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chocoholic
Citizen
Username: Shrink
Post Number: 48
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 3:28 pm: |     |
Papillon, the Martini Bar on Valley Street in South Orange run by Yannicks Catering is NOW OPEN. I went in there. The place looks great, good service, very late hours. Everybody stop by! |
Jason & John
Citizen
Username: Johnh91011
Post Number: 97
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 3:48 pm: | |
Interesting that this place hasn't created the buzz that St James Gate did before it opened. I guess Maplewood has been starved for a drinking establishment while SO has a few others. |
JJC
Citizen
Username: Mercury
Post Number: 110
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 4:13 pm: | |
That sounds perfect for Fri after work... |
mem aka "toots"
Citizen
Username: Mem
Post Number: 2312
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 4:28 pm: | |
Anything that happens in Maplewood is big news because Maplewood is ON THE MAP! Maplewood is ON THE BUZZ! South Orange Peel (SOP), well, that's a different story. I'll let mikecappy speak to that one. |
vermontgolfer
Citizen
Username: Vermontgolfer
Post Number: 228
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 5:14 pm: | |
mem,
mikecappy is banned from SO! |
musicme
Citizen
Username: Musicme
Post Number: 410
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Friday, November 21, 2003 - 8:49 pm: | |
Dinner and drinks were yummy.
Place is oh so chic...
no wait, it stinks, the service was crappy, don't go. Stay in Marplewood.
This one we want to keep for ourselves! |
Soda
Citizen
Username: Soda
Post Number: 1091
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 8:21 am: | |
FIRST MEAL REVIEW:
Ahhhhh, Papillon! You can always tell a good place to eat: lots of truckdrivers...Tonight, though, most of the gear-grinders hanging at the bar wore ties and salon haircuts. They were all clearly trying to put the moves on the pretty barkeeps, but to no avail.
Now on to better news: The kitchen is turning out splendid fare. Lamb and veal dishes were yummy, as was the rustic apple pie dessert. And the walls in the dining room are no longer bare, folks. In fact, it's a very NY-chic-looking place. Service, on the whole, was cheerful and solicitous, and Al (The Boss) made the rounds to greet all parties. By 8PM, the joint was jumpin'.
Only a couple of minor booboo's:
*They could use a coat rack and number tags.
*Also, bus people who speak English.
*No tongue-rings on the waitresses, please.
*When dinner & drinks cost $100, I'd rather not be addressed as "You Guys".
TABLE GOSSIP:
Local in-the-know celeb couple spotted canoodling in a corner: The Lovely Mr. & Mrs. Pete Davis. He's the gastronomic dynamo behind "Quincy's Place", that trucker-approved bastion of good, solid Americanischer Fressarei. You know, the Ex-"Sun Tavern" location across the lot from "Gimme Jimmy's" on Valley in West Orange? Oooh, that Chicken-In-The-Basket!
SUMMARY:
Papillon's a winner. We'll all be back, to see if they can keep it up! And ya gotta love a joint with Johnny Walker Blue on the shelf...
-Soda |
Cedar
Citizen
Username: Cedar
Post Number: 100
Registered: 10-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2003 - 4:15 pm: | |
Alright......before it gets too hot, should we make reservations now? I'm dyin' to try it! |
JJC
Citizen
Username: Mercury
Post Number: 115
Registered: 12-2002
| | Posted on Monday, November 24, 2003 - 8:38 am: | |
Went Friday night - quite nice. The place was packed. |
mikecappy
Citizen
Username: Mikecappy
Post Number: 54
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, November 24, 2003 - 9:00 am: | |
The movie, Papillon, took place on Devil's Island.
Papillon is in South Orange.
You make the connection. |
Earlster
Citizen
Username: Earlster
Post Number: 77
Registered: 8-2003
| | Posted on Monday, November 24, 2003 - 2:36 pm: | |
Went there friday night with no reservations (couldn't get the phone number anywhere). So we (two couples) ended up sitting at the bar for a Martini and appetizers, while waiting for a table. Great Martini selection, cool glasses and great appetizers (chicken skewers and dumplings, yumm). The decor of the bar area is superb, I love what they did with the ceiling.
We were seated pretty quick and loved the menu as well as the wine selection. The markup is reasonable for a restaurant of this price range.
Now to the food (it's mostly downhill from here).
We had the following:
- A fish dish (forgot what it was), said to be very good.
- I had a filet mignon with garlic mashed potatos $30. I came as ordered nicely medium rare, but the cut was inferior, more like a $20 filet mignon at a family restaurant. Certainly no 'melt in your mouth' feeling. The potatos were kind of blah.
- The menu lists a half rack of lamb $23 and a rack of lamp $30. My wife asked the waitress how many pieces the half rack is and was told it is 4 pieces. She then said, so a full rack is 8 right? No corrections from the waitress.
We ordered two full racks, one in a herb marinade and one with pecans. Both were ordered rare. When they came there were 5 pices each. 2 medium sized pieces and 3 micro size pieces. When complaining to the waitress, she went to the kitchen and came back with the info that:
Half rack means four little pieces and full rack means 5 larger pieces.
Not only was this a small portion, but the smaller pieces were also overcooked.
A few minutes later the hostes came to our table with two more nice and rare pieces. Very nice move.
Service: Our waitress was overall very friendly, but at the same time very unexperienced. It feels as if they should get a good head waiter that can train the staff in how to pour wine and maybe some shorthand when writing down orders. Again she was very friendy and pleasant otherwise.
My overall recommendation:
It is great to have a funky and upscale place like this around. I love Martini Bars (Clydez in New Brunswick for example).
But for now I would recommend to sit at the bar, have a couple of drinks and some appetizers. As for the restaurant, there is a lot of potential, so give them a month or two to work out the kinks and then let's try it again. As it is it is not worth $280 for 4 people. |
chocoholic
Citizen
Username: Shrink
Post Number: 50
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Tuesday, November 25, 2003 - 4:35 pm: | |
I went and ate there with my spouse. We thought that the food was very good. I had grilled chicken breast and I though that it was pretty good. The atmosphere is tres chic. It reminds of some the little restaurants we had in my old neighborhood in Manhattan.
I am looking forward to going again. |
susan1014
Citizen
Username: Susan1014
Post Number: 62
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2003 - 7:34 pm: | |
Finally tried out Papillon with a houseguest and our 4-year-old (who was much quieter than the big party at the adjoining table).
Overall we had a very good experience, and will be going back to try more from the rather long menu...the three main dishes (mango shrimp, salmon, chicken) and sides were all very good, and nicely presented. The room is lovely. The prices are upscale, but not out of line with other fancy restaurants in the area (three entrees, one side, wine were $85 before tip). The waitstaff is clearly inexperienced -- watching our waiter work to open the wine was funny, but she was apologetic -- hopefully they will learn quickly.
I probably wouldn't take a young child there on Friday/Saturday unless it was a family occasion (similar to my Arugula policy). Fewer appetizers to use as kiddie main dishes than at Arugula, but my daughter did fine (When I finally let her taste my sweet potato souffle, she announced "I want to go here every night. We ARE going here tomorrow night!")
Although we've gotten used to remembering to take wine to Arugula, it is nice having an upscale place with a liquor license in town.
On the downside, on a very cold night, the tables closer to the door were a bit drafty every time anyone entered and exited. Also, I didn't realize how much smoke was coming over from the bar until I got home and realized how much my hair and suit smelled!
We're quite happy to welcome Papillon to town! |
Katie C.
Citizen
Username: Capngargi
Post Number: 14
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 3, 2003 - 11:48 pm: | |
My boyfriend and I went to Papillion (unknowingly) on opening night, Friday November 14, for dinner and drinks…we loved that they had so many martinis to choose from. The appetizers were great and the entrees were ok, we had coconut shrimp and chicken dumplings (very tasty) then I had snapper stuffed with crab (a little too much breading but pretty good) and my boyfriend had lamb (good as well). Nice presentation, waitress was quite inexperienced and kept apologizing for “our orders taking too long in the kitchen and at the bar” but it was not too long of a wait. The only thing I found tacky was that she kept calling us “you guys” when I thought this place was supposed to be upscale (I mean look at the prices) and also that I saw (and smelled) her in the restroom having a cigarette in the stall and then came out of the stall while I and another woman were in the restroom. I mean can’t you go outside for a real break? Talk about tasteless. Another thing that was weird (but somewhat understandable since it was the first night they were open) was that there was no art on the walls except some mirror on one of the walls which was held up by a price of plywood.
Since our first visit to Papillion on November 14, we went back on November 29 for drinks and appetizers. Our waitress was much more appropriate, and we had shrimp wontons and chicken skewers (both were tasty, with yummy interesting garnish). Also I was happy to see that there were many new pieces of artwork in the main dinning area and in the bar area.
Although the food is great, I can’t help feeling like this space would feel more comfortable as a lounge instead of an eatery. We stayed until 2am on Sat Evening and people (young and old) continued to come in. The main dinning space is small and cramped, and quite loud at all times…I can better envision couches and small trendy tables better inhabiting this space. My other instinct is that after 11pm on Friday and Saturday nights, they should do just that, take off the table settings and white tablecloths to make room for people to really hangout and drink with groups of friends. It would beat being cramped up against the wall trying to drink my cute, super sugary martini while trying to converse with my friends.
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Soda
Citizen
Username: Soda
Post Number: 1102
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Thursday, December 4, 2003 - 2:21 pm: | |
Katie C.:
I guess we had the same waitress. I agree with your assessment, as well as those of Earlster, chocoholic, and susan1014. Although I like the place as a restaurant, your "after 11" idea might give it additional legs as a late-night hotspot. Live jazz, maybe? Perhaps if Al is a lurker on this board, he'll take our suggestions and make some upgrades in the staff/service areas we've mentioned...
--Soda
BTW: One of Papillon's excellent bartenders is also named Katie. |
mrosner
Citizen
Username: Mrosner
Post Number: 824
Registered: 4-2002
| | Posted on Thursday, December 4, 2003 - 3:09 pm: | |
Soda, Katie: I am pretty sure Al does not look (or lurk) on here, so I asked someone who is a friend of his to show him the posts (I emailed them). |
Flt
Citizen
Username: Flt
Post Number: 113
Registered: 3-2003
| | Posted on Thursday, December 4, 2003 - 3:50 pm: | |
What threw me was they have a wine list with some very pricy items, yet they don't know how to serve wine. No sampling after the bottle is opened and then they pour it practically to the rim of the wine glass. |
emmie
Citizen
Username: Emmie
Post Number: 180
Registered: 3-2002
| | Posted on Friday, December 5, 2003 - 9:19 pm: | |
Oh No!!! Not that!! But btw, no martini should ever be "sugarey." A real martini, for grown-ups that is, has the folowing ingredients. A very good gin and a tiny bit of dry vermouth served very cold. Better if it is served "up." |
Capngargi
Citizen
Username: Capngargi
Post Number: 25
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 11:56 am: | |
mrosner: just curious, any feedback from the ower of Papillon re: the messageboard's posts? |
NCJanow(akaLibraryLady)
Citizen
Username: Librarylady
Post Number: 1106
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 12:10 pm: | |
Capn..Mark is on a well deserved vacation. I am sure he will answer your post when he returns next week.
NCJ aka LibraryLady
On a coffee break..or something like it. |
Capngargi
Citizen
Username: Capngargi
Post Number: 26
Registered: 9-2003
| | Posted on Wednesday, December 10, 2003 - 1:51 pm: | |
great |
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