On our recent New York City trip (where I made a late-night run to Katz’s Deli), we also hit up a breakfast spot that’s long been on my list: Russ & Daughters. Open for more than a century, Russ & Daughters is a New York City staple for bagels, lox, smoked fish, and many other Jewish specialties.
The Russ & Daughters Cafe on Orchard Street on the Lower East Side is a companion to the Russ & Daughters deli a couple blocks away on Houston. The cafe is decked out in a delightfully old school style, with waiters in white jackets, parquet floors, cozy booths, walls lined with old photos and jars of goodies for sale.
It was a rainy Saturday in New York, so we started right off with some coffee.
And a couple Bloody Marys.
Russ & Daughter’s one-page menu covers all the classics, from shareable noshes to eggs, herring, caviar, plates and platters of bagels and smoked fish, soups, and sweets.
We dove into a good-sized selection.
We started with The Classic, a board with a bagel, Nova smoked salmon, tomatoes, red onion, and capers.
It’s hard to beat such a classic combo!
The eggs benedict comes with a generous layer of smoked salmon as well.
We also tasted the herring plate with four types of herring and a trio of sauces.
The herring ranged from pickled to schmaltz to smoked to rollmops. All delightful in different ways.
We couldn’t skip an order of potato latkes with salmon roe and creme fraiche.
One of our dining companions ordered a bowl of borscht. I can’t remember the last time I had it, but I like it more than I thought I would!
And you can’t skip out on a plate of pickled veggies.
If you wander through the restaurant you can see cases full of smoked and cured fish.
Back near the restrooms is a collection of line drawings depicting the shop, its owners, and other vignettes.
Russ & Daughters Cafe is open from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Friday-Sunday.
Russ & Daughters Cafe
127 Orchard St.
New York, NY 10002
(212) 475-4881
Web: russanddaughterscafe.com
FB: Russ & Daughters Cafe
IG: @russanddaughters
