Chloe Yates knew that Patrick Ahearn, owner of Cellar House (5634 Telegraph, Oakville), wanted to do something spectacular for the holidays. The restaurant’s executive chef thought that meant some specialty cocktails, a pop-up dinner, or maybe even a series of special events. When he told her his plan—to throw out the entire menu and convert the restaurant and bar into a holiday-themed winter wonderland for the whole holiday season—she assumed he was kidding.
“He said, ‘I have this great idea: What if we did this for the whole month?’ and I honestly thought he was joking,” Yates says. “But once we really started talking about it, we realized that nowhere really changes their whole menu. People do cocktails or something, but we saw there was so much more we could do.”
Find the best food in St. Louis
Subscribe to the St. Louis Dining In and Dining Out newsletters to stay up-to-date on the local restaurant and culinary scene.
Ahearn’s inspired suggestion has now come to life in the form of Cellar House’s “Home for the Holidays” pop-up, an all-encompassing holiday-themed wonderland complete with dazzling wintry décor, a seasonal cocktail menu, and a bill of fare meant to evoke what the holidays mean for different traditions. Although Yates jokingly describes the setup as “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation Oakville,” the result of their efforts is a tastefully executed, festive experience that immerses guests in the season—something that Yates and the Cellar House team feel is a way to give back to those who’ve made the restaurant the special place it’s become to so many.
“Cellar House is definitely home for us, and I think it is also a home for a lot of our guests when you see the way they come in and interact with our staff,” Yates says. “We wanted to figure out ways to incorporate little touches of that feeling. More than ever, this world could use some holiday spirit and love; that’s something we give all the time, but now we just get to decorate for it.”
The Atmosphere
While fans of Cellar House are already used to its intimate feel, the restaurant has become even cozier thanks to the seasonal transformation. Rustic vines wrapped in red berries and white twinkle lights run from the floor, up the walls, and across the ceiling, which itself is completely covered in white hanging snowflakes, star-shaped lights, and wispy white material that’s meant to evoke snow.
Greenery and black-and-white gingham ribbons hang from the Edison bulb chandeliers and little trinkets—small trees, the village houses that are placed around Christmas trees, wooden reindeers—are scattered throughout the place, giving it the feel of a holiday lodge in the mountains.
“We wanted to evoke holiday nostalgia,” Yates says. “The fun thing was letting the entire staff be a part of it because Christmas nostalgia or holiday nostalgia and what home for the holidays means is different for everyone. We don’t know everyone who comes in, but we want to make them feel like somebody loved them and that they can get a meal for the holidays. I think a lot of people don’t get to have that, so it’s fun to give that to people and see the joy this brings.”
The Menu
Cellar House bartender Tyler Ahearn was excited by the challenge of coming up with a unique, holiday-themed cocktail menu, especially because he finds this time of year to be the most interesting in terms of drinks.
“Cocktails are seasonal, and wintertime cocktails are typically the best in my opinion,” Ahearn says. “They don’t all have to be refreshing like in the summertime, so you can do a bit more with them in the winter and make them more out there and exciting. People will see weirder ingredients in the wintertime, especially around Christmas.”
Ahearn drew inspiration from both Yate’s menu, as well as his own ideas of what holiday flavors meant. Rather than focusing on specific holiday drinks, he thought of different holiday dishes, then translated those into drink form, each based around a different spirit. Drinks include the Mrs. Claus Martini, a vodka-based libation, a Mexican Hot Chocolate with tequila, and Ahearn’s personal favorite, the Butter Beer. “I knew I had to do this one because I am a big Harry Potter fan,” Ahearn says. “That’s what they drink for Christmas, so it had to be on the list.”
Yates was committed to making sure the food menu reflected a variety of traditions, so she asked everyone she knew—especially her staff—what the holidays meant to them. The variety of answers, coupled with her own research into various holiday dishes, resulted in a menu steeped in comfort that fits in well with the style of food that Cellar House typically serves. “Making sure this still felt like our home and what that meant to all of us was really important,” Yates says.
Appetizers include Cellar House’s signature baked goat cheese, albeit a version gussied up for the holidays. Guests can choose from a bacon-wrapped date version or a meatless one made with sugarplums that, during her research, Yates discovered weren’t plums at all but delicacies akin to little fruit cakes fashioned into the shape of a plum. The shrimp cocktail is an homage to owner Patrick Ahearn’s favorite appetizer, while one of the most popular first courses, the green bean cannoli, is a bite of pure nostalgia. “You can’t make green bean casserole pretty, so this is a play on it,” Yates says. “The cannoli is nutmeg-scented, and then I fill it with sautéed haricot verts and put a house-made mushroom cream underneath, so you get all of those flavors.”
Other entrées include tamales filled with huckleberry vinegar brined elk and made with lard and butter; and porchetta, which is served alongside fennel-kissed figgy pudding and a lamb shank that embraces Greek flavors. The one dish that is extra special to her, however, is the goose—a nod to her grandmother and the pie crust that instilled in her a passion for food.
“I made goose pot pie with my grandma’s pie crust because goose is such an integral part of the holidays, especially in Europe,” Yates says. “It’s an ode to my Grandma Ninny. She would always have pie crust ready to go, and she’d be rolling out pies and would take all these little trimmings and season them up either sweet or savory for us to snack on. She’d feel so bad for letting us eat just pie crust, but it was our thing.”
Yates admits that turning over the entire menu for the month—the Home for the Holidays pop-up runs through January 6—was an ambitious undertaking, but she and her team were excited to do it. To her, it shows just how far she and her team will go to create a special experience for their diners, whether those are regulars or folks who may be coming in for their first time to enjoy such a fun holiday extravaganza.
“Everything we do together is often the first time we have ever done it,” Yates says with a laugh. “Getting to pull off something like this meant bringing all of us together and has been an experience that I promise we will never forget. Nothing will ever top this experience. It’s maybe the hardest thing we’ve ever done as a team, but the reward is so worth it.”
