Cecily is a lively wine bar in Greenpoint that also serves a lot of very good food  

By Scott Lynch

Cecily the mascot (Courtesy Cecily, the restaurant)

Cecily, a cartoon mascot, is fun-loving, happy to see you, slightly sophisticated, interestingly shaped, and always eager to hand you a glass of wine. Cecily, the new restaurant and wine bar in Greenpoint that she adorns, is … the same. But will also feed you when you’re hungry — with some first-rate food.

Opened just last week on that unusual, curving corner that is the Calyer Triangle, Cecily is the first restaurant from three industry pros: Tara Noble, who worked with King for years, is the service director; Kirstin Ma, formerly at Estela, is the sommelier and beverage director, and Zach Frieling, late of The Four Horsemen, is the executive chef. All three live in Brooklyn (Noble was born and raised), and all three are stoked to be living their dream in Greenpoint.

“We all come from backgrounds that run from fine dining to fast casual,” Noble tells Brooklyn Magazine. “With Cecily we tried to create something right in the middle: a place that felt extremely not pretentious, welcoming, and warm, but that still had that touch of high-end service to it, and a dedication to getting things right, whether in the cooking, the beverages, or the hospitality.”

They nailed it. Cecily exudes an effortless charm and cozy spirit, and boasts a wide-ranging, impressively international wine list as well as a tight, thoughtful food menu comprising everything from snacks to full-on entrees, with vegan, vegetarian and meaty options in all categories.

“Everyone kind of has to call themselves a ‘natural’ wine bar these days,” says Noble. “We are that, but Kristin has a way of speaking to a larger conversation that’s not just like, ‘is it natural and funky?’ but is more producer-driven. Who are the people growing the grapes and making the wine? Are they doing it in a way that’s sustainable? That sort of thing.”

Glasses run from $4 for a French sparkling to $18 for an Australian red, and there are dozens of bottles in the $60 to $80 range, though you can also splurge on a $350 Comtes Lafon Meursault “Clos de la Baronne” 2013 if that’s more your style. Naturally everyone at Cecily knows their stuff, and will guide you through the list in a friendly, non-patronizing manner if you ask for help.

Chef Frieling is a Midwestern kid — he got into the Culinary Institute of America by winning cooking contests in Kansas — who instills a homey, comfort-food heart into his contemporary, ingredient-driven menu at Cecily. The kicky, crackling porcini chicharron, for example, comes with a dipping sauce that’s basically raw egg yolk.

Porcini chicharron with egg yolk dip, $10 (Scott Lynch)

It’s a total delight, as are the oysters topped with a scattering of smoked trout roe and an infusion of Fresno peppers giving the briny bivalve a hit of sweetness.

Sweet petite oysters with smoked trout roe, $4 each (Scott Lynch)

Frieling resists going the usual wine-bar tinned fish route here. His mackerel toast is made with house-pickled filets stacked on slabs of She Wolf Bakery sourdough, which is slathered with enough garlic aioli to really get your attention.

Mackerel toast, $18 (Scott Lynch)

And his Tokyo turnips are delicious, the slightly bitter root vegetables roasted to a softness and drenched in melted Calabrian chili butter.

Tokyo turnips with Calabrian chili butter, $16 (Scott Lynch)

Other small plates include a locally produced finocchiona, a fennel-accented salami with habanada peppers, and fluke crudo with asian pear. The two entrees are guaranteed to hit the spot: There’s the butter beans and collard greens stew ladled over toast. And then there’s the enormous piece of crisp fried chicken — a leg and thigh deboned, pounded out, battered, deep fried — covered in what is, essentially, a classic green bean and cream-of-mushroom casserole.

Fried chicken with green bean cream-of-mushroom casserole, $32 (Scott Lynch)

There’s an apple zeppole available for dessert, but the sure bet in this department is a bowl of Frieling’s ginger semifreddo, generously sprinkled with sweet, chewy honeycomb candy.

Ginger semifreddo with honeycomb, $10  (Scott Lynch)

The space itself is a real oddity — it used to be the IRL art gallery — with weird angles, various ceiling heights, ramshackle charm, and a random turret above that, come spring, will anchor Cecily’s roof deck.

The good vibes extend behind the scenes as well. Noble said the team was determined to set up a financial model here that “felt more equitable and less extractive” than most small businesses, so every long-term employee, after six months of service, receives a percent of Cecily’s profits as a bonus on their monthly paychecks. There’s also a direct mentorship program in place, whereby any staffer who wants to learn more about a specific aspect of the business will receive training and guidance.

That insistence upon inclusion extends to less tangible matters too — all employees are welcome to add songs to the master playlist, which makes Cecily’s soundtrack a bit chaotic, in the best possible way.

Cecily is located at 80 Franklin Street, at the corner of Calyer Street, and is currently open from Thursday through Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m., and on Sunday and Monday from 5:30 until 10 p.m.. Expanded days and hours are expected to come in 2024.