Cheri
“Wine down in the garden & try the Pain Perdu or the delicious Brie Burger for brunch.”
“The owners treat you like right at home
Great food and drinks
Harlem best brunch place”
“Great service directly from the owner Alain.”
Cheri
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Dogs Allowed: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
3 reviews
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What a gem Cheri is. A quick hop on the 2/3 to 125th and few blocks walk, this is closer to the Upper West Side than anything downtown. And just darling inside, with a patio in back, and a piano for music to the side of the bar.
I went to go hear Michael Garin and Mardie Millit, who now have a standing Thursday night gig at Cheri from 7-10. I rarely go to Harlem (last I was there I just went to my ex-professor's apartment on Morningside Drive and she made mussels) and never would have known about Cheri but for Michael and Mardie.
If you've not been in Harlem for awhile (or anywhere north of Columbia), you will first of all be so charmed by the architecture as you walk from the subway to the restaurant with lights and ivy at the entrance. The churches and brownstones make you feel as though you've gone back in time at least 75 years.
The main room is casually elegant with warm lighting, ivory walls and padded chairs with gold accents. The floral arrangements on the piano and throughout the restaurant are exquisite. Clearly the owners wanted people to feel that they were entering the living room of a close friend in France for a leisurely delicious meal with wine. (Note: They don't have a full bar, likely because the cost of a license for liquor would have been too expensive, so you should have a martini beforehand if you require a real cocktail).
The menu itself is a book! Bistro 61 (61st/1st, a nice local French bistro known for mussels) put menus in old album jackets. Cute but nowhere near as innovative as the books into which Cheri's outstanding, reasonably priced offerings are stapled. Mine was in French and I haven't bothered to Google what the title meant. My French is gone (I could never speak but had to pass translation exam for PhD quals. My friend's book was in English, some philanthropy guide–which we took as a good sign that he will make so much money, he will need to start start giving much of it away!
The prices are very reasonable (amazing what happens to prices when you get north of 96th Street), particularly when you consider portion size. I wanted the brie burger with roasted potatoes and salad on the side, but I'm trying to drop a little weight and went for the sirloin tartare instead. It was excellent–and huge! I took half home. The entrees are low 20s but they come with potatoes or salad. And the starters (soup and other light dishes are 10 or so, so I wouldn't call this $$$ as Yelp has.
The potatoes were perfect and would alone induce me to return. My friend had one of the cheese/charcuterie plates but disappointed to see no pate. So he ordered some. It's chicken and we loved it, though he's more a duck pate guy than chicken (and not into chicken liver mousse, which if not so fattening, I'd eat every other day).
He had the sirloin slightly charred. He's traveled for work all of the world and spent a lot of time in France so a thumbs up from him means more than it does from me, a provincial American who has never been to the European continent (except for Ireland in 1994, not of course a country known for its cuisine, and London in 1984 at 12, when I ate the same steak sandwich at the posh Grosvenor House almost daily, and Indian almost nightly, with my best friend's parents, there to shoot a TV movie for a major 1980s sitcom).
Specialty cocktails (wine or champagne-based only) are all 12, not 15 as in most of Manhattan in comparable establishments, or God forbid, 20, in trendy cocktail and hotel bars. I had a Cotes du Rhones just 9 dollars a glass and really liked it. The sparkling brut rose was just 9 and yummy. I'd buy that for home. And the pours are generous: think Joe Allen, at least if you order wine at the bar rather than table.
We didn't look at the dessert menu, but I saw many beautiful small desserts coming out of the kitchen.
The service is friendly but the food doesn't exactly fly out of the kitchen. So just know that. This isn't a place to get in and out of quickly, but it's not as though on 125th Street you're ducking in for a pre-theater prix-fixe, so who cares.
I imagine with Columbia not far, Cheri will do well. Prices might be high for the area but really low compared to most neighborhood French bistros on the UES (with the notable exception of always good Sel et Poivre, which is over 30 years old and caters to a loyal geriatric crowd). A few places I know up there closed in the last year or two and I will send this review to my philosophy idol from college, tenured there since 1998.
I took a cab to 72nd/Amsterdam, but a friend said I could just shoot up on the 4/5 and walk a few minutes, which makes this a reasonable option for brunch.
So cute I thought I was in someone's living room.
I was scouting out a cute date spot in Harlem and came across Cheri. It sounded like a restaurant out of a fairytale, and I immediately booked a reservation. The hostess recommended their indoor garden for a more intimate ambiance.
When we arrived, the hostess took our jackets and led us through the main dining room. The energy was high, and I appreciated how all the seating options were unique. The fireplace, the piano, everything made it seem like someone's living room. She took us to the much quieter enclosed garden and gave us the menus. The garden, while enclosed, was still a little chillier than inside. The space heaters provided a little comfort, but I wish I had worn one more layer.
They have a daily special menu, which sounded amazing, and we both ordered their lamb special, joined with a fois gras and stuffed mushroom appetizer.
The starters were tasty, although it was here where the theme of simplicity started. The food was good, but nothing was mind-blowing and I feel like I could've made the majority of the items on the menu at home. The fois gras was canned and served with toasted slices of bread. The stuffed mushrooms only had plain goat cheese and no spices aside from pepper to note. Both accompanying greens were also heavily dressed. I would've liked a lighter coating, but it wasn't a dealbreaker.
The crown jewel was their lamb rack. Served with a couscous and ratatouille, I absolutely loved the presentation. This is the only part of the meal where the simplicity was a plus. The lamb aroma came through strong, and the simple salt pepper combo made for a tasty entree. The couscous and ratatouille, again with simplicity, were unfortunately a little under-seasoned for my tastes. It was also a little cool, indicating it might've been sitting out before service.
The reason why I'm giving such a high rating is because the atmosphere was beautiful. Halfway into our apps, a live jazz singer took to the piano, and the music carried through into the garden. They might've been a little short-staffed because service was spotty, but we weren't in any rush. We definitely need to come for happy hour next time too. Their drinks are BOGO and humungous, from what we could see at other tables.
I totally get the "home-cooked" food appeal, but just for feedback, I could use a little more seasoning and flair next time. Until next time!
The service isn't that great. I had to go and find the waitress each time I wanted something. The Brie burger was really good – I would order more but I can't the waitress.