Background:
Husband and wife co-owners Jamie Brown & Jeff Tonidandel opened Crepe Cellar in 2009 after quitting their jobs and traveling around the world for about a year. I know what you're thinking: these sound like the coolest people ever--and that couldn't be more factual. Brown & Tonidandel have transformed NoDa with Crepe Cellar, Growler's Pourhouse, Haberdish, and Reigning Donuts. They are the queen and king of NoDa (as proclaimed by Scallionpancake), and all of their restaurants provide consistently good food and service.
After meeting Brown recently at an event for Charleston Wine & Food Festival, she invited us out to try some new menu items at Crepe Cellar. We hadn't visited Crepe Cellar in nearly three years, so we were excited to get back in and see what was new. We dined at Crepe Cellar on April 18th to celebrate the end of a grueling tax season for Jason, so this was a long overdue date night for us, and we loved every second. Read on to see what we tried!
Eat This:
Burrata
housemade burrata with olive oil, smoked salt, brûléed lemon, lemon zest & grilled bread (add proscuitto)
Scallops Pastis
ricard pastis beurre blanc, fennel pollen
Duck Fregola
cured confit duck leg, tomato-parmesan fregola sarda, sunny side egg, beet-stained pickled turnips
Pasta Carbonara
fresh pasta, egg yolk, pancetta, grilled asparagus, parmesan, black pepper
On a previous visit, we tried their a savory crepe, mussels, and their pesto brie fries, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed.
HAM & GRUYÈRE
béchamel & maple dijon glaze
P.E.I. MUSSELS
bacon, caramelized onions, shallots, apples, cider cream
The pesto brie fries are perhaps the Crepe Cellar's most famous dish, and we have enjoyed them on our past visits. These are a must order if you are a first-timer!
Pesto Brie Fries
hand-cut, twice-fried with pine nut basil pesto, melted brie, tomatoes
Dessert:
We were blown away by the creativity of the dessert options--a house-made miso chocolate ice cream and a poblano porcini ice cream?! Toto, we're not in Charlotte anymore! We got the poblano porcini ice cream, and not only was the flavor perfect--earthy, slightly spicy, sweet yet savory--the texture was on point. It was smooth and creamy, and not at all icy like some homemade ice creams.
Our server also generously sent out a strawberry cheesecake parfait, but we weren't wowed by that one in the same way. However, one thing I really appreciated about it was that it was not at all overly sweet like you would expect in a dessert of this style.
Poblano Porcini Ice Cream
Strawberry Cheesecake Parfait
They are obviously known for their dessert crepes, but we didn't have room for one on this visit. However, in the past we have enjoyed several, particularly the classic Crepe Suzette and the Nutella and bananas.
Crepe Suzette
Grand Marnier butter sauce & vanilla bean ice cream
Drink:
Crepe Cellar has an awesome drink menu, as Colleen Hughes is in charge of the cocktail menu both here and at Haberdish. I enjoyed a perfectly dry glass of sparkling wine on our most recent trip, but I had some regret I didn't go for a cocktail!
A picture of the bar in the absence of a picture of my bubbly
Atmosphere:
Crepe Cellar is such a chill date night spot--it's classy and romantically lit without being fancy. We felt perfectly comfortable in jeans on a Wednesday night, but the mood lighting and cozy alcoves of the tables and booths made us feel like we were enjoying a special and intimate dining experience.
A certain slant of light
French Pancake Hospitality:
On all of our visits, we have received top notch service at Crepe Cellar. This is the type of restaurant where you want to linger over a glass of wine, and the servers are incredibly patient and allow you to enjoy your evening without feeling rushed.
Frankie's Notes:
There is no people watching like NoDa people watching; Why aren't more Charlotte restaurants incorporating mushrooms into their desserts?; Ms. Hughes is one of Charlotte's greatest treasures; Do you think that Jamie & Jeff will adopt us?; Tax season Jason only eats Chipotle, so this was a real treat for him; Tax season Jason looks at you like this from January-April 15th.
Tax season Jason sees you, and he says no, you can't deduct that.
Disclaimer: [Some of these] meal[s] were provided free of charge in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. All opinions are our own, and we were not compensated for this review.