Cece's Roland Park — Restaurant in Baltimore

Unfortunately, after much anticipation about the opening of CeCe, my dining experience on this past Wednesday was a debacle. I am 65, spent many of my younger years as a young adult working in upscale restaurants in Baltimore. I have always had a discerning palate and love, fine cuisine, that portrays top notch culinary wizardry, and as such my expectation is always outstanding service no matter the establishment. I was taking my best friend to dinner for her Birthday. Reservation was at 6:45 p.m,. The hostesses were friendly and courteous. I told them we wanted outside seating and that my friend was running late. The hosted recommended a refreshing mock-tail, since I don’t drink. I sat at the bar waiting for my friend who arrived at 7 , bartenders were equally engaging, and made my cocktail complimentary. Friend arrived and we were seated outside. The menu is rather limited, and was told chicken would take 20 min; and it had the longest cook time of everything else. We sat for 4-5min before waiter came. He was friendly as well, my friend ordered a glass of wine, my friend asked questions about entree ingredients on menu to which our waiter did not know. We ordered our food, I ordered the Lettuce, orange and goat cheese appetizer, which never came, I asked waiter about it after waiting nearly 20 min. When it finally arrived it was not good, goat cheese was almost nonexistent and dressing was bland and watery. I have had much better. The tables around me I observed had what appeared to be attentive and faster service, even though some were ordering when we were. The managers were greeting tables around us but never came over to ask how everything was with us. At 10 min to 8 food had not arrived, chicken for her scallops for me. At a few min after 8 after asking for a manager food came out just as we decided to leave. The tables around us had eaten and some had even had dessert, and were departing when our food arrived. By then our celebration and experience had been ruined. We shared our experience with manager and left without eating. I understand people mess up, although our waiter was nice, his service was significantly lacking and I definitely expected more. We left and I stopped on my way home to grabbing something to eat at Chipotle. While apologies are nice, and was sincere, it did nothing to ease my hunger or make up for my experience. We made a reservation for today for a do over, but I cancelled it today. Was not willing to risk another subpar dining experience. A beautiful...

Update: (original review below) We returned to Cece's in January of 2025. It was a great experience. The service was much improved and the food was excellent. Had a lovely salad, excellent chicken and pasta, and we were super happy with the dessert. Will definitely return!

Original: I really wanted to love this restaurant. The space is beautiful and has a sense of luxury. The food and service were so-so. It was a confusing experience...luxurious ambiance and high-end prices but the service was inconsistent & too casual and the food was just fine.

The server (who was nice) was very attentive for the first half of the meal and then she disappeared or would fly by for the second half. We had our water glasses refilled two or three times in the first 20 mins and then our glasses sat empty for long stretches (and our empty cocktails glasses sat for a very long time). Once our entrees were delivered, we had to ask to ask someone to find our server to order a second drink. If the entrees are $30-$70+, I wouldn't expect the server to leave a pile of silverware that we passed to each other. They encourage family style sharing but there were no serving spoons delivered with starters and someone brought one spoon and one fork with our three shared deserts. Just a general lack of attention to detail.

Food-wise, nothing was terrible but the flavors were confusing and the dishes lacked attention to detail. The piece of focaccia was amazing, but hard to split between four people. The carrots were good but seasoned with harissa and tasted more middle eastern (not italian), the salad was good but kinda sloppy and muddled, and the burrata was nice but was served with very cold tomatoes. Our entrees were good overall- the chicken milanese was a standout, but the broccolini was mostly a pile of undercooked stalks (barely edible). Desserts were ok but nothing great.

Overall, the restaurant has great potential. The service and food need a lot of work to match the prices they are charging. The best thing about CeCe's at the moment is the physical space, which is lovely, but not enough to make us...

Cece's in Roland Park is one of those places that quietly impresses without trying too hard. From the moment we sat down, the vibe felt intentional—laid back, but elevated. I kicked things off with their lemon drop made with Tito’s, and it was spot-on: chilled just right, citrus-forward, and balanced enough to sip slow and enjoy.

Now let’s talk about the bread. It’s the kind of thing you swear you’ll only have one piece of, and before you know it, it’s gone. Soft, buttery, and honestly addictive. It’s the kind of bread that makes you question your self-control in public.

The branzino was perfectly seared with a crisp skin and moist, flaky interior—clearly someone in the kitchen knows their way around a pan. The seasoning wasn’t just surface level; the flavors were layered, vibrant, and intentional. I caught a subtle note of citrus zest that paired beautifully with the agrodolce cipollini onions - tender, sweet-and-tangy bites that brought just the right contrast to the dish.. When paired with their Sauvignon Blanc, it brought the whole dish together in a way that felt thoughtful, not forced.

Sides: I almost skipped the roasted broccoli because of the anchovy mention, but the server explained it was blended - no fishy taste, just depth. They were right. And the spinach? My personal favorite. I love garlic, but this was done with a light hand—seasoned just enough to enhance, not mask. Everything felt cooked with care.

Service was another win. Our server was attentive without hovering, and everything moved smoothly without us ever needing to ask twice. We sat outside, and the setting was relaxed with just enough polish to feel special.

Highly recommend for a date night, a relaxed but elevated dinner with friends, or even a solo evening when you just want to treat yourself to good food and...