cecelia's ristorante

as with other negative reviews here, thisrestauranthas 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?

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. 

therestaurantopened 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.

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 therestaurantor 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

where's chef ramsay when you need him.. ate there last night. over all i'd rate it 2 of 5 spoons. our waitress, zeena was a really professional waitress. hats off to her! but, the food was very so-so. other waiters and waitresses seemed as if they wished they were anywhere else but there. and they had that, " are you cool enough to eat on elmwood " attitude to the point of being rude. not a warm or pleasant staff at all. but like i mentioned previously, zeena was top notch. can't recommend dining there and won't be returning, unless i run into a 50% off coupon or some similar offer. but even then it's really doubtful. it's location is nice, but that staff and mediocre food makes me want to read reviews before going to any elmwood averestaurantagain.

not consistent. i try this place at least once a year and i still never seem to like it. the service is all over the board. either they are very attentive or ignore you. if you like martinis this is the place to go. they have many to choose from and on mondays they have half price martinis and tuesday they have a prix fixe menu. many of them are very sweet so you might want something else if you don't like sweet drinks. i could only have one and stuck to wine. we recently dined at the bar on a busy weekend night. the bartenders were busy doing shots with other customers to take our order or bring us waters, silverware etc. this happened throughout the meal. salad came out super fast but entrees took longer then you would think. i ordered something different then a pasta dish at an italianrestaurantand wished i didn't. i liked the concept of the chicken cecelia but it had no flavor! they must have forgot to salt or put spices on the meal. i finished the whole thing after putting tons of salt and pepper on it plus i was hungry. diner liked the olive tampenade pizza. i usually come here in the summer so i can eat and drink on the patio. note if you order from the raw seafood bar even though they are on the property it is considered a separate business. found that out the hard way last year. there are better italian restaurants in the area and i will probably stick to those.

very disappointed. was really disappointed with thisrestaurantand will not go back. the food was served cold and in very small portions. the service was also poor - it took almost 3/4 hour to get our entrees. the only decent component is that therestauranthas a lovely outdoor patio. if you don't come with an appetite, you'll do just fine.

false menu advertising. went there for the martini 2 for 1 night. a lot of their martinis are $8-$10 but at least they use grey goose and top shelf liquors. ...or do they. being a bartender i always watch to see what liquor bartenders actually use when they think you arent looking. ordered a crown manhattan and a grey goose martini. pretty simple drinks, and at 2 for 1 the price was actually quite reasonable. unfortunately, the bartender decided to use well whiskey and well vodka instead. if you cant afford to use the good stuff, then dont advertise and charge for it. will not go back to visit arestaurantthat frauds people.

if anyone has read this blog on a regular basis, they pretty much can gather that i love the elmwood/allentownrestaurantscene. right now, you simply can't do any better in terms of great locations, crowds, diversity, and overall quality of food. up unti