The Cellar Door — Restaurant in England

Had a two course dinner here last night on a whim walked in. Staff were very accommodating and friendly straight off the bat even when it was very busy.

Seated in the upper reastrant, which is small but not in a crampt or claustrophobic way, welcomed by an incredibly friendly waiter in a waistcoat and tie who took my order of wine and sparkling water which arrived within minutes.

I chose the peppered beef brisket to start and the Wellington for main.

Whilst waiting for the brisket to come i was given a complimentary slice of homemade foccaccia and butter. The bread was lovley with a crisp crust and lovley texture however overall the butter needed some salt or perhaps a sprinkle of sea salt over the bread. Very nice quality and clearly fresh but lack a touch of flavour.

The brisket came promptly and was hot and plated beautifully. Served with a celeriac puree, pickled veg and a hoisin sauce. The flavours worked very well, it was lovely. My one criticism is that it was slightly dry, which was a shame. Either the brisket needs more cooking liquid or could be served with more sauce. It's a slight shame for an overall lovley starter.

For main, I had to choose the Wellington, which was a smashing choice, I must say. I've had Wellington at the Savoy and various other high-end restaurants, and this did not disappoint. The Wellington was served with hash brown chips, tenderstem brocoli, and an amazing rich jus. The hash brown chips were stunning, one of the nicer potato dishes I've ever had. Literally nothing bad to say about them. The brocoli was perfectly cooked with a crisp snap to it, as well as being seasoned with crispy fried onions. The Wellington was a lovley medium rare , the pastry was crisp and seasoned so beautifully. The jus was to die for and was beautifully rich and savoury.

Very impressed with the portions as well as its quite often with higher end food to leave feeling slightly hungry. This was not the case here. I was so full I didn't have room for pudding however all sounded delicious.

Overall, a large glass of wine, bottle of sparkling water , two courses and a bread dish cost just over 60 pounds. This price for the quality was more than fair, and the staff were frankly flawless. The girl who served me was friendly, and served with a smile whilst being chatty.

If your in Durham and want a higher end meal at a reasonable cost I suggest a...

Visited the Cellar door last year for Sunday lunch and we were really impressed so decided to book again for my sister's birthday on Saturday for lunch. The staff were all friendly and the restaurant was busy, we were asked if we wanted water for the table and drinks so we ordered a couple of coffees and then our food. The starters took around 40 mins to come out which would have been ok had we been offered more drinks in that time, we weren't and our glasses and coffee cups hadn't been removed from the table. Starters arrived and they were really tasty and everyone was happy. Then our mains came out not too long after the starters. My main was a vegan option from the A La Carte menu which was £20, when it arrived I was underwhelmed to say the least. It was a quarter of a head of broccoli with some sauce on it (the menu said it came with onion bhaji and raisins but it didn't?) It was delicious, I can't knock the flavours of the food, but I was left feeling so hungry after eating it, It needed something alongside it, some sort of grain or potato, onion bhaji perhaps? just anything! Everyone else's mains were nice. My partner ordered a burger which he got fries with (and it was cheaper than my floret of broccoli, how?) Anyway we were never asked if we wanted any more drinks, which we all did. We skipped dessert and paid up and then went next door to Tango and I had an absolutely delicious vegan burger and fries. I've never left a restaurant feeling hungry after a main course and certainly never had to buy another main course elsewhere. Very disappointed as we really had high hopes for this place and had recommended it to loads of people after the initial visit. I just think some improvements need to be made in order to justify the prices and to honour how good the flavours are. Front of house although incredibly friendly could benefit from more direction and training on the basics, they weren't incompetent they could just do with better direction and...

We celebrated our daughter’s graduation in Durham with a meal at the Cellar Door. It is OK and our waitress was excellent and professional my comment is on quality of one dish only and how the chef and management handled my feedback on one poor main dish out of four persons dining.

This was the confit of duck cottage pie. It is a poorly thought out dish and was served containing nearly raw carrots. The dish does not come with any other sides and is too small and underwhelming compared to how a steak and chips dressed with tomatoes and mushrooms and sauce for £1 more.

When I pointed out to the waitress that the carrots were undercooked and not really edible she went to the kitchen and came back to say that the chef says this is how the dish is meant to be served and eaten.

I demonstrated to her that it was nearly not possible to cut the carrots. She went to the kitchen again and returned saying that the chef will cook another with carrots or without carrots!!!!! and this will take 8 minutes or so. I declined as my family were nearly finished their meals.

When it came to paying the waitress explained that the management would give me 20% discount for my main dish. Until then I was still enjoying the dining experience just but to be offered 20% discount on a dish which was not cooked properly was an insult to me as a customer

I explained that I thought the offer was very poor the waitress went away and came back to back with the price of the dish removed

Both the chef and management need to consider a customers feedback and how this was handled did not show respect to me the customer

I could go on about a very cold cheese platter and a poor desert but I will stop

Overall the food was Ok but how we were treated was poor

The waitress was very professional but fronting up for the attitude of the chef and management 20% on an inedible dish

Poor...