The Cellar Restaurant

The Cellar Restaurant - CLOSED

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The Cellar Restaurant

Review

At a glance

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About

Centrally located in the heart of Pokolbin, just a short stroll from the world class Hunter Valley Gardens and within easy access to wineries and golf clubs, The Cellar Restaurant offers modern contemporary inspired cuisine focusing on flavours and textures in elegant yet relaxed surroundings. Our wisteria surrounded courtyard is perfect for dining with large umbrellas for shade on the hotter days. Our sandstone and glass building features lush indoor gardens intermingled with a huge welcoming fireplace in the centre. The ambience is sophisticated yet relaxed with welcoming staff and friendly service. The restaurant is fully air conditioned during the warmer months and in winter, the cosy open fire and flickering candles impart warmth and charm.

Features

Meal types

Lunch, Dinner

PRICE

$$ - $$$

FEATURES

Reservations

Location

2090 Broke Rd Hunter Valley Gardens Village, Pokolbin, Cessnock, New South Wales 2320 Australia

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4.1

643 reviews

Excellent

328

Very good

176

Average

Poor

Terrible

ClaBro

Sunshine Coast94 contributions

Great lamb and cozy fire

Aug 2023 • none

The lamb shoulder to share including vegetables and mashed potato was delicious. There is a lot of food so your don't need much throughout the day or an entree. The service was good, the wine list just average. We had a lovely night by the fire enjoying our meal.

Written 8 August 2023

This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Emma S

Perth123 contributions

Enjoyed a three course meal

May 2021 • couples

Enjoyed a three course meal on on Monday night (which is why we booked here as everything else in the hunter valley seemed to not operate on a Monday night). Starters were impressive (lamb croquette for me, ocean trout for him) mains a little disappointing (duck for him, steak for me), dessert redeeming (shared chocolate caramel creation). It’s fine dinning and priced accordingly, however it fell a little short of expectation and while the service was adequate and polite it wasn’t anything special. Also the space had a beautiful large fire place but if you were not seated next to it the room was a little brisk (we did t take out jackets off).

Written 26 May 2021

Survey54

Sydney1255 contributions

Fine food, great service

Feb 2021 • none

We had heard of the slow-cooked lamb oyster (shoulder) for two and just had to try it. We were not certainly disappointed - it was cooked to perfection and plenty for two people. The thinly sliced beef cheek was a very tasty entree, The service by Donna and Jess was very good as well - first time ever I have been asked if I wanted to taste before accepting my chosen glass (not bottle) of wine. No trouble with the Blueberry Hill Chardonnay of course. A very comfortable and satisfying night out.

Written 17 February 2021

LJ1989

Sydney13 contributions

Most expensive cakeage fee I’ve ever encountered

Oct 2022 • family

The venue wanted to charge us $8.50 PER PERSON for cakeage… just to serve our own cake! I’ve never encountered a cakeage cost so high. For our group, this would have meant almost $200 for a $50 cake. The food was okay. The restaurant was understaffed with one waitress on the night only for the whole restaurant. She was competent and had a good memory, but definitely impacts on the experience as it’s difficult to order, takes longer to receive food, etc because she was spread so thin.

Written 27 October 2022

Shauna Wilson

Belfast17 contributions

Below average

Oct 2022 • none

My partner and I dined on a Friday night here. The menu sounds gorgeous, but the execution of the dishes was very below average. I order the confit prawn and soba noodle started which came up as if it had been sitting in the fridge all day (ice cold) and tasted just of salt and vinegar. My partner had the pork shoulder which was actually just pork mince wrapped in lettuce leaves. Our mains were ok, very salty and the prices were quite high.

Written 17 October 2022

Janine T

Sydney9 contributions

Terrible experience

June 2022 • couples

For some years this venue was a must visit when we came up to the Hunter Valley as they had some of the best steaks we have had. Today's visit left us cemetery underwhelmed in fact it's unlikely we will return. Firstly and we do understand they have a harsh booking /cancellation fee, then to follow rules on what you have to order (with NO lunch menu) Given wine and food tastings are part of the experience in the Hunter all we wanted was a light lunch. We were told we had to order a main each or an entrees and side each, mind you entrees Start at $20 & sides $11 After negotiating, ridiculous I know we ordered 2 entrees and one side Chicken Gowgee, Choko, Ginger Broth, Spinach -small average tasting dish Pork Belly, Black Pudding, Pear, Truffle Jus Vinegarette- dry tasteless dish very dissapointing Rissole salad -not sure what part of this dish was salad with the exception of the green garnish???? Service like the food not good, the waitress was not personable nor engaging

Written 26 June 2022

Alessia Medina

1 contribution

A truly disturbing and hostile experience

Apr 2022 • family

I visited the Cellar with my partner and his parents who were both vegetarian. After looking at the limited menu that only had one actual vegetarian option as a main that didnt sound at all appetizing we opted to try and make a full meal each by having entrées, sides and share plates instead. To our disappointment they declined to allow us to do this, citing their "one main meal per person" rule. After imploring both the waitress and manager to come to a compromise that meant we could enjoy the food we wanted, the manager spoke to the owner and said their compromise was that each person had to then order two entrées. This didn't work for us either. It was clear by this point that we wouldn't be able to reach a compromise. We then asked to be released from our booking which had the stipulation that a cancellation or no show would result in a $20 charge per person. We had showed up to our booking, found that the inflexibility about the menu wasn't the right fit for us and wanted to leave but they still charged us $80. Now this was when things went from frustrating and disappointing to disturbing. My partner called the restaurant a few days later, once we became aware that they had still gone ahead with charging us the $80, to talk with the owner Vanessa. Instead we received a barrage of yelling, obscenities and insults, she even hung up on us in the middle of the conversation prompting us to call back to try and solve the matter. This lead to only more verbal abuse. As of yet, we have not been refunded. I cannot reiterate enough how disturbing and uncomfortable this whole experience was. I've never dealt with a restaurant that has such a hostile environment. I completely understand that restaurants have had to make up for how hard things have been for them during the pandemic especially in high tourist locations like the Hunter Valley, and their stipulations were on their website. But instead of working with us to cater to our dietary needs we were treated with malice. And so I cannot in good conscience recommend this restaurant unless it comes under new and, hopefully, better management.

Written 6 May 2022

Sonja R

2 contributions

VERY DISAPPOINTING!!

Dec 2022 • none

The most paltry charcuterie board my husband and I have ever shared. It contained a couple of small pieces of hard cheese, a patch of tasteless soft cheese and some slices of really fatty salami, 2 small fingers of toast and some crackers as well as a couple of topping pastes. I mentioned our disappointment about this paltry fare to the waitress who said that she'll pass it on to the chef. I half-expected some sort of recognition or apology - foolish me!. The only positive I can report about this restaurant is that it's dog friendly but despite this I cannot recommend it in any way.

Written 8 December 2022

Rob M

1 contribution

Shocking on all accounts!

Mar 2023 • couples

We drove past the day prior and it was empty, so looked to cancel but found out they charge $80 if you do so…. Once we sat down and received our mains, it felt like someone who had just moved out of their parents house had a crack in the kitchen that night…. The Food was dry and so dated, with no wow factor what so ever…which is not what you expect for $40 a main course! The menu urgently needs to be updated - feels we were back in the 1920s which also coincidentally feels how long my sides were frozen for before defrosting alongside my pork tonight Save your money and go to the pub 800 meters down the road!

Written 3 March 2023

Jenn P

7 contributions

Don’t waste your money!

May 2021 • couples

Highly dissatisfied with The Cellar. Don’t waste your money! Our waitress was very friendly but she had no knowledge of the menu, didn’t know the ingredients and couldn’t tell us what was in the hapuka dish. There was also a very long wait between the entree and mains and when it finally arrived, I’m sad to say it didn’t hit the mark. We had a dozen of poorly shucked stale natural oysters ($40). For mains my partner had the tasteless cold pork cutlet ($36) on a bed of soggy wombok with a weird texture cauliflower and raisin caper dressing. Meanwhile I had the driest roasted chicken ($36) served with an overpowering spiced pumpkin, mustard and tomato dressing. Weird flavours that didn’t work, cold uninspiring dishes. I expressed my concern with the staff but I doubt think anything was relayed back to the manager. Overall, just poor service and bad food — which is an absolute shame because the restaurant looks beautiful.

Written 14 June 2021

Smoothy08

Sydney9 contributions

Very Disappointing Service

Apr 2021 • friends

We were a group of 4 touring the Hunter Valley for the day with a larger group where we all arrived by coach & had a couple of other stops wine tasting with cheese platters as our first stop then a second stop of tea/coffee & morning tea. We then had a couple of hours to do our own thing & our group of 4 decided to book this restaurant at lunchtime thinking we'd better eat something for lunch. One of the group members was not that hungry due to the 2 visits prior but was happy to order an entree whilst the 3 other friends were happy to order just a main meal where a couple of glasses of wine would compliment our meals. However, the waitress informed the less hungry of our group that a main meal per person was their rule & requirement. She politely informed the waitress that we'd all been wine tasting with cheese, crackers, etc then had a morning tea & that she was not hungry enough for a main course & asked politely again if she could just order an entree. Again, the waitress informed her this could not be done but would go into the kitchen to check. She came back to inform us that it was not possible & walked away to attend to other incoming guests. Our friend nu now jad totally lost her appetite & was happy to not eat a meal but would be happy to sit & wait for us. We were not prepared to let that happen on our day out. We were left dumb founded at the waitresses rudeness & completely confused at such a rule & regulation of the restaurant given the events of Covid during 2020 where all hospitality had suffered enormously. When she finally came back to our table to see what we had decided, we were still quite confused & taken aback with the situation when she eventually informed us that there were other nice places to have lunch ! We all decided that we were a group & would stay a group to eat lunch together so we all decided to leave the restaurant & find another place to have lunch. This resulted only in a loss to the restaurant not only financially, but also in reputation. Had they accommodated our 1 x entree meal, 3 x main meals, possible dessert meals plus drinks, the bill may have been close to $200 but instead, opted to honour their ridiculous rule in favour of accommodating a group willing to pay a significant bill. I'm sure the meals would have been nice had we had the chance to actually order meals suitable to our appetite ! This beggars belief. Also, had they honoured our request for an entree, regardless of our waitress being rude & disconnected from offering a friendly smile, we may still have stayed for lunch but we lucked out on both counts & were not willing to let this situation spoil our day so we moved on & out of the restaurant to somewhere where we were accommodated fully with better service & a smile. This restaurant is not recommended to anyone wanting a light meal.

Written 25 April 2021

Zoe S

Kotara2 contributions

Utterly Disappointed 😡

Dec 2020 • none

Took my family there for what I thought was going to be a beautiful meal experience as an early Xmas lunch. Totally gobsmacked at the entire situation. We weren’t even greeted at the door; had to wait probably 5 mins before anyone even acknowledged us. We sat at our table for 10 mins before I got up and complained about the lack of service, as well as having to ask for table water and a menu. The girl rolled her eyes and said ‘I’m a bit busy right now so you’ll have to wait’. Wow. If I hadn’t paid a deposit I would have left immediately. She passed on the waitress job to another (sweet) girl who came to the table and asked ‘ are youz ready to order yet?’ Another pretty epic fail. Youz? When asked for a recommendation for a white wine to go with the pork belly, she replied ‘yeah ummm I think maybe white hey?’ ... for a place called ‘the cellar’, there was zero knowledge of wines. The kids meals were tiny and completely over cooked and dry. Our mains were edible but of course had to be accompanied by a $10 side as they were simply a protein, so the meals went from $38 to $49 dollars each. I’ve had better food for $20. The staff had no clue of beverage mixers, nor did they even know what the menu entailed. We had to continually ask for someone to come and offer us some service. We made it through and honestly I wanted a refund. We were all really disappointed at every part of the experience that was overpriced and severely under delivered. I usually tip and I just couldn’t find a single reason to do so on this day. Epic fail guys. The waitress was sweet but some training in etiquette and serving, as well as wine knowledge would have made the world of difference.

Written 23 December 2020

Milorad

Pokolbin9 contributions

Don't waste of your money there is every Restaurant better than this one.

Feb 2021 • couples

Had a very bad experience this is far worse restaurant I ever have been. Service was OK but food was flavourless and bland $85 Lamb shoulder - a piece half-baked on the bone with a couple of cut pieces. they don’t even have a steak cutting knife but you tear the meat off that piece with a butter knife. The four sides of the dishes look as sad as that piece of uncooked meat. This very unprofessional experience had us leaving the restaurant with embarrassment and disappointment. Will most certainly not be coming back.

Written 27 February 2021

Usefulshrimp

Buckeye22 contributions

Good, if overpriced, food. Terrible service!

Mar 2022 • couples

The food was good, if small servings, but the service was a major let down. We were seated promptly (which wasn’t surprising given we were only the second customers) and our food orders taken quickly - but we had to order a main each, as they stated. We both went for the Kangaroo, which was cooked and presented well. The problem was trying to pay when we were done - we sat there for 30 minutes trying to get their attention! When we finally managed to ask for the check, it was brought out, but then another 15 minutes for them to run the credit card! A major let down, especially considering the over priced meals we were trying to pay for!

Written 23 March 2022

Fishcaks

2 contributions

Terrible all round

May 2021 • family

Where do I start? The disappointment in the taste of the Kid’s meal was only matched by the size. The lamb came out cold which I don’t understand as the food all came out at different times. The $18 carrot cake was more like carrot bread and less than a bite full. The coffee came out 10min after the adults’s dessert. The kid’s dessert came half an hour after that, after 3 reminders. Overall, the disappointing food and service did not match the price. We will not return.

Written 21 May 2021