Edmond C.
Yelp
This Sara Beth's location is BUSY for brunch, with tourists and locals alike. This location is a great place to meet for brunch and then a stroll in Central Park. My friend made our reservation for 1PM and the place was jammed packed. We were seated in about ten to fifteen minutes and that was pretty good under the circumstances. They try to get as many people in there with closely spaced tables. Careful not to brush up on people or have your coat and scarf drag across food and glassware as you navigate your way to your table. What is remarkable is the place quiets down and the crowds were gone by 3-3:30PM. You should have the seat of your choice by 4PM.
Our server, Eduardo, made his way to our table as quickly as he could manage, but we were still not ready. When he returned, both of us ordered the popular Salmon Eggs Benedict. It comes with a salad, but it does not come with a choice of scone or muffin as the menu suggests. Only some of the egg and omelette dishes down the center of the menu come with the scone or muffin as seen above. This needs to be clarified on the menu if management is paying attention. Not a big thing, but Sarabeth's has been in business too long with too many locations for this confusion to be on the menu.
There is a reason the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict is popular. It's plain good. There is a side salad of mesclun greens with a light and barely detectable dressing. This dish is aimed squarely at those watching their calories and, if this is you, this is your dish. The light dressing will dovetail nicely with your dietary desires, as will the Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict. Here we have two English muffins or muffin halves with smoked salmon layered on top, which is under a perfectly poached egg on each muffin, which in turn is draped with a delicious Hollandaise sauce.
This is comfort food breakfast and slicing the poached egg lets the yolk run over over the salmon and muffin, eventually into the Hollandaise sauce already on your plate. The smoked salmon and egg yolk collide on your plate blissfully with the Hollandaise. Whatever yolk and Hollandaise remains on your plate is easily paired with the very light dressing by dragging your salad greens across your plate.
A glass of tap water and a pot of English Breakfast tea with lemon and honey were the perfect accompaniments to this English or Irish style breakfast. A man like me likes a bit more stick to your ribs fare at the rate of $29 for the dish, which will be reflected in the slight downward adjustment of my rating. However, I can well imagine this makes for the perfect brunch for many people. I tried to order the Chicken Pot Pie to go, which I understand is also quite popular and very filling, but that is only served Monday through Friday.
Service was okay and brunch service was as good as it might be on a busy Sunday. The menu leans a bit more cute than robust in terms of generous servings for brunch. Perhaps the Farmer's Omelette is the one for a healthy appetite.
3.3 stars