I ate at this restaurant today and spent over $100 for dinner with a friend. There were problems from the start. I arrived before my friend did and wanted to find out if there was anything they did for birthdays. I spoke to two waitresses and the hostess about putting a candle in her dessert for her birthday. The waitress forgot to bring us bread and when dessert came, she also forgot the candle. Keep in mind that I didn't get anything free. I just wanted a stupid candle, not a free dessert and I had to go up to ask about it in the middle of her eating her dessert just to get a candle. When I got the bill, I noticed that they charged me for two soft drinks when I only ordered one and got one refill. The waitress told me that it was policy to charge twice for refills. I have never seen that (without the waitress at least telling you ahead of time, and even then I've rarely seen it). The owner was standing RIGHT there so came over and was EXTREMELY rude. He told me that only places like diners don't charge for refills and that I was the ONLY person ever to even ask that question. He basically tried to make me look like an idiot even though he doesn't honestly represent his prices. Oh and keep in mind that it's a relatively small glass with lots of ice so the actual amount of soda is minimal. He was very arrogant and snobby and told me that he "Wasn't going to change his policy". Well Mr. owner, since you won't change your policy or your attitude, you will never see me again. Â Bottom line is that the food isn't THAT good to justify the prices and DEFINITELY not worth the poor service and attitude.
Review Source:The Cellar Door Bistro is Italian food with just the right amount of American fusion. Â Short rib ravioli? Check. Risotto with pan seared scallops? Check. Wood fired pizza? Check mate. This is great food for moderate prices that would be ideal for a night out with the family before seeing a movie. Have some wine and go nuts on the appetizers. They are inexpensive and concurrently generous. Â It is definitely a solid choice and I would not second guess going here at all. One last thing: the staff is superb.
Review Source:When I am in the area, The Cellar Bar Bistro is the place to be!
The restaurant has a great modern, trendy atmosphere without feeling too clubby. Â The tables are nicely spaced so that I did not feel like I was sitting at the table with the party next to me. Â Its a great spot to go for a date-night, girls-night, or even family night as there were plenty of children there as well. Â They have a cozy, wood-burning oven which is part of the reason for staying as long as we did.
The main attraction of the evening was the pizza. Perfect, crispy, thin crust with great quality cheese and a deliciously savory sauce. Â I had the vegetarian pizza and it had more flavor than I even anticipated!! The drinks were great as well and didn't make me feel like I was drinking overpriced "juice". Â
If I had room for dessert I would have had some. Â However, after dinner I was busting at the seams. Â The dessert I saw coming out of the kitchen looked so darn yummy tho so I must return to try it. Â
Also worthy of mention is the FANTASTIC service that we received. Â I never had to ask for a water refil- Â And trust me, I am a camel! Â The waitress was super attentive and friendly and that alone is enough reason for me to return.
Came here for drinks on a Friday night with my old college roommate and I have to say fabulous experience. I really love this place for pardoning me and my friends loud and reckless behavior but it was all in good light, we were simply reminiscing about freshman year over drinks so we couldn't help it ! With all that said drinks were well made and not a waste of money which is my biggest pet peeve when bar tenders try to pretend they put enough alcohol to get you going and when we all know there is lack of. I ordered the Ridgefield Bellini which was a sparkling wine with white peach and raspberry it was quite delish. I actually would consider traveling to Ridgefield just to get that drink , don't judge me !
To end the night I ordered the apple crostata which came with vanilla gelato and my friend ordered the tiramisu. Both desserts were yummy and quite alright in price! I must say besides the drinks and dessert grabbing my attention about this place was the decor ambiance and attentive service, another great plus, very pleasing to the eye, and not too harsh on the wallet. Can't wait to return for another cocktail and to try some of the main course dishes! Cellar door is on my list of places to return for sure.
I ventured out of manhattan to go visit a business colleague in Connecticut.  I've been to Ridgefield before so wasn't too excited to be in the suburbs and had low expectations going to this restaurant.  The Ambiance of the place is interesting.  The bar itself looks pretty cool and trendy, the restaurant tables however are a little old school although nicely spaced out.  We had arrived with an hour left of the happy  hour special only to find out that the specials are only good if you stay at the bar.  I already knew I wasn't paying for the meal but I don't think there should be a price difference between the bar and having a seat.  I'm a big carnivore so was happy to see that the menu had alot of meat and seafood selections.  The food took awhile to arrive although the staff was extremely attentive and pleasant.  I had the almond crusted Cod.  My colleague had the Parley Pizza which was pretty good (I only had one slice).
Review Source:My wife and I are moving back to Ridgefield after being away for almost 8 years. Â We are renovating our house and have been working hard, in need of some good food, liquid fortification and friendly faces. Â By accident we found ourselves at the Cellar Door with the only available seats at their beautiful and unusual onyx bar. There we were greeted by the BEST bartender in town - a young lady by the name of Heather who took incredible care of us not just a a professional mixologist, but caring and knowledgable server. Â She guided us through the extensive menu and everything was brilliantly done. Â I was shocked how good everything was.
Fast forward, we have continued to stop in to see Heather and have NEVER yet has a negative experience. Â After 6 weeks away, on our second visit, Heather remembered what we drank and our names. Â This is major service! Â We have tried many of the pasta choices (my wife loves the airy Gnocchi), the seafood is always fresh and expertly done, and I can say that I have never eaten a better braised Short Rib anywhere. Â I still crave it. Â
I think I have a fairly good sense of these things as I spent 30 years in the restaurant business and it is hard to impress me. Â These people did. Â We currently live in Manhattan while the work continues, with access to the best eateries anywhere, and I can say Ridgefield is doing a great job with the addition of places like Cellar Door. Â Bravo.
Just moved to Ridgefield from Manhattan and found the Cellar Door. Â We stopped in last Wednesday night for cocktails, soup and pizza. Alix, our server was wonderful...she was very pleasant and professional. Would definitely go back for wine and pizza. Enjoyed the warm feel of the space and wood burning oven so we stayed for an after dinner drink. Very nice staff, we will be back.
Review Source:Where were the beets? Â For $14 was just served an expensive plate of lettuce described on the menu in mouth watering terms as a beet salad with apple, nuts, artisinal goat cheese and other fruits. Â When I asked the waiter where were the beets, he said under the lettuce. Â It was a Where's Waldo search for all the ingredients. Â The waiter did offer to bring a plate of beets, suggested I fill out a comment card, and noted that it was a chopped salad--I did find six cubes of beets, a few slivers of goat cheese, and some slivers of apples--and then he asked that unhappy looking owner--he still looks unhappy--to come over. Â He did the correct thing and offered to take it off the bill--but said "everyone loves this salad." Â The pastas were ample but ordinary. Â The wait staff is trying, the bar looks like a great place to be single and in your twenties, and a lot of expense, and thought went into designing a convivial space and an appealing menu. And there's the only woodl fired pizza oven in Ridgefield. Â The owner's family I understand are experienced restauranteurs. Â Across the parking lot a cousin is running Eats on Main, a quasi coffee shop with a varied menu of salad, soup, sliders, that is becoming a neighborhood, family friendly hub featuring art by local kids. Â There's more than a parking lot that separates the two cousins approach to managing a restaurant. Â Too bad, this has all the right ingredients for success but the prices, and the execution have to match the promise.
Review Source:Gee! Â Ridgefield can REALLY use a nice affordable new restaurant with some pleasant offerings. Â Had dinner here last Saturday. Â Not too many patrons (and Ridgefielders are eager to patronize a new place to eat - that lack of customers says that word has gotten around) Â This was my first visit. The food was ok - I had the roast chicken and enjoyed it. Â My companions had salmon and lasagna. Â We also ordered a bottle of wine. Â The salads were ok - nothing special for the price. Â The server disappeared after taking our order (this is set up so there is another person who actually brings your food out) Â We had to pour our own wine and refill our own water glasses. Â I truly hope this restaurant changes its format a bit to be more affordable and train the servers to be more on the ball so it will last. Â The renovation is lovely, it is comfortable but certainly needs some tweeking. Â God! Â I miss The Elms.
Review Source:Had lunch twice here. First was a Cobb salad with minimal dressing - was very expensive for what it was. Second was a chicken panini, but was in fact chicken between two thick slices of toast that had never seen panini press. The bar seems like a nice place for a drink, but I would wait a while before trying it again for a meal
Review Source:My wife and I stopped in for a Saturday lunch last week, excited to try the new game in town.
First impressions were that it was a nice space, good decor, beautiful bar.
Menu seemed promising, pizza, apps, mains, salads...a bit pricy tho...we'd wait to see if food matched price.
As a cocktial "nerd" I was again dissapointed in yet another restaurant that made no effort in creating good craft cocktails for their menu, considering the weath of blogs out there on the subject, you'd think one restaurant in Fairfield County would make and effort in creating a drink that doesnt contain Vodka and/or bottle fruit juice in it!
on to our meal....
Soup: First we ordered and shared the Ribollita, turned out to be a basic veggie soup, full of a good assortment of fresh veg's not overdone either, but the soup lacked any sense of seasoning (read: salt), the only flavor came from the over-buttered garlic crouton in the center...but certainly NOT a true ribollita, which is thicker heartier soup with a bread as part of the soup, not a thin barely tomato/chicken broth...this was a rebranded Minestrone, if you wanted to call it something, but not worth what we paid.
Next was a salad: chopped romain over dressed in a balsalmic dressing supposed to have Soprestat in it, and for $12 would expect it to have more than 5 slivers of meat in the whole salad...the artichokes were canned (ok fine, but not for a $12 salad) and the size for the price was less than optimal...$7-9 i might go for it again with different expectations.
Panini: chickent and prosciuto with an over mayo'd sauce, tasty but my complaint was the bread...clearly a pre-cut white loaf, slathered with grill oil (did nto seem like a good OO or even EVOO to us) and pressed. Come on for a sandwich over $10 bucks throw us some good bread, and dont hide tired chicken in mayo...
Overall, you dont get waht you pay for here, step it up or drop back the prices so expectations meet the quality one way or the other...
Cannot comment on the Pizza, but any place that tells me "its meant to be cold" (unless it was a salad pizza) as the other reviewer says has got another thing coming.
Cant see it lasting in its current iteration.
such a beautiful space too...
We went to Cellar Door on a Saturday night and it was busy. Â We didn't have a reservation so the girl at the front had told us 10-15 minutes, which we were happy to wait and have a drink at the bar. Â The decor and bar were very nice, but the drinks were just OK. Â I had a strawberry limoncello martini that had a drop of limoncello in it which was quite disappointing. Â Then, after about a half hour, I asked if our table was ready and surprise surprise it was. Â There were also a few other empty tables that led us to believe they aren't really ready for busy saturday nights. Â
The menu is Italian food, definitely not a bistro. Â You have limited choices including standard italian meals and pizzas. Â We ordered the lobster ravioli and prosciutto and arugula pizza. Â The lobster ravioli was more of ravioli with a little bit of lobster, definitely nothing like the lobster ravioli that you could have at Bailey's Backyard. Â The pizza was cold. Â When the owner asked us how our meal was, we said just alright and he wasn't suprised the pizza was cold. Â He told us the pizza was supposed to be served cold, which surprised us. Â He was apologetic and did give us a gift certificate to return, but we have doubts of another experience there. Â I would definitely recommend traveling to SoNo for better pizza at Strada 18.
The Cellar Door opened about three weeks ago, and I have to say, I'm quite impressed.
Though I do admittedly have an atypical perspective on the matter. It was my 30th birthday, and I decided I wanted to orchestrate a Ridgefield bar crawl for my friends and I. Indeed, we were a motley crew of TWENTY-FIVE. It was getting late, and some of the typical favorites like The Ancient Mariner and The Corner Pub had inexplicably closed... But The Cellar Door was still open!
We piled in, and before long, we were the only ones in the restaurant... though 25 patrons do a pretty nice job of filling up a bar area.
Since there was only one bartender, the owner jumped in to help out with the sudden unexpected surge of business. It was clear that he was keeping the place open later so he could accommodate all of us. A truly savvy businessman indeed.
From what I can remember: the decor was very elegant, the bar area was very cool, and the pizza we ordered was EXCELLENT. Sorta New-Haven style, with a crispy crust, high quality cheese, and tasty toppings. The service was also very good considering the madhouse we turned this place into for a few hours :).
So, while I cannot comment on the typical dinner-for-two experience at The Cellar Door, it is clear that these guys are off to the right start. They have put together a very pleasant dining environment, backed it up with excellent food, and cemented it with genuine restaurant-industry hard work.
I look forward to returning for a more common, and more SOBER dining experience with family or friends.
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