We were in Syracuse for a work conference and went here for dinner the first night. The wait staff was wonderful and they accommodated is right away (party of 9). The food was very good- I had the black n blue burger and it was done perfectly. The French onion soup was very tasty. I definitely recommend it. read more

I'm from out of town, but in visits back to Syracuse, I eaten here twice in the past 2 months. Loved the food, drinks, decor, atmosphere and the service. First time, I had the french onion soup...delicious, and the special, which I loved. (Sorry can't remember exactly what it was, a seafood dish and delicious.) I came back the 2nd time to try the Mediterrean Lemon Chicken...so good. I would get it again and again. Enough for two, but don't share. The dipping oil for the bread is yummy. The service is very attentive as everyone in the restaurant looks out for you. I sat in the fireplace room both times...so cozy. I definitely recommend this restaurant. I will be back. read more

Absolutely amazing. Delicious food, fantastic service, and great atmosphere. Best dinning experience I have had in a while. The wait staff is so nice, worked as a team and very knowledgeable about their food and drinks, which is hard to come by these days. Great menu items. Very pleased! Will be back and would recommend to anyone in Syracuse. Had the pork belly appetizer French onion soup and the Caesar salad, everything was so good with great flavor. Excited to try more of the menu items. read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in the Syracuse area. My family and I have been numerous times and have never had a bad meal. The waitstaff are also amazing. This past time we went I got the Greek chicken sandwich with mashed potatoes. I've had the potatoes before here and they were a bit creamier, but they were still very tasty. The sandwich is also extremely tasty. For dessert I got the peanut butter pie and it was delicious! You cannot go wrong with anything on the menu here, and I would definitely recommend this place if you're in the area. read more

Scenic Root - Peanut butter pie - New American Near Me - Manlius, New York

See all

I love the scenic root. The food was so amazing great Texter and great flavor. They were fast and they have allergy free food included in their menu. I recommend the potatoes with perfectly cooked potatoes, meat, cheese and etc. I recommend going if you're trying to have a fancy night out. It is far from a fast food place. The inside was also beautiful. read more

I didn't think it was all is hyped up to be but then again I can be a bit critical ok food for a decent price nice ambiance

Fresh corn meal crusted Trout,w/a citrus tomato and olive tapenade... absolutely AMAZING!!! read more

Scenic Root - New American Near Me - Manlius, New York

See all

What a gem of a place! Cozy atmosphere, delicious food and phenomenal service. I will definitely be back and would recommend to anyone in the Syracuse area. Had the French onion soup and Cesar salad which hit the spot. Can't wait to try out more of their menu! read more

Excellent service and excellent teriyaki steak, calamari and hamburger. Brought right to the car right on time! Will order from Scenic Root again read more

After I left my review, the owner contacted me via Facebook, offered me apology and another chance to go back to their restaurant again. Because of the corrective action, I decided to go back their to try with my friends again. And this time we had a pleasant dinner time. We ordered mussel for appetizer to share. I ordered tenderloin and my wife had sirloin steak. The meat was tender and we were served in a timely fashion. We would definitely go back there again to try some of their other dishes. read more

Continues to improve! Further updated my rating to 4 stars because the improvements have been very noticeable! Menu has improved substantially. Wow, kudos to management and the chef. I have never seen so mich improvement in so little time. Service is also noticeable better. The host is very good at greeting and helping customers, markedly better. Congrats! Love to see that our restaurants are getting much better levels of quality all around. The three stars is my updated review from 2 stars with a view of further improvement. The reason: they have a new menu and it looks quite good! Bravo to management. Seems they want to improve and we shall all benefit! Also, the bar has improved their selection of tequilas and mezcal, which is pretty good. Looking forward to trying the new menu and checking service next time. Used to come when it was Bella Cigna. I loved the cooking. After it became Scenic Root things changed. First the menu was not as good as what I had been used to. A few months into the opening, the menu improved but never reached the previous standard. What I found very dissapointing is the service. They seem to be in a constant state of disarray, seem disorganized and not very customer oriented. I would go as far as saying that they are not professionally managed. The bar is the only bright spot. Service at the bar is friendly and most importantly, competent. I think this place could get to a true 4 star rating if radical changes are made to the service staff with experienced and customer centric staff. The menu is good but wait time tends to be longer than one would expect of a 4 star rating, even when the restaurant is not very busy. The potential is there but radical changes need to be made. read more

My husband and I have eaten here with friends for lunch and dinner. We love the food and the atmosphere. In the winter months the fireplace is cozy and welcoming. The swan pond next door provides a bucolic view year round. The menu is innovative and dynamic offering creative and delicious seasonal choices. The wait staff are friendly and attentive. Located in the village of Manlius, Scenic Root has found its niche in the CNY restaurant scene. read more

The place did have a few hiccups upon opening. We went on a Friday evening. My wife had salad and scallops warped in bacon. I had the fish fry. Both were fabulous. Keep up the great job. December 9 2017 Stopped in tonight for a drink and some take out. We had steak dip. Fabulous! Another home run! read more

My second review but I just had to. I have now been here 5 times and tonight was a new menu. AMAZING again! From service to new menu, to piping hot food, numerous servers, amazing desserts, constant refilled water, perfectly cooked entrees and the owner coming over once again to check and see how our dinners were as he has most times we have dined here. Tremendous restaurant and and if you haven't been you must go........and then go again. Well done. read more

Finally the "what's your beef" curse has been broken. Excellent food, fast service, great atmosphere, bright and rustic inside. We were able to bring my 9 mos. old nephew, and the staff were both accommodating and engaged with him. My family will most certainly return. read more

Calamari is the bomb! Chef Jason is great and staff is very friendly and professional! Def give this place a go and you won't be disappointed! read more

I was excited to hear that they renovated this restaurant because it really needed it (the decor was pretty dated when it was Bella Cigna and the other iterations). Unfortunately we were kind of disappointed. It definitely looks more modern and clean but the decor is kind of boring with no over-arching theme. As far as the food, the menu was really limited and not creative at all! The food was just ok. I liked the shrimp bisque they had on special, but the steak in my steak salad was stringy and chewy. I really hope they up their game. My husband's burger was fine but again, nothing special. The service was good though. read more

I went here with my boyfriend and my parents on a Friday night. Frankly, I was not that impressed. First of all, it is a very small restaurant with a teeny tiny waiting area. I take that back, there is not waiting area, just a bar with seating. As a result, we were just standing in a crowd of people near the hostess stand since there was no where to sit to wait for a table. Waitstaff was going back and forth and had to talk through the main reception/bar area to get to one side of the restaurant to the other. We were in their way, it was just awkward and uncomfortable. We were finally seated about half an hour later in the downstairs dining area. It was very loud and very dim. My parents could hardly see the menu as it was so dim downstairs. Food: I ordered the Parpardelle Esposito. It was just ok. My biggest critique is that it was drowning in sauce. It was like pasta soup. Pasta should not be drowning in sauce. The rest of my dinner group enjoyed their meals and said they were quite good. I did have some dessert and it was very good. Bottom line: Food was overall good (based on the comments from my dinner party), just don't order the Parpardelle Esposito, not their best dish. Definitely try the desserts, very good. Be prepared to hate waiting for a table and having to fight with standing room only and waitstaff needing to get through the crowd while waiting for your table. Note to owners: You need to somehow figure out a way to have more seating for those waiting for a table that is not at the bar and is not in the way of waitstaff. I would be really upset if I had very elderly guests with me that had to stand because there is no seating except for bar stools and they could not get up on bar stools. There are no benches for people to sit on to wait. read more

Looks promising from the outside, but the food was pretty disappointing. We had the root burger and the house burger. Both were cooked far rarer than we ordered (and I generally do like burgers on the rare side) -- the buns arrived soaked through with the pink juices oozing from meat -- and the wait staff seemed unconcerned about the discrepancy. The house burger had no sauce, and was generally bland. The root burger had more flavor, but was undercut by the extra-rare cook (we ordered medium and medium-rare). The fries were unseasoned. Limited beer selection. Unlikely to return. read more

So glad we spontaneously stopped here yesterday! Excellent food and service. Plus views of the swans and baby cygnets . We had the Blackened Ahi Tuna over spiralized veggies and the Steak salad. Both were excellent! We will definitely be back! read more

Great ambiance, attentive staff and beautiful menu. Thai Calamari was great and perfect size for my husband and I to share. The clams Ana mussels I had were so fresh and perfectly steamed and seasoned! We will be back! read more

Four of us visited on Thursday eve about 7:30. Priorities: the vodka martini was perfectly prepared, with a shimmer of ice on the top and not skimpy glassware. My daughters "exotic" drink was delicious as well. It was served on ice, but the glass was large enough that it was a real drink. We also got a very nice and reasonably priced bottle of Malbec. A round of apps, as in the mozzarella sticks, the dynamite shrimp and a special, shrimp dumplings in teriyaki sauce were all delicious and shared. For dinner I got the app Chorizo Steamers, which were nice size not-too-tiny clams and served with the chorizo chunks in in a lovely bitey sauce, to be slurped up with the naan. A shared Caesar salad was just right tasty and crisp. My grandson loved the root burger, my daughter her large bourbon salmon (half of which she took home), and the old guy the Pomadoro Pasta, some of which came home as well. Service was quick, organized and extremely pleasant. We'll be back, as there are many other temptations on the menu. read more

Came here on a whim but so glad we did!! Atmosphere was contemporary with a rustic flair. The entire staff is on point, friendly and attentive, willing to offer suggestions. Their team work was impressive, someone always there to refill glasses and clear the empty, there was nothing to be wanted for. On top of that the food was amazing!! Steak, chicken, seafood or salads, you can't go wrong. If you see a dish with the Cajun remoulade....ORDER IT...aka Cajun crack. Thanks for a great night! read more

Well, with a name like Scenic Root, I was expecting a menu that was a bit more vegetarian friendly. Not so much. The only true vegetarian entree, stuffed eggplant, was just meh. On the other hand, hubby got the pork and apple crumb and literally licked his dish clean. The service was attentive and the background music was fantastic. I might try then again if they add more veggie dishes. read more

If you want to be disappointed and treat like crap, then this is the place for you. My girlfriend and I went here and we got the weirdest looks and vibes from the staff. It was unbearable. read more

Food, atmosphere and service it all great! One of our favorite places for date night.

My husband, son and I had dinner here at 7 pm. It was crowded but they assured us it would only be a 15 min wait. We ordered drinks at the bar and waited. It took us close to an hour to be seated. In fairness, the tables were being taken up by a large group who lingered. We were seated next to the cozy fireplace. My son ordered scallops which he loved. My husband ordered a chicken dish which was very good. My salad was good too. The service was great and the food came out quickly once we were seated. I would definitely go back but would make a reservation in advance. read more

Initial impressions not good by the two bartenders...but a great meal served by very attentive wait staff as well as a nice hostess...

Took some friends from out of town. We were all very pleased with the food quality, selection and service. Will definitely revisit, and would highly recommend! read more

A really great menu. The atmosphere is nice whether is warm or cold outside! I have a few "favorites" on the menu and the specials always sound great too. Definitely would recommend to anyone! read more

Went Tuesday nite w/ my girls. Service great! Food wonderful I had chicken special delicious and beautiful! 1 friend had the salmon also beautiful and delicious! The other 2 in r party ordered shrimp and scallops appetizers. No left overs for anyone! Only suggestion I would make is include salad and bread w/ entrees! Will be back they r now open for lunch mon-fri can't wait to take my 80 yr old mom ...thank you for bringing a 1st quality restaurant to manlius! read more

Excellent restaurant with amazing ambiance. The food was lovey and so was the waitstaff. They were very accommodating when I requested to sit near the window and away from where the kitchen door was located. I would recommend this place read more

A number of places have better food. Just about any place has better people. The owner agreed to have the memorial luncheon we planned for my father. After four days of avoiding my phone calls, he had his hostess tell me the restaurant couldn't do the luncheon. That's all. That's it. I had four days to find another venue for forty people. read more

Great place. We had the filet, the citrus chicken, chicken cordon blue and the chicken marsala. Everything was excellent except for the chicken marsala. They use a sweet marsala wine which made the dish overly sweet which was disappointing. We would not order that again. However everything else was great and the staff was friendly and prompt. We will definitely be back. This place brings a nice vibe to Manlius. read more

By far...the BEST EXPERIENCE WE HAVE EVER HAD! My wife and I have never had such a wonderful experience from start to finish, anywhere else. We have had some good experiences, but Scenic Root was top dog for us. We were immediately greeted, seated and the attention to detail was impeccable. Every single person working there have such a great knowledge of their food and their wines. Just jaw dropping. The owner was also setting tables, busing tables, making sure they didn't wobble. He talked to everyone too. The food was also absolutely incredible! They have such a great selection and variety of things. Their menu changes quarterly so there is always something new. Delicious!!! We will be telling everyone we know, that Scenic Root is the place to go for a welcoming and delicious experience. Thank you so much to everyone who made our Anniversary such a phenomenal night. We are truly thankful to all the Scenic Root family. read more

Have had several wonderful meals here. Restaurants in this location have come and gone, with various levels of success. The remodel and reno make the place look totally new. Scenic Root is definitely on our A list of east side restaurants. read more

Went for dinner with two other couples. Friendly staff. Well decorated with nice fireplace. Food was outstanding and priced right!! Could be my new favorite restaurant!! Well deserving of the good review in the Herald Journal. Kudos to the owners! read more

Great service and nice people. A place for you to try. Food is perfect for the evening of a casual out to diner. Bar tender is really nice and staff is really great. Will be on our weekly rotation. read more

Wow, the best food I have since moving to Manlius. From the shrimp to the French fries.

Very good food (fresh, locally-source wherever possible) -- just a little price-y....I like how the use teams to wait on the tables. Great atmosphere. read more