Fricassee French Bistro

Came here with Boo Boo for our 6 months anni.
We parked at the garage across the street.
Reservation is a must for a Friday from whenever to 9pm.
Make sure you order everything at once. OR things will come out staggered.
The waitress warned us. We mistakenly ordered our entrees to another waiter and the waitress who first asked for our drink order did not place our appt order. But, in the end everything was great.
I ordered the duck and Boo Boo got the steak. then we got our salad and fries. My duck was under seasoned. it needed a little of more salt.
BYOB and CC accepted. It’s a nice place to dine on special occasions or every other week if you own a hedge fund.

loved it… love the mini pastries assortment from bathalzar… my girls shared their eggs benedict and loved it… me and the hubs shared a croque madame with a side of mixed greens… DELISH…will come again…

I would have given more stars, however, I ordered the cassoulet (which seems to be removed from the menu at this point in time) which was one of the worst things I have ever eaten in my life. This is to no exaggeration. There were chunks of fat in the dish and overall it was near inedible. What I did eat was underseasoned and underwhelming. If it were not for the 30 dollar plus price tag I would have thrown it out but instead gave it to my dog the next day.
The savings grace of the meal was the mussels which were actually delicious. It is kind of disappointing to have something so good to start followed by something so terrible. It definitely ruins your experience. I am willing to go again for a glass of wine and the mussels but that is about it. I was taking my girlfriend out for her birthday and she had the skate with browned butter which apparently was cooked well. Given the huge bill at the end and the fact that I couldn’t eat more than 2 bites of my dinner I cannot give more than ²⁄₅ stars.

Lovely meal last evening. Don’t know why I waited so long to try it. Nice ambiance, good service and a delicious meal. My salad a la Maison was simple yet the ingredients were perfectly balanced. My calves liver entrée was also delicious, particularly the sauce. I didn’t expect it to be served on mashed potatoes, as that was not indicated on the menu. I don’t eat potatoes, and the bed of spinach was underneath the bed of aforementioned potatoes. That was really the only hiccup. My husband enjoyed his arugula salad and duck entrée immensely and are my left over mashed potatoes:) The coffee was strong but good. My lemon tart was serviceable– not great. The tart shell was blah and the filling did not have enough lemon flavor for my taste. However, the homemade raspberry and mango sorbets were a hit. I will definitely return!

Fricassee is one of my favorite spots for really authentic French food. It’s a cute little restaurant in Montclair that’s perfect for lunch or dinner. The mac & cheese is what I usually order. We’ve also had the steak, salmon and mussels which were are tasty as well. My only concern are the hours they’re open, but other than that I highly recommend!

Fricassee, that happen to make make the best mussels ever !
The broth is so fragrant and delicious that I can’t stop sopping it up with their crusty toasted baguette slices. Finish this up
With the steak tartare and I am in heaven.
I always feel like I’m back in Cannes every time I dine here.
Definitely My go to French Bistro to
satisfy my cravings. Always a pleasant experience overall

This Fricassee French Bistro has so much potential to earn 5 stars and I would really want it to succeed, but unfortunately it didn’t quite measure up on the Saturday of Easter weekend. We arrived prior to 7:00 and the restaurant was not busy.
The intimate and charming restaurant is just a door way off Bloomfield Avenue. It earns 5 stars for it’s simple, classic, bistro décor. Mosaic tile floor, dark wood, soaring ceilings, white table linens, French posters, and tchotchkes without being over done.
Our server was a delightful and pretty young lady who is from France. Professional, efficient, and friendly. She as well earns 5 stars.
So how does the food measure up? Well, let’s say a bit more attention to details\ and it should get to 5 stars. Guest1 noted the proprietor/​chef spent most his time in the dining room chatting with regulars than in the kitchen. A disappearing feature in many establishments today, the bread basket was very nice. The onion soup my guests ordered was hot and with good broth, but hours in the steam table or on the range made it overly salty. Guest2 ordered a lamb burger medium, that came out more like a hockey puck. He is too polite to send it back, but was underwhelmed. The included generous basket of fried potatoes were heaven. Guest1 ordered the sauté shrimp which was very good. I ordered the duck cassoulet, which was a hearty and savory assemblage. There was a wide variety of sausages along with the duck confit. Very tasty but like the onion soup, it too was overly salted. Further, I felt the tomato confit overpowered the entrée quite a bit.
We’ll give Fricassee another try soon and hope they can achieve 5 stars in all 3 areas. Prices are reasonable and portion sizes just right in my opinion. Fricassee is a BYO establishment and parking is on the street or in a deck.

We had a great meal, and experience, at Fricassee. Hannah, our server, was a lot of fun and very helpful with our navigating the menu. She guided us very well in terms of our selections, and was super fun to interact with, too. (Neil was also friendly and fun.)
We started with the escargot and the wild mushroom and truffle mac n cheese. Both were very good. The escargot were really well prepared and flavorful and the mac n cheese was super decadent and rich. For our main courses we had the steak au poivre and the cod. The steak was a perfectly cooked medium rare and incredibly flavorful. I was impressed and grateful that all of the beef they offered is grass fed. He said the cod was delicious, but I didn’t try it. For dessert we shared the crème brûlée which was also very good.
The meal overall was both incredibly delicious and wildly rich, but it’s a French bistro, so…
We’ll absolutely, without a doubt, be back.

The food is simply spectacular here. My husband and I made a last second late reservation for his birthday. When we got there at 9, we were the only ones in the restaurant. Our server was fantastic (sorry I can’t remember his name, but he had a lot of tats) he was awesome. The chef was so welcoming and the food was just perfect. If you are in Montclair you must go there.

The service was and still is amazing and this is the third time I’ve been here! Anything you order on the menu they are very detailed on how it’s made and what’s in it. The time and effort our server put into the service is beyond great and he was funny too! We asked for a picture of our party and he gave us pictures without hesitation. The chef even checked back with our orders to be sure about the tartar. Customer service is always the best experience when your laying the price for a restaurant and this is a great place that I would recommend to anyone if you like French food. Thank you to the owner and the server for a wonderful time with my party of 8

Been here several times and have always had a great experience. They do French bistro ambience super well and the food is always spectacular. Always leave wishing I had spent more time enjoying it.

A definite Montclair 5 star establishment. How could we have missed the news that Mark was back in town and at the helm of his old proving ground? We’re all a little older, and a little wiser and the food has progressed with us.
Very happy to have Mark and Fricassee back on the list of local options.
The frisee and pâté were solid openers. The moules were amazing as well (V. LARGE PORTION). The steak frites was great and the boeuf bourguignon was packed with flavor.
As always the mousse was the way to finish this great meal.

I’ve been here a few times now. The service is excellent every time.
Last time, the duck cassoulet was so salty it was as if my plate was submerged in the ocean, brought back up, dried off and then served to me. The beouf bourginon, meanwhile, was unseasoned.
Positives:
–The place is immaculate.
–Parking on Park St. isn’t too bad. It’s pretty easy to avoid the $ 5 lot across the street.
–The menu is truly a compilation of French classics.
–The complimentary bread is good and fresh.
–BYOB.

I’ve been wanting to come here for the longest time. When I found out they were open on Christmas Eve I made a reservation right away.
My main gripe with this place was the service. When we walked in I gave the guy my name, he said sorry your reservation was for 6pm. I said it was originally for that time but I changed it to 7pm the day after I made my reservation. He then asked «who did you talk to.» Buddy I’m not lying to you… Instead of saying sorry for the mixup or whatever, he just made me feel like an A hole. We asked for more bread and butter a few times throughout the night and we just received a rushed «okay.»
Anyway — onto the food. Everything was pretty good. Nothing that I would come back for though. The bread was OK and the butter definitely needed some salt. I ordered the Salmon dish. The mustard cream sauce was interesting. The hanger steak was delicious. I thought the white wine mussels were awesome! I did not care for the beef stew or veal noodle dish, those just tasted alright.
The atmosphere was not pretentious. It was simple and cozy.

I came here for Christmas Eve dinner. The ambiance reminded me of a place you’d find in NY. Small, two stories and minimalistic in décor.
The bread that is served with dinner is sourdough. The butter came in a cute mini cast iron skillet. The bread wasn’t anything special — kind of bland and over cooked.
The house salads came with goat cheese. I HATE goat cheese and really wish the menu indicated that because I would have asked for it on the side.
We all shared the white wine mussels. They were pretty good.
For my meal I ordered the hanger steak cooked medium rare. It was very rare. Almost too rare for my liking, but I didn’t want to send it back. The fries that came with the steak were excellent — very crispy despite being next to the juices of the steak. The green beans were very good too.
One thing that I found off was that we were waiting for one other person to arrive and the waiter said that we should wait to order all of the apps until everyone was there. I’m not quite sure why. We went ahead and ordered the apps anyway. When our friend did arrive, he ordered a French onion soup and his meal. He never got the soup. It’s like they just decided to not serve it to him because he came a little late. Not sure if that’s the case but that’s what it felt like.
We also had a 6 o’clock reservation initially but had to change it to 7 o’clock because of a time conflict (hence the late guest). When we arrived the host said that he was not aware of the reservation time change and asked us who we spoke to on the phone. Instead of being apologetic for the mix up, we were made to feel like we did something wrong — as if we were lying about calling to change the time. So the dinner started out a little awkward and uncomfortable.
All in all, the atmosphere is cute and the food is decent. Nothing outstanding though. I don’t see a reason to come back but I’d say to give it a shot. You may like it.

I was very, very impressed with this french bistro in Montclair. The place is gorgeous. It has a very authentic décor. Which makes you feel like you could be in France. The food was outstanding. I had the French onion soup. One of the best ones I’ve ever had. And than I had the mussels. An absolute delight. And at last the service was impeccable.
I will definitely be going back and will recommend it to my friends.

I can’t say a bad thing about this place. It’s a casual French bistro with friendly service and amazing food. Portions are substantial. We shared the mussels (huge order) and the short rib blue mac and cheese was to die for.
I had a steak which was cooks beautifully and my husband the pork chop, that I thought I would like more but was happy I chose the steak. We will be back for sure, great date night place if you want a quiet night out. Romantic, casual, and delicious.

My family and I stumbled upon this gastro French bistro last week. Wow what a culinary trip we took that Sunday. The service from the two waiters were sublime and attentive but not annoying. We started with onion soup that wasflavorful as the onions and broth exploded in your mouth. Then we shared the escargots and steak tartar. My kids devoured it with me. The escargots were in butter, garlic and spinach and the bread soaked up all that juice. The tartar melted in your mouth.
My entrée was calves liver wrapped in bacon. The bacon crisp as the liver stayed moist. My wife had the steak special… omg I wanted to take on order home it was do good. We als had the duck breast and the salmon. Both were rocking good.
We finished with a creamy rich but not heavy crème Brule… fantastic!
I can wait to return and bring others… truely a great bistro.

I went here a little over a month ago on a first date. I asked him to choose a restaurant because I love trying new places. I had never even realized this restaurant was here, even after all the times I went to Mesob right around the corner.
First off, it’s BYOB so remember that but across the street, there’s a liquor store!
We had reservations and we were seated right away. The dining area is a bit cramped, very NYC like. Also, it can get quite loud in there.
Our server was amazing. Very friendly and attentive. On top of that water, which I like. I hate seeing an empty water glass, especially on a first date where you’re talking a lot.
I was so happy to see they had a whole Mac and Cheese MENU! YAY! I love mac and cheese so much. Already, this guy was getting some points for picking the spot.
For an appetizer, we split the profiteroles au chevre (Goat cheese mousse in pastry,
black olive vinaigrette $ 14), which was DELICIOUS. So good. I love goat cheese.
For my meal, I of course ordered something that came with some mac and cheese. I had the poulet rÔti (Free range chicken, truffled macaroni and cheese, glazed vegetables $ 28). The chicken was really good. The mac and cheese was amaaaazing.
My date had the boeuf bourguignon (Beef stewed in red wine, potatoes, mushrooms, pearl onions, baby carrots and turnips $ 29), which he gave me free range to try and test out as he knew I was obsessed with eating. So good! The beef was so tender. Definitely delicious.
We had one of the chocolate desserts to end the night and it was really great. Such a huge fan!
Well, the guy’s my boyfriend now so let’s just say this place was a hit for me!

I went here ages ago a couple times back when it was Epernay.
I more recently went when it was Fricassee.
I had the Mac and Cheese with Mushrooms/​Truffle. It’s quite rich. I’d recommend sharing it with someone else. They have nice service here.
I also just noticed they have Cassoulet as a main dish now. I might have to go back soon.

What a great little French restaurant in Montclair for a date or to catch up with friends. I was looking for a nice but casual place for dinner on a Monday night and Fricassee was one of the few restaurants open in town. The food, service, and ambiance were fantastic.
My friend and I shared the Meuniere Moules (mussels in white wine) and Champignon Gratin de Macaroni (mac and cheese with mushroom and truffle). The serving of mussels were gigantic, possibly 2 dozen. The mussels were fresh and plump. The white wine garlic broth was delicious. We pretty much dipped two baskets full of bread in the broth as we couldn’t let it go to waste. The mac and cheese was such a comforting dish. The combo of the melted cheese, mushroom, and the subtle truffle was very tasty. The serving was quite generous as well.
As for the service, our waitress was so warm, friendly, and witty. She was thorough in explaining the dishes and was very attentive throughout our meal. The ambiance was that of a casual French bistro, nothing pretentious here.
Overall, a great dining experience and looking forward to trying more dishes.