Review Cecelia's Ristorante - Buffalo

I've gone here several times, here just at the bar for drinks, and for food as well. I met my now husband there for our first date, we used to go for drinks every Friday, they have some pretty good cocktails. We came back here to take engagement photos, had our Jack & Jill party here, and also celebrated our 1 year wedding anniversary here too! I highly recommend for brunch, dinner or a night on the town!

Delicious food, mimosas are small so the bottomless is the way to go! Staff was extremely friendly and helpful. Will definitely be going back again!!

I went for brunch. The waiter was good, the food was good and most importantly the drinks were good. The cannoli french toast was delicious along with the margarita mimosa

Posting the brunch menu. Couldn't find it anywhere when I was looking and finally just had to go see for myself. The food was amazing, the staff was polite. It does get a little loud in there at times but I think it's just because the place is packed for brunch. I've not been able to get a table without a reservation, but if you come before noon you can usually find a spot at the bar

I know what the big deal about this place is now. Brunch. Bottomless mimosas and amazing brunch options. Super tasty, will be returning again.

Bottomless Mimosa $15, Breakfast BLT and Eggs Benedict, to die for!!!! But don’t, so you can come back and try the Cannoli French Toast...

I don't know why their happy hour is so slow. Good drink deals and yummy food.

My girlfriend and I went for brunch one weekend. It was packed, but we had a reservation. We had bottomless mimosas for $15 and our waitress was ON IT. My glass never emptied. It was like she had super hawk eyes and came by every 5 minutes to fill it up. The food was so great and I just wanted to stay and eat more.

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. <br/><br/>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.

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.

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.

Love the Clam Bar. I had the peel & eat shrimp along with some clams casino. Both were excellent accompanied by a ginger beer. Check it out!

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 Ave restaurant again.

The staff is horrible. They will look at you and tell you that they can't serve you because they are busy. Hold on... Am I suppose to cook my own food to? No thank you. Hands down the worst staff imaginable.

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.

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 Italian restaurant and 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.

What's happening?. I've been going to Cecelia's for a few years now. I've always loved the food, however, my last visit was less than stellar. The hostess was a plug, the food was not of it's usual good quality (cold), but the server, Kerry, was wonderful, friendly and attentive. I will go back because one bad experience will not stop me. Hopefully it was just a bad night.

Went here on a Saturday night at 6pm before our tickets to the BPO at 8pm. We were promptly seated were given water and menus and we right away ordered and appetizer. We ordered our food not ten minutes later, but it took 60 minutes for the entree to come out! It was quite ridiculous and at this point we knew we were cutting it close to eat and make it the the concert in time. The food was not very good. I had the Chicken bruschetta which was not worth 17 dollars and it came with mashed potatoes which I could've made better chicken at home. I will not return.

Very Disappointed. Was really disappointed with this restaurant and 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 the restaurant has a lovely outdoor patio. If you don't come with an appetite, you'll do just fine.

Amazing! Came here for a classy 21st birthday and everything was amazing. Super friendly service, martinis to die for and excellent food! Will visit Ceceilia's every chance I get

Horrible Service. Went there for clam bar and drinks. We sat on the patio for 20 and a bus boy came by and placed glasses at the table with no water in them and said your waitress will be here shortly. After another 20 minutes, no one came we lefted. This was the second time this year that this has happened there. <br/><br/>I will never go back. Your better off going to any other bar on Elmwood.

Not coming back! I use to love this place...but it's just not the same anymore. Not only have my favorite menu items been taken off the menu, but the service was TERRIBLE! It took forever to seat us in an almost empty restaurant, took 10 minutes to get our drink order, didnt tell us about all the specials until asked, & martinis tasted like nothing but juice. For $8.50 a martini, I expect much more. Never again.

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 a restaurant that frauds people.

Love this place!. Everythign on the menu is good. Our company dinner is here every year. Try the Tuesday $25 Menu App.Win and Dinner!

My wife and I had a great time at Cecelia's. Their stuffed banana peppers are amazing! We enjoyed a couple of their specials: strawberry melon soup (served cold) - so good! And the 20 oz. prime rib with hollandaise and asparagus was the best I've had since Hugo's Cellar in old Las Vegas!

Nice atmosphere, bland sauce, good patio. The "signature tomato sauce" is pretty bland. The ravioli in the red pepper cream sauce was good though, as were the banana peppers. Other reviews mention poor service, but we did not have a problem. Other than the appetizers, the menu is reasonably priced. They have a nice patio and a long martini menu. I think it's a good place to go for drinks.

Overrated food. Went to Cecelias for the first time and was disappointed that their advertised clam bar wasn't open. I ordered Ravioli, which would have been great fresh but it was delivered to the table with a film over it which I assume to be from the heat lamp? My wife had the Chicken Cecelia which had a mushroom sauce like the marsala, it was bland and the plate was swimming in the sauce, like a soup. Overall the food wasn't the best Italian food but its not the worst. Our waitress was less that friendly but perhaps it was a bad day. The patio is the best feature, good luck getting a table after 7.<br/>And a side note, I think there is a review from one of the hostesses on here, CChampli. padding the UrbanSpoon stats a bit?

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.

The service is the worst in Buffalo hands down. The food is decent but nothing special. Don't waste your time.

In general: over priced and food is less than average. On the positive side, the patio in the summer is unparalleled. And if you drink enough 7$ martini's you just might think the food is good. Avoid brunch. The free mimosa sounds like a sweet deal- but one mimosa does not make their poached egg taste less like a hockey puck. Seriously, their poached egg could have broken a window all three times I ate brunch here.

Great Service and Food. Great menu, Food is well prepared, Price is reasonable.

Good for a Fun Night Out. This is one of my favorite spots for a Girls' Night Out. They have an amazing selection of specialty drinks and a wide array of options for carnivores and vegetarians alike. I wish their dining area and bar were a little more separate but the crowd doesn't get too out of control.

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

For a wonderful and inexpensive brunch in Buffalo, NY I recommend Cecelia's Ristorante . 

If anyone has read this blog on a regular basis, they pretty much can gather that I love the Elmwood/Allentown restaurant scene. Right now, you simply can't do any better in terms of great locations, crowds, diversity, and overall quality of food. Up unti