Salon de Cafe Changes Things Up, Now Serves Brunch, Dinner, Wine

About a year ago, Salon de Cafe opened up on 34th Avenue next to Cevabdzinica Sarajevo (home to amazing Bosnian food). They remained a coffee shop for a while, and thanks to WHA reader GersonK, we learned that they’ve changed things up and become an actual restaurant, serving brunch, dinner, and offering wine. Here’s how they describe their reboot:

Think granny’s cooking, and you have the right idea about this adorable café neighboring Kaufman Astoria Studios. We are mindful of the farms around us, and one of our primary goals is not only to serve delicious dishes to our customers, but also to appreciate the local farmers, whose hard work goes into every dish.

Interesting that they mention their proximity to Kaufman Astoria Studios—we expect to see a lot more of that sort of thing since the Kaufman Arts District has been established (and yes, Salon de Cafe is set within the District boundaries).

Looking at their brunch menu, organic egg skillet dishes—reminiscent of breakfasts in the Midwest—comprise a good chunk of the menu, ranging from simple—3 eggs baked on top of sautéed tomatoes with chickpeas—to more elaborate—omelette, served with potatoes, ground beef, fresh parsley and yogurt. The other two skillets involve salmon and sausage. You’ll find other dishes, too, including smoked salmon, hummus and chopped salad, and couscous. Espresso drinks are still available, too.

Dinner seems to be all about the North African flavors and ingredients, from couscous to tagines. You can also get a simple fish dish, as well as vegetarian options—hummus, eggplant, and a vegetable tagine (chicken and lamb versions are available for omnivores). Wine can be purchased by the glass or bottle.

One complaint on their Yelp page is that ambient sound is loud with no background music playing, which can make for a somewhat awkward experience. I agree with the Yelper that music would be a good idea.

We hope they can make a go of it and that the food is good (it sounds good). We’ll check it out ourselves and bring you our impressions. Have you been? Let us know in the comments!

Salon de Cafe, 37-14 34th Avenue, Astoria, NY, 11101 (718) 482-7837, www.salon-decafe.com, Yelp

2 Comments

Matt May 5th, 2014

Walked by this place today and it’s shut down. There’s graffiti on the inside that says “it had to be about the money” and something about not enjoying summer. I saw the owner loading items into an enterprise rent a van the other morning so I guess that was a bad sign.

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megc May 5th, 2014

Dang, that sounds so sinister. Thanks for the update.

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