02/06/2024
The long awaited first post about our visits and adventurous to different restaurants is here…
We visited the Cellar last Saturday night at 7:30 PM. It is a quaint place and is reminiscent of an old-fashioned speakeasy. It has brick and original rock and mortar foundation as walls. The place does get busy. Our servers name was Jackie. We ordered the brisket stuffed Poblano peppers and the flatbread special which we were told, has bacon, Gouda cheese, dates, and a balsamic sauce. They have both alcoholic and nonalcoholic options for drinks. Charity who does not drink alcohol ordered The Cure, which contains lavender, lemon, butterfly tea, and soda water. I initially was going to order the Muddled Spiced Cherry Punch, which sounded essentially like a very sweet Manhattan. I do prefer Makers Mark, and asked if I could substitute; when I was informed that their house cocktails are premade. While many places do this, I prefer my drink made fresh. So I got my usual Manhattan with Makers Mark. Both the drinks that we got were exceptional.
The atmosphere is small and quaint, but it does get a bit loud. If you’re looking for a place to just hang and relax and chitchat, this may may not be the place for you.
While we were there, it seemed that there were a bunch of large groups that arrived; and they were talking, almost competing to be heard. However, this is no indication of the hospitality, service and food. This is just our observation of that particular night.
With that said, Charity and I were more than capable of carrying on a conversation.
The flatbread was amazing. Not too much balsamic glaze, the dough was crunchy and cooked well. It was the perfect blend of flavors. The brisket stuff poblano peppers were definitely flavorful, however, the peppers were a bit soft and soggy. It would be preferable if they were more crisp.
Our server, Jackie was phenomenal and very accommodating. She went out of her way to make Charity a custom nonalcoholic drink that ended up being delicious. She checked on us often enough to make sure everything was going well and everything tasted well.
Charity and I both decided to use the bathrooms, they are very interesting in their decor and modeled as if they are old-fashioned. The key thing is they were very clean.
They had ample parking for the size of the place. And just a sidenote, they do have eight available rooms upstairs as part of the end, and they also have a tavern which we will be reviewing at a later time.
The decor is very different and unique. Again, looking like an old-school speakeasy underground underneath someplace that you know, you would never think to go to. There there are pictures of the speakeasy time error when prohibition was in effect. There’s also an old-fashioned elevator cart that you can sit in and take pictures along with that there is a piano that plays all by itself. There is a great mix of lower tables and high tops, as well as couches, and some seating outside the main area if you want a bit more quiet.
In conclusion, we definitely love the service, the food, and the drinks. The decor is very different and refreshing. We’re not for the three groups that were very loud, I would’ve enjoyed the atmosphere a bit more.
Our ratings;
We will be using the five Fork rating. One fork is completely disappointing. Five Forks is incredibly awesome. The more forks the better it is.
Food: 4 forks
Drink: 5 forks. That’s the best you can fork.
Hospitality: 5 forks.
Atmosphere: 3 forks
Price: $$$ out of five. Again, one $ is very inexpensive. Five is expensive.
We hope you enjoyed our review. Stay tuned for more .
Sorry I forgot the address. It’s in Peabody it’s located at the Bell Inn and Tavern in Peabody at 2 Washington st.
