Fusion 27

"Fantastic experience. I've had Fusion 27 on my list for close to two years (basically since they opened) and finally had an opportunity to come here for dinner on Monday night with one of my chums. It lived up to the hype, and then some - and definitely made me feel less guilty about having a full-on, legit meal that early in the week. This is also my first full-throated endorsement of a restaurant less than five minutes from where I live in literally years, probably since Bivio sadly abandoned me for the greener grass of Montclair. The one caveat for me here is the parking situation. Even though I live one town over from Totowa, I rarely come over here because of the chaos of Union Boulevard and its constant traffic lights and turning lanes; it can take you a solid 10 minutes to drive all the way through the main drag. There's a small parking lot directly behind this building that you can use (and we did), but it was also 5PM right when Fusion 27 opened, and spots were definitely limited. You should be able to find street parking nearby, but it's not as clear-cut as you'd like. We didn't make reservations but were able to secure a table in the first room by the entrance easily (we were told the second room off to the side was reserved). I was all about the service. Everyone we interacted with was well-trained, friendly and hospitable. My chum literally went to the school of hospitality and can put restaurants through the wringer, but everyone was up to the challenge, including a young woman making her debut that night announcing the specials and desserts. She had probably 10 items or so to relay (all with a solid variety of ingredients) and handled the assignment with aplomb. The Specials menu got a workout from us; I believe both apps we ordered came from there - the burrata and this watermelon/strawberry salad - and they were both great. The burrata was served on a grilled slice of pineapple, which was a solid mix of flavors. And I'm not a huge salad person but this was the best one I've probably ever had. I definitely prefer the sweeter ones, and this had a goat cheese topping with a purple glaze or something on it that was just magnificent (apologies if I'm butchering the description). I had to be mildly coerced into the salad to begin, but I retracted my reservations on that quickly and would get it again if presented. Good luck finding another review or situation where I talk that highly of salads. It's not happening. I perused the dinner menu earlier in the day and despite being tempted by some of the entrees presented by our specials guru, I stuck to my guns and went with the short ribs/brown butter gnocchi. Not a criticism, but I was surprised that the gnocchi was a little crunchy/baked; the texture wasn't what I was expecting based on my experience of ordering gnocchi-centric dishes from Italian restaurants. The short ribs were very good - not the absolute best I've ever had, but tender and flavorful. As an added bonus (and we can probably thank the apps for this), I had some left over for the following day's lunch and got to show it off to co-workers (all of whom were astounded that I had a giant meal on a Monday and fixated more on that than the quality of the food. Sigh.). Everything held up VERY well on day two. That should have been the end of this adventure, but of course a giant brownie sundae showed up as well. I think we ended up leaving a bite or two on the table but that's only because max stomach capacity had been reached. The brownie was very, very moist, to the point where I likened it to a lava cake. Over the subsequent day, I relayed this recommendation to multiple people - if that doesn't tell you everything you need to know dot dot dot. I'll be back soon."

"Found this place by accident. The Food was absolutely amazing! We had two of the specials! It’s also byob which we didn’t know. Coming from TX that’s really a thing for us- we no biggie, next time we can bring a bottle of wine."

"Went here for my birthday the other night. The service was exceptional. Gianna went out of her way to make sure we were comfortable and happy. She was amazing! They have a lot of specials of the day for appetizers and dinner. Every time we go we leave happy."

"Let me first start out by saying the owner and the staff is very welcoming. Very happy and pleasant. Each individual makes it a point to Interact with their customers. They are very attentive, friendly and willing to accommodate special request. They all make you feel like family and comfortable. The restaurant is small but worth to give this spot a try. Close to home ,delicious food & its BYOB. Can’t get any better. They have quite a menu. So far everything that I have tasted has been delicious. No complaints here. The presentation of the food is great. There’s always a new dish to try. They give it their own twist of amazing flavors. The portions are great. I always leave with a bag. If you are looking for amazing food, looking to stay local and willing to try something new and fresh. I highly recommend Fusion 27 in Totowa, N.J."

"Took 6 people for Mother’s Day. Food was very good and the service was excellent. I had the shrimp/octopus avocado appetizer. I would call it a ceviche. It was a little bland. Could have some cilantro and more citrus but it was very fresh. I also had chicken parm which was a huge portion but I’m just not a tank of panko bread crumbs. My mother loved it though. All the others at my table loved the dishes they ordered. I wish they had a better desert and appetizer menu but all in all it was very good and I would definitely return."