cecelia's ristorante

cecelia's...love it!. cecelia's has always been mine and my family's first pick of restaurants in the city. we went in for mother's day brunch and was lucky enough to sit on their fabulous patio. bryan was our server and took great care of us. the complimentary mimosas were also a great perk.

went there with a friend to sit on the patio and enjoy some drinks in the sun drink menu was good drinks were also well but unfortunately the margarita pizza we had was soggy and had not enough cheese and basil. could of been better but over all drinks were good def a good patio drinking spot.

great service and food. great menu, food is well prepared, price is reasonable.

as with other negative reviews here, this restaurant has not trained its servers. we just had dinner at cecelia's. our server failed at taking drink, appetizer and finally diner order. table of 8 and he brings one small basket of bread and when we asked for another it never cam. errors it taking correct order and arguing with customer. when the correct order arrived the table had finished their dinner so i just asked for a box to take my uneaten diner home. "18% gratuity added to parties of 8+" does this mean 8 or more? does it mean more than 8?

a manager/server added a $20 tip to the bill when he didn't even wait on us even though we were his table. we had to wait forever even though we were 1 of the last tables for the night.

cecilia's is another regular spot in buffalo. the patio is a great spot during the summer and generally always packed with a fun crowd. 

the restaurant opened during the height of the martini craze in the city and the decor inside feels as though it hasn't really been updated since. great cocktails, but i find them a bit sweet for my personal taste. the style of their italian cuisine is italian american (not traditional italian).  the sauces are again sweet for my taste.  the food is consistently is good, but i'd love to see them step up their traditional flavours a bit.  i ordered a simple american stye pasta with meatballs during my last visit, and it was okay at best.  our starter salad was great though, and my mother thoroughly enjoyed her manicotti.

martini menu was extensive and satisfying. food menu offers many options, i ordered the chicken cecelia which was tasty and filling. unfortunately the service did not meet my expectations, and this remained consistent throughout the evening.

the lasagna is amazing made with both meatballs and sausage. sauce is sweet and dark, pizza bread is a great beginning; exemplary service in a relaxed environment.


-----19 jun, 2013-----

excellent steak, consistently great food and service! ask for justin's section

this was my first time eating at this restaurant. our server seated us and did not return to take our drink order for another 15 minutes. being a server myself, i understand this if it's busy. but we were one of 4 tables and there were 2 servers on the patio. my friend ordered a martini and i ordered a sangria. our server returned almost immediately with just the sangria. he then realized he brought it to the wrong table and ripped it out from my hands. we ordered our food and i ordered fries with my sandwich (which are $2 extra). our food arrived and i had no fries. he said he'd bring the fries right away, and my friend ordered another drink. my fries arrived after after we finished eating, and we never got the second drink. absolutely horrible service. the kicker? while we were eating, a homeless man walked up to another table and begged for their food. lousy service does not make up for prime location. do not eat here, save yourself time & money.

we normally love cecilas but had a horrid experience recently. i was served a dish in which i couldnt eat bc it was so unacceptable following this they offered me something else. by then my fiancee was almost done eating so i just ordered a bowl of soup. they offered desert and their appologies which i thought was nice. during out visit my water was never refilled and was left empty. i finally at desert asked for more. when our check arrived they charged me $30 for the meal i didnt touch and said well...i gave u desert and soup. finally they removed the dinner and when we asked for our other meal which was supposed to be boxed up the waitress said well it accidentally got thrown out have a good night. theres a lot more to this awful experience but i dont think i need to say more. dont expect much here they have gone way down hill.

as we entered cecelia’s ristorante & martini bar we were dazzled by blond in white, enchanted by acoustic guitar, and hungered by the smell of pizza margherita. unfortunately, the white in blond was merely the blond wood decorated with white linen, inflamed by the skylights on a sunny day. unlike simon & garfunkle’s cecelia, this stylish, family owned eatery at the heart of elmwood village since 2001, seems to be sticking around.     cecelia’s is comfortably elegant, and wears the restaurant or martini bar moniker equally well. in the summer the patio is often a buzz with villagers enjoying some libation – cecelia’s extensive martini list or some of their fine wine selections. the single digit temps ruled out the patio, lunch ruled out the martini. wine sounded perfect – we tried the garnacha, tepena from spain ($7 glass). the wine list is creative and reasonably priced. i counted 23 reds, 9 whites and 6 sparkling. we were there on a brisk winter’s day after doing a little trinket shop

excellent food, service and atmosphere. what an excellent experience. the martinis are delicious and worth going just for them. the food was also spectacular and the waitress was attentive and kind. i know other reviews complain about the service, but i have been here on multiple occasions and i have never had any problems. this is one of my favorite spots on elmwood

the best place ever!. i had a birthday dinner here last july 2 and it was so wonderful words can not express! i loved the food so much. had a chef's special and it was amazing beyond words. the desert was so delicious too. the chef even came out and wished me a happy birthday personally and the staff was accommodating and kind. i will definitely eat here again and again!

diners beware. this place is dirty and the owner is a tool. so many reviews mentioning how incredibly rude the servers are, but they are only following their boss's lead. you couldn't pay me to eat here. we have so many other decent places in and around the city, this is a "why bother" for me.

went to cecelia's for half price martinis (btw every monday now at tables too :). ) and an early dinner. everything was delicious including the banana pepper stuffed chicken special. one just wasn't enough. our server janelle was very attentive and we really appreciated that the manager came over to make sure everything was great! we will def be back.