Cafe Sabarsky/Cafe Fledermaus

Cafe Sabarsky/Cafe Fledermaus

Danna and I had a rare lunch together and because we were in the area, we went to Cafe Sabarsky. Unfortunately we didn't have time to view the Klimt paintings in the Neue Gallery upstairs, and were pressed for time for lunch, so we ate downstairs at Cafe Fledermaus.

The menu is filled with items I wanted to try. They offer a variety of soups, salads, sandwiches entrees, coffees and desserts that are more interesting than your usual lunch fare, at moderate (or at least fair) prices taboot.

But before I can talk positively about the food, I must set the record straight about this place. The service is horrendous. It is awful. It is pathetic. It is slow. It is sloppy. It is every negative adjective you can apply to waitservice.

There were two waiters (one of them ours) who were remarkably pathetic. The lone waitress looked like she might know what she was doing, and in fact looked skilled but harried because of the lack of effort from the other clowns. I could go on and on at great length to describe how bad the service was, but what's the point?

The food, however, was very good though wasn't without it's problems.

Danna and I shared a bowl of chestnut soup which was perfect. The right temperature, the appropriate inclusion of prunes, the right texture. Excellent. The bread and butter we had was pretty good too as was the Kaffe Klimt (coffee with whipped cream). At least I think that was the name of it.

Danna ordered the spaetzle for her entree ($15), which was served with wild mushrooms, peas, sweet corn and tarragon. It was excellent and was pretty much exactly like the rabbit spaetzle dish at Wallse. Unfortunately, as we were halfway through the dish, we noticed a hair in the food...one that definitely did not come from either of us.

I ordered the Viennese sausage with goulash sauce ($10) and was pleased, all though next time I'd try the Bavarian sausage instead. The goulash sauce was fantastic and even had a nice chunk of meat in it.

The food, for the most part, is great. But again, the service is downright insufferable.

For someone so seemingly strict - he has absolutely no control over his dining establishments with the exception of Wallse, which is most likely where he spends most of his time. Wallse was an excellent experience (save for the wobbly chairs and tables and cheesey lucite vases) but my other Gutenbrunner experiences have failed greatly in certain categories. The fish I had at Blaue Gans should never have been served looking the way it did, the service and hair issue at Cafe Fledermaus was beyond bad and the refusal to serve us dessert at Thor (at 10pm) was completely unacceptable.

Note to Kurt: Your staff doesn't take you seriously.