I had a gift card to Salute that’s been sitting in my dresser drawer for almost a year. This morning I decided to head there for brunch, and finally use it. I’ve never dined at Salute before, and I figured it had to be good, based on location, the website, and menu.
For brunch we had a couple Bellinis, Bloody Marys, and Mimosas. The Bellini was the best drink – light and bubbly with a hint of peach. The Bloody Mary was very spicy, and was missing the celery stalk. The Mimosa was horrible. A thick foam on top with orange essence – wasn’t sure if it was shavings of orange.
Hoping my food would resolve the bad drink experience, we ordered the following:
Frittata al Proscuitto e Mozzarella – three eggs, cherry tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and proscuitto di Parma, $17
Not the frittata I was expecting. It was more of scrambled eggs with a few cherry tomatoes added in. The prosciutto was the best part of the dish. The salad was lacking dressing. The fruit cup (unanimous decision by my eating buddies) was not a good fruit cup – small dices of pineapple, a blueberry, and some slivers of strawberry.
 |
| Frittata al Proscuitto e Mozzarella |
Uova alla Benedettina – Toasted Ciabatta, crispy Prosciutto, poached eggs & classic Hollandaise, served with home fries and fruit cup, $16
How to describe the dish: watery eggs; Hollandaise sauce was too mustardy; the crispy prosciutto was not crispy; the dish lacked salt; overall a disappointment.
Omelet del Giorno – Three egg omelet (chef’s choice), served with salad and home fries, $15
Not much to say about the omelet – it was just an overpriced omelet.
 |
| Omelet del Giorno – spinach, mozzarella, and tomato |
The best part of the meal was the side order of truffle parmesan fries. I actually forgot there was parmesan – can you see it in my photo? No those white speckles are bits of sea salt.
 |
|
Truffle Parmesan Fries
|
Gennaro Sbarro (of chain pizza fame) heads this restaurant, and I think it should pick up the theme of ‘fast food’ because service was awfully slow.
We were debating on ordering coffee or espresso after the meal, but decided not to in the fear that it would take 30 minutes to get it to the table.
Poor service. Subpar food. Actually, I’m not sure which was worse – the service or the food. I do not recommend this restaurant. Instead, head up north a few blocks and dine at Naples 45. Cheaper dishes, better service, great crowd.
I’m glad I did not pay for the meal as I won a gift card from a contest. It was enough to pay for the food and tip. If you ever get a gift card to this restaurant, please re-gift it.
Salute
270 Madison Ave
New York, NY 10016
Update – restaurant is closed
