This week I am choosing to review a small patisserie called Ceci-Cela. It is a relatively small in size restaurant located in the heart of Manhattan, New York. Its combination of old world european bake shoppe mixed with upscale decadent pastries have kept people coming back time and time again. Here you can have the full French cafe experience and sample a handcrafted croissant, pain du chocolat, or a chausson aux pommes. But it doesn't stop there you can also dine in their cozy cafe room and in French etiquette with their traditional lunch and dinner menus. As soon as you enter the main door you are exposed to a vast display case filled with only the finest of desserts which are all baked fresh daily on site. With excellent food comes excellent service, you can really obtain an European experience with the restaurants friendly and welcoming staff, who know how to properly pronounce the most difficult French words, to an English speaking tongue. Although no head chef is defined at the establishment all are of equal skill and ability according to others who have eaten here.
To further evaluate the restaurant, its clearly evident strengths are quite simply its outstanding cuisine and its classic sophisticated atmosphere. The croissants are called the best in New York (a very high earned honour for such an upscale city), their numerous options of pastries and work of art desserts are just as good to look at as they are to eat. This restaurant is authentic French baking and the aroma of fresh butter, cinnamon, chocolate, and sugar are a signature media of advertisement on the bustling city street. Like anything there are going to be some weaknesses. First of all, the area that the restaurant is contained in is very small, with little room to breath especially during early morning and lunch rush hours. Also, even though the service is friendly beyond compare, they are on the slower side. So if you are in a rush and want to grab a French pastry on the way to school, work, or wherever, you can expect to be a little late as it can take up to 30 minutes of wait time during busy hours. Nonetheless, I would definitely wait hours to eat here!
I have an overwhelming passion for the culinary arts and the intensive artistry that is pastry. To be bluntly honest the French do it best. This quant cafe is Paris wrapped in a box and thrown into the heart of the Big Apple. I have had the extreme pleasure of eating here when I was in New York. Not only would I recommend this place to a friend or even stranger, I would force them to go there with me! I loved the feeling you get being there, its almost indescribable in words but you feel so content and relaxed in this cafe, and are instantly drawn to their displays. Personally I love French cuisine so this was a massive hit with me, and I'm sure anyone else who shows a similar interest. Quite simply the best dessert I have ever had in my life was here (a banana creme variant of tiramisu). So, if you want the whole French pastry experience there is no place like Ceci-Cela.
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