Brunch at Wallse in the Village

Wallse is a Viennese restaurant in the village where we had Brunch with Scott and Jory this past Sunday, and es hat uns geschmeckt (it tasted great)! The restaurant seems small but is spread out over two rooms with original artwork from the Neue Gallery on the upper East Side. The Chef, Kurt Guttenbrummer, also runs the Cafe Sabarsky at the Gallery. Tables are not crowded and nicely made up. It's very comfortable.

What we really liked is that the Brunch menu is unique--no buffet with the same old stuff. Instead, something a little more ambitious, reflecting its Austrian origins. We started with their signature pastry basket: filled donut confections, spice and pound cake and some traditional sweet rolls. Since they all looked so good, there was nothing for it but to cut each pastry into four pieces so we could savor every on of the goodies.

I had the 'Rabbit with Spaetzle, Mushroooms and Corn'. It surprised me. I was expecting something dark and rich. Instead the rabbit was a light white meat sprinkled over the lightly sauteed Spaetzel. Jory had the Wiener Schnitzel with Lingonberries. I'm coming back for dinner just to have it! Scott had the Hungarian Goulash with Spaetzle. It seemed a little rich for Brunch. Chris had the only "traditional" brunch dish, a warm Waffle with Smoked Trout and Whitefish Mousse. She loved it.

We decided to order all three desserts so we could again sample each one! They included a wonderful Apple Walnut Strudel "mit schlag" and sorbet, a 'Salzburger Nockerl with Huckleberries' (which turned out be a souffle without the dish) and a rich chocolate Sacher Torte. All lived up to their reputation as Viennese desserts. The "souffle" was the most unusual and the best overall, followed closely by the strudel. Our determination to avoid desserts failed us. We're definitely coming back here!

Wallse

334 West 11th Street (at Washington St)

212- 352-2300