Russ & Daughters Cafe

A bagel is a bagel, but a bagel nosh with some caviar and friends? Well that sounds like Russ & Daughters Cafe.<br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>Service throughout was friendly and efficient.<br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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.

Bright, friendly, and with an excellent menu. The prices are a little on the high side but the menu is extensive and you get beautiful atmosphere and excellent service. We ordered latkes and a bagel with lox, and both were excellent. And you can’t beat house sparkling water that’s free of charge. I could live in this place.

I loved this place ! It is so cute and the food is great .<br>We tried the farm eggs and bagel&lox and the bread pudding too ! I recommend everything<br><br>Hoyt , the waiter, was amazing 😁 we will come back for sure

Russ and Daughters has been feeding the Lower East Side since 1914 and the cafe on Orchard Street is the sit-down extension of everything that made the original appetizing shop legendary. The smoked salmon and cream cheese on a fresh bagel is perfection in its simplest form. The fish is silky the cream cheese is hand-whipped and the bagel has that perfect New York density that you cannot find anywhere else on earth. I have eaten bagels in a hundred cities and nothing comes close to what Russ and Daughters puts on the plate. The matzo ball soup is the benchmark warming golden with a matzo ball that is fluffy and dense at the same time which should be impossible but here we are. The egg cream is a New York institution and they make it the old-fashioned way. The room is simple and bright with tiles and a counter that pays respect to the original shop without trying to be a museum. This is living history. Four generations of the Russ family have kept this standard and the fact that the line is still out the door more than a century later tells you everything about quality and commitment. New York food culture starts here. Not at the trendy spots that open and close every year. Here at the place that has been doing one thing better than anyone else for over a hundred years. That is the standard. That is Russ and Daughters.

Got the salmon lox bagel, it is 25 freaking dollars!!!! First off the presentation of this bagel is the most pretentious thing I’ve ever seen. It comes deconstructed and on a wooden plank, like dude I paid $25 for this and you can’t even put it together? Once you do the labor in putting it together and eating it, it’s pretty good. Definitely not worth $25, but it’s a good bagel sandwich. On top of all this we had to wait a half hour in order to have the privilege to pay $25 for a bagel. Maybe I’m going crazy but I do not see the appeal here unless your toilet is made of solid gold. Also the dude at the bar seating who served us was rude and just not welcoming at all, garbage service.

Came here for a classic NYC Jewish appetizing experience and it delivered! The food is outstanding—got the Gaspe Nova lox on an everything bagel with scallion cream cheese, capers, tomato, and onion. The salmon was perfectly sliced, silky, and not overly salty; hands down some of the best lox I've had in the city. Latkes were crispy on the outside, tender inside, and the chocolate babka French toast we added was a decadent treat (rich, caramely, worth the indulgence).<br>Service was friendly and attentive—servers in those classic white coats know the menu inside out and made great recommendations. Quick to refill waters and check in without hovering.<br>Atmosphere feels nostalgic and cozy, like a step back in time to old-school Lower East Side with a clean, retro diner vibe. It's pretty compact though, so it can get loud and a bit crowded—seats fill up fast, especially on weekends. Not the most spacious or quiet spot if you're looking for a long, relaxed linger.<br>Overall, totally worth it for the quality of the smoked fish and that iconic Russ & Daughters legacy. Will be back for more!

Not worth for the price. Apollo Bagels is better, esp for the bagel quality :/<br><br>- Bagel & lox ($31 after tax and tip): 8/10, it was good but not $31 worth good. I don’t remember which lox I got. Lowkey felt like I got robbed in broad daylight lol. The fish quality was good but highkey same as Apollo Bagel’s. Everything bagel was standard

Save your time and money and don’t eat here. The wait wasn’t bad on New Year’s Day, they said a half hour and it was about 20 minutes total. We were excited for the food given the Anthony Bourdain endorsement, but it was incredibly disappointing. The kreplach was the only saving factor, it was delicious but the bagels and the Pastrami Russ were under mediocre. The gluten free bagel should not be called a bagel. I’m an advocate for if you can’t do it well, don’t do it at all. The gluten free bagel was crumbly, dense, dry, and flavorless. From the first bite I was disappointed. (On the left in the overhead photo, in the front in the other photo) The pastrami salmon was not particularly interesting in flavor and there was hardly any of it. The bites largely tasted of sauerkraut. The pickle was actually bad, I couldn’t eat it. My partner said the pretzel bagel was just fine, absolutely nothing special. Neither of us finished our food. For $25 a bagel, it was incredibly disappointing. Overpriced and overhyped, I wouldn’t send anyone here.

Had a fantastic time here. Showed up with no reservation, but another party hadn't shown up so we were able to take their table. Can't remember the name of our waiter, but he was fantastic. He recommended us the Daughters Platter, the Potato Latkes, the Kreplach, and his favourite - the Eggs Benny. We hadn't been to Russ & Daughters before so we decided to order everything he recommended. Everything was incredible! The smoked salmons, the Latkes (like a hashbrown), the Kreplach had fantastic brisket flavour, and the brioche bread really sold the Eggs Benny. The bread basket was lovely too. We finished all the dishes, which seemed perfect for a party of 5, and were too full for dessert!! Would highly recommend and will be returning next time we're in the city.

Food was excellent except for the bagel. The potato latkes were excellent! The tuna melt was superb! Even the nova was delicious! But the bagel was not good at all.

Literally the most top tier brunch in the Milky Way galaxy!!!! Kreplach was life changing. That is the MUST order!!!<br><br>It was the perfect texture. Delish brisket. Caramelized to perfection. WOW!!!! The latkes were amazing, salmon roe went well with them (although I’d probs get the apple sauce and sour cream version next time). The bagel & pastrami cured fish is always a hit.<br><br>R&D is just the finest institution and I will sing its praises till the end of time!!!!!<br><br>The vibes inside are perfectly executed. The waiters are SO nice. We got so many fantastic recommendations. The atmosphere is immaculate. Feels like you’re transported in time.<br><br>Walk ins only. I really respect that. For a group of 3, we waited 30 mins at 9:30am on a Sunday.<br><br>No wonder this is NYT top 100 restaurants

Ok COOK Rus & his highly highly skilled daughters. Wow. 10 stars.<br>Don’t leave the continent of North America without trying the Kreplach. I’d sacrifice running water for a week to eat that again.<br><br>The latkes are very good.<br>The bagel & pastrami cured smoked salmon slapped.<br>The coffee is really good coffee.<br>But I repeat. The Kreplach. Get your hands on that asap pls. It has no business being that good.<br>Their gluten free bagel is the best I’ve ever had.<br><br>We got there 9:40am on a Saturday and waited around 35 minutes for a table (waitlist via text). Very reasonable.<br><br>The service was top tier. Sorry to our server for my friend accidentally flexing her income. She didn’t understand your comment about the floor lol.

Literally the best bagel I have ever had in my life. So worth the queue, the wait, and the hype. It has ruined bagels everywhere else for me, and I will forever be trying to recreate this experience. 10/10.

THE BEST. I ordered a LOX bagel sandwich and a chowder. The smoked salmon was nothing like I’ve ever eaten before. It was almost like sashimi, and it was so so good. But really, the chowder. wow. Probably one of the best chowders I’ve ever tasted. So much flavor from the fishes… We only ordered one and they kindly offered to split the bowl, which we truly appreciated, but i’m definitely eating the whole thing by myself next time! Their original blend coffee was also spectacular.