Loft and Cellar is a super cool concept, and it's executed well (bravo to the whole team for a pretty seamless 2nd day service!) but I'm not sure that The Lady and I will be picking Loft and Cellar for date night any time soon, and it's mostly because of price vs. serving size.
Okay, first thing's first: The building has 2 front doors (doesn't matter which one you pick!), and you walk into the main dining level. The upstairs (The Loft) also is full menu and bar service, but there's a lounge area and a stage for live music. The Cellar, which wasn't complete when we visited, will be reservation only and equipped with their full wine cellar as well as the chef's tasting menu only. The space is really nice and open, with a long bar, benches, and plenty of seating between the top two levels.
We did have a reservation and were immediately seated and handed menus, as well as their tome of a drink menu (seriously, it's in a hardback book complete with like 4 pages of wine, and the first page containing their cocktails). The Lady ordered a Desert Wynd ($12), which was incredible. A tequila drink that had flavors of walnut and butterscotch and citrus and rosemary and it was just out of this world. I ordered the Pisco Sour ($9), which was also delicious. We'll definitely be back to try more, while hanging out in the Loft.
The dinner menu is broken up into 4 sections, and they'll bring out your food in the order they're listed. The menu is exotic, and even for a foodie you'll find yourself googling some of the ingredients. Don't be ashamed, the point is to try something new :) We ordered:
Exposition - Lomi Lomi ($17): Basically a wedge - shaped wonton topped with guacamole, and then a thin slice of fish is on top. Garnished with a small piece of pickled watermelon, an aioli, and some red caviar. This comes with 5 pieces, and is pretty light and relatively refreshing, although I wish that the guacamole had more substance to it. It was tasty.
Rising Action - Nacatamales ($12): One tamale split into two pieces, stuffed with indian spiced ground chicken. This was delicious, had a little spice to it, and man I wish there was more. This was like maybe 3 bites big if you stretch it out.
Resolution - U10 Scallops ($23): Two (yes, you read that, *2*) scallops in a bowl served with a wonderful leek and cheese sauce, with some pistachio brittle which added the much needed crunch to the dish. They are very large (U10 means that there are about 10 to a pound), but still.
Dessert - Halo Halo ($9): The dessert menu changes almost nightly, so I can't guarantee that you can get this, but basically it was a piece of awesome sponge cake, a lemon sorbet, and a red bean gelato accompanied with a condensed milk glaze. This was wonderful both in texture and in flavor.
Service was excellent the whole night, with multiple people checking on us, and when somebody didn't know the answer, they went and found somebody who did immediately. No opening pains here, we were well taken care of!
TL;DR: Okay, so bottom line, the food was good, but good GOD the prices for the portion you got? This whole meal was $82 for two people, and this was a super light dinner. I didn't expect small plates, but that's what Loft and Cellar is, and they are SMALL. I'm not sure that the quality of food, although imaginative and very good (and a lot of it is inaccessible in the rest of Charlotte, let alone most of America), is worth paying the price point. This will be a pricey night if you want to leave full.