Is Cecconi’s Dumbo Worth the Hype? the Truth Behind Brooklyn's Most Photographed Italian Table
By James H. Sterling
Evaluating Cecconi's requires assessing its culinary core against contemporary standards for classic Italian hospitality. Executive kitchens across the Soho House group rely on dependable, crowd-pleasing formats: crudo, wood-fired pizza, handmade pasta dishes, and grilled meats cooked over charcoal. The kitchen achieves moments of real technical craft, particularly across its house-extruded pasta program.
The agnolotti del plin, filled with rich braised beef and glazed in savory black truffle butter, arrives silky and correctly textured. Similarly, the spaghetti topped with Maine lobster, chile, and saffron represents one of the menu's most consistently praised splurges, balancing marine sweetness with bright acidity. Among the pizzas, the black truffle, blossom zucchini, and goat cheese pie benefits from blistered, fermented dough cooked hot in the wood-burning oven.
Disappointments emerge when high-volume pressures shortchange simpler preparations. Calamari fritti can arrive lukewarm during frantic Friday shifts, and the classic cacio e pepe occasionally suffers from broken cheese emulsification. When plates command $34 to $48 for pasta courses and $28 for pizzas, minor technical errors register sharply on the final bill.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
