The Cecil

Beautiful décor, band was entertaining and that’s about it…
Service was poor and the food was worst.
On a scale of 1 to 10 a 4, Dick Parsons really needs to reevaluate his chef and staff skills in order for this place worth a trip to Harlem…

Food was five stars, no question, but service left me cold. I’m on the fence between 3 and 4 stars overall but will round up, and explain why below.
I had the plantain kelewele and the moqueca, the latter at the recommendation of our waiter; my partner had the goat dumplings and the flounder. Fully satisfied with all courses. The goat dumplings were steamed, juicy all throughout; I totally dug the sweetness in the plantains, crispy from the deep-​fry. I was originally going to have the duck for my main dish but the waiter talked me into the moqueca, basically a spicy fish stew. Initially a bit bland but with a killer aftertaste, basically flavors that come gradually but leave a strong impression later — my kind of stew! Our waiter left us both impressed with his knowledge, at least when we were ordering. He also had a complimentary appetizer delivered, what I believe was injera with a sesame paste sauce but I did not catch entirely what it was and it’s not listed on their menu.
What left us frustrated and disappointed was on the service side. I had read a bit before coming and knew that all our orders would take awhile to serve. But we each ordered a glass of wine before our main dishes arrived, a rosé and a white riesling blend. I think they had multiple rieslings, because I received a glass of red, and asked for the white I originally requested, which arrived at the same time as my dish. My partner’s rosé, however, did not arrive until after the main dish and was not a rosé, but another red wine! He had his wine while I had a cup of coffee.
I can’t say for certain, but I think they have two head waiters who each run half the floor, both of whom are expected to handle wines as well. Our waiter was good with food but didn’t seem so knowledgable on the wines, and a bit overwhelmed in this regard. I couldn’t help but wonder if there was one sommelier, someone who handled all the wines and drinks for the entire floor, would improve the service in this regard.

Great food, good service. I’ve been here twice and it is a definite standout in the neighborhood. If you haven’t been yet, it’s a must-​try.

I get delivery all the time. Five stars without a doubt. I wish I could put another star. The Mac and cheese is my go to !!, but my new favorite is The double stack chicken burger. There’s not even a word that can explain how much I love that sandwich. It’s so good if you don’t like it I’ll refund you your money back… Lol. Best restaurant in Harlem !! Did I mention my food always comes quick. Shoutout to John the friendliest delivery guy ever !! See you soon bro !

Food is 5 stars. We had, goat dumplings, fried ochro, mac and cheese, black pineapple fried rice with prawns /​salmon & piri piri … Amazing !!! and we finished off with Bake Alaska …
I took off one star for spotty service and also the fact they close at 10 p: m on a Saturday night? Hello this is NYC
Our main bartender and waiter were great, there was one bartender who made the second round of our lychee cocktail and it was horrid. we took it back and ask the first bartender, this perky red head to make it again, she shakes these like a pro…
Our main waiter was great. However the guys who were clearing the table… after 10 p: m kept trying to clear away our barely touched plates of food :(… and this happened like 4 times. If we got our food at 9:45 and you close at 10, that is really not our problem, it is rude !
Extend your time Cecil or extend your staff working hours and please train them not to try an pick up people half eaten plate of food when they are clearly still sitting around enjoying your food and conversation. Esp when your damm entrée is over 30 bucks and your drinks are 14 .
Your staff is definitely mix level of experience and people skills here… i should have deducted two stars for spotty somewhat annoying service… but your food is worthy of 10 stars !

The food was delicious, but the waitstaff wasn’t too great. They were polite and friendly, but a lost of miscommunication when it came down to payment. I would probably go back there again to give it another try.

Been wanting to get to this restaurant finally did because I scored a Gilt voucher yaya me.
Location: great close to the C or B 116^th train station. Easy walk from 125^th street.
Décor: nice
Food: pretty good. I had the salmon fritters for an appetizer. It was a very small portion. You receive four very small fritters.
For my entrée I got the country breakfast. I was pleasantly surprised with how great the food was. I usually dislike grits at restaurants and I generally like grits with sugar and butter (don’t judge me) these grits were not that but they were savory. I wish they have given me at least two chicken sausages one wasn’t enough.
Cons: 1. when I called to make my reservation the person on the phone was rude and unprofessional. 2. The waitress took about 15 minutes to stop by our table initially 3. My food was way to salty. Although i still ate it it was really salty.
Pros: Live band

Knowledgable staff, great food and atmosphere!
I had the goat dumplings as an appetizer and the oxtail with brown rice quinoa.
Love the fusion of Asian and African cuisine.

If I could give this place ZERO stars I would. That should really be an option.
Bought the Gilt Deal and made a reservation to take my mother in law out for the Saturday of Mother’s Day weekend. We had gone to Minton’s for my father in law’s birthday and I thought this would be a sweet touch.
We were seated, our waiter came to our table and 20 minutes later we sat there with no water, not cutlery… and lucky for us, the live music just took a break. Finally the waiter comes back to take our order and give us water. The Gilt deal stated we get a bottle of Cava but they only had Prosecco (contrary to what some think, there is a difference between the two) but we had no problem taking the alternative. We waited another 20 minutes for the bubbles to arrive at the table. He poured out the glasses and left the bottle on the table with no bucket of ice.
Our appetizer arrived, two orders of mac n’ cheese which was nice but VERY oily. We still had no small plates or napkins! We picked out of the bowls in the middle of the table.
Then…we wait and wait and wait…20+ minutes later our food starts to arrive (after complaining again). It was not hot … it was warm so it had been sitting there in the kitchen. We got two meals (out of four) then 10 minutes later we got one more then 5 minutes later my mother in law’s meal shows up… the pancakes… one was beautiful but the one under it was BURNT TO A CRISP. We sent it back. Mind you, because the food was not hot we all ate so that the food wouldn’t get cold and so now mom was sitting there with NO FOOD. The waiter was asked to get us a new set of pancakes…15 minutes pass and he says that he didn’t know that he was supposed to get us new pancakes. I’m sorry, who doesn’t want the food they paid for??? Are you kidding me right now, at this point I was BEYOND livid!!! I went to the manager and asked her to comp a bottle of prosecco and she did. Let’s be real the prosecco was $ 25 on the menu … and that’s all I asked her to comp, frankly I wish she was able to comp the Gilt voucher that I paid WAY more than that for.
So.mom gets her pancakes and we eat … while this happens two ladies sit next to us and would you believe they order pancakes and ONE of the them (yes, you guessed it, the one on the bottom) was BURNT TO A CRISP. I would not doubt that they gave the same pancake they gave to mom to her!!! How could you do that???
The manager said that they were understaffed that day. It doesn’t matter… they were NOT super busy there were PLENTY of open tables. It does not matter if you are busy or not, it doesn’t mean that you cannot get things right. Sure, you can be slower but NO bucket for a bottle of bubbles? No cutlery, plates or napkins??? Our orders not coming out together??? BURNT food??? I mean this was gross negligence. I am so embarrassed to have taken my mother in law here and feel so bad that this was her mother’s day brunch. I am sure they would NOT want to have this type of service for their mother. I WILL NOT be going back.
PS…I ordered the Lamb burger with eggs… it was actually really good. The pancakes had ginger in them and were really nice… my husband had the waffle with duck, the waffle was nice it was spicy… but y father in law had the country breakfast and he said it was BLAH.

I decided to celebrate an early Mother’s Day dinner here with my daughter and two of her college friends. It was a fantastic choice!
The atmosphere was lively and friendly, with a trendy décor. I loved the wall art and the vintage jazz videos on repeat on the monitors.
Our server, Vaughn, made excellent recommendations on everything from the appetizers (we had the Goat Dumplings and Short Ribs) to the entrees (Fried Chicken Fried Rice and Moqueca). His dessert choices were a hit as well, particularly the Baked Alaska and Coconut Pie with Sweet Potato Ice Cream (which needs to be put into a carton and sold as a take out item YESTERDAY!!!)
The service could have been a tad faster, but everyone was friendly and helpful. The server was very attentive throughout the evening!
It was the sluggish service that cost them the 5^th star, but I will definitely be making a return visit!

My first visit to The Cecil. Went there with some friends. The bar seems to have a very good selection.
The food was good but the noise level was very high. I would go back for drinks not dinner. The seating is a little close depending where you are.
The décor was very good

Very pleasantly surprised. The atmosphere here was very sexy, very chill. Loved it. The bartenders and staff were on point. There was live music — the gentleman singing was beyond talented– seriously I think he was John Legend disguised in dreads :-).
I didn’t eat, but heard that the food is amazing. Highly suggest checking this place out on a Monday night– once the music finishes head over to Moca Bar for some comedy — great date night!

Wonderful upscale Harlem Restaurant, have been here on a few occasions — have tried black friend rice, oxtail dumplings, Mac and cheese, the lamb and peanut cake, All delicious and put together so well.
This is a perfect setting for an intimate dinner, but also great for celebrations. Beautiful spot, will be bring my folks here when they come to visit NYC.

Oh my goodness. I was expecting a nice dinner at the Cecil but walked away completely starstruck and ready to recommend it as a go-​to place in New York!
We chose The Cecil because of its unique variety of dishes offered. What really drew my eye was how The Cecil takes «fusion» very seriously and incorporates a lot of strong aromatic spices in all of their dishes as well as their drinks. Once I took a sip of their Eye of Horus drink (a variation on a rusty nail with cardamom honey) I knew this was going to be a good night. Additionally they have a great wine list with a focus on African wines (and not just from South Africa!). We actually ordered a nice bottle of red that was actually from the vineyard of the owners of The Cecil.
We started off with the oxtail dumplings and collard greens salad. The salad features a mound of shredded collard greens with adzuki beans and cashews for some added crunch. I was taken with how savory the dumplings were.
For our main dish we ordered the cardamom fried guinea hen and the braised lamb shank. We were interested both in the cardamom flavoring but also the novelty of trying guinea hen. We couldn’t manage to finish our dishes but were quite satisfied.
I was extremely impressed with the execution of the fusion theme behind the Cecil. Given how popular it is, you should aim for a reservation to avoid a long wait (with a reservation we waited maybe 3 – 5 minutes before they had our table ready).

i was really bummed to not enjoy my meal at the cecil. i went with some girlfriends and was surprised to find the restaurant mostly empty for an early afternoon sunday brunch. we each got the brunch set menu which included a cocktail. my specialty cocktail was fine but neither of my friends enjoyed the bloody mary — one so much so that she ordered something else and the other tried hard to spruce it up with hot sauce and pepper.
the food was mediocre. we all split bites of everything we ordered. i was most disappointed in my waffle and duck — it was incredibly dry and tough.
the restaurant started to fill up as we were finishing and the band was finally transitioning from its tune up, which was incredibly loud, unpleasant, and hard to hear over.
i may give this another try for dinner at some point but i am not eager to come back based on brunch.

I was so disgusted and disappointed, it has taken almost a year (⁸⁄₂₀₁₅ was day of service) to finish this horrible review.
The problem — Unengaged Waitstaffs.
Party of 5 doing a birthday celebration. The Cecil was selected for location, unique cuisine and curiosity of its owner Mr Richard Parson, former Time-​Warner CEO.
Cecil visually positioned catercorner on 118^th and St. Nicolas. Upon entrance the hosts are pleasure and inviting. The immediate entrance is loungy, dark color and illuminated in amber lighting. Creates a warm and alluring vibe.
Once the entire party arranged, we’re escorted to our table and gleefully welcome by the dinning area host; very charismatic, hippersterly dressed fellow. So far so good.
It goes down hill fast from there. Our waitstaffs were the worst. I’m not being dramatic or overstating. List of failures:
1. No greeting or introduction.
2. Fail to share evening specials.
3. When asked about a specific entrée; She replied in a «lip-​turned-​up» tone «I don’t eat that!»
4. Left for the evening with assigning another staff or closing out our bill.
5. The next waitstaff was no better.
6. Incorrect Bill — but in our favor (I guess that a good thing)
I could continue — but I refuse Cecil anymore of my time.
Don’t do it.

Yes! Harlem needs more restaurants like The Cecil in the neighborhood. Tasty drinks, delicious eats, great crowd, pleasant staff.
My best friend and I decided to support more black owned businesses, so we researched black owned restaurants in NYC and came across The Cecil. We made reservations for 7pm dinner through Open Table, and when we arrived we were seated right away. Our waitress was friendly and helpful. She answered all questions we had about the menu (quite a few), which was very helpful. After 10 minutes we were ready to order, and our food came out 20 minutes later. She ordered pork chops with black fried rice, and I ordered the mac and cheese with a skimpy shrimp appetizer (stay away). Hands down the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had at a restaurant. It is a tad bit on the salty side, but I didn’t care because it was so dang good. I tried my friend’s meal, also very delicious. But we both couldn’t deny how incredible my mac and cheese was (she couldn’t stop reaching over the table).
Two weeks later I went back to The Cecil to treat my sister and her best friend to brunch. Of course I began our meal with the mac and cheese, and they loved it. I tried my sister’s french toast, and it was incredible! Her friend’s chicken and pancakes were delish, the chicken was seasoned to perfection. I ordered the grits, cornbread (not good at all), eggs and sausage, and paired my meal with a beer cocktail — it all came together perfectly. Brunch was bomb.
I want to treat my parents to dinner. Can’t wait to come back!

As with other reviews — really wanted to like this place, but it missed on execution and is very pricey for what it is.
We ordered the oxtail dumplings, zaatar lamb ribs, small gumbo, and side of plantains. Dumplings were my favorite of the night, but consisted only of four small dumplings (4!!) — for $ 14, this was way overpriced. Ribs had a great flavor profile, but also came only in an order of 4 and were very dry — for $ 15, also way overpriced; AND as you can see in my picture, one rib had close to no meat. The flavor of the gumbo was okay, but not particularly distinct from other in my opinion, and again very steep in price — $ 33 (for the small). Unfortunately, I flat out disliked the plantains, which were simply roasted in the peel topped with scallions; i was looking for a sweet flavor profile typical with plantains, but this was cancelled by the scallions; also incredibly pricey — $ 9 for a single medium-​banana sized serving.
Service was friendly, although odd — some waiters and servers were very busy, while others could be seen pacing with no job to do.

My friend and I came here on a whim when we were considering dinner options. She had heard great things about The Cecil and I was intrigued by the concept. The menu is so interesting that we had a tough time narrowing down what we wanted!
Collard Green Salad ($ 11): Spiced cashews and coconut dressing. This salad was really delicious! It blew both of us away. I’ve had raw collard greens before, but not in salad form. It’s a wonderful green to work with in this type of dish and I loved the dressing. So flavorful!
Okra Fries ($ 8): This just sounded way fun. I like okra and I like fries (or anything fried, really). This was seasoned nicely and the light batter was nice and crispy.
Roasted Poussin Yassa ($ 26): Coconut curry sticky rice, seeded long beans, and bourbon dried fruit compote. Yassa is a Senegalese marinated poultry dish and this is a play on that. Whatever is done to it makes it yum. I especially liked the compote and the sticky rice. I could eat a whole bowl of that sticky rice.
Pan Roasted Skuna Bay Salmon ($ 29): Kabocha squash, roasted cauliflower, Chinese pork sausage, smoked black garlic, and vinegar glaze. A nice collection of foods with a solid star ingredient, but a mostly unmemorable dish.
Bahibe ($ 10): Bahibe crema, palm sugar plantains, tamarind caramel, talicherry pepper ice cream, and plantain chip. Their desserts are gorgeous, innovative, and most importantly, tasty. I really enjoyed all the elements of this dish.
Kabocha ($ 10): Kabocha mousse, pink pepper meringue, white cardamom ice cream, and kabocha sponge cake. Although I didn’t love the sponge cake, I loved the ice cream and all the other ingredients. Delish.
This is a nice restaurant with a fun vibe and the menu is great. I would see this being a fantastic spot for a date or a celebratory get-​together.

Came here with two girlfriends for one of my birthday dinners this year. The food is definitely yummy.
I started with the oxtail dumplings, of course. The other reviews are right — there doesn’t seem to be a lot of oxtail. But the dumplings are so delicate — if you take time and savor the flavor (rhymes!) you’ll love it (but it’s a very small dish!).
My friends had the salmon and the lamb, and both were cooked beautifully (juicy and tender). For dessert we shared the Baobab — MUST. EAT. NOW. It sounds really exotic and all over the place but comes together smoothly on the palate.
But I must say, my favorite part of the meal was actually the tea! I was a little under the weather, and my best friend had just found out she was pregnant (why she took a pregnancy test a week before coming to NYC for my birthday is beyond me, but that’s another story), and the third friend drove in from Brooklyn. So we all had tea! It was the freshest, most beautiful smelling tea ever (and I drink a lot of tea!). African Nectar… try it!
Final note: Charles Pugh was working here when I visited. I’ll let you look him up if you care.