Update: De Novo, with Demetri Malki at the helm, will replace 12 West.
12 West, which opened in February 2013 in the Upper Montclair train station building, is now closed.
No news on the restaurant’s Facebook page or Twitter account, but there was this sign on the window. Inside the restaurant, booths had been removed. We will update as we learn more.
Odd. I was a fan of the place. Very cool to have a nice restaurant waiting as you get off the train. The food was solid and a diverse selection. Didn’t love the wine selection at all. Clearly the guy was managing the place disappeared at some point in time. From that point it was unclear who was actually running the joint. Some nice waiters and bartenders and I hope they all land at the new place. A little bit of a death spot but someone has to figure out a way to make it work.
The former owner has been gone awhile, months. It then went back to the people who owned it before 12 West came into being. This is such a great location but it is jinxed with all of the failures. Someone with some good ideas could do well but…………they have to know what fits with the area and community. The others didn’t frankly.
The location is cursed…if you know the history of the station. Somewhere Morris is getting the last laugh….
That location is haunted lol but I can’t blame ghosts for this closing. I went there once and while it was overall a nice time it wasn’t anything to go back to. Between the music and the acoustics it was so loud I felt like we were shouting all night. And the food was good but also too loud. I had ordered a soft shell crab special and it had so many attempts at layers of flavor that didn’t work. Once I pushed most to the side the crab was amazing but when you are paying good money you don’t want to have to undress your meal.
I hope whoever comes next has better luck. I’ll can’t wait to try it.
Seems like every restaurant in town shoots for the moon in terms for cuisine and price. That gives fine diners a lot of choice, but ultimately, a lot of them fall to the wayside. It’s difficult to sustain a steady, neighborhood clientele with $30 entrees.
This place has a trump card: a liquor license. I hope they use it wisely and create a friendly gathering place in Upper Montclair.
I really enjoyed 12 west. The place before it was AWFUL! Really bad doors, way too loud and inattentive service. I really hope those owners don’t take over the space again.
@mtcliving: really? “enjoyed”? we were so excited to be getting a good restaurant in walkable distance in the culinary wasteland that is Upper Mtclr. Tried it on 3 separate occasions and, I gotta say: Worst service, bar none, of any of the zillions of restaurants i’ve frequented in my long life. it was actually kind of funny, it was so bad–or would’ve been if I hadn’t been so hungry and exhausted by the end. ’twill not be missed.
I wanted to like 12 West, but…
– it was too expensive for what they were serving
– the menu was all over the place (lamb chops, pizza, chorizo & shrimp, pad thai???)
– no very family friendly
I look forward to the reboot.
L otsa Pasta was the best.
This place couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be a fine dining establishment or a sports bar. If I’m paying the prices of the former, I don’t want the noise and lousy service of the latter.
The world is everlasting. It’s coming, and it’s going.
I agree with Nellie about Lotsa Pasta. It had a long reign and loyal clientele, until the devastating fire that destroyed the ambiance and the magnificent woodwork of the original station. The dishes were standard fare but good and the price was right.
I loved Lotsa Pasta. The sports bar idea was awful and 12 West could have had a better chef and menu. They need to figure out how to make better use of the outside space and connect it more to the rest of the place.