! I highly recommend their martinis and yellowtail ceviche appetizer. read more

See all

The menu is limited, but the options they do have are delicious. However, what really made our dinner stand out was the service. Despite being short staffed, the manager went above & beyond for us - laying our napkins in our laps, ensuring our drinks were full, checking in but not in an overbearing way, etc. I would go back again! read more

Absolutely horrible. Weak drinks at $18 a pop, food plated incorrectly with wrong sides, almost dehydrated waiting for water, and seriously - hair in the food. It was actually comical and because we were festive we laughed the whole night away. We also went out for pizza afterwards because we were starving and the food was actually that bad. I think they need a new Chef and a different philosophy about pouring drinks. I'm not much of a yelp poster but this place was off the hook BAD. read more

The food was very delicious here, as were the drinks. The service, however, was so ridiculously slow. I think we spend over four hours here. I understand places can be understaffed but it was 45 minutes before we could get a drink in and our drinks would run dry for a long time before we could order another. I'm not sure what the server was doing the entire time but it wasn't waiting on tables. I might go back for the food though, it was really tasty. read more

$75 per person for legit the weirdest food in the entire world. i totally get paying a fixed price on vday but subjecting your guests to eating hands down the oddest food combinations/ just not good food is really insane. i feel like i ate dessert for 3 courses. i'm all for trying new things but even the execution of each dish was really awful. my boyfriend couldn't even chew the duck he ordered that's how rare it was. overall 0/10 experience. i would have rather paid $75 for chicken fingers and fries honestly. i attached a picture of the menu just so you can see for yourself. read more

Allegory Restaurant and Bar - duck - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - Montclair, New Jersey

See all

When you travel every week for work you often find the hardest decision of the day to be where to eat dinner. I'm currently working on NJ and I have to say where to have dinner isn't an issue for me. Allegory is a great spot to have dinner. Located within the MC hotel (part of Marriott so stay and get your points), Allegory offers a refined eating experience with two distinct feels. Both areas are casual to smart casual. The lower level offers a large bar, bistro and small tables and a menu of burgers, Sandwiches and really good Old Bay Fries. Watch the game on the bar TVs or on Tuesday listen to live music. The upstairs is quieter for couple dining or for someone like myself that just wants a nice quiet dinner. I recommend the potato encrusted Cod or the strip steak. If you have room the whipped ricotta appetizer is amazing and the crackerjack dessert got me in trouble with the wife who saw my picture on Yelp (it was as good as it looks). If you find yourself in Montclair NJ don't pass up a chance to enjoy Allegory read more

See all

I was super excited to try this restaurant and decided to make a reservation on opening week, but was so disappointed. The food was below subpar and the service was horrendous. The waiter forgot my drink and it took about 35 minutes to get the check. I wanted to give this place another chance but looking at the reviews, it doesn't seem like it got any better. There are a ton of restaurants in Montclair that are within walking distance and have an overall better value than Allegory, I'd save your pennies and go elsewhere. read more

This hotel restaurant is just what Montclair needs. We went for lunch and got the fried chicken sandwich and shrimp & octopus spaghetti. The sandwich was so tasty & juicy. Way better than Popeyes of course, hehe sorry! The spaghetti was okay to me. It would better if it had a touch of white wine or some type of light sauce. Our server was very friendly and conversational, but they definitely need more staff to pick up the pace. Excited to come back & see how this business does overtime. Beautiful addition to the neighborhood! read more

See all

Pretty brutal. Obviously some things to work out. But the overall design is so odd. The hotel built this grand cylindrical entrance and instead of using it, you enter where the cars valet. The restaurant is divided into two main spaces. The bar area plus seats along the window. And then the tables set above that space bordered by the Faux entrance. Since the cylinder of doors:windows is not covered by drapes the fluorescent gas station lights are perfectly visible. Also, someone spent some serious money on big lights with those Large old timey light bulbs but you can barely see the glow because of all the cheap looking, mid-level hotel lighting that give off a pale eco-efficient look and make everything bright and unappealing. I'm not sure who's in charge of design but I can't imagine that after so long in coming and a whole hotel chain's worth of funding behind them - this is what they envisioned? I guess it does look like a Marriot dining room though. Service was ... interesting. Our waitress was new. Maybe new to serving altogether. She was brutally honest about what was going on which was endearing but also concerning. Drinks took fooorrrreverr. But that wasn't the best part. We ordered about 5 apps for 4 people and they were all 5-6/10. Nothing memorable. But nothing bad. If drinks were good and service was tight we would've been very content. The best part though was when she brought me the "tagine" in a rather deep bowl and there was about 2 finger breadths of food in it. As she placed it in front of me that said "something is wrong with this." I picked up on her cue and it looked so bizarrely small and undersized for an entree portion. She then spilled her guts that this was not normal and she asked the Chef but he said it was fine and then she told her manager. Good job on her part! The manager did come over and make some nonsense up about how he saw it and spoke to the chef. Here's a tip: if you didn't see it, don't say you saw it. Also, if you saw it, how could you let it be served. They were nice enough to take it off the bill. I guess that's good managing although I probably would've offered the table dessert or drinks on the house given that ridiculous portion of nonsense that was supposed to be Tagine. It's a huge bummer to me that this big monstrosity of a hotel has decor that looks more suitable to a hotel in Springfield, MO than a place 10 miles from the greatest food city in the world. Half the people in this town work and eat in NYC regularly and will not tolerate this level of food or design or any of it. I hope they improve significantly or it will become a bar scene for people who don't care about food or it will just be empty. I am honestly rooting for this place but won't go back until they fix up a lot. Also, live keyboard music is not an attraction. read more

Second time here. Our appetizers came out before our drinks. Took over 20 minutes. I ordered the octopus. Over cooked and dry. The cannelini beans were hard to eat as they were dry and not cooked all the way through. Will be back for drinks at the bar.... that's about it. Very disappointed! read more

The food was mediocre - We ordered the beef tartare, lamb ribs, the grilled octopus, and the slow cooked salmon, plus a Moscow mule and a goodfella. The tartare was severely under seasoned, as were the lamb ribs. The grilled octopus was 95% beans and 5% octopus. The salmon was fine, but the buttermilk sauce that came with it was essentially straight buttermilk and the salad had clearly spent too long in the fridge before serving, as it was very wilted. The Moscow Mule was served with flat ginger beer, although the goodfella was nice. There are many other better restaurants nearby, so I'd pass on this one and walk a block or two. read more

Arrived at 8:45pm before heading to our room at the MC Hotel went to the bar and was greeted with "the bar closes at 9 and we already did last call". No sorry or any offer to let us bring a drink to the room. The staff needs better training even a polite sorry would have been nice. Will never go back. read more

What a disaster. They took 10 Years to open and the place is a mess. Took over 20 minutes to get a drink at the table. Shared 5 dishes and all of them were off. Stay away read more

Very loud acoustics. Initially looks striking , then a closer look reveals a sense of plastic, a cheapness to it. Restroom felt much like design of a cheap, formulaic chain restaurant, with added problem of direct view from hall to urinal. Designer didn't account for angle that would allow privacy. Our waiter was attentive when present, but far too absent most of the time. Drinks arrived slowly. Reminded me a bit of a lounge in an airport. Food was fair, but yellowfish was tasteless. Grilled octopus was fine as was Brussels sprouts salad. Won't be back for more than a drink at bar. read more

My husband and I just wasted our morning trying to go to Allegory. Our reservation was made for 11am. We arrived at 10:30 and were told there was a wedding party and we'd have to come back at 11am. Ok, fine. We respect that. We came back at 11 and were seated. About 10 minutes later, our waitress came out and took our order. A few minutes later, the waitress came back out and said "The manager wanted me to let you know that the wedding party is still working on their food. The wait time on your food will be about 45 minutes.". Disgusted, my husband and I looked at each other and decided to leave. First off, if you knew a wedding party was coming in, don't take reservations you can't honor. Second off, it would have been appreciated if the manager themselves had the courage to come talk to us. And third, they obviously knew at 10:30 they wouldn't be able to serve us, so why not just be upfront with us at 10:30? We already wasted the time getting to the restaurant and parking. To make us wait a half hour, then 10 more minutes was absolutely a waste of our time. We are no strangers to fine dining, and the experience isn't just about food. It's about the staff and the level of service you expect. My husband raves about their steak frites, but after this type of treatment, we will never return. We will definitely deter others from going to Allegory. read more