The Cellar Door
Alexander Iles
If you walk along Saddler Street in Durham, you would be forgiven for not seeing The Cellar Door. A single door leading to one of the best restaurants in Durham is sandwiched between a shopfront and a medieval street called Dury Lane that takes you down to the riverside. Walking down the narrow stairs to the restaurant you may be wondering what you will find at the bottom, but you will not be disappointed. The location is built into an old 13 th century baker shop, but enjoys wonderful, wooded views over the River Wear. The Cellar Door describe their restaurant as an experience, and you can understand why. The best possible food is provided to the customer cooked by skilled chefs with a passion for the meals they are cooking. They have a commitment to using fresh, high quality produce to provide the best food possible and create memories for you as the customer, while also having a low environmental impact.
The food is a mix of traditional British, French and European food with a range of menus from afternoon tea (not a cucumber sandwich affair but options that range from smoked brisket and mustard, through to goats cheese, beetroot and walnut tarts) to Sunday lunches and a daily restaurant menu for the off-chance customer, or the regular pilgrim. The Cellar Door are keen to provide providence for the food that they serve with Country Valley Foods in Hurworth County Durham providing their meats, Lanchester Dairies providing the cheese, and their vegetables coming from the Tyne and Wear markets, while their ice-creams and sorbets are provided by Beckleberrys. This commitment to high quality and local producers shows their passion for the best food that you can experience on any visit and means that the menu changes due to availability and seasonality. Discover this hidden gem on your visit to Durham and discover a location you will come back to over and over again.
