Queens Tribune

City Celler
1080 Corporate Drive in Westbury
Cuisine: Multiethnic
516 693 5400
Hours: Open 7 days a week for lunch dinner and late night
Parking: Lot

For the times when you feel the need for a little decadence without the guilt, City Cellar is there for you.

Pairing an upscale casual atmosphere with gourmet food, the restaurant located just outside Queens in Westbury is a destination for fine dining indulgence.

The impressive dining room is a large open space with towering ceilings contrasted with warm, intimate lighting. Every seat in the house is treated to an impressive view of the restaurant’s wine cellar – a floor to ceiling glass enclosed wine paradise with racks and racks of the world’s best wine. A stepladder is used to fetch the varieties from vineyards in France, Tuscany and Napa Valley – a scene reminiscent of a time much slower than today.

City Cellar slows things down so that every sip, every bite is enjoyed and savored.

With more than 40 wines offered by the glass and, no doubt, hundreds able to be uncorked, the wine enthusiast can surely feel at ease. Bottles range from the modest $22 bottle to the high-end Ornellaia Masseto, 2003 for $375.

A popular choice is the Wine Flight – a selection of three half-glass wine portions chosen daily to enjoy or challenge your palette offered for $12.

If all this is a little overwhelming, the attentive and educated staff is happy to make recommendations based on tastes and a proper pairing with your meal.

In general, wine can be paired by color coordinating. Red wines usually bring out the flavors in a red meat or a red pasta sauce and white wine is best with chicken, fish and white sauces. A proper pairing enhances a meal and City Cellar strives on that principal.

The dinner menu is as vast as the wine selection but the daily specials are the best place to start. On March 22, City Cellar had pan roasted Atlantic Halibut with whipped potatoes, English peas, wild mushrooms and Lemon Dill Beurre Blanc; a double cut Berkshire pork chop with roasted yam risotto, red chile broccoli rabein a caramelized apple butter; a grilled 10 oz. “pillow” steak sliced American Kobe beef with truffle Asiago fries and marinated arugula; and a hearth baked Brussel sprouts Provencal. All dishes are made in house and served hot from the kitchen. Prices lie in the $30 dollar range.

However, if a craving cannot be satisfied with the specials, City Cellar offers a wide range of staples with fish, poultry and meat as well as vegetarian options in a medium price range.

An authentic brick hearth bakes perfect thin crust pizzas. Pastas host gourmet ingredients and are served heartedly.
When all is done make sure you take notes on the wine and meal because you’ll be back again.