Mr Cecil’s California Ribs

Man am I glad that this place closed. Worst service ever. The only good thing about this place was their spicy bbq sauce and pulled pork salad.
Service was slow and rude, restaurant was always dead, prices were too expensive and parking is terrible.
Street parking that is metered. MAKE SURE TO FEED THE METER! YOU WILLLLL GET A TICKET!

Manhattan Beach Location
It was about 7pm, my fiancée and I decided we wanted bbq. We’re walking distance to this place so we headed out. Got to the restaurant and EVERY SINGLE TABLE WAS full of dirty plates, glasses etc. There were only three Customers in the restaurant and they were all at the bar. There was bartender, a second person standing near the kitchen acting like he was ringing up a bill, and a third person in the kitchen that you could see through the windows.
We stood at the front for about 4 minutes while the bartender kept his back to us acting like he was busy, and the other server stood and stared at the register.
Their MO was simple… leave all tables dirty and greet noone. This way we won’t have to actually work while our shift passes.
It was pathetic. I finally asked across the room to the person at the register. I said, «you mind if we just sit where we want?» He responded by looking at me for a nanosecond then put is finger up letting me know it would be a minute.
We waited two more minutes NOBODY acknowledged our existence.
I know, it doesn’t even sound real does it?
Needless to say, we walked out the door and went across the street to the Kettle. We were seated immediately and had an amazing meal.
I recommend Pinkie’s for good BBQ. Stay away from this place unless you’re a fan of being ignored.

Football season is here! Beer and wing deals are great! Ribs, chilli, hush puppies… long live Mr. Cecils

I was in town on business, and stopped in for dinner. I don’t know about the previous terrible service and food, but I sat at the bar, had the St. Louis ribs, and 2 beers, and it was great. The bartender was excellent, ribs were 4 stars, and the hushpuppies and honey butter get 5 stars.
I mentioned to the bartender the terrible reviews about the service, and he said the managers had read them and were trying to improve the service. fwiw.

Don’t know what these negative reviews are all about. I’ve been to Mr Cecil’s on several occasions. The hush puppies are fantastic! They give you a choice of three different types of BBQ sauce that are all delicious. I had the ribs and my wife ordered BBQ chicken and my friend had the tri tip sandwich. All delicious! After our meal the chef came out and we had a terrific conversation w him about the meal and his prep.
Don’t listen to the Debbie downers in here. Mr. Cecil’s is great!!!

I was here today for lunch. Previously, the quality was somewhat uneven. Today, the baby backs were awesome, and the sides were good.
My one complain was that some of the tables were dirty (bits of food debris on them), and for no good reason… I was the only patron at the time.
I still think they are too expensive for ribs for lunch, but dang, they sure are yummy.

No WONDER I’ve Never Heard of this Place!
My visiting friend really wanted to go to this restaurant so I obliged. She ordered the half rack of ribs and I ordered some chili, cornbread and hush puppies.
She seemed to enjoy her ribs and said that the carrots were very sweet and delicious. I, on the other hand, did not enjoy the bland chili and the hush puppies tasted like muffins. This was definitely not what I expected.
The cornbread was delicious! Unfortunately the butter they serve with the cornbread, along with every other entrée, is unsalted and sans flavor. REALLY? You’re gonna go all healthy now with the unsalted butter while we eat ribs, cornbread, hush puppies and a bunch of other artery-​clogging food?
We ordered the rum cake dessert which was an enormous disappointment. I expected it to be super moist and… taste like, um, rum. Especially since the menu describes this item as having «a lot of rum and butter.» It was so incredibly dry, that we couldn’t eat it. Truly. It was inedible. The server must have noticed our disenchantment because he didn’t charge us for it.
The service was terrific (even if he had charged us for the dry sponge being peddled as «dessert»).
I drank a beer and my friend drank water.
Just under $ 70 including tip.

I’ve eaten at the other two locations that have since been closed. Why on earth did they keep this one open is beyond me. But, as a devoted Mr. Cecils fan, we came here to give it some business.
Came here around 6pm Saturday of Memorial day weekend. Hey, it’s a long weekend, and part of it is usually celebrated with some sort of bbq.
Nope, no hello or greeting of any sort when we came in… which is sad considering there were only 4 people at the bar and just one table with 2 patrons sitting to eat. Whatever… we grabbed a menu ourselves and sat down.
This is where it gets interesting…~10 minutes later, the waiter shows up, only because the one table that was eating was looking piss just to waive down their bill. It was at this time we got a hold of him to get in our order knowing we’ll never seen him again for another 45 mins. I was not amused that you could see the waiter more concerned about pimping out his band’s music versus taking an extra minute to turn around once in a while to see if the tables he’s working is ok.
Got the ¹⁄₃ baby back ribs and order of green beans. Their previous 2 locations must have been generous because the portion they gave me looked smaller than the kids portion of baby rack ribs, wtf?! I guess at least the green beans were steamed properly, but the rack «barely» had meat on them, so that was a bummer.
The Conn man’s sandwich was fine. He didn’t seem quite blown away per usual when he ordered it the Pico and Sherman Oaks location, but he ate it. He did enjoy the soft hush puppies here, which was a break from the hard as a rock ones that were served at the Sherman Oaks one.
Getting any refill on water was complicated, yet alone trying to flag someone down here for just about anything. The food was ok, which is a shame because we have eaten at Mr. Cecil’s for many years. Not sure if this last location is a novelty for the owner as the service was crap, food was meh, and ambiance was rather sad compared to the other eateries nearby that were jammed packed with patrons and smiling faces on a Saturday evening.
Well, it was nice knowing you Mr. Cecil’s BBQ. Onto the next spot to find that elusive taste of BBQ in SoCal… it was good while it lasted.

When will this place close? Terrible service and food.

Really good St. Louis style ribs. The sauces were delicious and the spicy one gave a nice kick. Meat fell right off the bone. Had the chicken and Ribs combo. Fries were delicious. Baked Potato was pretty good. I should have gone for the stuffed instead of the plain version, which was just a potato on a plate. Hush puppies were authentic.
Couple of negatives– Tonight there was only one guy working the whole place and of course people came in by the droves. He managed it all and the back of the house delivered yummy food fast that will allow us to come back. But reading other reviews about theService, it might be a trend. Could have used an extra person and luckily most people were laughing about it, but it could be something that can sink this place fast.
We also needed some more chips for our salsa plate and was told we would have to buy a second order. Which I have never been told before. We had 4 kids who just ate the chips before we could finish the salsa.
Will try again, but will make sure the service can handle the small crowds.

I stumbled upon this place with serendipity as my guide as I was hankering for that primal satisfaction that only red meat can bring. The beef ribs were amazing as were the different BBQ sauces that inevitably trickled down my chin and onto my shirt.
I have gone back to Cecil’s a dozen times for lunch during my eHarmony work day and get the same great service and quality product. My favorite staff there are John (who looks like a young Tom Cruise) and Desiree who is as sassy as she is photogenic. They are both hilarious and very attentive. Seriously, the idea of waiting 90 minutes for food when it’s not busy as other posters mentioned is just spurious.
This is an awesome place, you need to recognize!

Tried for the first time for dinner the other night. Unfortunately food was just ok and service was exceptionally terrible. Was a non-​crowded weekday night and it took an hour and a half to get our food. When inquired with the server (he was very friendly), he blamed the kitchen. Not sure what was going on, but the food isn’t worth the wait.
Tried the hush puppies which I liked, but was the only one at the table who liked them. Then I had the Beef Short Rib sandwich, which was dry and not good. Would not order that again. And, the cornbread — just ok, not great.
Definitely not coming back here.

Just an update. I went back with my (now) wife to try it out again several months ago. The food was actually worse than the first time. I only went back because I was contacted by the manager after my first review and she wanted me to try it again. She gave me a $ certificate. Well I really appreciate her following up and had hoped they had addressed their food and service issues. Well they haven’t.
I drove by the restaurant on Saturday at 8:15pm and noticed it was empty. I can’t wait until they fold so another better restaurant can move in. I live right up the street and appreciate good restaurants within walking distance. If you are looking for good baby back ribs, go to Union Cattle in Hermosa. They are fantastic fall off the bone ribs. I recommend the sweet sauce.

Minor update… my one complaint used to be the sides. They have actually improved the sides considerably. They reduced the oil in the Annie’s Salad, so my wife and I really like that now. And they added a vegetable skewer which is good. The corn bread is also good. Glazed carrots are not bad.
You still go to Mr Cecils for the RIBS! We particularly love the Beef Ribs and Baby Back Ribs. They don’t even need the extra BBQ sauce. A few months back I tried them without the extra sauce on the table and haven’t used the sauce since. They are amazing exactly the way they are served.
But it’s nice to know you can now get some solid sides with your meat.

Came here a few days ago. We initially went to Simmzy’s, but it was completely packed and we were hungry…
Our server John was very friendly and attentive, too. As per his suggestions, we ordered beef rib and baby back rib combo after buffalo wings (our starter).
Both ribs were very tasty and meat was tender. As others already mentioned, they’ve got 2 types of BBQ sauce on each table.
The only downside is that they don’t have mac’n cheese on the menu. I thought it would be standard for all BBQ joints, but I am not sure.
After all, it was a good meal of ribs, wings, and few beers with good service. It was also very reasonably priced, too.

They only reason I am giving this place a one star is because their veggies were actually very taste, especially the corn. Ok here we go:
Went here only cause my BF wanted ribs so we thought we would try it. I don’t like ribs so I ordered the short ribs. BIG MISTAKE. When my dinner arrived I seriously was like what is this? It just looked like boiled beef with absolutly no sauce no nothing. It had NO taste. When you need BBQ sauce on meat to give it any flavor that is bad news (and this was NOT supposed to need BBQ sauce. It was seriously the worst short ribs I ever had in my life. And I’m no cheap ass but for $ 24.00 for short ribs you better make that dinner look damn good. The hush puppies were flippin so greasy. My boyfriends ribs looked so damn dry and just nasty looking. The fries lookied horrifically burnt/​greasy. I mean I love fries but I had to pass on those.
Would I go back… absolutley not, only if I wanted that tasty grilled corn on the cob cause that is the only thing to me that was delicious here.

After having a bad meal and Unilocaling about it (very dry ribs), I received a nice apology note from the General Manager. She sent me a free gift certificate to back and try it again – I give her major props for being on top of things and extending some goodwill.
I went back again, and the baby back ribs were much better – very flavorful and moist. While the first time I had to use BBQ sauce to slide it all down, this time there was no need — were cooked properly. And while the wedge salad was laughably plain, the string beans that i ordered were well seasoned, green and cooked perfectly.
I still think there are some uneven things about their kitchen, but I’m now far more willing to go back again soon.

Coming from Maryland I do not claim to be a BBQ expert, but I do know when something is tastes good. The chopped pork was pretty weak, the sauces were bland and I personally do not like dry ribs.
Their french fries were really good as well as their green beans, but do you want to pay $ 14 for an entrée that only has good sides?

I don’t eat bbq much, I was put to ease I guess when I expressed to one of my friends that there ain’t much meat, «Is that a beef rib?» he asked. «Yeah, that’s what you get with beef.» he said.
Ah.
This is a relatively new place in Manhattan, my buddies and I where invited by a friend who lives locally so we were curious! The place is decorated very spaciously, love the large open front windows! There is a roomy bar with seating and TV, and a handful of popular draft beers on tap.
I chose the ½ beef rack as I didn’t wish to get too full, they were large and their aroma was impressive. 2 sides come with and I got the steamed green beans and corn bread. I’ve had better cornbread but it was okay. Liked the large helping of bean, and they where flavorfuly seasoned. My friends got a half rack of baby back ribs and a brisket snadwich, both looked great. Two types of bbq sauce are on hand, a misquette and cajun, both are balanced and not over powering. Another friend got a salmon, we were haflway through our meals it seemed before his plate arrived, apparently the cook wasn’t experienced with fish and over cooked the first one. Our waitress appologized and offered us some hush puppies on the house, a good touch.
There were plenty of empty seats, perhaps a bbq place might be on the heavy side for the body concious southbay hence the many empty tables but it’s still new so there’s hope. My friend who’s been a long time resident wanted to share with the waitress that he hoped that they make it because nobody seems to make it in that location, but he didn’t want to be negative.
Exect to pay a tad more than Chicago, Chilli’s, or Outback but having a decent bbq joint in the southbay helps with having to cut a long drive out of your evening.

I read the reviews of the other two locations, and honestly, I was not expecting much. To my surprise, I actually sorta enjoyed my meal.
First off, the menu is a little strange. There are a number of salads, a veggie kabob, and tacos. They also serve beer and wine. Weird? Weird. Weirder still, they don’t have pulled pork sandwiches, collard greens, or pork spare ribs. I also would have preferred that the brisket be sliced instead of chopped for the brisket sandwich.
Avoiding all menu weirdness, I ordered half a rack of baby back ribs and a beef rib off the a la carte menu, along with coleslaw and cornbread. It appears that the ribs are first marinated in teriyaki, then baked, and finished on the grill. They weren’t smoked, which is generally inexcusable, but nevertheless they were fairly decent.
First of all, grilling is the preferred cooking method for teriyaki. Can you imagine how awful it would taste if they smoked it instead? Granted, this is a cost-​cutting measure and not wholly appropriate for these cuts of meat (note the shrunken beef rib in my picture). Barbecue purists would scoff that this is not barbecue at all, and it’s true that this sort of thing would go down like the Hindenburg at Texas Monthly, but at least the ribs are cooked well enough (though a bit chewy) and the marinade isn’t overly sweet or salty.
As for the sides, the coleslaw was really quite good. Light mayonnaise dressing (needs more, though), no sugar, shredded green cabbage, a little red cabbage and carrot, and chopped parsley. Sadly, the cornbread left much to be desired. It was slightly dry and chewy, lacked a crispy crust, and hardly tasted of corn at all.
I almost forgot about the sauces. The regular one tastes like McDonald’s barbecue sauce. The spicy one is very, very mild, and tastes like ketchup with some brown sugar and a pinch of cayenne. Both of them are sweet, very thick, and have no depth of flavor. Don’t even bother.
Seeing how this is a sit-​down restaurant, I should note the very friendly and attentive wait-​staff, as well as the obnoxious pop music. There are plenty of situations where I would not mind listening to Madonna’s «Burning Up,» but eating barbecue is not one of them.