The Wine Cellar
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Overall Rating: The Sickest (90 out of 100)
30 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
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Phone: 617-236-0080
The Wine Cellar is Boston's only Fondue restaurant. Offering a cozy, romantic atmosphere, a wide variety of fine wines, and great-tasting fondue, The Wine Cellar is an ideal venue for sick meals and good conversation.
Our History at The Wine Cellar
This was our second visit to The Wine Cellar. This review is based on a Saturday night dining experience at 8:30pm.
Appetizers
The Wine Cellar's appetizer menu includes six cheese-based fondues. The fondues are served with potato wedges and cubed bread. We went with the classic fondue which consists of Gruyere and Emmental cheeses melted with cracked black pepper in white wine and brandy. During a previous visit, we tried the Brittany fondue - artichoke hearts and shallots blended into cheese. The fondue appetizers are delicious. A regular serving for 1-2 people is $18. A large serving for 3-4 people is $32. So far, our favorite is the Brittany.
You may also choose from non-fondue appetizers such as the soup of the day ($5), escargots casserole ($12), and frog legs a la Provencal (market price).
Rating: 9
Main Dishes
For Entree fondues, you can choose from seven meat-based selections, and three cooking styles. Each meat is paired with dipping sauces. Meats include beef, chicken, pork loin, lamb, kangaroo, ostrich, rabbit loin, tiger shrimp, and sausage. The kangaroo, ostrich, and rabbit loin are served together with olive oil as part of the "Crazy French" offering which is $42 for a small portion or $80 for a large portion. The other fondue entrees range from $17-26 for a small portion or $31-47 for a large portion.
Cooking styles include Latin, French, and Courbouillion. Most guests opt for the French style (broth with Chablis wine, garlic, and cracked black pepper), but we enjoyed the Latin selection - broth with garlic and citrus flavors.
Deciding on one meat selection was difficult, so we opted for "Indulgence for Two". This $88 prix fixe offering lets you choose a cheese fondue appetizer, four items from the entree menu (excluding the Crazy French entree), and a chocolate fondue for dessert. In addition to the four entree items, you are served a side of vegetables and a sampling of dipping sauces, including balsamic glaze, mushroom red wine, lime dill, dijon mustard, horseradish sauce, brown sugar balsamic glaze, chili sauce, and teriyaki sauce.
If you are visiting The Wine Cellar for the first time, we suggest the Indulgence for Two. It offers a fair value and gives you flexibility in sampling the menu. We enjoyed the variety of the meats - we chose beef, lamb, shrimp and sausage - and the array of flavors offered by the dipping sauces.
We offer two suggestions for improvement: 1) The raw meats are served on the same plate as the vegetables and dipping sauces. It would enhance the dining experience to place the raw meats on a separate plate. 2) The vegetables, cooked string beans, were plain and not very exciting. A variety of dip-able vegetables would be preferred.
Several non-fondue entrees are available including paella and rack of lamb.
Rating: 9
Drinks
The Wine Cellar's wine list is expansive and notable. The Wine Spectator bestowed The Wine Cellar with its Best Of Award of Excellence. We enjoyed a flavorful bottle of Konrad Sauvignon Blanc (2005, New Zealand).
The Wine Cellar also serves beer, but no hard booze.
Note: The wine list is subject to change. If you have a favorite that is no longer available, The Wine Cellar will normally suggest a delightful alternative.
Rating: 9.1
Service
When we arrived at 8:30pm, a party from 5:30pm had not yet finished their meal, and we were forced to wait. How a restaurant reacts at these times can make or break the dining experience. In this case, The Wine Cellar came up aces. The owner plied our party with what likely represented $100 in complimentary wine and apologized profusely on a number of occasions. The Wine Cellar proved that it takes reservations very seriously.
Once we sat down for dinner, our waitress was knowledgeable and generally provided good service. However, her brusque demeanor did not quite match the otherwise-intimate experience.
Rating: 8.8
Ambiance
The Wine Cellar is literally located in a cellar. As soon as you walk in, you notice the intimate ambiance - dim lighting, flame-lit tables, and an exposed brick wall with a mural. Fondue lends itself to conversation. You cannot race through your meal as you must take time to individually dip and cook your meats. The Wine Cellar is an ideal setting for a romantic night on the town.
Rating: 9.3
Et Cetera
Trivia: Fondue traditionally refers to cheese fondue. Broth-based fondue for meat may also be referred to as Fondue Chinoise or Hot Pot.
Menu: Check out the menu here
Dessert: The Wine Cellar's dessert menu includes four chocolate fondues that are served with marshmallows, cookies, and fresh fruits. Dessert is $12 for a regular portion that serves 1-2 and $24 for a large portion that serves 3-4.
Reservations: The Wine Cellar is on OpenTable. There is limited seating; do not show up without a reservation.
Parking: Valet is available on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday for $16.
Dress: You may dress casually at The Wine Cellar, but given the elegant dining environment, you might consider getting a bit dressed up.
Labels: Back-Bay, Fondue, Romantic, The-Sickest, The-Wine-Cellar
