Celtic Cavern

Saw all the great reviews online and decided I had to try this place out. I wasn't disappointed. The food was great especially the artisan meat and cheese appetizers. This is THE place to get good beer, and they always have Guinness on draft. I appreciated the friendly atmosphere and the attentiveness our servers provided us on the evening we went.

First visit at “Celtic Cavern” 45 Melilli Plaza, Middletown, CT 06457. A gastropub specializing in seasonal American fare (not Irish fare, as the name might imply.) Going down the stairs to this basement pub I thought it would be tiny, but the room opened with a long bar and quite a few tables and booths. Still very cozy with low lighting, some music and a bar TV. Broad selection of craft beer viewable on your phone. A special today was six sea scallops pan cooked with bacon and served with balsamic vinegar greens and we loved it! My wife had SHRIMP-N-GRITS - shrimp, spicy Tasso ham, cream, polenta, garlic butter, creole spices, grana padano. It was quite spicy, and she loved it! I had the famous BACON BURGER with bacon, mushroom, smoked gouda, garlic aioli, brioche. This may have been the best I have ever had, and I’ve been a foodie for a long time! It was served with Celtic fries which were skin on and obviously Belgian double fried and ...fantastic!! The staff was perfect, knowledgeable, helpful, spot-on, and genuinely concerned we were happy with everything! They really work as a team. Five ladies worked together to be sure the customers were delighted. Suffice to say I’ll be back!

We got take out and the food was very flavorful and good! When we went to pick up the food, the people were nice and the place looked very cool, I would definitely go there again to physically eat there. We got 4 dishes and the Brussels sprouts. The fries were nice and looked home made. I got a carnita wrap thing which was very good! The cheese and other vegetables went very well with the pork. And the boneless short rib was cooked amazingly well, along with the polenta being very creamy and tasty. The Brussels sprouts were fun to eat and went with a nice creamy dipping sauce. I would definitely go here again, the food was great! In the photos the food was already eaten a bit, sorry!

The food was about average for takeout. It's alright pub food but it lives and dies by freshness and heat. Their cuisine is the type to really benefit from it like burgers, fries, and pretzels. I'd give it 3.5 if I could. 4 stars if you dine-in. Post covid they had a great pub experience and really friendly wait staff.