bugswife1

Went to Wallse downtown last Saturday night and had a fantastic dinner. It is German/Austrian food. The chef/owner also has a cafe at the Neue Galerie on upper Fifth Avenue, called Cafe Sabarsky. I would like to take the folks there for lunch this coming weekend, but no nothing of the cafe. Has anyone been there? Is it more cafeteria-ish than restaurant-ish? I want to go somewhere nice since it is his birthday. He is German and if the food is like Wallse, he will love it. Appreciate any feedback!

bugswife1

Forgot to add--can't take him to Wallse (that would have been the obvious choice) as we need to stay in the area of the upper east side.

Andre

bugswife1,

Cafe Sabarsky is great, but it's just that, a cafe, serving mainly coffee/tea and pastries. IIRC, there are some salads and mains available, but it's certainly not a special occasion type restaurant.

Hope this helps,
Andre

P.S., if you ever go, try the Sabarsky Torte. SO GOOD!

elberko

Cafe Sabarsky doesn't have a huge menu, but it does have entrees, and it's quite attractive (just one smallish room). I felt transported to Vienna (well, no smoke....) I think it would be perfect for lunch.

mp

bugswife - My family and I were just there this past weekend! We are big fans of Wallse, so we had a nice lunch at the cafe and then saw two great things at the Met - the Andy Goldsworthy sculptures on the roof and the Christo exhibit of the curtains planned for Central Park this February. The Christo exhibition is fantastic - the reality will be spectacular, if it all comes off. But about the Cafe -
We really liked it. The room is small to medium sized, beautiful wood panelling, high ceilings and tall windows. It does somehow have, as elberko said, the atmosphere of Vienna, without the smoke. The staff is charming, all very European in stiff black vests and spotless white shirts.
There is a large side board where the pastries are displayed. Try not to drool. The chocolate cakes tasted wonderful (we had 3 different ones - what can I say?), the apple strudel looked great - the Linzer Tarte was out of a food magazine - beautiful. The menu is limited, but we loved everything we had - smoked trout crepes, bratwurst with salad, and the most wonderful liverwurst sandwich - house made liverwurst, openface on crusty bread with an onion jam. Delicious. People around us had the spaetzle - which looked great, and which we love at Wallse. the brunch dishes include eggs and also a salmon entree. Halfway through the meal we were already planning what we would have next time. The cafe only takes reservations for dinner - and it is popular. We lucked out on Memorial day weekend - we walked right in. But the tables turn pretty quickly. Oh - and the coffee drinks were great also. I think you will like the cafe.

Maggi

As an expat Austrian I can vouch for the authentic feel of Cafe Sabarsky. They even use Meinl coffee, which I haven't seen since my last trip to Vienna. They have authentic Sacher Torte (a dense no-too-sweet chocolate cake with semi-sweet chocolate glaze) and everything comes with "schlag" (whipped cream). The grand piano and the fireplace add to the ambiance, but I was especially impressed by the huge fresh flower arrangements.

mclaurie

I had just left Cafe Sabarsky yesterday as you were typing your question. It is, as others describe, a lovely wood panelled room with some windows facing Fifth Ave. There are banquets along the Fifth Ave side with tables that would seat 4-6 and then smaller tables in the middle of the room. The menu is somewhat limited and IMO pretty pricey. All the wine by the glass is $12 (including champagne) although they do have bottles that would be more reasonable. Beers are $6. There seemed to be a number of expats there. It is not really cafeteria-ish but it's not very big and this weekend is the last weekend for the current exhibit (Arcadia & Metropolis-masterworks of German Expressionism from the Nationalgalerie Berlin) so I would worry about crowds.

There was live piano music starting just as I was leaving at 4pm. Don't know if the pianist was on a break when I arrived or whether it starts at 4. You could also go for coffee and pastry after lunch somewhere else.

BTW, I was stunned to discover the museum galleries are only open Fri-Mon-so I didn't geat to see the show.:-<

bugswife1

thank you all! we are definitely going. sounds like a nice casual meal, yet something different. my parents are older and don't eat so much at one sitting. not looking for fancy, they are not those kinds of eaters. my dad will just be happy with the liverwurst and spaetzle. of course a sachertorte with shlag wouldn't be out of the question either.

EmilyC

What's the address of "Wallse"....I would love to go there when I'm in the city.

Danke!

bugswife1

Wallse is at 344 W.11th St. at Washington St. The phone is 212-352-2300.

Now for my Cafe Sabarsky trip report. Perfect. We got there at about 12:45 & waited less than 15 minutes for a table for 4. We got a corner with windows facing 86th and Fifth Avenue. The room is very calming-not noisy & clattering, & we did not have to yell across the table to be heard, like in a lot of the museum restaurants. Beautiful dark woods & furnishings. We ordered spring pea soup, watercress & duck confit salad, spaetzle with peas & mushrooms, and smoked trout crepe. Everything was delicious. We also had Austrian/German beer, blood orange iced tea, and ceylon iced tea. Service is wonderful. Tea comes on individual silver trays with simple syrup on the side. Elegant! The waitress, Katya, was extremely efficient and very, very nice. When she heard we were sharing, she had the soup served in little cups instead of one big bowl. She spoke German to my Dad & he was in heaven. For dessert we ordered the delicious coffee, hot chocolate with shlag, sacher torte, raspberry tart, and a strawberry mousse thing. Katya brought us another chocolate dessert on the house. We shared everything and had a great time. The bill was about $115 plus tip. Worth every penny.

After lunch we went through the gallery. The temporary exhibit on the 2nd floor was excellent, and the Klimpts were magnificent of course. The galerie is very small, just the 2 floors, and easily managed by my elderly parents.

Thank you all for your help, and I am glad we went.

elberko

Glad you enjoyed it and good to know it's still as good as I remember from our Jan. 02 visit! Hope to get back there again.