Cellar at Poplar Plaza Wows Critics

224 S. 2nd St., Rogers

Experiencing Benton County’s best restaurant for local flavor and classy decor requires going underground.

Important clients and loved ones alike will be wooed by Cellar at Poplar Plaza. A basement-level restaurant and piano bar, Cellar separates itself from upscale competitors with its incredible attention to detail, down-to-earth staff and homemade food.

The ambiance starts on downtown Rogers’ brick streets and trails into Cellar’s lounge, where three nights per week pianists tickle the ivories and their guests with music. During our noontime critique, the banter of real estate deals wafted through Dominican cigar smoke near the private club’s mahogany bar.

But anti-smokers need not worry. Matching wood doors, which give way to mahogany trim and ornate support posts throughout the restaurant, separate the lounge from the main dining area. Every eatery in Northwest Arkansas should be so well planned.

Formal silver place-settings and lace-covered serving platters are the touches that make it seem as though the cast of TV’s “Designing Women” was flown in to give Cellar a “Sugarbaker’s” feel.

A short and affordable lunch menu proved Cellar offers substance in addition to style.

Our party of three — two adults and one little girl — started with a pair of appetizers. The stuffed mushrooms ($8) and cheese and fruit tray ($5) were great and gone in no time.

One diner had the day’s special: ham and beans, fried potatoes and homemade cornbread ($6). She raved about the food, especially the cornbread.

Another diner loved the sirloin steak sandwich ($8), which came with chips. He loved the sandwich’s flavor, and the fact the restaurant made it “medium” without even asking for his preference.

“Red meat cooked past medium is for people who don’t like steak,” he said.

The toddler in our party devoured most of the appetizers and cornbread, humming ecstatically like Winnie the Pooh hugging a honey pot. The wait staff was especially attentive to the little girl, which speaks well of Cellar’s family atmosphere.

The restaurant, open from 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. weekdays and from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday nights, also boasts an incredible dinner menu. Included among the nightly delights are a charbroiled pork tenderloin ($10) and shrimp alfredo served over angel hair pasta ($13).

The cherry-covered cheesecake was the best we’ve had anywhere.