Our first time dining at Cellar Door Provisions, and unfortunately, what still stands out is the poor service we received during our dinner. We were seated at the bar, ordered drinks, and let the gentleman taking our order know my wife is vegetarian and that we would only be sharing the smaller dishes, since my larger main dish was with meat. There was no adequate spacing of time to enjoy each smaller dish we ordered, since they came out within a couple of minutes of each other, but was more surprised that my wife's larger main dish arrived within a couple of minutes after receiving our third smaller dish. I let our server know (once we got his attention) we were still enjoying the smaller dishes and my wife was not ready for her larger main dish. I also mentioned, that our larger main dishes we would like to receive them at the same time. To my surprise, our server was perplexed and in disagreement with what I said, and said, this is the way they serve their food. I reminded him that my wife is vegetarian and that I had mentioned to him earlier that we were not sharing our larger main dishes, and that we also wanted to finish eating our smaller dishes. We wanted to order another round of drinks, but it was difficult to get someone's attention even though we were seated at the bar. After receiving my wife's glass of wine, it took almost 10 minutes to receive my drink, and only after I mentioned to our server I had not received it. The service continued to be awful, when we received our check before receiving our desserts. In total, we were at the restaurant for about an hour, so didn't agree with us being rushed. The food and drinks at Cellar Door Provisions was good (not great) but not worth it when the service felt rushed, lacking focus, and inattentive.
Saifullah
Excellent experiences, always a good choice, always a new menu, and wonderful service. One of the best culinary experiences in Chicago.
Elissa
Our sever was so bad it made the food not worth the price. Ambiance is nice but I don't think we will be back, there are so many other places in the city that have both quality service and food.
John Paul
Food was average at best but the service was brutal. It seemed like our server left midway through our meal and I had to ask how to pay.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Faruq
I had heard good things about this place but unfortunately the food and service were surprisingly below expectation.
Richard
Each dish seems personally prepared and the service was welcoming. The intimate and warm setting completes the experience.
Ian
Cubby and Miguel were fantastic—attentive, friendly, and on top of everything. Our group sampled the whole menu, and the standouts were the ravioli and the hanger steak. Don't skip dessert: the cookie crumble with ice cream was delicious. Warm and welcoming atmosphere with great staff.
laura
Amazing food and drink as usual! I so enjoy the creative combinations in the menu offerings.
Esther
Food was great! We tried most of the menu and loved that it was so vegetable forward yet delicious. I especially enjoyed the sprouted bread. The texture was everything. Dessert was not very good. The not so good: Service was quite slow to start. Once we got our food, the pacing was perfect. But we had to wait a long time for our drink order and then a long time after that to order our food. We had reservations for the chef's counter. It was so cool to see the food being prepared and to ask the chef questions. There were no backs on the chair stools which were quite uncomfortable for a $300 meal. It seems like a small price to make the experience way better for patrons.
Jake
Always a refreshing and creative experience. CDP has been a joy to see continue to flourish and keep getting better. A treat for our city.
Beautiful place, and great intentions... that can't always be met. Service is efficient but mixed in terms of friendliness. We noticed everyone else except our server seemed extremely well-suited for the role. Food was decent — some highs and some lows. A good place for a nice experiment or a lovely date, and definitely hit up the amazing bottle shop next door.
John
Every dish was excellent. Service was efficient and unobtrusive. Extremely high food value for the price.
Justine
Dinner was wonderful. The wine list was interesting and reasonable. The panna cotta was sublime. I would go for the bread alone.
Inkspot
Charming and intimate, perfect for a date night. Sitting at the chef’s counter was a highlight; it was fun to watch the kitchen in action, and the chef was friendly and engaging. The agnolotti, burger, and panna cotta with olive oil were standouts, and the wine selection was spot-on. The applewood smoked Cylindra beets were fine but not especially memorable, and the chocolate cake didn’t quite shine. Overall, a lovely experience we’d gladly repeat.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Joe
Simply one of the absolute best dining experiences you will find in Chicago. Quintessential neighborhood creativity, attention to detail, thoughtful.
Our first time dining at Cellar Door Provisions, and unfortunately, what still stands out is the poor service we received during our dinner. We were seated at the bar, ordered drinks, and let the gentleman taking our order know my wife is vegetarian and that we would only be sharing the smaller dishes, since my larger main dish was with meat. There was no adequate spacing of time to enjoy each smaller dish we ordered, since they came out within a couple of minutes of each other, but was more surprised that my wife's larger main dish arrived within a couple of minutes after receiving our third smaller dish. I let our server know (once we got his attention) we were still enjoying the smaller dishes and my wife was not ready for her larger main dish. I also mentioned, that our larger main dishes we would like to receive them at the same time. To my surprise, our server was perplexed and in disagreement with what I said, and said, this is the way they serve their food. I reminded him that my wife is vegetarian and that I had mentioned to him earlier that we were not sharing our larger main dishes, and that we also wanted to finish eating our smaller dishes. We wanted to order another round of drinks, but it was difficult to get someone's attention even though we were seated at the bar. After receiving my wife's glass of wine, it took almost 10 minutes to receive my drink, and only after I mentioned to our server I had not received it. The service continued to be awful, when we received our check before receiving our desserts. In total, we were at the restaurant for about an hour, so didn't agree with us being rushed. The food and drinks at Cellar Door Provisions was good (not great) but not worth it when the service felt rushed, lacking focus, and inattentive.
Excellent experiences, always a good choice, always a new menu, and wonderful service. One of the best culinary experiences in Chicago.
Our sever was so bad it made the food not worth the price. Ambiance is nice but I don't think we will be back, there are so many other places in the city that have both quality service and food.
Food was average at best but the service was brutal. It seemed like our server left midway through our meal and I had to ask how to pay.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
I had heard good things about this place but unfortunately the food and service were surprisingly below expectation.
Each dish seems personally prepared and the service was welcoming. The intimate and warm setting completes the experience.
Cubby and Miguel were fantastic—attentive, friendly, and on top of everything. Our group sampled the whole menu, and the standouts were the ravioli and the hanger steak. Don't skip dessert: the cookie crumble with ice cream was delicious. Warm and welcoming atmosphere with great staff.
Amazing food and drink as usual! I so enjoy the creative combinations in the menu offerings.
Food was great! We tried most of the menu and loved that it was so vegetable forward yet delicious. I especially enjoyed the sprouted bread. The texture was everything. Dessert was not very good. The not so good: Service was quite slow to start. Once we got our food, the pacing was perfect. But we had to wait a long time for our drink order and then a long time after that to order our food. We had reservations for the chef's counter. It was so cool to see the food being prepared and to ask the chef questions. There were no backs on the chair stools which were quite uncomfortable for a $300 meal. It seems like a small price to make the experience way better for patrons.
Always a refreshing and creative experience. CDP has been a joy to see continue to flourish and keep getting better. A treat for our city.
Restaurantji Recommends
Beautiful place, and great intentions... that can't always be met. Service is efficient but mixed in terms of friendliness. We noticed everyone else except our server seemed extremely well-suited for the role. Food was decent — some highs and some lows. A good place for a nice experiment or a lovely date, and definitely hit up the amazing bottle shop next door.
Every dish was excellent. Service was efficient and unobtrusive. Extremely high food value for the price.
Dinner was wonderful. The wine list was interesting and reasonable. The panna cotta was sublime. I would go for the bread alone.
Charming and intimate, perfect for a date night. Sitting at the chef’s counter was a highlight; it was fun to watch the kitchen in action, and the chef was friendly and engaging. The agnolotti, burger, and panna cotta with olive oil were standouts, and the wine selection was spot-on. The applewood smoked Cylindra beets were fine but not especially memorable, and the chocolate cake didn’t quite shine. Overall, a lovely experience we’d gladly repeat.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Simply one of the absolute best dining experiences you will find in Chicago. Quintessential neighborhood creativity, attention to detail, thoughtful.
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