This review is for croissants only.While on the hunt for a great almond croissant in the city with limited time, I read many great reviews about Ceci Cela's and decided to drop by. I was pleased to find out I could order for pickup on Grubhub.Unfortunately, there was a mishap where someone took my order which had been prepared and set on one of the display counters. However, two of the staff were very quick to ameliorate the situation and put together my order again.- Almond croissant (4/5): solid croissant similar to the quality of those I've had in DC. Crunchy in the right places and decently flaky. The toasted almonds on top are delicious, and there was a good helping of almond paste. However, I would have liked the paste to taste a bit stronger and for the bottom of the croissant shell to be less dense and just a bit less moist. While there was some elasticity to the bottom, it was still difficult for me to make a satisfying pull without unraveling more of the croissant than expected. Could also be more flaky.- Chocolate almond croissant (4.25/5): the pull was better in this one, but I'm still searching for bolder chocolate and almond.- Ham and cheese croissant (4.5/5): the cheese was encrusted on the top of the croissant and was exceptionally tasty after I toasted the croissant. Good amount of ham, too.- Ham and brie croissant with mesclun (4.75/5): yum! I couldn't stop eating as it was so fresh with great flavour combination. The brie was distinct and gooey but not overpowering. Since it was wrapped, some of the flaky parts of the shell softened, but overall a very delicious savoury option.I think I would pass over the almond croissants and continue my search for the best almond croissant in NY, but I would come back for the savoury croissants. They also make coffee many ways, so the small location would make for a cosy study or work spot.
Mary D.
Lovely hidden spot in the heart of Bowery. You have to ring the doorbell to go inside, feels very cozy. Once I stepped inside, it was immediately greeted with the warmth and smell of fresh croissants. Yeah baby! Came here upon a recommendation and it did not disappoint. The service was lovely, I asked for my croissant to be toasted and it was perfection. Ordered the ham and cheese croissant and a cherry blossom tea, the total was $7 including tip. Super affordable, would highly recommend!
Meline V.
It's my go to place for almond croissant or almond chocolate croissant! Sergio's good. You can order online for home delivery. I'm downtown and just for few stops on the train pop here for a treat. I've tried a lot of almond croissants & I can assure you Ceci-Cela's are worth the try!
Romeo R. del Rosario
This rating is based on an awful online order experience (through Goldbelly) and not on the in-store service or quality of the establishment's products (which we can't speak to because we never got to try the products as the order was so problematic).Long story short -- we placed an order for a variety of goods (croissants, brioche buns, muffins, etc.) ahead of time for shipment a week later on Thursday and overnight delivery the next day (Friday). The shipment date came, and I never got any order updates, so I inquired about the status of the order.As we eventually learned, apparently, the order was packed on Thursday and forgotten about. I was told it would go out on Friday and promised an overnight shipment for a Saturday delivery. That still would have been a day late but more or less acceptable in this situation.Of course, the order didn't arrive until Monday -- 4 days after these highly perishable bread products were packed and after being subjected to various environmental shipping conditions. The goods had to be thrown in the trash immediately upon the significantly late arrival because they were so old and unsafe for human consumption at that point. It was a shame because they looked visibly appetizing, but the quality after 4 days in transit was highly questionable.Somebody should have made sure this was a priority order that was prepared for Saturday delivery, especially because this order was already delayed at that point and especially because Goldbelly had voluntarily assured me that this would be done.The order was meant to be a gift, and I couldn't expect the recipient to consume $70's worth of bread that had been traveling around the United States for half a week. It was packed for overnight delivery, not for multiple days of travel, so the bread products were essentially just sitting in a box, spoiling more every day.It took me another week and hours of communications with Goldbelly that were ignored for several days to get a refund. I eventually had to contact my credit card company and file a dispute to get any resolution. That's a lot of effort for what should have been a simple order.So it was a complete operational failure, with empty apologies from Goldbelly and no word at all from this establishment. It's an unnecessary loss of a $70 sale for them, which was highly avoidable if they just thought to do a new, fresh shipment or even just proactively apologized. It's a shame to have wasted all that food by throwing it in the trash, but we couldn't risk it for safety reasons. And it's too bad for this establishment because we likely would have been frequent, repeat customers otherwise. So, a lot of losses all around that could have been easily prevented with simple actions.The other reviews here suggest the in-store experience is good. But I can't recommend to anyone that they try ordering for delivery from this shop -- they don't have procedures in place to ensure the freshness and quality of delivery orders or any established practices to ensure safe, timely deliveries.
Alan Varghese
Delicious cakes and pastries with a large collection of options to choose from, especially if you pre-order the day before. Prices are decent, flavors and textures were great and staff were friendly.They have macarons, cake slices, crossiants (their best seller), amazing tarts, custom cakes at different sizes, tons of tea and coffee options. They have ample indoor seating as well.
Bella M.
One of the best croissants I have had, outside of Paris. These 5 stars are for the croissants.I can't speak for the rest of the food, the other pastries under the glass looked pretty mediocre and unappetizing. We didn't try them, they didn't look worth the calories. The oat milk lattes are good though
Melissa L.
This review is solely for the almond croissant and chocolate almond croissant: simply the best I've ever had. Do yourself a favor and try either. Other items I've tried that were good but fairly average: quiche, flourless chocolate cake, macarons, chocolate mousse cake, and danish
Edward Cabral
Great pastry and macarons! Charming staff. Worth the stop in
Shelby Buchanan
This place was good, but not amazing. They were out of a lot of things when we came around 8:30 AM (coffee syrups and most of their croissants). There was a steady flow of customers but the place was never packed while we ate. Also, they have a lock on the door, you have to be buzzed into the store. There was an uncomfortable situation where a homeless man was banging on the door and screaming while we waited for our order. Long story short, I wouldn't go out of my way to come here.
Lem W.
Place is cute on the outside. Definitely reminds me of when I went to Paris. Upon coming in, they have to buzz you inside. Once inside you order at the counter- I ordered a regular croissant and caramel macchiato. The croissant looked slightly over done being extra crispy. I can tell you, it's not the same as in Paris- Paris is lighter in color, buttery, and just melts in your mouth. This croissant was an average one maybe you get at costco and toasted it yourself. The coffee was not sweet at all, I had to add sweetner to give that a little more taste. I wouldn't recommend this place. They have other cute bakery/ coffee shops that have better selections
Their almond croissant is generously portioned, not overly sweet, and with perfectly crispy and caramelized crust and soft middle. It’s also very cheap at $4.4 compared to others hip bakeries.
YuJin Kim
Love this cafe. Used to go to the one near spring street. Ordered my wedding cake from here. So beautiful.
Galina Niyazov
Tasty pastries. Almond croissant us DELICIOUS!!!! I get it every time I'm in the area!!!
Jeffrey Montagna
If you rated this place any less than 5 stars then you haven't had the chocolate croissant or don't know what you're looking for. I've spent the past 3 weeks sampling these all over France and NYC, and this is the clear best in my book. It's fresh, flaky, buttery, crispy. Definitely recommend and will be coming back
Jeaneen M.
Awesome pastries. I used to get my morning coffee here before my long day at work. I loved the environment and the welcoming baristas.
This review is for croissants only.While on the hunt for a great almond croissant in the city with limited time, I read many great reviews about Ceci Cela's and decided to drop by. I was pleased to find out I could order for pickup on Grubhub.Unfortunately, there was a mishap where someone took my order which had been prepared and set on one of the display counters. However, two of the staff were very quick to ameliorate the situation and put together my order again.- Almond croissant (4/5): solid croissant similar to the quality of those I've had in DC. Crunchy in the right places and decently flaky. The toasted almonds on top are delicious, and there was a good helping of almond paste. However, I would have liked the paste to taste a bit stronger and for the bottom of the croissant shell to be less dense and just a bit less moist. While there was some elasticity to the bottom, it was still difficult for me to make a satisfying pull without unraveling more of the croissant than expected. Could also be more flaky.- Chocolate almond croissant (4.25/5): the pull was better in this one, but I'm still searching for bolder chocolate and almond.- Ham and cheese croissant (4.5/5): the cheese was encrusted on the top of the croissant and was exceptionally tasty after I toasted the croissant. Good amount of ham, too.- Ham and brie croissant with mesclun (4.75/5): yum! I couldn't stop eating as it was so fresh with great flavour combination. The brie was distinct and gooey but not overpowering. Since it was wrapped, some of the flaky parts of the shell softened, but overall a very delicious savoury option.I think I would pass over the almond croissants and continue my search for the best almond croissant in NY, but I would come back for the savoury croissants. They also make coffee many ways, so the small location would make for a cosy study or work spot.
Lovely hidden spot in the heart of Bowery. You have to ring the doorbell to go inside, feels very cozy. Once I stepped inside, it was immediately greeted with the warmth and smell of fresh croissants. Yeah baby! Came here upon a recommendation and it did not disappoint. The service was lovely, I asked for my croissant to be toasted and it was perfection. Ordered the ham and cheese croissant and a cherry blossom tea, the total was $7 including tip. Super affordable, would highly recommend!
It's my go to place for almond croissant or almond chocolate croissant! Sergio's good. You can order online for home delivery. I'm downtown and just for few stops on the train pop here for a treat. I've tried a lot of almond croissants & I can assure you Ceci-Cela's are worth the try!
This rating is based on an awful online order experience (through Goldbelly) and not on the in-store service or quality of the establishment's products (which we can't speak to because we never got to try the products as the order was so problematic).Long story short -- we placed an order for a variety of goods (croissants, brioche buns, muffins, etc.) ahead of time for shipment a week later on Thursday and overnight delivery the next day (Friday). The shipment date came, and I never got any order updates, so I inquired about the status of the order.As we eventually learned, apparently, the order was packed on Thursday and forgotten about. I was told it would go out on Friday and promised an overnight shipment for a Saturday delivery. That still would have been a day late but more or less acceptable in this situation.Of course, the order didn't arrive until Monday -- 4 days after these highly perishable bread products were packed and after being subjected to various environmental shipping conditions. The goods had to be thrown in the trash immediately upon the significantly late arrival because they were so old and unsafe for human consumption at that point. It was a shame because they looked visibly appetizing, but the quality after 4 days in transit was highly questionable.Somebody should have made sure this was a priority order that was prepared for Saturday delivery, especially because this order was already delayed at that point and especially because Goldbelly had voluntarily assured me that this would be done.The order was meant to be a gift, and I couldn't expect the recipient to consume $70's worth of bread that had been traveling around the United States for half a week. It was packed for overnight delivery, not for multiple days of travel, so the bread products were essentially just sitting in a box, spoiling more every day.It took me another week and hours of communications with Goldbelly that were ignored for several days to get a refund. I eventually had to contact my credit card company and file a dispute to get any resolution. That's a lot of effort for what should have been a simple order.So it was a complete operational failure, with empty apologies from Goldbelly and no word at all from this establishment. It's an unnecessary loss of a $70 sale for them, which was highly avoidable if they just thought to do a new, fresh shipment or even just proactively apologized. It's a shame to have wasted all that food by throwing it in the trash, but we couldn't risk it for safety reasons. And it's too bad for this establishment because we likely would have been frequent, repeat customers otherwise. So, a lot of losses all around that could have been easily prevented with simple actions.The other reviews here suggest the in-store experience is good. But I can't recommend to anyone that they try ordering for delivery from this shop -- they don't have procedures in place to ensure the freshness and quality of delivery orders or any established practices to ensure safe, timely deliveries.
Delicious cakes and pastries with a large collection of options to choose from, especially if you pre-order the day before. Prices are decent, flavors and textures were great and staff were friendly.They have macarons, cake slices, crossiants (their best seller), amazing tarts, custom cakes at different sizes, tons of tea and coffee options. They have ample indoor seating as well.
One of the best croissants I have had, outside of Paris. These 5 stars are for the croissants.I can't speak for the rest of the food, the other pastries under the glass looked pretty mediocre and unappetizing. We didn't try them, they didn't look worth the calories. The oat milk lattes are good though
This review is solely for the almond croissant and chocolate almond croissant: simply the best I've ever had. Do yourself a favor and try either. Other items I've tried that were good but fairly average: quiche, flourless chocolate cake, macarons, chocolate mousse cake, and danish
Great pastry and macarons! Charming staff. Worth the stop in
This place was good, but not amazing. They were out of a lot of things when we came around 8:30 AM (coffee syrups and most of their croissants). There was a steady flow of customers but the place was never packed while we ate. Also, they have a lock on the door, you have to be buzzed into the store. There was an uncomfortable situation where a homeless man was banging on the door and screaming while we waited for our order. Long story short, I wouldn't go out of my way to come here.
Place is cute on the outside. Definitely reminds me of when I went to Paris. Upon coming in, they have to buzz you inside. Once inside you order at the counter- I ordered a regular croissant and caramel macchiato. The croissant looked slightly over done being extra crispy. I can tell you, it's not the same as in Paris- Paris is lighter in color, buttery, and just melts in your mouth. This croissant was an average one maybe you get at costco and toasted it yourself. The coffee was not sweet at all, I had to add sweetner to give that a little more taste. I wouldn't recommend this place. They have other cute bakery/ coffee shops that have better selections
Restaurantji Recommends
Their almond croissant is generously portioned, not overly sweet, and with perfectly crispy and caramelized crust and soft middle. It’s also very cheap at $4.4 compared to others hip bakeries.
Love this cafe. Used to go to the one near spring street. Ordered my wedding cake from here. So beautiful.
Tasty pastries. Almond croissant us DELICIOUS!!!! I get it every time I'm in the area!!!
If you rated this place any less than 5 stars then you haven't had the chocolate croissant or don't know what you're looking for. I've spent the past 3 weeks sampling these all over France and NYC, and this is the clear best in my book. It's fresh, flaky, buttery, crispy. Definitely recommend and will be coming back
Awesome pastries. I used to get my morning coffee here before my long day at work. I loved the environment and the welcoming baristas.