Cafe Panache

Been here many times since it opened years ago and always when someone else insisted. Never got this place, not its good reviews other than thinking its New Jersey where the bar is very low in general. Tonites experience consistent with last 25 years — sterile, well arranged food, mostly bland and focused on appearance (and price) way over substance. Lamb chops — one of the pricier entries at 39 and billed as «imported lamb» never referring to the fact these are thin lamb chops — might have well been imported from Shop Rite. Hapless meat, barely seared on the outside — kind of like someones Aunt Sophie would have made for «company». Nearly tasteless. But they looked nice on the plate and were well trimmed.
The goat cheese salad made the Stateline Diners large dinner salad look good by comparison. Drenched with some classless dressing where the leaves were completely soaked thru. The cheese was nicely baked off tho and arranged nicely on the handsome plates.
Goat cheese plate for dessert was of very good quality, but simply junked out into a wedge and served with a half teaspoon of some insipid jam and some loose seedless grapes.
Espresso tasted like the stuff we’d make at college dorm — total crap.
The high point of Panache has always been the professional wait staff. Friendly, professional and skilled. The décor quite pleasant too. But aside from those very nice touches, and the pretty arrangement of the plates, the food totally sucks here. And the price is on par with truly fine places in the city. So whats the point?
If your a Jersey guy trying to impress a Jersey girl and enjoy hockey, wearing a baseball cap backwards indoors, or have more money than taste, this is your place.

In my opinion this place is so tiny expensive and overrated. If you want good French food go to chefs corner. This place needs a better selection of food as well. Our food came out over cooked so it was a waste of money.

I was here last week with my wife and the waiter must have forgotten to use deodorant. He smelt really bad. The food was very mediocre for the price. I think I’ll stick to Esty Street if I’m gonna pay that kind of money.

It may be because I visited this place with a great gentleman, but I truly had a great time at Café Panache.
I loved the atmosphere. Very cozy, yet fancy. Upon entrance, the restaurant even had an odor of antiquity.
After getting sitted we ordered: Foie Gras with mango on a side, Seafood Pasta, and a Steak.
I have to say Café Panache’s foie gras appetizer was one of the best foie gras dishes I have ever experienced. It was extremely soft, rich and creamy yet tendered. It went very well with the grilled sliced mango! (absolutely gorgeous harmony of two ingredients). Seafood pasta was great, and was also huge in portion. We ordered an medium rare steak. However, the steak was more close to welldone. The sad thing is, nobody showed up and asked how satisfied he was with his steak.
The greek yogurt flavored icecream was phenomenal. Only if I weren’t sick, I would have ordered 3 more of the same dessert. (It was that good!)
Although there were some downs, overall, had a very satisfactory dinner.
(Parking was easy, which is always a plus!).

I called to make a reservation two weeks in advance and the person on the phone was very rude. He told me that they seating was a two hours limit, I had to provide a credit card to hold the table and suggested I call to confirm my reservation. The dinner ended up being okay, service was mediocre at best, we felt that we were being rushed. The food was not worth the price. I will not be back, we chose this restaurant because we got a gift certificate.

First off, whoever designed the menu should be fired! There was no distinct break between salads from entrées. Personally, I ordered the foie gras salad and it was decent, definitely not high end, but tasty. I was curious as to how they would serve the foie gras on a salad, as expected they served it on a crostini. The short rib ravioli was also ordered and it was drenched in butter; good thing I’m a big fan of butter! The big mistake of the meal for me was that I ordered the sirloin. I was skeptical as to the tenderness of their cut and I should have known better than to trust my waitress who had already lied to me earlier about why my bread hadn’t arrived at the table. Her excuse was that it was baking. The bread came 5 min later and it was effing cold! So back to her second lie… I asked if their steak was super tender, I didn’t expect it to be rib eye tender but somewhat tender nevertheless. She said it was like butter! Nope, it was like chewing on cow hide. Normally I would have sent it back, but I just didn’t feel like putting the effort into dealing with her and her lies. I wouldn’t go back. I don’t see the draw of the place. The food is just ok, maybe a tad better or worse than an Applebee’s. Maybe because it’s local or maybe because of the cozy interior. I will definitely not be going back anytime soon. Btw, is there a 22% mandatory tip rule for parties of 6? Again… I would have had a conversation with the waitress, but I didn’t want to deal with her. To be fair… I would have given the food 3 stars but because of the waitress’ 1 star I’m averaging it out. My bill was $ 350 including tip… You would think it would have been a better meal for that amount of money.

The owner came up to us when we were finishing our dinner and we didn’t even pay for the check and told us to please leave because other people need the table .this is unfortunate because I will not be coming back here again even though the food was good … Bad service. The lamb chops were burnt …

Haven’t been here for years so we decided to go again as we remember it being great but great it was not. In reading other reviews apparently we have some of the same issues as the first thing the waiter said is they were out of the filet migon. None of us planned on ordering it but at 6 pm on a Sunday night to be out of something with all the supermarkets around. The menu is very limited. I had the mussels soup which is weird but was good. The duck was good not great. The bread pudding sucked. Service was just ok as we were not offered more bread and had to ask for water. Overall place is expensive and «just OK «probably won’t go back.

Amazing! I mean every single bite of food I had, was amazing. BYOB, great service, delicious food. What else can anyone ask for?

Excellent food here, probably some of the best in all of NJ. I have been here 3 times and love going. Service is outstanding. It’s byob which I know people like but I wish they could get a liquor license but I know how expensive they are.
If you want a table here especially on a weekend you better book in advance. Only one think I don’t like about the place is the décor. Feels like a restaurant that would be in a Marriott hotel. Other than this its really good.

Had dinner there last night after being «absent» for a few years. Our impressions:
1. The décor has been improved. The look is more upscale.
2. The food was OK but not exceptional (which should be expected based on the prices and on some of the reviews…)
3. The service was erratic and unfriendly (though the restaurant wasn’t busy we had a few long waits: to get the menu, to get water, to hear about the deserts)
Probably won’t be coming again.

Had dinner there last night. Filet Mignon Ravioli was truly unbelievable as an appetizer half portion. For a main course I had the Braised Filet Mignon and it was cooked to perfection.
I also tasted the Crispy Yellow Fin Tuna and that was awesome. Service was perfect.
All in all one of my new fav’s

The service was excellent, as was the food. Although we were seated in the quieter dining room, we were taken care of immediately and given great recommendations.
I had the filet mignon ravioli with the truffle butter. So delicious! We will be back again and again.

Hadn’t been back for many years, but just as good as I remember. Relaxed elegant atmosphere, good service and wonderful food. It was a good choice for an anniversary dinner. Has to be the best food of any BYOB place I know.

Café Panache may be my favorite restaurant in NJ or anywhere for that matter. It was voted #1 in NJ Monthly and that honor is well deserved.
For many years I worked about 5 minute away and 4 of us would come here to celebrate our birthdays… one birthday per season. Now that I’m retired, we still get together and it’s always at Café Panache.
Over the years I’ve had just about everything on the menu and have enjoyed every dish, whether it’s an appetizer, entrée or dessert. Everything is fantastic.
My birthday is coming in October! Will I see you there?
You will not be disappointed!
Oh and it is a BYOB!

Came here for dinner a few weeks ago, I was starving it was a Wednesday evening and without a reservation we were seated right away.
First and foremost this place is BYOB, so take a quick drive down the road and stop into the liquor store for a bottle of vino. Totally makes the meal better and watching everyone else have a fun bottle of wine to drink from will entice you even more !
This place has white table cloths and linen napkins so don’t wear your sweats. I was wearing jeans and heels and I felt a bit underdressed but it was okay. I mean it’s a Wednesday night in Ramsey, I think I can get away with it.
We each had a bowl of the shrimp bisque, it was really flavorful and had a bit of a kick at the end. I finished my whole thing and secretly wanted to lick the bowl… Don’t worry my mom taught me better :)
We split a wild boar Ragu and the truffle short rib ravioli, I was partial to the ragu and he liked the short rib better… So it worked out perfectly. Since I’m Elite and he has only two reviews … Go with the Ragu ! Ha kidding … Both were really delicious and I would go back and want to have an order of each again.
We skipped dessert because we were stuffed, but I would totally go back.
My only complaint was the waitress we had was a little cold, sterile is maybe a better word for it. I like to be greeted enthusiastically, she just seemed a bit too reserved for my taste. Oh and they are very heavy handed with the pours so make sure to eat enough to off set the booze. No drinking and driving folks :)
Definitely check this place out !

I had NO idea such good food existed in New Jersey. I always thought I had to travel to the city to indulge.
I’ve found a new home.
I had the veal cheek special and endive and apple salad special… To die for! The cheeks were like candy.
My friend had the ever so famous filet ravioli.
Can’t wait to come back!

Delicious food and great service, two ways of describing this place. I went here yesterday with the fam and friends, and was really intrigued by the environment. Our waitor was extremely nice, and helpful when in came time to order, so kudos to him.
To start off with, I had this French soup (forgot the name of it, sorry), which was like a mouth-​watering French onion soup without cheese, but instead these absolutely delectable croutons which will satisfy your every taste bud. For my main course, I had the Filet Mignon Raviolo, and it was out of this freaking world! I don’t kid you, either. The ravioli was stuffed with delicious pieces of filet mignon, which just makes your eyes pop out of your head. Now for dessert, I had the chocolate pot, which was basically a chocolate mousse with whip cream and a mint leaf on top. Though the chocolate mousse was good, t’was a little on the rich side… Luckily I had a toothsome cappuccino to wash it all it down.
Overall, great restaurant if you’re looking for a nicer place to eat in Ramsey for lunch or dinner.

Went to Panache on a Friday night at 6:00pm with a party of 8. We get seated and the waiter tells us the specials, which included lobster. First person orders the lobster goes around the table and another person orders the lobster. When the 2^nd person ordered the lobster special waiter says, «Oh, we are outta lobster that table over there ordered all of the them.» WHAT? So, first person says well do I still get my lobster? and waiter says no I just told you that table ordered them all. WTF Seriously, the waiter was with us the whole time, how did she know the table across the room ordered «all of them», unless she just forgot. But how does a place run out of their special at 6:00pm on a Friday night? It was bizarre.
Had the baby green salad which tasted pretty bitter, sorta how we felt after there was no lobster! For main course, had the sea bass in some brown sauce on top of mashed potatoes. Nothing to write home about, but worth Unilocaling that it was nothing that special. From the bread to the dessert best I can say is just so/​so.
Would probably not go back.

Decent French food that’ll try to finish your dinner service in record time.
I have dined here a few times in the past few years and figured it’s about time to give a review. The food is very hit or miss here. My brother in law had the filet mignon which was superb, while my pasta bolognese tasted no different than what Panera serves. I would recommend the pear, butternut soup though.
I have a few big concerns about this restaurant. For a party of 5 with two bottles of wine that we brought along with us (this place is BYOB), from the moment we sat down to receiving our check was a total of 41 minutes. On a Saturday night, they try to make their money asap and seat the next reservation. We felt rushed throughout our entire dinner service. For what you are paying here, I would expect it to be more gradual and moving at a slower pace. Literally after ordering our meals, a waiter with bread rolls came flying out of the kitchen and was putting bread down at a lightning pace. Our appetizers and entrees came immediately after one another. There was not anytime to breath.
My second complaint is the automatic gratuity for a party of 5 or more? Not sure what their cap is, since it is not mentioned on their website or on the menu. It’s not a big deal, but I typically do not like the waiter charging tip after the tax is calculated. Also wasn’t sure what percentage the waitress calculated because it wasn’t 18% or 20% flat. More like she took the liberty to round up the tip.
My final complaint. The chef/​owner comes out from the kitchen and only greets the people that he knows. Strikes a lengthy convo with them in the middle of the dining room and eventually heads back into the kitchen. It feels like he gives them the red carpet treatment while the other diners are allowed to look on. It’s quite rude.
To sum things up, the food isn’t bad here, but you are looking at paying over $ 50 for an appetizer and entrée. The ambience is elegant and the staff is pleasant. The complaints I do have does appear to be a reoccurring theme with other reviews, so I can agree with their claims as well.