08/02/08

Best STRONG coffee in New York

by cidredeglace

Perhaps I can help resolve the back and forth between those who say this is the best coffee in New York, and those who say it's overrated:

If you like strong, rich, tasty coffee that tastes like the espresso from good European coffee houses, you will love the coffee at the Cafe Sabarsky. I do, and I do! I could live forever on the Weiner melanges (German cappuccino...God, I want one now!).

If you like lighter, milder, American drip coffee, the coffee here will be too strong for you. You might want to consider ordering the Milchkaffee (sort of a German latte, but with a lot of milk) or just skip coffee and order tea or the hot chocolate. There's no shame!

That said, Cafe Sabarsky is like a slice of Europe in New York. I list it, along with the cafe at Maison du Chocolat and Payard as the best places for coffee in the city.

• Pros: The food, the ambiance
• Cons: It can be pricey

05/09/07

Interesting spot, really good food

by willis69

Went to Cafe Sabarsky after attending the Neue Galerie to see the Van Gogh(highly recommend) one Friday evening. Waited for about 10 minutes for a table for two at that time(~7:30). It really is a cafe, where one can get anything from a drink, to coffee and dessert, to a full meal, and not feel rushed or uncomfortable about lingering. We went for all three options after ordering a beer and seeing the food that was coming out of the kitchen. Yes, per some of the reports here, the food is a little pricey, but it's certainly in line w/ costs for an experience like this, and one can easily work around the menu to not spend too much. Furthermore, the food is very good, a modern touch on traditional German food. Particular standouts were the spaetzle and the salads. Ironically, the desserts were only pretty good, but maybe we ordered th wrong ones. Go check it out.

• Pros: Good Food, Great atmosphere

11/13/06

One of the best desserts in town

by rcol23

It was a great experience. I love desserts and I must say this is one of the best places for a cup of coffee and dessert. Desserts for Undder $8, can't beat that.

Go on a Sunday afternoon, like at 6Pm.. eat dessert while listening so piano playing.

Highly recommended!

• Pros: Great dessert
• Cons: The dessert wine is a bit pricey $100 bottle

10/26/06

Lovely experience, the main draw is the ambiance

by gogleplextillion

What you get - tasty authentic Viennese food, BEAUTIFUL atmosphere, live piano, and the illusion that you are living in early 20th century Viena - is what you pay for. If you want cheap, there are places for that too.

I had great service. The waiter was just attentive enough, the food was what I expected it to be - tasty, authentic, small and expensive. I felt like someone special when I was there. It's good for a special occasion - an anniversary or birthday for example. The apple strudle was AMAZING.

• Pros: absolutely beautiful space, good service, romantic
• Cons: expensive, but it's that kind of place, you know? pack your lunch this week

10/25/06

Expensive

by survivingwithstyle

I want so much to like Cafe Sabarsky but the brunch line is long, the prices are expensive for what you get. Its a lovely setting and a friendly staff. The food is prepared well and presented nicely but the portions, even by New York standards, are diminutive. I think there is music on Thursday nights, or at once time there may have been. Neue Galerie has certainly a fine collection, but have lunch somewhere else in the neighborhood.

• Pros: Newu Galerie
• Cons: Expensive

08/15/06

Overrated, Inept and Unapologetic

by bookgirl173

The food was a complete disappointment, right down to the highly touted coffee and desserts, with the exception of my scallops entree which was passable. Unfortunately, the worst insult came after leaving the restaurant: the inept waitress charged me for our meal and for someone else's, and the unbelievably rude manager refused to acknowledge the error or approximate an apology! Truly awful experience - what a waste.

• Pros: Beautiful dining room in a great museum
• Cons: Bad food with worse than bad service

08/08/06

Overrated, Overpriced

by Chapaev

I was very surprised at how mediocre everything at the cafe was. The only thing hinting at a

posh, highly-rated cafe was the attitude. Everything looked pretty, cost accordingly and the service was polished. But the food didn't live up to any of it. Best coffee in town? Hardly? Bitter espresso, good but not great cafe latte. All hype, no satisfaction..feel cheated when that happens

• Pros: good location, polite service
• Cons: mediocre food, so-so coffee, expensive

01/30/06

Best coffee in town.

by carlosbh

We went to Cafe Sabarsky last Sunday. We got there at 1130am, and were seated immediately. Service was good, unintrusive, and we never got the feeling that they were rushing us, even though there was a line of like 35 people waiting to be seated. The coffee is great by any standard, but at $5 a cup it can get pricey. The savory food is ok, but the desserts are to die for. We shared a chocolate, pistachio and apricot cake that was simply amazing!

• Pros: Coffee, Desserts
• Cons: Lines, Pricey coffee

12/14/05

Good food, Good service, Long Line

by misscinnamon

I went to Cafe Sabarsky this past weekend. The wait was long. Very long. But I had heard so much about this place that I couldn't pass it up. After being seated by a very kind, but quite stressed, young lady, we took in the room and menu. Beautiful room. Our waiter was superb. He suggested a unique and wonderful wine I had never heard of called a "Rotgipfler"(he wrote it down for me). We were so happy with the wine, that we let him pick our meal. Squash Soup and Avocado/Crab Salad to start. Lamb Loin and Wiener Schnitzel second. And two cakes to die for. Best coffee I've ever had. I plan on comming back often. I just hope the line is shorter and my waited is there.

• Pros: Service, Food, Coffee
• Cons: Long Line, Long Line, Long Line

Art lovers take a break from Klimts and Klees at this authentic Austrian kaffeehaus.

by Kathleen Squires

In Short
Austrian and German art may lure the masses to the Neue Galerie, but this authentic Viennese cafe gives visitors a reason to linger. European tourists and cultured Upper East Siders line up for a marble-topped table in the elegant, wood-paneled room serving Kurt Gutenbrunner's Viennese specialties, from chestnut soup to sausage to spaetzle. The real attraction, however, are the coffees, piled high with schlag (whipped cream), and the eye-catching sweets like dark chocolate cake with apricot preserves.