The Cellar Door

Food and service were excellent! Strawberry pineapple mojito was amazing!

Nice bartenders, good beer, and good food! Woo! They’ve always got some sort of live music going on and it’s such a cozy venue. My favorite part is that it doesn’t draw a douche-​y crowd ;)

Great dining experience — excellent food, excellent service.
My wife and daughter have food allergies, so I emailed ahead of time, and the proprietor, Richard, emailed me back and assured me they could take care of us. He was right, and the waiter had a copy of the email in his pocket, and Richard stopped by as well to make sure everything was handles properly.
Our waiter, Eric, was excellent– he listened, asked questions, checked with the kitchen, made sure everything was right. He was friendly without being overbearing — just right.
The tomato basil soup was terrific — bold flavors, this was not a tomato soup with a hint of basil, it was bright tomato and fresh basil flavors, delicious!
My daughter got the salmon (without the glaze) and LOVED it. I sampled it myself and it was excellent, flavorful and well cooked. She substituted fries for the rice pilaf and could not get enough of those either.
My wife ordered the roasted beet and goat cheese salad, and added chicken for a protein. The amount of beets, cheese, and chicken were all very generous, and she enjoyed it very much.
I had the steak, which was prepared just as I ordered it (medium), tender and juicy, with some authentic mashed potatoes, asparagus that had also been cooked nicely (not under or over), and a tasty sauce. My only mild disappointment was that the menu listed two sauces, an onion balsamic and a bordelaise, but I got them both combined. I love a good bordelaise sauce, and it was still good with the onion balsamic mixed in, but I would have preferred them separate (or without the onion balsamic). Nevertheless, I ate every bite and enjoyed it very much. I had a glass of Shiraz to go with it, which was also quite good — flavorful but not too peppery. I am no wine expert, but I know what I like.
The atmosphere was mostly pub casual, but they clearly can do fine dining as well. I may come back sometime to hang out at the bar (I don’t get the chance to do that often), and we certainly have added this to our list of great restaurants in Frederick.

I really enjoyed my time here! There was a Dj spinning music from the 90’s and 00’s (and some music from today) which made my time that much better! Even though the bar was packed, I still got service pretty fast. The bartenders are on top of their game and it’s amazing. The drinks are reasonably priced and the place was fairly clean. I’ll definitely be back!

Such a cool place with great people! We were celebrating a 21^st birthday so it didn’t necessarily match the vibe that we were looking for. We stayed for five mins and they gave us our cover back when we left. Such a great way to do business. We will definitely be back!

I had a great salmon salad for lunch. Our waiter was super attentive and nice. Great drink selection and food. Seems like a cool place to check out for drinks at night.

If you want a standing-​room-​only crowded bar with long waits, no room to move, and a tiny space with a band that’s too loud for you to hear the person next to you speaking, then this is the place to be. If you want to come here for dinner, make sure you eat before you leave the house. Don’t worry about your appetite, because you’ll be hungry again by the time they get around to serving you your food. (For what it’s worth, I haven’t been there in a few months, so the other reviews saying they’ve improved things might make it worth checking out. But I wouldn’t hold my breath.)

Place is okay. Food pretty good and loved the music. Not a lot of options and expensive for what it is

After my first experience and review, I was contacted by Cellar Door proprietor, Richard, who was deeply concerned by my negative experience. He did the right thing and asked me back after menu, staff and purveyor changes were made. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get it together to get to the restaurant until last night, and I am glad I gave it a second chance.
Immediately when we walked in, my husband and I noticed a positive shift in the ambiance. It felt less college dive bar and more casual family restaurant. I was so happy that there was no awkward audience-​centered live entertainment last night. I’m not sure if they have done away with the open mic type entertainment, or if it just wasn’t happening last night, but it was nice to eat in peace.
It was also immediately apparent that staff attention and professionalism were top notch. We were greeted upon arrival, seated promptly and our waitress, Lacey, was attentive and courteous. She took orders for drinks, then apps, then entrees and checked in regularly to see how our meal was going.
We ordered cocktails, which were pretty good. I had a bourbon sour that was definitely sour and not very sweet, but I like that in a drink so I was pleased. My husband got the stone wall which was sweet, but not overly so.
Because I had such a bad experience with the mussels the first time, I felt I needed to order them again to do a fair comparison. This time, the mussels were briney and fresh, without the rubber texture and chlorine taste they had last time. The broth was a white wine, fresh tomato and garlic base, rather than the tomato soup I had last time. It was great, and I even asked for more bread so I could enjoy as much broth as possible. My husband had the pork belly tacos as his app and they were awesome. They had a nice crispy outer crunch, and weren’t over-​seasoned so the natural, rich pork flavor came through. They were accompanied by fresh, crunchy garnishes and just the right amount of sauce.
For our entrees, I ordered the flat iron steak, which was cooked to perfection and tender. It came with a side of mashed potatoes, which were just okay, and fresh asparagus that still had a nice fresh crunch. Overall, my entrée was lovely and I ate almost my entire plate. My husband ordered a burger, which he thoroughly enjoyed with the hand cut fries.
I wish we had had room for dessert because the apps and entrees were clear indication that it would have been delicious!
I was really impressed by my second chance visit to the Cellar Door, and was pleased to meet Richard in person. It’s a place I’d be willing to go back to again.

I really like the setting of this bar. Out of the way. The food is absolutely on point. However, the icing on the cake is definitely the service. Joan is my favorite. Her personality and care is superb. Worth stopping in just to see her.

Stumbled on The Cellar Door for lunch with a friend, and I’m so glad we found it! We ordered from the brunch menu – we both got the veggie omelet and it did not disappoint. I had the side of cheesy grits and they were super yummy :) I adored the ambiance – lots of stone and wood and pillows. It was super cozy and I definitely want to come back sometime to check out their bar scene. The waitress Isabel was very attentive and kept our water glasses full. We were looking for a little home-​in-​the wall for lunch and couldn’t have stumbled on a better one!

Agree with Unilocaler Viking P. Service makes this place exceptional. Being an out-​of-​towner my wife and i stopped in for a drink on Oct 30 abt. 3pm (giving the date because for the life of me I can’t remember the bartenders name). Anyway I just wanted a glass of wine so we sat at the bar.
The place is very nicely decorated and it gives off a very comfortable vib. Bartender explained it was once a bank and she pointed out the old vault which is now an office. Had conversation about surrounding area and she mentioned a couple of high end restaurants. Exceptionally friendly and made us feel like locals.

I was at The Cellar Door on thursday. My bartender Joan was amazing. I never was without beverage and she was knowledgeable about the menu and pairings for my food and beverages. I will definitely be back to see Joan.

Service makes a place!
Was in on Thursday and liked the place, but Joan took it to the next level for our group.
Fun, personable and professional! If only all bartenders in this town were as good!

Went here for drinks and the atmosphere was awesome. Best bartenders ever and very fast and good customer service. Huge glasses of wine.

What happened to this place? This was my most recomended place in Frederick. Tonight was awful. There was maybe three other people at the bar and the bartender acted like we were bothering him. We had to ask for a menu and then he didn’t come back until we had finished our drinks at which point we were over the entire place. I don’t know what to do but I’m really sad by what happened tonight.

I came here a few nights ago with my husband and another couple. The atmosphere is cool– you are literally in a cellar, but they did a great job with the décor and it’s fun to be «underground» in downtown Frederick.
The food was OK. Typical bar food. Nothing blew me away, but it also pretty decent. There is nothing vegetarian on the menu that could really be considered a meal, though. My big complaint was that our waitress and the greeter were both super grumpy. I’m talking borderline unacceptable. We all kind of looked at each other as the waitress slammed things down on the table. Maybe she was having a bad night? It was pretty busy.
I’d be willing to come here again and see if the service is better. It’s in a great location and has a fun atmosphere.

We came in for dinner last night to take part in Frederick Restaurant Week. This place is really small and, as you probably can imagine, in a cellar. There were exposed bricks and beams, red (p)leather and plush pillows abound. There are maybe 10 tables in the dining room and a short bar with a handful of high tops sprinkled around it. A couple of flat screen TVs are situated near the bar. There’s also a small stage where they were having comedy night on Sunday (we left just before they got started). The atmosphere was really chill. When we arrived around 6, we were seated right away and the host pretty much gave us the pick of any table.
Our waitress was friendly and attentive. I got an appetizer (goat cheese fritters) and an entré (stuffed chicken Chesapeake), and hubby got an entré (MD crabcake) and dessert (chocolate bread pudding). We split the app and dessert. Unfortunately, we didn’t take photos because the presentation of every dish was really lovely. Kind of surprising because although I liked the atmosphere, it was borderline dive-​y. The food tasted even better that it looked. The only bad thing about our meals is that I wish there had been MORE. And the hush-​puppies. Those weren’t very good. Anyway, I left feeling very much satisfied, but not stuffed. Which I guess is how you’re supposed to feel but I’m an American, dammit, and I want to be gluttonous when I go out to eat. And the rest of the time.
Although it’s a relatively short list, this is one of the best places I’ve eaten in Frederick.
Bottom line: I would gladly come back here.

Love Sunday nights with the comics, great time, lots of laughs!

LOVE this place! It may seem odd to walk down steps and into a basement like space and you might want to turn around and run the other direction but don’t! My fiancé and I have been here several times and have brought friends. We went here on a whim the first time and that was over a year ago! The atmosphere is cool though it can get a bit loud.
The food is very good. Our favorite thing to get is the «Cellar Burger» at least I think that is the name of it. It is everything that a burger should be and that other burgers wish they were. It is topped with cheese, mushrooms and onions not to mention lettuce, tomatoes and pickles. Their fries are also really good… you won’t want to stop eating them.
My fiancé took me here after he proposed to me and we had a lovely dinner as the only couple on the stage and they surprised us with dessert to say congratulations! We loved the staff before they did that. The waiters and waitresses are friendly and personable and you can tell love their jobs.