Unearth The Voyage
There is a small deli in St. Paul where people have been lining up for the same sandwich since 1949. Locals drive across the Twin Cities for it.
Visitors flying in from other states make it their first stop. The sandwich is a Reuben, and at this particular spot, it has earned a reputation that most restaurants spend decades trying to build.
What makes it worth the trip is not just the corned beef or the bread baked fresh each morning. It is the fact that a place this good has stayed this consistent for this long, run by the same family across multiple generations.
That kind of loyalty between a restaurant and its community is rare anywhere, but especially rare in a city where new spots open and close every season.
A St. Paul Institution Since 1949
Some restaurants earn their reputation over years. Cecil’s Delicatessen and Restaurant, located at 651 Cleveland Ave S, St. Paul, MN 55116, earned its over generations.
Open since 1949, this old-school deli has been feeding the Highland Park neighborhood through every decade since mid-century America looked very different than it does today.
The building itself carries the weight of that history. Walking through the front door feels less like entering a restaurant and more like stepping into a time that most cities have long since paved over.
The walls display awards and recognitions collected across decades.
Four generations of the same family have worked side by side here, which is the kind of detail that sounds like marketing copy until you actually see it in person. The place runs with a rhythm that only comes from decades of practice, not from a corporate playbook.
The Reuben That Starts Road Trips
The classic Reuben at Cecil’s is the reason most first-timers make the drive. Corned beef piled onto fresh-baked bread, layered with sauerkraut and Swiss cheese, finished with Thousand Island dressing.
The bread is baked in-house daily, and that detail changes everything about how the sandwich holds together and tastes.
There is also a Russian Reuben on the menu for those who want a slight variation on the original. Most regulars will tell you the classic version is the one to order, at least on a first visit.
One visitor who flew in from Phoenix called it the best Reuben he had ever eaten. That kind of reaction from someone who did not grow up with the place carries a different weight than hometown loyalty.
The sandwich arrives at the table looking straightforward, which makes the first bite genuinely surprising in the best possible way.
Fresh-Baked Bread Changes Everything
A lot of delis claim their bread is fresh. Cecil’s actually bakes it every single day, and that commitment shows up immediately in the texture and flavor of every sandwich on the menu.
Caraway rye is the signature choice, and it carries that slightly earthy, slightly tangy quality that pairs perfectly with cured meats.
The bread is not just a vessel for the fillings. It is a structural part of what makes the Reuben work here.
The crust holds up under the weight of the corned beef without getting soggy, which is a more difficult balance to achieve than most people realize.
Regulars who have been coming to Cecil’s for more than forty years often mention the bread specifically when explaining why they keep returning. Fresh bread made in-house is one of those details that separates a real deli from a place that simply sells sandwiches.
The Menu Runs Deep Beyond the Reuben
The Reuben gets most of the attention, but the menu at Cecil’s runs considerably deeper than one sandwich. Matzo ball soup arrives hot and comforting.
Pastrami sandwiches like the Sasha and Shayna are popular enough that regulars order them by name without looking at the menu.
BBQ beef, a grilled tuna sandwich, a veggie Reuben, and even a Chicago-style hot dog all have their loyal followers. The Chicago dog in particular has earned genuine praise from people who grew up eating the real thing and still consider this version a standout.
Breakfast is also available, with a bagel and egg sandwich that has built its own small following among morning regulars. The range of options means that a group of four people with completely different cravings can all sit down together and leave satisfied.
That kind of menu versatility is harder to pull off well than it looks.
Kosher Classics in the Heart of Highland Park
Cecil’s has served kosher items since it first opened, and that tradition remains central to what the deli is today. The menu reflects the flavors of Eastern European Jewish cooking that immigrant families brought to Minnesota decades ago.
Dishes like potato knishes, matzo ball soup, and chocolate hamantashen connect the restaurant to a culinary tradition that is genuinely rare to find at this level of quality in the Midwest.
The hamantashen, a triangular filled pastry, and the strudel are both mentioned consistently by long-term regulars as items worth saving room for. These are not afterthoughts on the menu.
They are the kind of items that remind you why people drive across the state.
For anyone unfamiliar with traditional Jewish deli food, Cecil’s is one of the most approachable places to start. The atmosphere is relaxed, the staff is patient, and the food speaks clearly for itself without needing much explanation.
Homemade Desserts Worth Saving Room For
Finishing a meal at Cecil’s with something sweet is practically a requirement. The black and white cookie has its own devoted following.
Lemon bars, Gooey bars, and rice crispy bars round out a dessert counter that feels genuinely homemade rather than sourced from a commercial supplier.
The chocolate hamantashen and strudel are the two items that long-term regulars mention most often when talking about what they always order on the way out. The strudel in particular has a flaky, buttery quality that is difficult to find at most bakeries.
An apple cobbler served warm with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream, and walnuts has also earned its share of loyal fans. One visitor from out of state ordered it after finishing a full Reuben and potato salad and reported no regrets whatsoever.
That is the kind of dessert that earns its place at the end of a serious meal.
The Deli Counter and Mini Grocery Area
Past the restaurant seating, Cecil’s opens up into a small deli counter and grocery area that feels like something out of a different era. Sliced meats, cheeses, freshly made pastries, and a selection of mustards line the shelves and display cases.
The mustard selection alone is worth a few minutes of browsing.
Customers picking up takeout often add a few items from the counter before heading out. A container of creamy coleslaw, a knish, or a loaf of fresh rye bread tends to find its way into most takeout orders once people realize it is available.
The grocery area is small but stocked with the kind of specialty items that are genuinely hard to find elsewhere in the Twin Cities. It gives the place a dual identity as both a sit-down restaurant and a neighborhood resource for home cooks who want quality deli ingredients without making a special trip to a larger store.
A Dining Room That Feels Genuinely Lived In
The dining room at Cecil’s is not designed to impress. Simple tables sit close together in a tight space tucked behind the deli counter.
The decor has not been updated to chase any particular trend, and that is entirely the point. The room feels lived in because it genuinely is, having hosted generations of the same families across more than seven decades.
The walls carry awards and recognitions collected over the years, which gives the space a low-key credibility that no amount of interior design can manufacture. One visitor described it as feeling like a diner from 1970, and meant that as a high compliment.
There is also the matter of the restrooms, which require a walk through the active kitchen to reach. It is one of those quirky details that regulars mention with affection rather than complaint.
The whole experience has an honest, unpolished quality that makes the food taste even better by contrast.
Four Generations of Family Behind the Counter
The story of Cecil’s is inseparable from the story of the family that built it. Four generations have worked here side by side, which is an extraordinary thing to witness in person.
The current owner still greets guests regularly, and meeting someone who carries that much institutional knowledge about a single restaurant changes how the meal feels.
That kind of multigenerational commitment creates something that newer restaurants simply cannot replicate no matter how talented their chef or how generous their investors. The recipes stay consistent because the people making the food grew up eating it at this same counter.
One reviewer noted that Cecil’s represents the kind of place that takes the better part of a century to build. That observation cuts to the heart of what makes a diner visit here feel different from eating at any other well-reviewed spot in the Twin Cities.
The history is not decorative. It is structural.
The Coleslaw and Sides That Complete the Meal
Ordering a sandwich at Cecil’s comes with a choice of side dish, and the options are taken seriously here. The creamy coleslaw is mentioned by regulars almost as often as the Reuben itself.
Potato salad and pasta salad are both described as solid, well-seasoned choices that hold their own alongside the main event.
The fries have their own fan base. Several visitors have compared them favorably to fast-food fries in terms of texture, which might sound like a backhanded compliment but is actually high praise when you consider how difficult it is to get a fry that crispy without a dedicated fryer operation.
Sides at a deli can feel like an afterthought, but at Cecil’s they function as a genuine part of the meal. The coleslaw in particular has a creamy, slightly tangy balance that cuts through the richness of a corned beef or pastrami sandwich in exactly the right way.
Breakfast at Cecil’s Is Its Own Reward
Most people discover Cecil’s through the Reuben, but the breakfast menu has been quietly building its own reputation for years. The bagel and egg sandwich is a morning staple for a group of regulars who time their visits specifically around the 9 AM opening.
The deli opens seven days a week at 9 AM and closes at 8 PM, which makes it one of the more accommodating schedules in the neighborhood.
Breakfast at a Jewish deli carries its own particular logic. Fresh bread, quality ingredients, and a kitchen that has been running the same recipes for decades means that even a simple egg sandwich benefits from the same care that goes into a full afternoon Reuben.
For visitors who want to experience Cecil’s without the lunch rush, arriving early is a genuinely good strategy. The dining room is quieter, the service moves quickly, and the morning light through the front windows gives the old space a surprisingly warm quality.
Why Regulars Keep Coming Back for Decades
Some Cecil’s regulars have been coming here for more than forty years. That is not a number that gets thrown around casually.
It means that people who first visited as children are now bringing their own children, and in some cases their grandchildren. The restaurant has become part of how certain St. Paul families mark time.
What keeps people returning is not novelty. The menu does not change much, and that consistency is the point.
Regulars know exactly what they are going to get, and they come back because that reliability is genuinely valuable in a food landscape that constantly chases the next trend.
One visitor wrote that he wished he had found Cecil’s while his father was still alive, and that he planned to bring his sons instead. That kind of sentiment does not come from a marketing campaign.
It comes from a place that has earned real emotional weight in the lives of the people who love it.
Featured on Food Network’s Family Restaurant Rivals
Cecil’s earned national attention when it was featured on Food Network’s Family Restaurant Rivals, a show that spotlights family-owned restaurants competing to demonstrate what makes their food and story worth watching. Being selected for that kind of program is not something that happens by accident.
It requires a combination of compelling food, genuine history, and a family story interesting enough to hold a national audience’s attention.
The feature introduced Cecil’s to viewers across the country who had never heard of Highland Park or the Twin Cities deli scene. Some of those viewers eventually made the trip to St. Paul specifically because of what they saw on screen.
For a deli that had been running on local loyalty for most of its existence, the national exposure added a new layer to its reputation without changing what the restaurant actually does. The same Reubens, the same bread, the same family.
The cameras just confirmed what the regulars already knew.
The Takeout Experience and What to Bring Home
Not every visit to Cecil’s has to mean sitting down. The takeout operation runs smoothly, and the deli counter makes it easy to build an order that goes well beyond a single sandwich.
A Reuben, a container of coleslaw, a slice of strudel, and a loaf of fresh rye bread is a reasonable haul for a weekday lunch that will still be talked about by Friday.
The mini grocery section near the counter means takeout customers can also pick up specialty mustards, sliced meats by weight, and prepared sides to bring home. It is the kind of stop that turns a quick lunch pickup into a minor pantry restocking mission.
Parking is available on-site, which makes the whole experience considerably easier than navigating street parking in a busy neighborhood. For a place this popular, the logistics of getting in and out with a full order are more straightforward than most first-timers expect.
What to Know Before Your First Visit
Cecil’s is open seven days a week from 9 AM to 8 PM, which gives most visitors plenty of flexibility when planning a stop. The restaurant sits at 651 Cleveland Ave S in the Highland Park neighborhood of St. Paul, with on-site parking available.
First-time visitors often underestimate how quickly the dining room fills up during peak lunch hours, so arriving slightly before noon or after 1:30 PM tends to make for a more relaxed experience.
The menu is large enough that a little advance reading helps. The classic Reuben is the obvious starting point, but the Russian Reuben, pastrami options, and Chicago dog are all worth considering for a second visit.
The dining room is small and the tables are close together, which gives the place its particular neighborhood energy. Nearby, the rest of Highland Park offers additional reasons to spend an afternoon in St. Paul once the meal is finished.
