Noble Cellar — Restaurant in City of Syracuse

We came here for our Tuesday date night after doing light research. We loved the concept of an elevated dining experience especially after the tragic loss of Saint Urban. I think Noble Cellar has potential - the experience was positive. I'm going to break this review down into a few sections, there will be some constructive criticism but I can with integrity recommend anyone with slight interest to check it out for themselves.

Atmosphere, Ambiance, Soul - They knocked the aesthetics out of the park, much of that is due to the physical institution itself. The location is a historic church so high ceilings, stained glass, etc. They had good taste, directing an upscale upfit while keeping it grounded with timeless tradition. The fixtures, the bathrooms, the small booklet when your check arrives, were all purposeful and add to the experience. My only negative chime is that the bar chairs are uncomfortable. They look good but they don't seem to be the right hight or offer enough support. I found myself wriggling and struggling to sit upright comfortably.

Service - Not much to add here. The folks were hospitable, knowledgeable, and got the job done at above average levels. Which is really hard to do. To bring it to the next level, to dreamweave - the staff needs to anticipate the needs of the guest and increase their knowledge such that dining here is an elevated educational experience.

Food - The food was conceptually strong. The flavors were all there. Imaginative, bright, not so daring that the dishes are beyond approach of the masses. We enjoyed all our plates - Pastrami Spiced Duck Breast, Butter Lettuce Salad, Braised Short Rib, and the Grilled Onglet Steak. I'm going to put each dish under the microscope, not to steer anyone away but to share my opinion for improvement.

Duck - The duck was cooked perfectly and flavorful. The rye crisps also had a great flavor profile. My issue was that although the fat trim on the duck added to the aesthetic, it presented a challenge to chew and swallow, too much gristle served chilled in this manner. The fat needs to be trimmed off completely or cooked down further to become crispy. The crisps were too dry and crunchy, there was no give, they didn't feel fresh.

Butter Lettuce Salad - Great flavor and texture profile, lightly dressed, overall great composition. The cuts of the veg, specifically the apple need some work. They felt like a detail skipped over, a second thought. Some creativity and focus on those cuts would bring this dish closer to perfection.

Short Rib - Great flavors, rich, delicious. The pasta choice was odd. It tasted like it was out of the box. A homemade pappardelle would elevate this dish.

Steak - Our favorite dish. The steak was excellent. The flavor was phenomenal and the sauces complimented without drowning the meat. The potato pavè made this dish shine and was the perfect vessel to wipe up the liquid from the steak bits and sauces. The seasonal root vegetables detracted from the dish, they were haphazardly placed underneath the sliced steak, some were undercooked and the parsnips were very harsh. I don't think a bed of root vegetables are a bad idea conceptually but some work needs to be done here. Or ditch them all together and add another potato pavè. Plate the steak atop two pavès and give the people what they want.

Forgot to mention - the Wine List is great and priced perfectly.

We look forward to our next visit and thanks to everyone at Noble Cellar that worked hard to bring this...

I love to support local businesses but only if they are worth it- money is high quality should match. We booked our reservation online because no one would pick up the phone( I tried 5x) Fine, let’s schedule online, they do have a 25$ cancelation fee per person, fine I understand- they did put a 100 hold on my account. I proceeded to receive 2 texts confirming my reservation for 4 people, one text to tell me we are due in 30 min. We arrive at 8:10 we wanted to have drinks at the bar- i notified the receptionist/owner of the restaurant we are here and she advised to give her some time which is fine we arrived 20 min early but when we were discussing she advised I should come to her to also make sure she remembers we are here….. why do I have to remind you we have arrived and are ready for our table when the establishment had to remind me 3x about my reservation but can’t come get me when the table is ready. Regardless we hung out at the bar until 830 which is our reservation, I go back to the receptionist/ owner and this couple came in as I was about to go up and they started a conversation and she sat them immediately - fine I don’t know the story but as I approached her she still didn’t have our table ready and she finally advised they are putting two tables that have been clear for 20 min together?? Couldn’t you have done that sooner and then we proceeded to wait for another 10. We sit down it’s about 845 now we are hungry and ready to order.. we were told we have to wait to order OUR FOOD THAT WE ARE GOING TO PAY FOR because they like to stagger the meals so first course and then second course- okay fine at this point I just want to eat so 10 min go by just to get drinks so now it’s close to 9 PM and we finally get to put our orders in- apps come out- we ordered octopus it was good but salty, pork belly was delicious some of the best I have had, my beets and goat cheese salad was very pathetic it was more a garnish dish than a salad, and their butternut soup was not good. Appetizers took a solid 15 before they came out It took us about 15 min to eat our first course and then we proceeded to wait for 30 min for our entrees.. (they don’t offer anything for the table which would make sense if you are keeping people waiting for 30-45 min between courses) I must not understand the term staggering. We ordered lemon and rosemary chicken- the chicken was very tender but a lot of rosemary flavor- mushroom risotto it was good but it lacked deep flavor- Onglet steak which was decent (weird cut of steak to have for a “fancy” restaurant) and the lamb chops which were underwhelming. Our bill was 325- for the experience and food it was not worth it. This was my groups experience.. we like to try new places monthly and this month it is a simple shrug of try it if you want if anyone asks. We also had other friends who were eating there and they also said they waited 45 min for their entrees from when they received their app. Regardless of all that the part that made me most uncomfortable is what I observed between the staff; the bussers and the waiters/waitresses - they were a bit rude and intense to each other (very polite towards customers) like they had such a specific style of service but it translated over as intense and robotic .. I...

I had been highly anticipating going to Noble cellar. I looked online and saw pretty good reviews so I decided to bring my fiance here for his birthday dinner. What a disappointment. It honestly was one of the most disappointing meals I've had in a long time, especially for the price point, We spent $167 just to leave hungry and disappointed. We each started our meal with a glass of wine, they do not have spirits because they are in close proximity to a church (thanks nys 🙄), so it's only beer and wine which was disappointing but I totally understand and that was not a problem. For an appetizer we ordered The charred Spanish octopus and The red onion focaccia with roasted olives. The octopus came with a few pieces of octopus and one tentacle. The tentacle was so charred that half of it was inedible, the sauces that they paired with it were pretty nice, not bad but nothing to rave about in my opinion. The focaccia was burnt. There's no way around it. It was way overcooked, the top was super hard and nearly black. The olives were olives and the butter it came with was not good In my opinion. I've never come across a butter I didn't like so this was definitely a first for me. So both appetizers were a huge Miss! For our entrees we had the grilled onglet steak and braised short rib ragout. The onglet steak was cooked pretty good, they served it already cut up which is different but not an issue, the thing that ruined this was the sauce they serve it on was so, so acidic that it was inedible. It says it's a red wine glace So I'm not sure if it wasn't reduced enough or what the issue was, but it was truly a terrible dish. The only thing that was actually good on that plate was the Yukon potato pave.. The short rib ragout was incredibly mediocre as well. The braised short rib was extremely, extremely tough. I had to saw through it with my knife. I have never had to saw through braised short rib in my entire life, typically you poke it with a fork and it basically falls apart. The pasta and sauce were fine, still nothing to rave about but they were not bad. I will say, their homemade ricotta that was on top of the pasta was absolutely delicious! It was literally the best thing we had there the entire night. Unfortunately, it was not enough to save our entire experience but it was good. We were so disgusted by our experience thus far that we decided to opt out for dessert. Originally we were going to get some but we refused to spend another dollar at this point and honestly, we were too nervous about it being another horrible dish so we decided not to risk it. All in all, I highly recommend not going to this place. I will say the staff was nice but the food is not And I would definitely not consider this a wonderful high-end meal. Save your money and go somewhere with a better chef and better...