The Cellar Door in Durham

"Once we found the entrance, went down narrow stairs into recently refurbished and sparse dining room. Was dark so didn’t see any view out of window. Greeting and service was friendly and professional. Good gluten free options, simple small menu with good range along with a long, diverse wine list. We think the starters were sized and priced as sharers/small plates. Our fave was the truffled celeriac spiral/roulade. This whole dish really worked well. The excellent pressed lamb belly was a close second but a bit puzzled with comparing the menu description to the elements of the dish. This was a common theme throughout although everything on the individual plates definitely worked together harmoniously. Butternut squash wellington was very tasty, particularly with the Dukkah-like crumble/soil. Duck was expertly seasoned but could have done with a smidge more rendering/crisping for utter perfection and the fondant potatoes could have used both more butter and caramelisation for me. Chicken was tender and again the elements worked well together but presentation a bit fussy with the see-saw over an excellent piece of dauphinois. Lovely desserts, fondant disappeared very quickly. All sorbets are house-made. Overall the menu was imaginative and very well-executed with quality ingredients. Despite my picky criticisms. definitely a good value and service was optional."

"I haven’t been to the Cellar door for a few years now as a couple of bad visits put me off but friends had been recently and had really enjoyed it so we decided to give it another go , so glad we did ! Wonderful experience. The service was great, so friendly. Harry was so welcoming and friendly. The food was delicious and as we were visiting on a Sunday we had the set menu . Three courses for £30 , if you don’t want a roast dinner there’s plenty of choice. We had cheese soufflé and the duck to start, seabass and roast beef main and chocolate mousse and brûlée to finish . We are looking forward to returning soon and to the warmer weather when we can sit out in the terrace."

"The perfect meal! A lovely restaurant with great atmosphere. My partner and I had 3 courses for £30 and each was delicious! All perfectly paired and portioned. Our waiter Harry was also excellent, very friendly and attentive. Great fine dining experience at an excellent price."

"The roast is among the best I've had. Great quality vegetables and plenty of them, and the most gigantic Yorkshire puddings you've ever seen. Excellent service."

"Really nice restaurant in the centre of Durham. The atmosphere is nice. A very buzzing restaurant with very friendly and professional staff. Alex the manager is very professional and gave mr the table that I asked for even though the place was packed. The pigeon starter was really good. Oysters were large and very fresh. I had the duck. It was well cooked and loved the apricot combination. The rest of the party had the beef wellington. Very soft meat. We were too full to eat desserts. There's always a next come."

"Dinner @5:30pm outside of term time - we were basically the only diners. Had a vegan option for every course so we were both catered for. And both sets of food were devoured. All flavours as described and dishes were well executed. Service was also great - friendly and professional front of house. Couldn't fault our visit."

"We went here for my husbands 40th Birthday. From the start the service was impeccable and the staff were very good with our dog Ozzy getting him water and checking in etc. Its brilliant such a lovely restaurant accomodates dogs in their own little area of the resturant. The food was absolutely stunning. We had scallops and lamb belly to start and both had lamp rump for main and chocolate fondant for dessert. Best food weve had in longer than we can remember. Im 6 months pregnant and needed all meat well done with no pink which wasnt a problem and the chef/staff even hand picked desserts for me which were suitable and let me choose from the lunch menu to accommodate my needs with my pregnancy. 100% recommend this place to anyone it was a faultless evening."

"Lovely food, and great service, it was a little bit cold in the restaurant as we were sat by the window"