My stars...(5=epic "best of") (4=really tasty and want to go again and again) (3=good and will go back once in a while) (2=fair, might return for a visit if there was some glimmer of hope) (1=avoid at all costs)
Go or No? Â Go.
Tease: Â Local bar & grill in Century City
Why I went: Â It's right next to my work
When: Â Spring 2013
Food: Â I usually get the stir fry w/ chicken or shrimp. Â Besides the salads, it's one of the lighter dishes on the menu. Â The sandwiches are good, but can be heavy for lunch if you have to return for work. Â The food is decent. Â It's nothing great, but it is more than sufficient for a convenient lunch spot in an office area. Â However, their bar is quite good. Â Decent beers on tap at a decent price. Â Good classic cocktail pours. Â Their happy hour is good. Â The best things are the wings and dumplings. Â The wings are better than Hooters. Â The dumplings are a really nice change from regular pub grub. Â
Service: Â Good.
Hints/Final thoughts: Â It's a good place to grab a drink and nibble after work or a quick lunch.
Pretty good restaurant. Â Nice atmosphere; kind of like an old wood paneled Scottish pub. The place reminds me of an underground bunker or a tavern. Â The place is always busy and I had to wait both times I was here to get a seat. Â Food and service were both good. Â Coffee was also good.
Review Source:Writing this review really saddens me. I started coming to The Cellar almost 40 years ago. The food and service has always been good, especially the wait staff. Â Several years ago when I returned to Century City to work I started going to the restaurant again and enjoyed it, whether it was for a burger, meatloaf or a salad. Â For the past year or so, though, my friends and I have been getting more and more unhappy with the length of time time it takes to get food. One friend refused to even come with us any more. Â Today was my LAST STRAW. When we arrived the place was only 2/3 full. We ordered. More than 20-30 min. later still no food. We inquired about it and was told 5-10 min. more. Meanwhile people all around us were getting food and the place was emptying out. Nearly 40 min after the time of our order, we asked again. This time one of the managers checked with the kitchen then returned and said "we're backed up." NO APOLOGY, NO OFFER OF FREE DRINKS. He just said "we're backed up." Â My friend and I got up and told them we were leaving. The manager just said "OK" and walked away. Â On the way out the door, the lady who seats people said have a good day and we again stated we would NOT be back. Â She followed us out the door wanting to know why and we told her today was the last time we would wait so long for a meal at that place. Â
How can a place be "backed up" when it was almost empty and at the end of the lunch rush??? Â Again, this wasn't the first time, but an ongoing problem for the past year or so.
I work nearby and have lunch meetings here all the time. Service is great, the decor is unique and the food is excellent.
Everybody I bring here for the first time comments on how cool the setup is....it really feels like you're in a cellar or basement dive bar...all the chairs are different, the decor is wild, and it is very old English/Irish. I tend to eat healthy when I come here, but there are phenomenal dishes with a wide variety of options. Everybody enjoys their food and I've never heard a complaint.
They also have great daily specials and the service is fantastic.
Good bar and late night happy hour for those who work later than the typical 9-5. With daily specials and decent bar food I enjoy hitting this spot for an adult beverage after work.
(Monday - buckets of beer, Tuesday - $3 beers, Wednesday - Martini night, Thursday- Margaritas, Friday- Free Pizza)
This is your typical business lunch place as its located within an office building in Century City. Though the place is on street level, the lack of windows and the interior decor definitely transports you to a cellar.
They offer a variety of sandwiches which are in the $8 - $11 range. You can get fancier items off their specials for around $15 a plate. Food is average and nothing amazing or exceptional.
Service is spotty depending on how crowded the place is. If you come during peak lunch hour, be prepared to wait for a table. I've been there where there has been a long wait, and there were times where there was no one inside. It all depends on what people are in the move for that particular day.
Overall, its a business lunch place within walking distance of all the office building. I wouldn't come here every day for your usual work lunch though.
Fantastic place where secret Century City deals go down while a Laker game plays on one of the many TV's they have inside.
I prefer the burgers (someone complained about a greasy burger....... are they made any other way?), however the salads are also pretty phenomenal (I recommend the Thai Chicken Salad).
Happy hour specials are plentiful, as is the accompanying free food. Â
It's much, much better than a nearby BJ's, The Counter, or Smithhouse. Â
Completely, utterly, and fantastically, recommended.
Was curious to try this place since it's not like your typical Century City eatery and looks more like a hoarder's cave tucked behind the backside of a building.
We were promptly greeted and opted to sit on the large patio since inside was a little cramped. A friend and I shared the Chili Burger, which was large in size, but didn't deliver in flavor. The chilies were bland and the large portions of lettuce and tomato made it difficult to bite into. The only good thing about the burger was that the meat was juicy and not overcooked.
The dish came with french fries, but they tasted bland and were hard like they had another trip to the frier to be reheated before being served.
I really wanted to like this place since it's close to my work, but the food wasn't up to par and was disappointed to find out they charge $2 if you share a meal.
Great for happy hour drinks, but skip the food.
I have no complaints about this place, but they offer nothing that really makes this place stand out.
It's all high calorie, high sodium, sometimes oily, yet REALLY TASTY comfort food. The meatloaf was surprisingly tasty and generously portioned. You have to request bread if you want it. Prices are what you'd expect to pay in Century City at about 20 bucks a person (tax/tip included).
The wait staff works fast and is very friendly, attentive and accommodating. It's taken the cooks a while to get the food ready, but that could just be due to the shear volume at the lunch hour. Not hating.
Been coming here for a couple years now and will continue to do so.
The Cellar definitely has character. Â I immediately liked the vibe when I walked in for a business lunch. Â It was busy but not so loud that I couldn't hear the person seated across from me. Â
The service was good. Â I'm a chatterbox so our server had to come back about three times before we were ready to order but she was friendly and didn't seemed to mind.
Â
I ordered a pasta special and the food is good. Â It had broccolini in it and my only complaint would be that the broccolini (cooked to perfection) needed to be chopped up bite size. Â It was a little odd to have long strands that needed to be cut up in the meal. Â But other than that it was fresh and tasty.
Visited The Cellar on a Friday night with my two BFFs. Given their location, I'm guessing they're more of a daytime/lunch crowd because when we showed up around 7PM the place was fairly empty.
We were casually greeted by two people who had been lounging on the outdoor patio. I wasn't really sure if they worked there or were regulars. Both in warm ups and rather laid back. Turns out they worked there.
The reviews here in Yelp were decent and given its location I thought a good bet for a new dinner experience. Um, I was a bit disappointed.
The place definitely had a dive-ish, pub vibe. Dark, leather benches, mixed decor. With the Laker game on, we chose a seat by the bar where they had the game on. We browsed the menu for a short bit and ordered our entrees. I chose the BBQ Chicken Sandwich. It was supposed to be a sandwich filled with shredded BBQ chicken with lettuce and tomato served with a side of fries. What I got was a sandwich with chicken pieces smothered in BBQ sauce with cheese and what looked to be leftover salad as it had bits of shredded carrot and red cabbage. The sandwich was pretty warm but not "fresh" warm and my plate was greasy. Odd, never had that before...I mean I could see the greasiness on the plate and it wasn't from what was on the plate. It wasn't horrible, but not good either and the greasy plate kind of put a bit of potential food poisoning fear in my head, though thankfully that never happened!
The table setting didn't include a knife, so I cut my messy sandwich with my fork as our server went MIA a few times. Also, if you want water, Â I would recommend asking for bottled. The water tasted worse than tap.
The service wasn't rude, but it seemed a bit lazy and too casual, even for a casual dive joint.
The food was just meh, and the service and ambiance wasn't anything great. Definitely won't be back.
2.5* rounded up only because Chris, the bartender, was hustling and was super-nice.
But yea, my $10 burger sucked. Come on people, this is LA, the land of the gourmet burger. Â A mediocre burger just doesn't cut it anymore, especially when The Counter is nearby. Â My "medium" burger was closer to well done and the bun reminded me of what I used to eat in middle school.
The pub-like atmosphere is kind of cool if you're into that. Â Unfortunately, I think I may be done with this place.
I love this place. It truly is, a cellar. Expect to see walls of leather-bound books and chairs of rich mahogany. It always gave off a "speak-easy" vibe to me. Their food is good, but lots of places in LA have good food.
What makes the Cellar unique is the staff. They're some of the friendliest, down to earth, most-accommodating people I've ever met; and in LA, that's hard to come by. After only a handful of post-work trips here they already started calling me by my first name when I walked in, and would always be ready to switch their TV's over to the Boston Bruins game (it was the stanley cup finals). It's not expensive, the staff is great, and the drinks are good. I can't really think of anything negative to say about the Cellar. I guess parking can be difficult, but I get the feeling that most of the Cellar's clientele works in the nearby office buildings.
This is nice quiet spot for lunch and a drink, if you so desire.
My friend loves the buffalo chicken sandwich and trust me it is good! Every thing is good though. I've a few salads and loved them all. I also had the Beef Stew that was a special and it was amazing.
This place has such a cozy feel it kind of reminds of the Cheers bar in Boston.
I adore this Century City, feels like home, everybody knows your name, jem of a bar! The Cellar has great happy hour specials, so check those out.
I have been here on numerous ocassions from lunches, firm happy hours, Laker game watching, to just a quick app and beer...and each time is always a good time!
They recently changed ownership and I think they are starting to add new items on the menu with more of an asian flair...such as dumplings and asian glazed wings. Â My favorites on the menu are the asian steak salad, walnut pear salad (love the candied walnuts!), tri-tip sandwich and the sliders! Â They also have free chips and homemade salsa for all.
Great bar food with even better drink prices and service!
So I have come to this review, and I am pretty torn at having to write it.
On one hand, the Cellar, a quaint, Irish pub type of place with a holiday feeling all year long (mainly because of the Christmas lights strewn across each wall), wooden chairs and a heated patio has become deeply ingrained in my dining repertoire from winter, spring, summer to fall. Â It is hidden away in a building, and only recently has a sign been constructed to advertise its existence. Â I remember the days when it was only by word of mouth through which its popularity flourished.
I have loved this place since 2003, when it was first introduced to me by coworkers. Â It has undergone (to my knowledge) two different management groups since then. Â For the many years that followed when I worked in the Century city area, many lunch meals, happy hours, dinners, going away parties, karaoke nights and more recently birthday parties were spent and celebrated at the Cellar.
What is unique to the Cellar are:
* appletinis made just right
* appetizing buffalo chicken sliders
* free pizza on Fridays around 6 (with all the changes, do they still even have this?)
* healthy and delicious chinese chicken salad
* great teriyaki chicken sandwich
* tasty philadelphia sandwich
* nachos that will satisfy you when you are pregnant and craving (one of my gfs vouch for it)
just to name a few. Â I frequented this place before they even had a dizzying menu available online!
On the other hand, I found out that one of my friends, a respectable, hard working, loyal employee of many years was recently let go from the Cellar.
Hence, I am a bit torn whether to root for, or to boo the Cellar.
However, if the Cellar re-hires my friend, then there would be no doubt in my mind at how much I have come to cherish this place over the years.
It would also please me if the Cellar became less commercialized and went back to its roots of familial and coziness, which was the true and fundamental core of the Cellar that I knew.
So two things: Â Please re-hire my friend and become less commercialized!
Thanks.
I never knew this place even existed but although they give discounted parking after 5pm, it's somewhere great to go after work, but not to stay too long. Â The bar staff was very slow (apparently the kitchen is small, so can only cook a few things at a time or bake one large pizza at a time). Â The staff was friendly but they were giving out free pizza during happy hour and it took about 1 hour for each pizza to get baked and only 5 minutes to have a few people pack on the slices to take to their tables. Â Very poorly situated and the place is small. Â
The wings were definitely spicy but again, when asking for extra napkins, the wait was more than 20 minutes. Â
Overall it's a small sportsbar, but I would rather have been at Pink Taco with patio seating and more screens to watch games.
So, the Cellar is known for their burgers. I order a burger (take out - this is important) -- in a town where burgers reign, this $11 burger better be bomb. However, upon returning to my office, I discover my burger is sans the fries I both specifically requested and was told come 'standard' with burgers, and was underwhelmed by the entire lack of flavor.
However, I braved the arctic chill (ha.) of Century City to make another takeout attempt a few days later, and tried the Tri Tip Sandwich with Au Ju (AND FRIES!) -- yummy central, almost totally made up for the first meal!
I will come back again for a tiebreaker.
We dropped in around 7:30pm for dinner since this was near the Century Plaza Hyatt. Â We noticed their kitchen closed at 8pm, but the bartender didn't rush us. Â I got a grilled chicken sandwich with fresh fruit and my husband got the meatloaf. Â We also ordered two beers (from the tap) to have with the meal. Â There were complimentary chips and salsa near the door (we didn't try these, I was still pretty full from a big lunch). Â There is a good amount of outside seating.
Chicken sandwich: The meat was a little dry but tasty. Â The fresh fruit was awesome (I know, kind of weird). Â It wasn't canned stuff, they had fresh pineapple, sweet cantaloupe, grapes, watermelon, honeydew, etc. Â It was just what I needed after a long day of driving around LA.
Meatloaf: Â I was too full to try, but my husband said it was delicious. Â It was served with mashed potatoes and rice. Â He really seemed to enjoy the mustard sauce that was on the meatloaf.
Drinks/bartender: Â The bartender and the other guy that mostly served the tables were really cool and kept chatting with us throughout the evening. Â They obviously had some regulars there, but nobody minded when we would listen in on some of their conversations. Â They had a good selection of things on tap. Â We ordered a white russian and whiskey sour after eating and they were both mixed well. Â It was a great way to top off the evening.
Seating/decor: They had a couple of TVs (one big screen and a smaller flat screen) showing different baseball games. Â The stools at the bar were very comfortable and I could easily rest my feet on the bar (I'm pretty short and usually the bar is too low to be of any use to me). Â The decor reminded me more of an English pub than anything else. Â Everything was clean and comfy looking. Â It was eclectic, but seemed so homey. Â Definitely a good place to just come and relax with friends or coworkers!
I wish we had a place just like this near our house. Â We will come back if in the area again!
Oh sweet refuge, The Cellar.
The definition of a hidden gem.
Likely and understandably often overlooked due to it's location among corporate America as well as being hidden in a far dark corner, it's about as far as you get from Century City while being smack in the middle of it.
Definitely feels like you're in a cellar, and it feels fantastic.
Snobs, jerks, and elitists normally stop at the door so that's another plus.
Good food, atmosphere, and full bar.
Yay!
This has to be the worst place in Century City. Â The only reason why this stays alive is because of its location.
My co-workers and I have gone here on numerous occasions only to be throughly disappointed and sick at the same time.
The food is TERRIBLE.
For instance, this last time, one of my co-workers ordered a burger done medium. Â The burger was CHARRED all the way through. Â Definitely didn't look medium to me.
I ordered the daily special fish and chips. Â It was terrible. Â It looked and tasted like they picked up the "fish" from the freezer section at Ralph's for 99 cents for 40. Â The cole slaw was utterly gross and un-edible.
I love how they have "monte cristos" on the menu, but each time I've tried to order it, they couldn't do it...
The service is sub-par. Â The servers aren't very friendly and don't check up on you. Â What I loved was that after a TERRIBLE meal with wretched food, the server had the nerve to put "suggested tip 20%" on our bill.
This place is HORRIBLE. Â I would rather walk a bit further or eat at Trimana than ever go back here again.
This is my favorite hangout!!! Discoverd it by working in the Century City area. Â I don't even feel like I'm in Los Angeles when inside. Â Reminds me of my parents old basement, very nostalgic.
They have great burgers and bar food. Â Friday night they offer complimentary pizza and chips & salsa. Â The pizza is da bomb!! People throw elbows over this pizza cause they only make a few of them and they don't last for more than 3 minutes. The service is beyond great, I feel like I'm in an episode of Cheers. Â Seriously, everyone knows your name, especially the host, Alex!
Last time I reviewed as a bar, now I'm going to review it as a lunch place. Â I came here on a Wednesday at 1:30pm, and it was still fairly crowded with lawyers, businessmen, and the agents who are always hanging around Century City. Â
I got the salad, which was fairly large, and filling enough to leave me very happy. Â I also finished the entire thing, so I must have liked it. Â I saw their fries too, and they looked good (though I didn't try one).
The service was good, we were seated quickly in the outside area, and were consistently served well throughout the meal. Â And the price was pretty reasonable as well. Overall, good solid lunch spot.
If you are having a bad day at work, come here and take back a few. Â I have...
This place is across the street from me. Â Ownership changed a couple years ago and I can say that it has def improved. Â They updated the patio area with new tables and chairs. Â Much better. Â The interior drops takes you back to Three's Company and you are chillin with Jack Tripper, Janet, Crissy, Larry and Mr. Roper at the Regal Beagle! Â
Happy hour is also really good. Â Stiff drinks. Â What's good to eat? Â The pear salad, Asian steak salad, any of the burgers and the nachos. Â The lunch time crowd gathers pretty quickly here so if you don't have any extra time to spare, get here before noon.
There's nothing like a relaxing place to make a business meeting more interesting. And I had to give my guest credit for choosing The Cellar over a chi-chi hotel restaurant so they could make a run and dash if I bored them ;)
So, looking at what my guest ordered (chopped salad) I made a good choice with the lunch special chicken. It came with mash and veg and even though the chicken madeira sauce was hella salty I didn't bother the waitress.
The staff are super nice and attentive even during the lunch time rush. I'm not sure I'll have the occasion to come back here but if you're in the hood then this is a great spot for a relaxed cosy dining experience away from the Century City norm.
If you're gonna have an illicit rendevous then this is the kinda place you want your partner's private detective to snap pics of you canoodling with AN Other!
Lunch is packed with cube dwellers. Go early or call ahead if you have a group bigger than 4.
No cool kids flocking. A few garden variety douche bags to be sure. But far less pretense than any other sit down joint in Century City.
Sit out side or in. At the bar or hide in a corner.  Beer or booze. Food is decent.  Drinks are stiff. Staff is super nice. I spend  20 bucks for lunch including drink (read booze) and tip.
We went here for a private weekend birthday party, and really enjoyed this place. Â The bartenders were generous with their pours, and drinks were affordable. Â Honestly that's all I really ask for in a bar, all the other stuff is great but the two factors I just mentioned are the essential foundation for a good bar.
Happy birthday Mike!
Can I get a hells yeah? Â Anybody? Â Anybody?
I know what I CAN get - 5 Coors Lights for $10 on Mondays and a quesadilla so cheesy and greasy that I forget I spend my days at work googling weight loss fads.
The Cellar is the ONLY place in this concrete jungle, abounding with over priced martini bars perfect for "doing drinks", where you can sit outside, have a beer, smoke a cigarette AND see famous people (or at least overhear someone who might have done a radio commercial for car insurance). Â Â Seriously, after months doing the agent's assistant thing and taking industry losers to a place where I have to valet I enjoy having The Cellar. Â
It's a good ol' fashion haunt if there ever was one.
I LOVE The Cellar. It's a great place to get a delicious, fresh and reasonably priced sit-down lunch (although you can also do takeout and catering, of course).
Inside is a dark, rustic seating area that definitely could pass for a cellar, great for ducking into when you need to escape from Century City. Outdoors, there's an airy patio with plenty of both sun and shade.
If I want to be good, I'll order a salad. You really can't go wrong with any of them - my favorite is the pear salad, with sweet slices of pear, walnuts, gorgonzola and chunks of chicken breast.
But what I really love are the turkey burger, a thick, egg-shaped patty on a toasted bun, and the tri-tip sandwich, served on a French roll with a side of warm au jus. Although you can get them with fruit or cottage cheese on the side, I love the fries - crisp, chubby and golden brown - and portioned just perfectly for you and a friend to slowly finish as you stave off a long afternoon at the office.
As a young working professional in Century City, this is the place we go to after work for a fun, unpretentious round (or two, or three, or ten...) of drinks. Â Totally laid-back dive bar lets you forget you missed your project deadline and will probably be fired by tomorrow morning.
The inside reminds me of the galley of a ship. Â They have bucket o' beer Monday night specials ($10.99) and around 5pm there's always plenty of free chips and salsa.
We waited 45 minutes for a medium well burger. Â They gave us an excuse that it takes "longer" to cook a medium well burger when we asked why the other tables got their burgers within 5 -10 minutes. Â We got no apology, just excuses. Â The manager offered to comp our drinks. Â Really...if she comps our drinks, will we get back the 45 mintues of waiting? Â We refused and vowed never to go back. Â Besides, the food was not that great.
If you want a good burger, go to Apple Pan, Mo's or Pie-n-Burger!
So imagine you're a corporate businessman working in Century City, amidst those tall skiy-scrapers, suits and ties and security guards. This is all you see from 9-5.
Then say, you want to grab a drink after work with your coworkers and they suggest The Cellar down the street, so you imagine it's some corporate-ish bar with dirty martinis, suits and ties and an ambiance worthy of security guards.
But then you walk inside this tucked away bar and realize it's just another LA dive bar, straight from the 70's with its wood-paneled walls, Karaoke nights and small staff. And it's AWESOME. The drinks and food are cheap, the staff is small and so unbelievably NOT what you think would work in the neighborhood and my only issue is that they close at 9:00pm. I guess they hold corporate hours, too. It's kind of like what the old Boardner's would have been like, outside of Hollywood. Yeah...
A Century City tradition since 1971 - and they haven't changed the decor since! This old-school lawyer hangout is a bar/restaurant that mainly serves the Century City office crowd during lunch and dinner. The wait staff is particularly friendly and will probably call you by name if you go there more than three times. Prices are reasonable and the food is decent - nothing fancy, but very acceptable lunch fare. Closes at 9:00 PM.
-- Update. New owners have remodeled a bit and jacked the prices by about 30% across the board. Now it's not as crowded...but I don't go there as often 'cause there are better places for the dough within walking distance.
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