Go for the experience, stay for a few of the selections.

NYC is not void of smoked fish options, so how do you choose. Other than go everywhere, there are some that are better than others. Since we have never been to Sadelles, it was a chance to check the box on the must-do list. We made a reservation for a cold Saturday morning and were seated within 5 minutes of our time.

The tables are designed to maximize the number of people that can be served, smallish but they use every square inch plus the air rights above. They place a “tower” that you have seen used for cold seafood or two-tiers of pizza in the middle, and they place your plates on them. They also give each diner their own plate.

The four of us started with a “Latke Royale with caviar.” This is an “order with your eyes wide open” since the price for one is $80 with the black caviar. The single palm sized latke is first topped with crème, then slices of smoked salmon, a good amount of black caviar and chives, dill and cucumber juliennes. One is plenty for four people to enjoy a sample, and enjoy we did. The combination of the components was unbelievable. One member of the party suggested a second but we all decided against since we had more food on its way.

Our table ordered the house smoked salmon, the smoked Scottish salmon and the sable. Here is where I have an issue with Sadelles. When you order three $24 smoked fish platter, limiting the diner to a single palm-sized bagel is an affront. For a table of four, please bring a half a dozen bagels.

The favorite was of the two salmons was the Scottish. This was perfectly smoked, delivered a healthy dose of salmon flavor and the texture was fantastic. The other two fishes were a distant second and third behind the Scottish. The house smoked salmon was barely smoked, if at all. I would best describe it a cold poached, there was no flavor other than cold salmon. While I did not like this one, one member of the table did, so it is a personal preference. The sable was not to my liking at all. This succulent fish was served much too salty, in fact I do not remember a saltier version anywhere. I would highly recommend tasting yours to see if it acceptable.

We also ordered the cheese blintzes. The wrappers were delicious, with a mild sweetness and the filling was luscious, albeit a little scant. Again, I am always surprised when the server and the kitchen are not “out of the box” thinkers with customers. We had a table of 4, they serve three blitzes to an order. Why not ask if the table would like four blintzes for an addition $5-7 dollars. A perfect win-win.

The bagels, although small, were delicious. They are made on site, in the middle of the restaurant and you can watch the process as you wait for your meal. I wish I had the option to enjoy more than one.

Service was spot on throughout the meal.

Overall, as much as I wanted to love Sadelles, but it just did not get all my love. The Scottish salmon and latke were spectacular, the cheese blintzes delicious, but the House-Smoked and sable were not in the same league.