The Cellar Bistro: User Reviews

Great wine list
By Raven from western suburb, August 30, 2009

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I was here yesterday with a girl friend who recommended it. the wine list is great. We ordered the crab cake salad which I was not impressed about. It really looked unappealing to me. the crabs were on tomato slices with mixed greens and garnished with tortillas..yes tortilla! yuck.not a good combo. Next we ordered the salmon which was overly cooked but good taste and it came with asparagus which was overly cooked tasted great with the polenta which was the best i;ve ever tasted! for dessert we had the brownie with ice cream which was mediocre. I must say the ambiance is very romantic and pleasing to the eye.

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bad food, uncaring service
By LG from west suburbs of Chicago, November 12, 2008

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I had the paella special, which was first described incorrectly, and then when it was served, it had clearly spent too much time under a broiler. The mussles were burnt and crispy! The top layer of rice and the top of the shrimp were crunchy hard. The server offered to have the dish re-made, and when it came out a few minutes (waaay too quickly), all the kitchen did was replace the mussles. The rice was burned on where it was touching the paella dish!

The server/bartender didn't comp the dish or anything else, and it was too late for me to care at the time, but once I give away my money to a place that clearly doesn't care, I won't go back.

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PERFECT
By angel87 from wheaton, August 27, 2008

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I have to say that I love the Bistro! I have been impressed by the service and the food each time that I have gone. The bistro is a place to unwind, relax, and share time over great organic food and a bottle of wine, and each time that I am able to visit the restaurant, that is exactly what I've been able to do. The food is obviously made fresh on the spot (no pre- packaged food found here! Which explains the time necessary to prepare and serve the food, it's not McDonald's!) and is always nicely presented. I also appreciate their focus on organic, all natural, and free range foods, meats and wines! I've been able to meet the owners, and their attitude has been nothing but hospitable and welcoming. Their passion and determination has certainly paid off! The servers have always been timely, and helpful. My favorite dishes would have to be the spinach dip, the mushroom brie soup, and the pear salad... all so tasty!! Overall I give The Cellar Bistro a very high rating! It's just what we've needed in Wheaton!

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Not very impressed
By Chris from Glen Ellyn, July 28, 2008

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While this place looked new and exciting, the wine and food was really just adequate. For a place specializing in wine, we would have expected a more robust wine list. There were limited wines by the glass, and no option offered to sample a tasting of several - like a wine flight. Some of the food was excellent, some of it poor. The service was a little tenative, our server seemed very hurried and there was more than enough staff for the place - the was only half full on a Saturday night. While the interior is beautifully decorated, the place needs to improve in order for us to be drawn back.

C&B, Glen Ellyn, IL

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I would have been better off eating at Trader Joes!
By samarims from Naperville, July 23, 2008

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Ok, if I wanted to eat at Trader Joe's I would bring along a folding table. This was the equivalent dining experience. The packaged cheeses, meats, olives, red peppers (come on, at least roast your own!) were bland and Aldi quality (not even Trader Joe's). The pizza had lousy mozarella (get the real stuff please). Eating at Sam's Wine and Liquors would rate two times better than this based on the quality. A fitting bland place for the town. I'm sorry but Metromix needs to do a better job screening posters if they can honestly give this place a review over 1 star...

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great!
By jessjessbest from suburbs, April 1, 2008

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Our service was fantastic. She recommended a wine from each group in the wine list and talked us into trying her favorite, the shiraz. It was fantastic! The food was amazing. She recommended the burgers and the beef sirloin and they were so delicious. The only thing that we were not happy about was the amount of time that we waited for our drinks. The bartender/waitress was spending most of her time gabbing with tables and was not behind the bar. She was a little unprofessional towards our guests while they were waiting at the bar for us to show up. The ambiance was a plus and the other employees were a treat. Just fine tune the bar service. Highly recommend to try the bistro!

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Finally: ORGANICS!!
By TheHungryHeifer from Chicagoland, March 17, 2008

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Had dinner at The Cellar the other night for a friend's birthday. Am SO glad we went. Was SO psyched to see that they use organic food whenever possible (even some organic wines, too); AND they buy from local producers. What a cool idea ~ and what a great way to support local businesses while reducing your "carbon footprint!" And on TOP of that, the food was freakin' phenomenal! I don't know who's cooking back there, but they can come over to my house ANY time!

I guess I don't mind paying a little more for food that's organic and not full of chemicals, and that is homemade, not frozen and shipped in from God-knows-where. I just want to know: Can I get my own parking space?

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Disappointed
By TheLittleOwl from Glen Ellyn, February 26, 2008

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My husband and I went to the Cellar Bistro on a weekend night around 8pm. It was a full house and a waitstaff or hostess tried to squish us into a corner at the bar next to a couple with a baby who was tucked into the end of the bar. The hostess/waitress had no idea what she was doing because one of the seats she gave us was already taken. Then she tried to squeeze us into a spot for one person. Terrible service. But the ambiance looked lovely.

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Not getting any better
By DF60137 from western subs, February 15, 2008

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We've been there four times and they still can't work out their kinks. Servers are absolutely untrained and unprofessional. There was a gap of three months in our last 2 visits, and I was surprised to see the same two inexperienced waitresses still working there. Food is inconsistent. On our last time, the restaurant was almost empty and it still took 20 minutes to get a bottle of wine.

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$18 mini-burgers. Yes, $18.
By VictorW67 from Naperville, February 2, 2008

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Great atmosphere and the service was pretty good. The mini burgers were recommended by the server. We also had the cheese and prosciutto appetizer and a pizza. The four mini-burgers were tasty although a little too salty. If they were prime-grade, you'd never be able to tell because they were overcooked. The appetizer was very good and the pizza above average. Total bill before tip - $53. (We had one drink each.)

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