Café Fledermaus

Great spot. More casual than Café Sarbosky upstairs but there was no line, the food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice. Good service. We recommend the cucumber juice with sparkling lemonade, the liver wurst sandwich (fairly mild, chunky version), salmon and cream cheese sandwich. For dessert, we had the adele-​schnitte (passion fruit and coconut), the apple strudel, and the Sacher torte. My favorite was the adele-​schnitte. Sacher torte delicious and moist, but rich, as they tend to be.

Little expensive, but food is good! And German! Wine prices are outrageous. Sandwiches are around 16 bucks.

The coffee and food here are truly amazing, but the pricing is a bit high (still worth it in my opinion). Other than that, this is the place I take my parents every time they visit NYC. Way easier to get into than café Sabarsky (upstairs, the same food) which usually has a long wait line. The atmosphere in general of Café Fledermaus is very relaxing and elegant. It’s a great café to stop at after a walk on the east side of central park or an afternoon at the Met.

Café Fledermaus is a cute Austrian café located inside a museum featuring Austrian and German art. The menu is identical to Café Sabarsky (upstairs), minus the Central Park views. We came on a nice Sunday afternoon, so there was a 15 minute wait (security is a bit strict for a café, as they look through your bags and make you throw out water bottles).
We had the chocolate cake (absolutely amazing), chocolate hazelnut cake, and apple strudel. The desserts reminded me of the ones I had in Vienna.

This place is amazing! The décor is of a café in Vienna! Beautiful! It is more casual than the café upstairs that serves the same menu. Great selection of food and drink! I ordered a drink wig cucumber juice and sparkling lemonade! So refreshing! The coffee and espresso is great also! We only ordered desserts! the shredded crêpe with roasted fruit was amazing. I never had anything like it. The chocolate rum cake was magnificent as well. Service was great! Cannot wait to return!!!

Café Fledermaus is the downstairs (and far less elegant) restaurant in the Neue Galerie. We originally planned to eat at Café Sabarsky upstairs, but the line was ridiculous. The menu is the same at both restaurants, and has a lot to offer. We tried the smoked salmon and liverwurst sandwiches — both were very good. The side salad had ranch (I think?) dressing, which seemed like a strange choice. The apple strudel is also very good, but they have a ton of amazing looking dessert choices to choose from. Service was pretty slow and impersonal.

Same menu with Sabarsky but the surroundings are less pretty. It’s great in case you don’t feel like waiting for a table upstairs though. I’ve also been here when they’ve done film showings as part of exhibits. Cool space.

Café Fledermaus allegedly shares a kitchen and a menu with Café Sabarsky. If my visit a few weeks ago is any indication, I think maybe that doesn’t bode well for me giving Café Sabarsky a try.
The staff — while efficient — are a little icy. Would it kill them to smile and be a little friendly? I think not. I don’t know of anyone yet who has died from going over their daily quota of smiling.
The food? Meh. Both my mother and I had spaetzle dishes that were kind of unmemorable and bland. The elderflower and elderberry sparkling drinks were interesting, but the coffee was too bitter. The sachertorte? My great grandmother would roll over in her grave at the idea of an Austrian serving such a sawdust-​dry piece of cake. The Austrian blood in me weeps at the thought of it. Yes. It was that dry.
All in all, it was not great value for the money. If I’m dropping $ 75 for lunch for 2 people — and no alchol was involved — that food better be ‘I’ll remember this forever’ good. But it wasn’t. It was just okay. If Café Sabarsky is just Café Fledermaus with better décor, I can’t imagine what the attraction must be. Aside from the convenience of eating in the museum mid-​visit, that is.

Went downstairs since the line for Café Sabarsky was too long. Since the menu was the same and we went here for the food, sitting in a basement was fine. The tables were a bit too low though, but we weren’t there for the décor. We only ate a blimtorte cake (chocolate and hazelnut) and a fruit tart crumble and had a Austrian herbal drink. Next time, I’d like to try the sausages and maybe try sitting upstairs at Café Sabarsky.

Woohoo! As good as it gets for apfel strudel (apple strudel). Treat yourself or treat a friend. Coffee and strudel with whipped cream — you’ll think you died and went to Viennese heaven.

I would give this place a 3.5 but rounded up to a 4. The atmosphere and mood are charming and immediately cheer me up. It is modelled after a traditional Viennese café — even the floor tiles are a throwback to the historic Fledermaus Kabaret. The food is delicious and my husband jokes that he would love to go to the Neue Galerie again and again just to drop by the café. I haven’t given it the full 4 or 5 star treatment just because some of the items we’ve tried are not authentic enough (e.g., the Sachertorte is too light and fluffy and I couldn’t taste the apricot preserve at all) and the Glühwein is pretty bad. I’m being finicky but given the high-​ish prices (for a museum café after all), I expect even more. Overall, a recommend for at least one try.

A lovely café on the UES. It’s the same menu as Café Sabarsky (upstairs). I came here with a few friends to unwind after walking around museums. This café is pretty authentic in preserving the German-​Austrian culture — and the menu is all european desserts and drinks. One of my friends claims that this café has the best SacherTorte (a famous Viennese chocolate cake). I would come back again and try Café Sabarsky upstairs (the wait is longer though).

I was exceptionally pleased with my experience at Café Fledermaus, downstairs from Café Sabarsky.
I actually intended to go to Sabarsky, and there were tables available, but the room was bustling with loud, gesturing types, and I just wanted some peace. Luckily, Café Fledermaus has the same menu and is rather a chill low-​ceilinged room. The tables are also low, not too, low, but it does make for a relaxed and conversational environment.
I had the cheddar-​filled bratwurst, which came on a bed of sauerkraut accompanied by dijon mustard and an elegantly stacked pile of potatoes.
Everything was absolutely excellent. I also enjoyed their flavored waters.
For dessert, I had the quark cheesecake tart with vanilla sauces. It was so/​so.

We checked out the Neue Gallerie as first-​timers, so it was only appropriate to check out the cafes there. Café Sabarsky had a queue for dining, so we opted for the downstairs Café Fledermaus. Like the other Unilocalers stated, the menu is the same between Sabarsky and Fledermaus, but Café Fledermaus was a little more modest in décor.
Good selection of tortes. We got the classic Sachertorte, and it was decent. Then I ordered the ‘Vienna 1900′ tea for $ 6! However, the amount of tea I got was enough for 3; it was a bit excessive for me to drink during the afternoon.
No need to go out of your way for their cakes, but if you happen to be in the Neue Gallerie, then you should go to their cafes (Sabarsky is probably slightly more pleasant, dining wise) for a nice dessert and coffee/​tea.

Like Café Sabarsky upstairs (they share the same menu, just not the same décor) the food here really is terrific. It reminds me of the food I ate when I was in Austria. The service and atmosphere are friendly and casual. Like Café Sabarsky, this is a great place to come for a cup of coffee and a pastry or a light meal. The décor in Café Fledermaus is not as nice as upstairs at Sabarsky but it’s still got a cute European feel.
All-​in-​all I think this is a great place to come with friends or even on a date, especially when going to the museums nearby. They have EXCELLENT coffees and the food is quite good. Weisswurst (veal sausage) and wiener schnitzel are highlights. Make sure whatever you get has kartoffelsalat (German potato salad) on the side.
Their strudel might just be the best I’ve ever had, including in Vienna.
This place is not particularly fancy, but for good, authentic Bavarian fare, at a reasonable price, and at close proximity to the MET, Whitney, and Guggenheim, this is a great place! The friendly service adds the fifth star for me.

I went with a friend who is German/​Austrian and he confirmed that the food, and especially the desserts as well as the service was very authentic! The desserts were absolutely amazing! I loved the Gluh wine as well… something you dont get everywhere. The Schnitzel was awesome too.

Café Fledermaus is located on the lower level of the Neue Galerie. It serves the same menu as the upstairs Café Sabarsky but the ambience is obviously more limited. The view… well there is not much of one but in this case, I’ll focus on the food and service.
Service: Limited. You seat yourself (and it couldn’t hurt to have a sign that indicates that just so you’re not hoovering around aimlessly). Constant flagging of the waiter and waitress in a room the size of a large living room got quite a bit annoyinig over time.
Food: The food however made up for the service. While the menu is a bit limited, remember, this is a ‘cafeteria’ within a gallery. (
). I personally found the menu to be a delightful surprise since i’m not very familar with German food. I tried the Salamiaufstrich mit Gurkerl (Salami spread with cornichons) — a open face sandwich with a salami spread of some kind. It was served with a small mixed green salad. My bf tried the Bratwurst mit Sauerkraut & Röstkartoffeln (Roasted Sausage with Riesling Sauerkraut & Roasted Potatoes). The Elderberry syrup with sparkling water was also very refreshing. We split a slice of Marzipan Chocolate cake for dessert.
Despite compromising on the view (since the Café Sabarsky line was at least another 20 – 30 mins at 2pm) and the service, I found the food excellent. Very tasty! If you can’t wait for the upstairs café, Fledermaus is just as good.
Happy eating!