Cecelia (downtown BR)

225 Article Covering Their Opening

Went with a friend a couple of days ago. As all the write ups have said, it's definitely going for classic creole with the menu. It reminded me significantly of Eliza. We had the cornbread skillet as an app, which was very good. I had the turtle soup which I enjoyed quite a bit. However, while the gumbo had a good flavor, it was over the top immediate tip of the tongue scorching levels of spicy. Completely overwhelmed the dish. I don't know if the sausage bled more spice than they expected, but if it's not dialed back, I imagine it's a dish that will get sent back to the kitchen regularly.

On the drink side, I only had a beer, so I can't comment on the cocktails, but the beer prices are reasonable. There is a large selection of local crafts, with the bulk of them being $5 a pour and Jucifer sitting at $6. It seems as though everything is currently coming out of the can/bottle, as I didn't notice any taps behind the bar, but that could be in the works. On a related note, my one complaint about the ambiance is that the cooler with the beer is facing the dining room and has interior lighting that would make an operating room blush. Every time they opened the door, it flooded the dining room with white/blue LED lighting.

Overall, it was a pleasant dining experience, and I'll be back to check things out again in a couple of weeks once they've gotten settled in.