Russ & Daughters Cafe

I stopped by Russ & Daughters while exploring the Lower East Side and wanted to try a place that felt connected to New York food history. The shop was busy but had a comfortable rhythm, with people picking up breakfast, lunch, and traditional Jewish deli favorites. It felt more like a neighborhood stop than a tourist attraction. I ordered the classic bagel with lox, smoked whitefish salad, latkes, and a black and white cookie. The bagel and lox was the highlight for me. The smoked fish had a nice flavor without being too overpowering, and the cream cheese, onion, and capers brought everything together. The whitefish salad was creamy and rich, while the latkes gave the meal something warm and crispy. The cookie was a nice sweet finish after all the savory flavors. The shop is small, so it can feel crowded during busy times, but that is part of the experience. Everything feels carefully prepared without losing the casual deli feeling. I liked that the food was traditional but still easy to enjoy even if you are visiting for the first time. This was one of those meals where the history of the place adds to the experience, but the food itself is what makes it worth visiting. I would definitely return for another bagel and lox.

A bagel is a bagel, but a bagel nosh with some caviar and friends? Well that sounds like Russ & Daughters Cafe. This is my go to place when I want to impress upon a neophyte to the city what an upscale deli experience can be. The bagels are great. The cured fish are absolutely delightful. Want a little champagne to go with your open faced bagel sandwich situation? You’ve got it. Sometimes, I don’t want a BECSPK as my first meal when I land in the city. This is when the Cafe shines for me. I like being one of the first people waiting outside with a coffee, patiently waiting to snag a counter seat and enjoy some lox and pickles and a cup of coffee, each savory bite pulling my soul back to where I need to be.

We visited Russ & Daughters Cafe for lunch while exploring the area around Orchard Street, having heard a lot about the brand and its reputation across New York. Thankfully there was no queue when we arrived, so we were seated quite quickly. The atmosphere was one of the standout parts of the experience — relaxed yet refined, with a soft Mediterranean-inspired aesthetic. The cream and light blue tones gave the space a calm, slightly luxurious feel without being overly formal. Service throughout was friendly and efficient. We started with the potato latkes with cream cheese and salmon roe, which were excellent. The texture reminded me somewhat of a very elevated hash brown — crisp on the outside, soft inside, with a rich potato and onion flavour. The cream cheese added richness, while the salmon roe brought bursts of saltiness that balanced the dish really well. I also ordered the spinach eggs Benedict, which unfortunately was more average. The hollandaise sauce was light, but the overall dish lacked the richness and boldness you’d expect from a great eggs Benedict. The eggs themselves also felt fairly standard in quality, especially compared to versions I’ve had in London and Australia. The drinks, however, were genuinely memorable. The pickled carrot juice was fantastic — sharp, slightly vinegary, refreshing, and surprisingly addictive. The classic egg cream was also very enjoyable, almost like a light chocolate milkshake with a soda-like texture. Overall, it was a very enjoyable lunch with some unique dishes and drinks that lived up to the hype, even if not every element was exceptional.

Russ & Daughters has been on Houston Street in some form since 1914, though the cafe at 127 Orchard Street, opened in 2014, is the sit-down version that brought the full appetizing experience into a proper restaurant setting. The cafe is bright and clean with dark wood tables, an open kitchen, and the kind of menu that reads like a document from a very specific and very good tradition. Smoked fish, cured salmon, herring, caviar, blintzes, bagels, cream cheese in flavors you didn't know you needed. It is exactly what a Jewish appetizing cafe is supposed to be and the execution is consistently excellent. The Super Heebster is the bagel sandwich that draws the most attention, and for good reason. It's whitefish and baked salmon salad with wasabi flying fish roe and horseradish cream cheese on a bialy or your choice of bagel. The roe adds a pop and a brininess that makes the whole thing more interesting than it has any right to be. The Classic Board is the way to go if you want to try multiple things, a spread of smoked salmon, Nova, a schmear of cream cheese, pickled vegetables, capers, and sliced onion on the side, served with bagels and bialy. We also had the house-cured herring with cream sauce and the blintzes filled with cheese and served with sour cream, both of which are straight from the tradition the original shop was built on. For drinks, the egg cream is a New York institution, seltzer, milk, and chocolate syrup combined properly, and worth ordering just to say you did. This is one of those restaurants where eating well and eating historically are the same thing.

Absolutely very delicious. The cafe is small not like other big brunch or breakfast restaurants but it is cozy. The service was fast. We were there around like 9 ish so we had a table avaible right away but when we were leaving they were people waiting for table. So better to get there early. We got the eggs florentine type dish with salmon added on top. It was really tasty and salmon tasted so good. Also we got fresh orange juice. Definitely will be back to try other items on the menu. The prices are a bit high but due to using good ingredients. So that should be ok :)