Clementina Brings Adriatic Italian Cuisine to Upper Montclair's Valley Road

A taste of the Italian Adriatic Coast is headed to Montclair this spring," with Clementina set to open at 627 Valley Road. The address was once home to Saunders Hardware, which closed in 2024, and the space will soon host what promises to be one of the more regionally specific Italian concepts the town has seen.

Chef Michele Rocchi is curating the menu, which draws inspiration from the rich flavors of the Adriatic region. Specific dishes haven't been released yet, but the regional framing tells pasta followers a great deal. Adriatic cooking runs lighter and more coastal than the red-sauce southern Italian traditions that dominate much of northern New Jersey's Italian dining landscape. For pasta specifically, that means expect preparations built around shellfish, fresh egg doughs, and delicate sauces rather than long-braised meat ragùs. Think tagliolini with crab, spaghetti alle vongole, or the kind of bigoli dishes that define the Veneto coastline.

Blanche Garcia of BDG Interior Design Studio carefully crafted the interior around a biophilic design language: white oak surfaces, textured plaster walls, and natural materials throughout. The goal is a warm, inviting dining room that mirrors the coastal sensibility on the plate. It's a deliberate pairing; the design isn't decorative filler but an extension of Rocchi's Adriatic concept.

Clementina arrives into a Montclair Italian scene that's been expanding steadily, with Campofiore and Italiana by Zod already drawing local diners. What separates Clementina is the narrowness of its regional focus. Adriatic cuisine remains genuinely underrepresented in this part of New Jersey, and a chef-driven concept built specifically around it has room to occupy its own lane rather than compete on familiar turf.

Diaz Schloss Communications is managing promotion and development for the project. As of early April, the team had not confirmed a hard opening date, a pattern typical of chef-focused debuts that prioritize a polished launch over rushing the announcement. The address is 627 Valley Road, Upper Montclair, and the opening is expected this spring.