Café Sabarsky

The door's open; come on in.

I have it on good authority that some patrons visit Café Sabarsky for a light meal; I prefer this Vienna-style kaffehaus for the pastries and the potent coffee. Top to bottom, that's the dobosch ($7), caramel cake with a hinged, brittle caramel top; the topfentorte ($7), a light quark cheesecake adorned with mixed berries; and the chocolate and hazelnut klimttorte ($7) mit schlag — with whipped cream.

For fans of herbal beverages, Café Sabarsky must also be one of the few places in the city where your waiter will offer a disquisition on the differences between elderflower syrup and elderberry syrup. A cold glass of holundersaft ($3.50), which spritzed the first of the two with seltzer water, reminded me of chamomile tea.

Café Sabarsky
1048 Fifth Ave. (at 86th St.)
212-288-0665
www.CafeSabarsky.com