Cellar Door Provisions

I really wanted to like Cellar Door. I've been looking forward to trying it since I moved to Chicago. So I was elated to grab a reservation on my birthday. Unfortunately, it just didn't live up to the hype. The good: The burger is a must order and was legitimately one of the best burgers I've ever had in my life. (After taking off the large piece of raw Fresno chili pepper that was inedibly spicy.) It's the only reason I gave this place two stars at all. The bad: The service was a little off for the price point. I asked to hear more about some menu items that didn't have descriptions, and our server didn't seem comfortable talking us through them. She basically just read the menu to us. She also didn't seem to know the wine list very well. I like natural wine, but the recommendation she gave didn't really fit the tasting I was told. (I was nervous and said it was fine, but we finished only about 3/4 of the bottle.) Also, two of us got butter knives in our silverware roll, and one person got a steak knife. So when our lamb arrived, we all had to share a steak knife. It was awkward. The ugly: Some of the dishes were almost inedible. The whole roasted onion sounded really exciting but was actually kind of raw. So I ended up with an upset stomach from crunching raw onion slices. (It also wasn't a whole onion's worth, but that's whatever.) We really tried to eat it but left most of it on the plate. The "grilled" mackerel was probably the biggest disappointment. You can see in the picture how big the $28 piece was, compared to the lemon slice. It was also very thin. Only the skin was grilled. The rest was smoked or preserved and so fishy it tasted unpleasant/off. And I love mackerel. We took a tiny taste and left the entire dish there. It seemed like there was only one server for the whole dining room. (Which was quiet but had a nice ambiance.) Some wine refills took several courses to arrive. We wanted to ask about taking the mackerel off our bill since we barely touched it, but it took so long to get our server's attention that we were running late and just needed to go. Our server moved the untouched dish out of the way to set down our bill, but didn't bother to ask why we were leaving with multiple plates of food and glasses of wine still left. Overall, it was a very disappointing $270 birthday meal. They didn't even mention my birthday, which isn't required but would be nice at that price point.

Tried a few new foods while here, lamb tongue and quail, both of which were very delicious. Food overall was fresh and well prepared. Very friendly staff. Place was busy, but felt tended to nonetheless. Appreciated the wine suggestions as well. Will come back again for special occasions!Place was simple yet cozy and inviting.

Would've been five stars if not for the very slow service that was a huge turn off at the end. But the food and ambiance were cinematically lovely. Think of those romantic movies where the two diners can speak and listen to each other at an effortless, conversational volume with the soft shuffling of chatter and tinkling of glasses in the background--that's what it sounds like at Cellar Door Provisions. Others have mentioned the small portion sizes. As a solo diner, I was recommended to order two items, but, as a big eater, I ordered four and didn't feel satisfied until finishing my last plate. Food was wonderful and beautifully crafted, nonetheless. As I mentioned, service got disappointingly slow at the end of my meal. I had planned to order dessert, but since my waiter was occupied for so long, I asked for the check instead.

I had been to this place pre-COVID for lunch and revisited for dinner. Despite the long time since my previous review, most of my comments still hold. Their bread is excellent, so is the vibe and service. But the food falls short, both on taste and on portions. They also only have organic wine, which I don't like - no proper wine at all. I have the same feeling as last time - great potential wasted.

Came here on a weekday but fell in love with the vibe immediately. The quail here is amazing!

If you're hipster and looking for an expensive glass of good wine with smiley service this is your place. If you're looking for dinner and appropriately priced drinks I do not recommend. I will never return. Many of the menu items were not available, when we finally landed on something they had, it took over 45 minutes from ordering to delivery at the table for the grilled watermelon dish.

first time and likely wont repeat. most of the food was good but in general everything was heavy, overpriced and had some misses. The leeks-tasty sauce but small portion and lots of grit from not washing the leeks enough which turned me off. the roasted beets had great flavor but skin on which was gross and leathery in the mouth. Salad had small bits of nuts which flavor wise would have been good but the nut were so small that it felt like grit. crudo was chewy with sinewy pieces. The cooked fish had lots of small bones. Water was slightly sparking but mostly flat. still had a nice night with the ladies but not a great foodie experience for us.

Excellent quality food in an intimate setting. I've been numerous times and it never disappoints!

The good: The vibes were cool, staff was very chic and cool, which I guess is a plus, lol. The bread and butter was great; scallop dish was genuinely beautiful and delicious, tuna dish was equally good. Interesting, fresh flavors that I haven't had elsewhere in the city. The panna cotta was also good.The bad: it was a sweltering day and there was either no AC or it wasn't strong enough to reach the dining room. I was looking forward to the pasta sfoglia but it was the mushiest, blandest pasta I've had in Chicago. The pappardelle sheets fell apart immediately in a flavorless, watery broth so the dish was resources to a soup of pasta bits and burrata. The peas seemed to be an afterthought and had no flavor. It tasted like overcooked pasta served in its under-salted cooking water. The ugly: The salad was dressed with such an intensely bitter dressing that it was inedible. My whole group wanted to share it but agreed that it was shockingly bad - like the bitter rind of grapefruit and too much acid. I don't think I've ever left a full dish uneaten at a restaurant before. I don't know how you mess up vinaigrette that bad. We put the salad on the edge of the table and the staff left it and left and only took it away once we asked them to - awkward. I've read other reviews about some dishes being inedible while other dishes were slam dunks, so, strange!

I came here because a friend recommended it and dined with 4 others. The moment we walked in we were met with poor ventilation, and hard to breathe fresh air. Apparently they missed the fact that the nose tastes the food. My hair and clothing left smelling like I worked in the kitchen. I was not prepared to eat portions that were not adequate for the price. I do not like super sized plates of food at all. But there needs to be a distinction btw appetizers, tapas-type, and main entrees. The tempura fried daikon tasted good but was it worth 17.00? NO! Maybe 8.00. It was also sitting on a bland mix of oil and white sauce. Not sure why it was sitting in a pool of oil when it's fried. The fried part wasnt particularly oily but it was sitting in the oil intentionally put on the plate. It tasted like you were eating crispy and oily batter. The worst of all was the quartered heirloom tomato that was merely sprinkled with salt and some pretentious gelee. 17.00. That to me was just saying to customers that you are an idiot if you order this and we will laugh at you It was literally ONE heirloom tomato for 17.00. That was just insulting and stupid. Dishes came out tapas style, so no one got their food at the same time. And they were delayed getting one of the menu items out. I didn't want to share my food. They need to state clearly on the menu that it is just either "for sharing", or "significantly small portions that you will need to order total of 3 dishes to feel satisfied". Everything was a small, single appetizer. I left hungry. The bread is not that great at all (8.00) and it came with sour butter. The bread was th most filling thing on the menu. They had a burger on the menu and not sure how big that would've been. No one at my table was raving about the food. The service was just ok due to poor timing of food at the table, but they were nice. The bread should be offered for free as an apology for the pathetic sized food. If you are well pocketed and like niche restaurants, and dont mind throwing money to the wind to leave feeling like you need a pizza, Im sure you will enjoy it. It's also in Logan Square, so it fits.