Russ & Daughters Cafe, LES, NYC

Food: ☆☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆☆☆

Ambiance: ☆☆☆

Cost: $$$

Must try: Pickled Herring, Cold Smoke Kippered Salmon & Scottish Smoked Salmon Spread

My favorite purveyors of smoked fish in the city just had their second best idea since 1914 by opening Russ & Daughters Café.

The wait here is no less than at their original fish shop but at least one can sit down in this well-dressed retro diner and enjoy the best of Russ & Daughters offerings.

Let me warn you – though the digs are diner-like the prices are not! However keep in mind that you are paying for some of the finest fish around and rent on the LES aint cheap either!

The menu consists of Jewish comfort foods at its best with a breakfast menu going on all day long. My clear favorites were the Eggs Benny, Pickled Herring and Cold Smoke Kippered Salmon & Scottish smoked salmon spread, waffle-cut potato chips. I think those waffles cut chips might be some of the best I’ve had!

The “Sturgeon, Eggs & Onions” were a bit of a disappointment where I thought the sturgeon actually disappeared in this dish and for a price tag of $19 – that was quite a loss!

However everything else I tried was really good. The service was wonderful and though they have a line out the door they never pressure you out of your seat. My advice is to go at off-peak hours so you can really soak in the wonderful ambiance along with the awesome food.

Here is some of what we ate: