The Cellar Door Bistro

Wow. Waiter was arrogant and inattentive and the food was mediocre and for the $ was very disappointing. Steak was bland and Pizza was flavorless it would’ve been better to go to planet up the street. I suggest you go anywhere else before here. Waste of money and time to sit at this place. Only thing sort of MAYBE decent was calamari and sides that came with steak. But even the drinks were just ok and expensive. Will not be returning to this place there are soooo many other options !

Excellent food and service, staff is always very accommodating and friendly. The specials are typically very good as are the martinis. Darlene is an excellent waitress, ask for her.

Not worth the money! This is the most over-​priced and unsatisfactory restaurant I have ever been to. The steaks were not good, the wine was terribly over-​priced and the service was nothing to rave out. If you want a great meal for the money, go to Bernards!

We love the Cellar Door Bistro and feel that their steaks are the best we’ve had outside of our favorite places in NYC! The staff is excellent and we always enjoy our time and food here. I’m giving it one less star for consistency, but that’s only because I am a very tough critic. It’s a bit pricey, as with most Ridgefield Restaurants, or we’d eat here much more often, but we leave The Cellar Door feeling very well fed and happy.

I especially enjoy sitting in the lovely bar area for lunch or dinner. The food is fresh and I have always been pleased. The diners tend to be better dressed than typical of Ridgefield. The bartenders are amazing, and the other staff are pleasant and effective.

The bar scene is excellent but crowded and loud. The food is unimaginative and average. Pizza is above average and flavorful. Service tries to be more than adequate but fails. Beef prices are high unusually high.

A good thing is now far better. Cellar Door’s steaks are outstanding — and I’m a steak guy. But most of all «Happy Hour» has returned to a logical time of 4:30 — 6:30. I’m sure that makes many happier than the inexplicable 8:30−10 slot.

The Cellar is the perfect spot for any occasion ! Drinks, dinner, lunch or pizza to go! Staff is friendly and welcoming, they treat us like family, my kids love it. Food is wonderful, never had a bad meal or bad service. We eat out a lot and find it difficult to decide with so many choices. The Cellar is always a sure thing for me and my family.

Let me start with this review by stating a few facts:
1) i’m not particularly price-​sensitive, as long as what I’m paying for is good
2) this review is of a take-​out order
3) I realize that Ridgefield is not the culinary capital of America, and I adjust for that fact in my reviews
So, I just stopped by this place and perused the lovely menu. How exciting, a steakhouse here in Ridgefield! Why hadn’t I discovered it before?
I ordered the ribeye. Then I took a seat at the lovely bar. I was surprised to find it completely empty. Perhaps it’s because it’s a holiday weekend. Surely
people must usually enjoy this place…
Anyway, I’ll save you all the drama and skip to the outcome. The steak tasted good — the 6 ounces of it that was edible. But it was primarily big glob of fat. It wasn’t secret, hidden fat — it was evident from the moment I looked at it, that this was three bites of steak surrounded by a massive bolus of translucent bovine cellulite.
$ 59. For the takeout steak, no sides. With the two veggie sides I added, my bill was over $ 75. For one person. Take out. In Ridgefield. Oh, no sauce with the steak. None offered, none provided.
What am I missing here? I’m typing this hungry after a $ 75+ takeout meal.
Ok. I think you get the point.

Love this place… my go to in town for italian food. Love the bar and the atmosphere, and rosie, Chrissy and Bess are always friendly and attentive… great spot in town

A less than mediocre, wannabe Italian restaurant. Staff is arrogant, and the waiters are amateurs. The «wood-​fired pizza oven is really propane-​fired, and the pizza is dry with sauce that tastes like catsup rather than pizza sauce.

Really enjoyed our recent visit. Sat at the bar and had cocktails and a few items from the menu. The Cobb Salad was great, the shrimp appetizer was good, though it was obvious the shrimp was previously frozen. The beignets for dessert were fantastic! The service was very good and we were well attended to. The scene was lively and loud, which we liked. Overall a good experience, we’ll definitely be back again soon.

Ugh. I don’t want to not like this place! This is the third time I have «tried it again» in the last 6 months. Sadly — I’m giving up.
First — the place is cool. Great bar. Great set up. Very cool, stylish and comfortable. The ambiance is very good. It can get a little loud — but if you’re not looking for super quiet — it’s ok. They have a decent cocktail menu but there is not enough care put into the drinks. They could do much better.
The service is also exceptional. I’ve never had any complaints about the staff. They try so hard and I really appreciate their efforts.
The issue is the food. Sadly — the main reason we all go to restaurants. They try to come off as high end swanky — but something is missed.
Started with the Caesar salad. It was just ok. For $ 12+ salad it wasn’t worth it. We also had the tomato soup — that was much better.
For an entrée — the waiter sold me on the rib eye special. So elegant the way he described it — big, juicy with a Gorgonzola cream sauce. Creamed spinach, vine ripened tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms and onions to top it off — a for only $ 35 — sign me up.
Then it comes. The steak is about the thickness and size of what you would get for $ 10 at a diner. I don’t order steaks at diners. The creamed spinach is about a table spoon and its inside the hollowed out vine ripened tomato. The Gorgonzola cheese sauce — is under the steak. Yes — under. Not sure why. The sautéed mushrooms were hard to find. The onions were those breaded ones from a can. Ugh.
To top it all off — I take my first bite. The steak was cooked perfectly — points for that. My very first bite included an 8″ long black hair. One of those that’s in your mouth before you see it. I want to gag just writing this.
I have to give the wait staff and manager credit. I think they picked up on the fact that I wasn’t enjoying my meal. They kept coming over and asking how everything was. I didn’t complain. Only because I’ve complained every-​time I’ve gone there and I just didn’t want to do it this time. I didn’t want them to take it off the bill — I just want this place to be good.
Overall — great staff — great ambiance — meh food — over priced for what you get. There are better options at this price point in Ridgefield.

We each ordered a drink and two appetizers to share. Both appetizers were large portions but both were disappointing. The fried calamari was frozen with a heavy coating. Equally disappointing was the Mariana sauce that was watery and tasteless. We asked for Tabasco sauce to spice it up. If this dish had been served free I would not have eaten it but since we paid for it, I did eat it. The meatball appetizer was very large but again extremely disappointing in taste. This time I did not eat it all. The ambiance was very nice and service good but based on these two appetizers, I will not go back.

Had the smoked trout salad which is a work of art and at $ 15 a full meal as it has potatoes in it. Wife had a special arugula pizza. Good but not great. Friends had giant and I do mean giant prawns which are spectacular and sushi which was high quality tuna if ton a bit plain. Wine and beer selection was solid. This is my second visit. First visit I had to return my overcooked hamburger. Stick to seafood at this place and you will be amazed. Expect to pay between $ 40 and $ 60 per person

14 of us celebrated a friend’s birthday party and it was outstanding! Excellent pizza and bruschetta and shrimp appetizers! Fabulous mains and scrumptious desserts! Outstanding cooking by Olivier and the ultimate in gracious service from Bes! Thank you for a truly memorable evening.

Just for drinks before a show. Bartenders do keep up with the crowd. Great Deco and the food looks good. I’ve had better dirty martinis though.

The Cellar Door Bistro is Italian food with just the right amount of American fusion. Short rib ravioli? Check. Risotto with pan seared scallops? Check. Wood fired pizza? Check mate. This is great food for moderate prices that would be ideal for a night out with the family before seeing a movie. Have some wine and go nuts on the appetizers. They are inexpensive and concurrently generous. It is definitely a solid choice and I would not second guess going here at all. One last thing: the staff is superb.

When I am in the area, The Cellar Bar Bistro is the place to be!
The restaurant has a great modern, trendy atmosphere without feeling too clubby. The tables are nicely spaced so that I did not feel like I was sitting at the table with the party next to me. Its a great spot to go for a date-​night, girls-​night, or even family night as there were plenty of children there as well. They have a cozy, wood-​burning oven which is part of the reason for staying as long as we did.
The main attraction of the evening was the pizza. Perfect, crispy, thin crust with great quality cheese and a deliciously savory sauce. I had the vegetarian pizza and it had more flavor than I even anticipated! The drinks were great as well and didn’t make me feel like I was drinking overpriced «juice».
If I had room for dessert I would have had some. However, after dinner I was busting at the seams. The dessert I saw coming out of the kitchen looked so darn yummy tho so I must return to try it.
Also worthy of mention is the FANTASTIC service that we received. I never had to ask for a water refil– And trust me, I am a camel! The waitress was super attentive and friendly and that alone is enough reason for me to return.

The Cellar Door opened about three weeks ago, and I have to say, I’m quite impressed.
Though I do admittedly have an atypical perspective on the matter. It was my 30^th birthday, and I decided I wanted to orchestrate a Ridgefield bar crawl for my friends and I. Indeed, we were a motley crew of TWENTY-​FIVE. It was getting late, and some of the typical favorites like The Ancient Mariner and The Corner Pub had inexplicably closed… But The Cellar Door was still open!
We piled in, and before long, we were the only ones in the restaurant… though 25 patrons do a pretty nice job of filling up a bar area.
Since there was only one bartender, the owner jumped in to help out with the sudden unexpected surge of business. It was clear that he was keeping the place open later so he could accommodate all of us. A truly savvy businessman indeed.
From what I can remember: the décor was very elegant, the bar area was very cool, and the pizza we ordered was EXCELLENT. Sorta New-​Haven style, with a crispy crust, high quality cheese, and tasty toppings. The service was also very good considering the madhouse we turned this place into for a few hours :).
So, while I cannot comment on the typical dinner-​for-​two experience at The Cellar Door, it is clear that these guys are off to the right start. They have put together a very pleasant dining environment, backed it up with excellent food, and cemented it with genuine restaurant-​industry hard work.
I look forward to returning for a more common, and more SOBER dining experience with family or friends.