The Cellar Bistro is my favorite Italian restaurant in Seattle
I have talked about the Cellar Bistro before, but last night we had such a great experience there I thought I should discuss it.
First of all, the Cellar Bistro is relatively new. The owner, Ken, seems intent on making it a nice, friendly place that is good for families but also for romantic dinners. He makes it work because of the physical layout of the restaurant: Four rooms lead back from the main entry, and each room has a modicum of privacy and intimacy that adds to the atmosphere. This layout allows you to stick a loud, unruly group all the way in the back so the quiet couples can sit in the front without being disturbed quite so much. I’ve been part of the group and one half of the quiet couple, so I definitely appreciate this structure.
Second, the food is excellent, particularly for the price. I had the gnocchi carbonara last night and it was delicious, as always: plenty of bacon, nice rich sauce that doesn’t overpower the delicacy of the gnochhi, and so on. The risotto basilica is a tremendous dish, too: pesto, garlic, light cream, chicken, pecans…wow! I can never finish that one, and I wouldn’t want to because I love taking the other half home for the next day. I have only ever had one disappointing meal, and they removed that entree from the menu quickly thereafter (it was an odd sort of seafood thing that didn’t quite make the cut, but their other seafood entrees are great). I have probably tried 50-60% of the things on the menu, and they are all terrific.
Third, it’s worth mentioning the prices again. For $10-$15, you can get many different types of pasta, with many different types of sauces, plus soup or salad, plus fresh bread with homemade herb-infused olive oil. In Seattle, that’s a good deal, and that’s after their prices went up recently to reflect their popularity. Plus, I get a special corporate discount, so I always receive a free entree. That’s particularly hard to beat.
Finally, the service is usually great. We have a specific waitress who knows what to bring for my fiance, who has lots of odd food allergies. That waitress makes our experience at the Cellar wonderful every time because, before she asks for it, my fiance has a Diet Coke and a Caesar salad…and, being a creature of habit, my fiance loves that sort of attentiveness.
So, four of us went last night. Three of us ordered Diet Coke because, hey, it was hot and I didn’t think anyone else would join me if I ordered wine. Ken came by after a few minutes; the ensuing conversation went like this:
“Hey Alex! Good to see you…uhh, are you drinking soda pop? Why no wine??”
“Yeah, uhh, I don’t know.”
“Well, that’s no good. Let me treat you to a bottle of wine. Your choice.”
“Thank you very much! But that’s quite a dangerous offer, you know.”
“Ahh, try me!”
“Hmm, okay…well, uhh…what about an Amarone?”
“Ha ha ha! No. We only have one. Try again, anything else is fair game.”
“How about a basic Valpolicella?”
“Now that I can do…hang on a minute.”
Ken took off to get a bottle of wine as we all stared at each other. Free wine? How can you not love that?
Ken returned with his bottle of Amarone just to show it to me, but he also brought over the bottle we would all be sharing: a 2003 Zenato Ripassa Valpolicella Superiore. A quick Internet search reveals a store price range of $18-$30 for this wine, so it’s a good restaurant wine for sure. We loved it…nice and fruity, with cherry and subtle tobacco aromas and flavors.
So there you have it! We all loved the wine and I know I’d look for it again. I’m also tempted to bring in another good bottle of wine soon so Ken can give it a try. I had brought a Paolo Scavino Barolo once before, so the precedent exists….