Cheri

Salmon with vegetable stew was pretty good! Service was excellent. Nice ambiance, live pianist for most of the evening made it lovely!

This place is an absolute gem! Had Christmas Eve dinner here last year (wow, saying last year about ’15 feels crazy!) Anywho, we expected to dine by ourselves, per the usual expectation, only to be presented with a communal dining table in the garden area, exceptionally prepared to accept all the 15 guests that had made reservations for the same evening. My boyfriend and I, both far from our respective homes on Christmas Eve, got to feel like we were with family. Yes, folks, these strangers soon became family in our little dinner world of that evening. I also had the honor of sitting next to Alan, the owner, and I now know very well why he is so successful doing what he does. My boyfriend and I returned last night for dinner only to come out even more impressed with Cheri! Amid the cozy and welcoming ambience, the staff that makes you feel like family, and the fine courses, you’ll find yourself very happy dining here!

Oh my, how romantic! A wonderful atmosphere with a piano player. While the dim lighting enhances the romantic atmosphere, there wasn’t enough light for me to read the menu. Thank God for my iPhone flashlight. I found the menu a bit limited, steak, burgers and salmon. So I did appetizers and salad. All of which were good. There is a lovely heated garden patio. I will come back again when I have a date and am in the mood for steak. I almost forgot… The service was excellent!!!

Have been here twice for dinner. EXCELLENT. Just took a very dear friend for her birthday and she was thrilled. Unfortunately the garden is closed this time of the year, but dining in the main room is like having dinner in someone’s living room. The food and ambiance is wonderful. Will definitely return.

I’m here celebrating a good friends birthday & food is so good & the people are great (try the salmon big thick chunks floating in a soup, excellent) will be back

Love this place. Beautiful outdoor garden (heated too, so you can enjoy it in the cooler months!) and delicious food. Do yourself a favor and order the mixed platter for brunch.
Service is delightful — everyone is so attentive and kind. The next time my family visits me in Harlem — this is the spot I’m taking them!
(Have also been here for dinner — highly recommend their sangria — it has a wonderful spicy kick! Cheese and charcuterie platter is also one of the best I’ve had. Duck is great, and I’m sure anything else on the menu is equally tasty)

The closest thing to dining at a French bistro in Paris is Chéri. This place is amazing! The food is excellent! The ambiance is beautiful! The service is OUTSTANDING! Wine down in the garden & try the Pain Perdu or the delicious Brie Burger for brunch. You will not be disappointed.

Food was excellent, liked the eclectic décor…only gripe was two servers for the whole place made service on the slower side… would still go back though

Excellent and delicious food! The perfect portions. And the French staff were delightful.

I really enjoy this spot. It’s the warm inviting approach to customers that makes it work. It may not have the most efficient service or the most gourmet food in Harlem, but it has the best atmosphere. They achieve what they set out to do, which is make you feel like you have been invited to dine in someone’s house. The back garden gets all the attention, but they take care to make each area of their restaurant feel like a special place.
I also like that they have adjusted to what their patrons have requested. They haven’t entirely abandoned their concept (menu of the day) but they have responded by adding some regular menu items.
I wish they tweeted out their menu of the day each day so we could look it up from home.

Nice looking spot. Some menu items I like. Service is so disappointing and tends to kill my vibe. Seems as if they don’t understand what they should be doing.

First, the ambiance is amazing! They have a nice outside back patio– looks like a great date place. Service was fairly good.
Now, the food was less than impressive. My eggs came brunt! That’s brunch 101, good eggs. The potatoes, were bland and mixed with «cream” — weird. Now, the French tst, was normal French tst, anyone would make at home. If I pay $ 22, I expect the food to be great! If this plate was $ 16– I probably wouldn’t be complaining… Finally, my friend purchase a red sangria and said it tasted like red juice with ginger. Why did they put ginger in her drink– beats me.
This place need a new creative chef– I would never go back.

Sunday Brunch is Amazing! Lady Leah Live Jazz during Sunday Brunch is nothing short of Elegance… I’ve also dined here for dinner which was also Wonderful!

Absolutely the best place to eat in Harlem. The bunch is great, the dinner is great, beautiful decorations, everyone is friendly. The best place to spend your $$ and time.
Tip: try to get a table looking at the Lenox ave. — the best spot if you enjoy «people watching».

Best French restaurant in Harlem
Fois gras tastes like home, add a glass of Sauternes and you are up for a treat
Menu has limited options but it is a good sign of having freshly cooked meals with local products
Nice atmosphere makes you feel like you are visiting friends
Efficient staff and friendly with customers

They have a live music that’s not a loud rock. It’s like an old times when high class restaurants had live music. Nowadays it’s pandora or CD. Atmosphere is good and complements the food well. Very romantically done.

After heading back from Coney Island, I perused Unilocal for a French restaurant in Harlem. Assuming correctly of our limited options, we picked Cheri. Reasonably priced and wonderful ambience for a date, we were quite satisfied both that we were able to get a reservation for 7:30 at the last minute and that the food was wonderful.
We started with the charcuterie board — made up of various cured cold cuts (prosciutto, sopressata, etc). All of the meat was very fresh and melted in our mouths. Next, we moved to the main, the lady had a Brie burger that was juicy and cooked perfectly medium rare while I had the filet with a peppercorn sauce, cooked rare. Both were cooked to perfection and featured a side of greens and roasted potatoes. We finished the meal with dessert. Cheri’s chef cooks one dessert per day, so you’re always in for a surprise. Yesterday, it was an apple tart served with a dollop of hand made whipped cream. Caramelized wonderfully, the apples concluded a celebration of another year of life.
Was shocked to see this place so empty — certainly not a reflection of either the service or the food. Hopefully business is able to pick up! They may want to consider extending the pre fixed deal to the weekend!

So cute I thought I was in someone’s living room.
I was scouting out a cute date spot in Harlem and came across Cheri. It sounded like a restaurant out of a fairytale, and I immediately booked a reservation. The hostess recommended their indoor garden for a more intimate ambiance.
When we arrived, the hostess took our jackets and led us through the main dining room. The energy was high, and I appreciated how all the seating options were unique. The fireplace, the piano, everything made it seem like someone’s living room. She took us to the much quieter enclosed garden and gave us the menus. The garden, while enclosed, was still a little chillier than inside. The space heaters provided a little comfort, but I wish I had worn one more layer.
They have a daily special menu, which sounded amazing, and we both ordered their lamb special, joined with a fois gras and stuffed mushroom appetizer.
The starters were tasty, although it was here where the theme of simplicity started. The food was good, but nothing was mind-​blowing and I feel like I could’ve made the majority of the items on the menu at home. The fois gras was canned and served with toasted slices of bread. The stuffed mushrooms only had plain goat cheese and no spices aside from pepper to note. Both accompanying greens were also heavily dressed. I would’ve liked a lighter coating, but it wasn’t a dealbreaker.
The crown jewel was their lamb rack. Served with a couscous and ratatouille, I absolutely loved the presentation. This is the only part of the meal where the simplicity was a plus. The lamb aroma came through strong, and the simple salt pepper combo made for a tasty entrée. The couscous and ratatouille, again with simplicity, were unfortunately a little under-​seasoned for my tastes. It was also a little cool, indicating it might’ve been sitting out before service.
The reason why I’m giving such a high rating is because the atmosphere was beautiful. Halfway into our apps, a live jazz singer took to the piano, and the music carried through into the garden. They might’ve been a little short-​staffed because service was spotty, but we weren’t in any rush. We definitely need to come for happy hour next time too. Their drinks are BOGO and humungous, from what we could see at other tables.
I totally get the «home-​cooked» food appeal, but just for feedback, I could use a little more seasoning and flair next time. Until next time!

Decided to give Cherí a try on a early Saturday evening. And was pleased. Service was excellent and given by a Friendly staff. And the sangria — so good!
The restaurant itself is a beautiful space. Very different from what you find in harlem. Only thing I wished they had was a full menu. Although the few entrees they have sound great — it wasn’t enough for me to want to order from. We went with the charcuterie plate.
Looking forward to going for brunch soon.

Unfortunately the owner chose to reply to my comment unprofessionally and accused me of being under the influence during the night of my visit. Given that I do not drink or consume substances due to having severe Crohn’s disease — I must sadly take his reply and disrespect public and share with my media connections and colleagues. Once again — horrendous acumen and very very poor management.
UPDATE — Unilocal the owner is harassing me via Unilocal inbox and stalking my Facebook pages. Please address him before this becomes an extremely public issue. He insulted me and negatively made fun of my Crohn’s illness. This is a problem. I will not be disrespected.
2^nd UPDATE — The owner keeps harassing me via Unilocal inbox. I am going to take this to television and raise this issue with HBA.