Cellar Bistro

I had been looking forward to eating at The Cellar Bistro for a while. I liked the cozy location and thought the beef-broth based Minestrone soup was wonderful, and more authentic-tasting than the standard tomato-based ones. But my entree (the Prawn Risotto with Asparagus and Mushrooms) had a moldy-tasting prawn in it, and since that was my first bite of the entree, that pretty much spoiled it for me. And, to make matters worse, the waitress didn't come back to check on us until my husband and I were done eating to see if we were happy or not (I wasn't), so the service wasn't very good, either. I mentioned the moldy prawn and she apologized and asked me if I wanted a different entree (I didn't, since more than 20 minutes had gone by) and we did decide to take home a piece of cheesecake (which was wonderful) but she never removed the price of my entree, and we ended up spending over $75 on a dinner (with a $28 bottle of wine~~they have a pretty limited wine list, but it's pretty well put together if you are solely into Italian wines) and so I wasn't dazzled at all by the food, the lack of service or caring from the waitstaff. Over the years, a lot of restaurants have inhabited this little space, so they are going to have to do better if they want to make it. But I'm not going back. more

While I think I liked it a little more as Spaghetti Reds the place is still great. Food is consistently good, atmosphere is always dark, romantic and fun and the red velvet cake is the best cake in the city. This is where my husband and I go for every birthday. I'm sure there are places that are better than this but this place is still a real treat. more

My husband and I live within walking distance to the Cellar Bistro, so we decided to head down and give it a try. We were optimistic, having read good reviews on Citysearch, but were sorely disappointed. We were seated in the very back of the restaurant, which had an eerie cave-like feel to it. With no windows, there was a feeling of claustrophobia which I found hard to get over. The food was good, and reasonably priced, but that didn't make up for the awful service. I swear, our waitress must have forgotten about us back there! Her other tables were toward the front of the restaurant, but that's no excuse for making us wait almost fourty minutes for our check. The owner/manager came by at one point to ask us how things were going and we expressed our disappointment. He offered little, saying only "Oh, well sorry to hear that. We're available for take-out". As much as we wanted to love this place, we definitely won't be back. more

Not only does Cellar Bistro provide an excellent dining experience, but moreover, there is parking! Though the address leads one to believe that the restaurant is on 10th Ave. East, it is actually on the backside of the building, so it may be a little tricky to find at first. This is a nice, locally owned restaurant with three rooms, back to back to back, that serve as intimate dining areas. The service is professional and exactly what you should expect from a local, mid-range Italian restaurant. The food is outstanding. Don't fill up too much on the bread and olive oil (which is excellent) because the appetizers, salads and entrees are amazing. The salad that comes with the meal is about twice the size of a normal house salad. I had the caesar salad, which had the right amount of everything. The entrees are more than enough and if you play your meal right, you should have plenty left to take home. The wine list is decent and they have a full bar, so you shouldn't be wanting for alcohol. I would hop on this option over Olive Garden anyday. more