Restaurant in Palm Springs, United States
Palm Springs' most intentional dinner booking.
Bar Cecil holds back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition (2024 and 2025) and a 4.5 Google rating across 442 reviews, making it Palm Springs's most credentialed American dining option at the $$$ tier. Book 2–3 weeks ahead for weekends; peak desert season (January–April) requires more lead time. Best for milestone dinners, solo counter seating, and design-forward travelers who want the room to be part of the experience.
Bar Cecil is the right call for couples marking a milestone, solo diners who want to eat well without the awkwardness of a formal dining room, and design-forward travelers who treat a restaurant as part of the trip rather than a pit stop. If you are in Palm Springs for a birthday, an anniversary, or simply a weekend where the bar has been set high, this is where you book. It holds a Michelin Plate for both 2024 and 2025, which in a desert resort town with genuine competition is a meaningful signal — it means the kitchen is operating at a consistency that the Michelin inspectors noticed more than once.
The concept is built around the late British photographer and designer Cecil Beaton: a figure who moved between old-world formality and genuine irreverence, between classical taste and provocation. That duality shapes what kind of room you are walking into. This is not a steakhouse with leather banquettes, and it is not a casual California bistro. Expect something deliberately styled, where the atmosphere is part of the proposition. For a regular who has visited once, the thing to notice on a return visit is how that aesthetic holds up across the details , the kind of place where the room and the hospitality are working together toward a coherent experience, not just filling square footage. The stated ethos is eliminating pomp while keeping what is genuinely good, which, if executed well, produces exactly the kind of dinner worth repeating.
At a venue with "Bar" in the name and a Beaton-inspired concept that prizes genuine hospitality over ceremony, the counter and bar seating are worth requesting specifically. For solo diners especially, a seat at the bar at Bar Cecil is likely to be more rewarding than a table for one in the main room. You are positioned closer to the action, conversation is easier to come by, and the pacing of the meal tends to feel less formal. For pairs, bar seating at a $$$ American restaurant in Palm Springs is also a smart move if you want the full experience without the ritual weight of a booked table , it keeps things looser. If you are returning after a first visit, ask about counter availability when you reserve rather than defaulting to a standard table.
Bar Cecil holds a 4.5 Google rating across 442 reviews, which for a $$$ restaurant in a tourist-heavy market is a reliable floor, not a ceiling. High-volume tourist destinations often pull ratings down through one-off visits and mismatched expectations. A 4.5 here suggests consistent delivery. The back-to-back Michelin Plate recognition in 2024 and 2025 confirms the kitchen is not coasting. Pearl rates this as a moderate booking difficulty venue , not impossible to get into, but not somewhere you should expect to walk up on a Saturday night during peak Palm Springs season.
Reservations: Book at least 2 weeks ahead for weekends; 1 week is usually sufficient mid-week. During peak Desert season (January through April), push that to 3 weeks minimum. Price: $$$ puts this in the $75–$120 per head range with drinks, which is the upper tier for Palm Springs dining but mid-range for a Michelin-recognized American restaurant by California standards. Dress: No confirmed dress code in available data, but the Cecil Beaton concept implies the room skews smart-casual at minimum , dress for the room, not for the pool. Location: 1555 S Palm Canyon Dr, Palm Springs , on the main commercial corridor, accessible by car without difficulty. Dietary restrictions: Not confirmed in available data; contact the restaurant directly before booking if this is a factor.
For context on where Bar Cecil sits in the city, our full Palm Springs restaurants guide covers the wider field. If you are building a longer stay, our Palm Springs hotels guide, bars guide, wineries guide, and experiences guide are the places to start. Within walking or short driving distance, Birba handles the casual end of the evening well, and Boozehounds is worth knowing for late-night drinks. 4 Saints is the alternative if your group wants rooftop energy over intimate dining. For a different pace, Cheeky's is the daytime call.
For travelers who calibrate expectations against Michelin-recognized American dining elsewhere in California, Bar Cecil operates at a different scale than The French Laundry in Napa or Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg , those are destination restaurants demanding multi-month booking windows and tasting-menu commitment. Bar Cecil is closer in spirit and accessibility to Hilda and Jesse in San Francisco or Selby's in Atherton: a serious kitchen operating with a clear point of view, without the ceremony that makes some Michelin dining feel like work. Lazy Bear in San Francisco and Smyth in Chicago represent the counter-dining format taken to its furthest point; Bar Cecil is a more accessible entry into that world. If your frame of reference is somewhere like Le Bernardin in New York or Emeril's in New Orleans, Bar Cecil is operating in a smaller register but with genuine ambition for its market.
Book Bar Cecil when you want the leading version of a Palm Springs dinner rather than the most convenient one. It is not a spontaneous walk-in kind of place, particularly from January through April when the desert draws its biggest crowds. But for a milestone meal, a date night with some thought behind it, or a solo dinner where you want quality over company, it delivers enough to justify the $$$ price point. Return visitors should specifically request bar or counter seating , it changes the experience in the right direction.
| Venue | Cuisine | Price | Awards | Booking Difficulty | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bar Cecil | American | $$$ | Michelin Plate (2025); Bar Cecil is a homage to Cecil Beaton, a renaissance man who was equal parts rebel and aristocrat, an artist who lived between classical charm and new world rebellion, a provocateur, an Expressionist, and an aesthete. It is a love letter to Beaton’s vision of life and art: a celebration of what’s good, of eliminating that which is only pomp, and in the process creating memories through food, drink and hospitality.; Michelin Plate (2024) | Moderate | — |
| Le Vallauris | French | Unknown | — | ||
| Cheeky's | American | $$ | Unknown | — | |
| Colony Club | American | $$$ | Unknown | — | |
| Tac/Quila | Mexican | $$ | Unknown | — | |
| The Steakhouse at Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage | American Steakhouse | Unknown | — |
Key differences to consider before you reserve.
Dietary accommodation details are not confirmed in the venue record. At a $$$ Michelin Plate restaurant where the concept prioritizes genuine hospitality, advance notice of restrictions is your best move — check the venue's official channels before your reservation to confirm what the kitchen can work with.
Book at least two weeks ahead for weekend tables. Mid-week, one week is usually enough. During Desert Season — January through April, when Palm Springs fills with visitors — push that window to three to four weeks minimum. Bar Cecil is a $$$ Michelin Plate restaurant in a tourist-heavy market, and weekend demand is real.
At $$$, Bar Cecil is priced above most Palm Springs options, and the back-to-back Michelin Plates (2024 and 2025) suggest the kitchen is earning it. For a special occasion or a deliberately planned dinner, the value case is solid. If you want comparable quality with a looser format, Colony Club is worth weighing as an alternative.
Yes — the bar and counter seating make solo dining practical rather than awkward here. The Beaton-inspired concept favors genuine hospitality over ceremony, which takes the edge off eating alone at a $$$ venue. Solo diners who want a more casual solo experience should consider Tac/Quila instead.
Le Vallauris is the choice if you want a more formal, garden-set Palm Springs dinner with a longer-established reputation. Colony Club works well for a stylish but less concept-driven meal. Cheeky's is the go-to for a quality breakfast or brunch. Tac/Quila is the practical pick for Mexican in a lower-commitment format. The Steakhouse at Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa Rancho Mirage suits groups who want a conventional steakhouse experience with resort-scale space.
Yes, with the right expectations. The Cecil Beaton concept — built around eliminating empty pomp while creating genuine memories through food and hospitality — makes it more fitting for milestone dinners than a generic special-occasion restaurant. The Michelin Plate recognition and $$$ price point signal that the kitchen takes the occasion seriously. Book a table rather than bar seating if the event warrants it.
Tasting menu specifics are not confirmed in available venue data, so a firm verdict on format and pricing isn't possible here. What's documented is that Bar Cecil holds a Michelin Plate at the $$$ price range, which suggests the kitchen supports multi-course eating. check the venue's official channels at 1555 S Palm Canyon Dr for current menu options before committing.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
