Cellar Door

Well worth the year long wait, Cellar Door is a fantastic experience. Join the email list enjoy some fantastic food and meet 8 strangers and possibly make some new friends. Everything you eat and drink is locally sourced and you’ll know exactly where your food comes from. Gary and Logan are fantastic they make you feel at home and you’ll love them just as much as the food they create.

My wife and I started going to the supper club off and on for about the past 2 years and we’ve loved every minute of it. Whether it’s the décor of the «club» or the environment on and around the table, each experience has left us longing for more.
The ingredients used are fresh and unique. The meals are well made and methodical. The company has always been great. Both Logan and Gary provide you with a feeling of comfort as well as a thorough education in their culinary and mixology expertise.
This is a must-​go for individuals or couples who love to try great food in a unique setting. I have found it as a fun community for San Diegans who love food as well as conversation.
Five Stars — always

I’ve been to Cellar Door dinners and pop-​up picnics both, then asked Logan and Gary create food and drinks for a special celebration. They created cocktails and appetizers so perfectly prepared and paired. They wow and amaze every time — true culinary artistry and also the most adorable couple ever. LOVE cellar door + can’t recommend them enough.

My boyfriend and I booked a 10-​person private party as a combined x-​mas gift for our parents and we had THE most wonderful time! Unfortunately, we had a couple of last-​minute guest changes but Logan and Gary were SO accommodating, they even sent me home with a to-​go meal for my boyfriend, who had gotten sick that morning.
As you can see from other reviews: the food is incredible, the hosts are lovely, and the experience is unforgettable!
We can’t wait to go back so he can experience the Cellar Door, too! :)

I love multi-​course tasting menus and the freedom they give the chef to wow and transport the diners with their vision. My husband and I have had some truly spectacular experiences with these types of special meals at restaurants all over the world. Our dinner last night with Logan and Gary was right up there with other legendary meals, and I’m sure we will be telling all our friends about it. If you are a foodie you MUST visit this hidden gem in our home town!!!
Even though it is a fixed menu and a tiny venue the team accommodated me with tasty non-​alcoholic beverages paired beautifully with the menu so I didn’t feel like I was missing out on anything.

What I won’t do is drivel on in excruciating minutia about each of the six vegan courses we enjoyed.
What I will say, is that I have never experienced such a thoughtfully prepared meal with absolutely perfect beverage pairings, all composed (down to the china, glassware, and custom menu) with great care!
Ten strangers — from a dental hygienist to a tattoo artist to a research scientist to two accountants, an acupuncturist, an architect, a musician, a sales manager and an animator — joining together to break bread and chat on random subjects with such civility and sense friendship — was down right heartwarming.
Logan and Gary are at the top of their collective games — kudos — and thank you for a wonderful pre-​Christmas dinner experience, it really got us in a festive mood. I hope we’re lucky enough to be selected to return in 2015.

Why cant I give Logan & Gary a million stars?
This is by far, the most wonderful, enjoyable, and priceless dining experience I have ever had.
If you have the opportunity and privilege to not only meet them, but eat and drink their magical creations, please do not hesitate to do so.

Wow. 100% wow.
This is such a great dining experience. I feel like Cellar Door brings back the «art» of dining; sitting down with 8 or 9 complete strangers, having great conversation, and enjoying an epic, home cooked meal from people who really care about what they’re putting in front of you.
I was lucky enough to get in for a nice Sunday lunch.
The menu:
— Grilled braised octopus with olive oil and lemon. My first experience with octopus, and a very pleasant one.
— Salad with pickled blueberries, marcona almonds and home-​made ricotta cheese and a champagne citrus vinaigrette. Light, thoughtful, and that home-​made ricotta is the stuff dreams are made of.
— Seafood stew with a rich tomato based sauce, rice, mussels, bay scallops, cod, prawns, and spicy Hungarian sausage (oh and harissa sauce to mix in). Balanced, flavorful, and full of perfectly cooked seafood. Another first experience here with mussels, which were not at all chewy!
— Possibly the best pumpkin pie I’ve ever had (with a toasted hazelnut crust).
Our cocktail pairings included a champagne elderflower cocktail and about half a bottle (or more) of their house made table white. I ended up buying a bottle of Beaujolais to take home… fantastic. These people can do everything!
If you’re a foodie in San Diego… figure it out and get a seat at this table.

First time at cellar door after hearing so much about it. Definitely won’t be my last. 6-​courses each paired with their own unique cocktail.
It all started out with duck tongue. The drink paired was aptly named «zombie». Pretty much 4 different rums and absinthe. Tasted amazing. The duck tongue with the sauce was great. The sauce was so good I drank it straight.
Next was cauliflower topped with bottarga, some type of fish roe, and it tasted so wholesome. I guess if I had to describe it, it would be umami. The drink was absinthe and champagne. Went really well together.
After that was Octopus. It was blanced, braised, grilled for like 5 hrs total. Had chili flakes on top. Beyond amazing. The softest octopus I’ve ever had. The drink went really well with it. Had a nice citrus taste.
Then we had frog legs which were cooked french style in butter. Butter always makes it better. The drink was a mix of orange juice, some type of campari like drink, and rosemary liquor or something. It went really well with the frog leg.
Next it was squid ink pasta with clams. The squid ink pasta was beyond good. Not fishy at all. Just right. The owner of hand of god winery was there too. He provided his own wine for us to drink with this. It paired really well with the subtle heat of the pepper flakes.
Then finally for dessert was a bay leaf panna cotta with black salt. I’ve never knew what bay leaf itself tasted like. Now I know! Tasted almost like lavender! The drink was a scotch/​vermouth/​cherry mix. It was fabulous.
I have to say there was not a thing bad about this dinner. The experience was amazing and the people we were eating with were a blast. You meet so many amazing people here.

I blog about food and let me tell *MY* recipe for disaster when I eat out:
Sitting at a table with random strangers + No knowledge of menu = FML
Yes. That’s my standard food-​math. Laugh. Go ahead.
Dinner starts promptly at 7p. Friend and I arrived around the same time (6:50p). The supper takes place at Chef Logan and Mixologist Gary’s home. You walk up a flight of stairs and enter through their front door to find a dining table set for 10 people. There were already two people sitting at the dining table.
The dinner theme that evening: MOM FOOD
I thought it was perfect that the menu be themed around Mother’s Day (which happened to be the very next day). The handwritten paper menu was one of the many simple touches that I noticed that evening.
Course 1: Roasted Garlic Deviled Egg with Aleppo Pepper
These deviled eggs were delicious. I don’t like egg yolks very much but I don’t mind them when they’re in deviled eggs. The version here was made with yogurt instead of mayo. The Aleppo Pepper, which I believe is a Turkish spice similar to what we consider red pepper flakes here in the States, brought a nice heat to this dish.
Paired Drink w/​Course 1: Classic French 75
Course 2: Yogurt Waldorf Salad with Butter Lettuce and Escarole
You could not ask for fresher ingredients. The butter lettuce was crisp as were the slices of apples.
Paired drink w/​Course 2: Cosmopolitan :
The drink definitely didn’t taste like the overly sweet versions I’ve had at restaurants in the past (well, back when Sex in the City was cool and every chick had to order it when she went out with her girlfriends). Gary’s version here is simple yet strong.
Course 3: Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup
I think I make a pretty darn good chicken soup but Chef Logan’s version is out of this world. She served it in a pretty cup. I believe she said she roasted a few chickens and then used the roasted bones (from chicken) along with a raw chicken to make the broth base for this soup. This broth had an intense, unforgetting taste of a succulent bird. It was oh so very good.
Paired Drink w/​Course 3: 2012 Blasoude Bourgogne Macon Chardonnay
Course 4: Tuna «Casserole» Pasta with Housemade Crème Fraiche and Hazelnut Picada
The pasta was purchased from Assenti’s and it was prepared a nice al dente. The crème fraîche made this dish wonderful creamy and Catalina Offshore’s yellowtail was a wonderful match to this casserole.
Paired Drink w/​Course 4: Berry Bay Leaf Shrub with Rum
Course 5: Bacon-​Wrapped Meatloaf with Celery Root, Mashed Potatoes and Arugula
Chef used three meats for this meatloaf: beef, pork, and lamb. Everyone loved this meatloaf.
Paired Drink w/​Course 5: Red Winoceros Gamay San Diego
Course 6: Nectarine Cobbler with Vanilla Scented Whipped Cream
Everyone oooh’d and ahhhh’d when this dish was placed in front of us. I think this dish evoked some sentimental ‘mom’ nostalgia that night for a few people. The cobbler portion was perfectly crumbly and I really loved the vanilla scented whipped cream.
Paired Drink w/​Course 6: Lillet Rose
You end the night with an individually wrapped chocolate cookie.
Chef Logan and Gary asked if we could all sign their guest book. I was the first one to get the book and asked my 9 compatriots what I should call our ‘crew’ that night.
Everyone, collectively, said Dick in a Box. I don’t say Dick In a Box all that often so trust me when I say the story is pretty funny.
Suggested Donation for the meal: $ 70
I thought this was a more-​than-​fair price for what was served that evening at supper. Six courses, six drinks, AND the perfect group of people makes $ 70 seem like a steal.
So my original math formula for a FayesFork disaster (Sitting at a table with random strangers + No knowledge of menu = FML) turned out to be incorrect that evening. I’ll gladly take that F+ grade for another supper with this crew at Cellar Door… any day.

After a 1 – 2 years of wanting to visit, we just had the wonderful opportunity to experience Cellar Door. I must agree with all of the reviews below, Logan is an amazing chef!
We arrived promptly as requested. We all introduced ourselves and made small talk. We were a bit anxious at the beginning since the bf and I are not exactly the super social type. Chef Logan proceeded to welcome us and talk to us about the theme of the night: Judy Rodgers Tribute. For each course, she gave a description of the dish and ingredients.
We had five courses (see Mike W’s pic) which consisted of Zuni Café’s most famous dishes. Each course was paired with a beverage prepared by the talented Gary.
Throughout the night, everyone opened up and participated in various conversation topics.
As everyone had said, this is not your typical several course meal at some fancy restaurant. This in itself is a whole experience: You get to know the chef’s home, you get to meet and eat with fascinating strangers and get to eat/​drink awesomeness.
I recommend this place to everyone! We will definitely be back :)

I was the one on the mailing list and the one who had spent months trying to make the reservation for my wife and I, and even I was nervous about spending $ 60/​head to eat dinner in some stranger’s livingroom. That said, perhaps the best meal and the best company I’ve had in my life. I look forward to repeating it again. Wouldn’t hesitate to recommend this to anyone, anytime.

What a wonderful experience!
This is not a typical restaurant, its better.
This feels like a private affair, a special family event where everyone is celebrating and sharing stories and laughing. Even though the hosts don’t sit and move the conversation, they provide the right mix of adventurous guests to do that (and the food and alcohol is also a great conversation piece).
Our hosts are Logan and Gary:
Logan is a passionate and gifted chef. She brings creativity and foody-​love into every dish she prepares. Gary is a fun-​loving bartender with his liquid creations that help meld the flavors of food, conversation and drink beautifully.
Both Logan and Gary have special gifts that they share lovingly.
If you ever get an opportunity to spend a meal with them, don’t pass it up, it will be an unforgettable experience.

Better than any restaurant I have been to in SD. I absolutely love the concept of sitting with a bunch of strangers who want to attend a lunch or dinner and get a real taste of food. Gary and Logan are A-​mazing. They are informative about what you are eating and drinking so you get the history behind your food and beverages.
I have been to their pop up lunch at Balboa Park which was cute, quaint, and tasteful. I also finally got the chance to attend their French theme lunch which was nothing short of amazing. They had just gotten back from France and even shared some awesome liquor with the guest-​so cool! You can tell they really put thought into their menu they truly have heart in what they do. I feel so lucky to have been able to attend.
If there was room for more stars I would add them. If I was able to go more often I would. Please go its worth the experience and your taste buds and stomach will thank you. It’s hard to get in so good luck and cheers!

I’m a Cellar Door addict!
I went to the six-​course French meal and it was nothing but outstanding — I wish I could eat like this every week. Logan & Gary are pretty amazing and they are such a wonderful pair and really make you feel comfortable and you can tell there is a lot of love & thought put in the meals and pairings that they serve.
Then, I went to the mid-​week meal just last week and that was a smaller setting and though different then the French meal I would say I do prefer this type of setting but I understand that it’s not something they can provide all the time.
I would go to any meal that they put on & I am so happy that I was able to find them. It’s a fun concept, amazing food, great drinks & good people — what else you can ask for!
I can’t wait for Mardi Gras — and I am eagerly awaiting for another email for another event!

The Cellar Door! Western Europe meets Western America! 10 Seats at a time!
I wasn’t sure what to expect the first time I ate at the Cellar Door. When we entered the Cellar Door, My wife and I were greeted by Gary and served a glass of water. As we sat at a table for 10, we talked a little with Gary, reviewed the menu, and waited for the rest of the reservations to show up.
NO individual seating, just one big table in their cozy little apartment off of 35^th and Adams! My wife, 8 strangers, and I! One BIG Dinner party! All of us sitting right next to and across from total strangers, Playing on our phone and talking quietly amongst ourselves. (At least at the beginning of the meal!)
Once everyone showed up, Dinner started. A seven course vegan tasting menu! I said Vegan! I’m from the North East! Meat is always on the menu… ALWAYS!
I must say however, I think I could live with Vegan if it was prepared the way Chef Logan made the dishes! Not to mention the way her husband Gary pairs the dish with an array of signature cocktails. After each dish and drinks are set at the table, Chef Logan and Gary both come out of the kitchen and tell you all about the plates and drinks your about to enjoy!
The plates were DELICIOUS! I mean really great food and drinks! It’s the sort of food and drinks that you expect when you go out to a Michellin rated restaurant. The overall Experience is something you can’t get at any other restaurant! Remember those 8 other strangers at the table! Everyone starts talking after the first pairings are placed in front of you. It starts with a simple: «WOW! That tastes GREAT!!» That’s all it takes!
My favorite part of this experience was the ambiance, the service, the food. In other words: Everything.
I like the idea of meeting new people and making new friends.

My 5 star ratings have mostly gone to Michellin star rated restaurants in NY,
Gordon Ramsay Restaurants in London and a few in San Diego worthy of my five stars.. . ANd now, this beautiful and wonderful couple (Logan and Gary) are the proud recipients of Lucy D’s five star rating.
Why, you ask?
Food: Delicious, fresh, beautifuly plated and paired nicely with wine or cocktails.
Dessert: To die for.
Really, you will want death by Logan in the form of her dessert & food.
This beautiful home restaurant is in their livingroom in an apartment, i felt so at home, so warm/​friendly and clean.
Very sincere couple with a passion for food and good drinks.
Only 10 seats available and this is the sucky part, you have to claw and and fight your way into their beautiful table by responding quickly to their emails and announcements of events. It is very much worth it!
I must admit, i was a little scared at first and thought it was a bit weird to sit so close to strangers and share a meal all togehter but my husband and i loved the experience.
Logan and Gary are not just serving delicious food and drinks, they are bringing people together, they are promoting new friendships, inspiring strangers to come together and get to know one another, i love the cellar door.
I stalk their facebook page often and i am lucky enough to have a second chance to go here again for a mid week dinner (pictures to follow)…

Most important here is that Logan and Gary are extremely beautiful people inside and out. They have a passion and a vision and they are a great duo. So, with a happy heart the meal is icing on the cake.
The pop-​up restaurant is cozy and intimate, it’s a strange juxtaposition to be in their home but not feel like you are intruding. It’s a very comfortable flow and I was lucky to have dinner with 9 wonderful people. Conversations flows easily which it should when all you have to do is relax, socialize and eat.
Logan and Gary have paid attention to many details. If you pop into the kitchen at the end of the meal you will see just how much work they’ve done. While the four — eight courses you enjoy are delightful what is exceptional here for this diner is the instant community they are creating around local quality food.
While I’ve tried several times to snag a coveted seat with no success; I felt like an Oscar nominee when I was selected for the dinner list.
I look forward to bringing friends soon and sharing the joyful experience with others.
But shhhh — don’t tell too many people because, if you do — it will be even tougher for me to get a spot.
Check them out on Facebook:
and their website

One of my favorite things about eating with Cellar Door, is that they create this welcoming and beautiful eating experience without the pretention and snootiness that often gets correlated with eating good food.
Even though you get seated at a table with strangers, it’s like you’re having dinner with friends.
Their menu changes seasonally, but the food is always incredible and perfectly paired with a wonderful drink (alcoholic/​non alcoholic avail)
What’s wonderful is that they pair with local people specializing in wine, seafood and etc to gather the ingredients in making these magical meals come together.
I think small supperclubs like this add a new dynamic to the eating experience and really bring people together, which is what eating is all about.

As both an entrepreneur and frequent eater, I LOVE the popup concept. It allows a chef to quickly prove his/​her chops without having to open a restaurant (a daunting and expensive undertaking). And if they are talented chefs (like Logan and Gary are), all the better!
THE EXPERIENCE
There are just 10 spots per seating. It feels more like a family dinner (sans the drama and fighting) than dining out at a restaurant. Over the 3 hours and five courses. I enjoyed getting to meet the other guests. The menu is different every time, so it’s worth going again and again.
EASTER BRUNCH 2012
The well thought-​out menu included rabbit served 5 ways. Regardless of how you might feel about eating Thumper, rabbit is a very sustainable and abundant (although low-​fat) meat source.
The taste, presentation and pairings (four courses were paired with adult beverages) of everything was fantastic. My only complaint is that the rillette/​ricotta crostini starter could have used more salt.
Get on the email list (
) and follow them on facebook (
). Spots fill up fast but if you’re lucky you can often get a seat last minute (if someone else cancels)!