I always am amazed at the ridiculous ethnic cuisine in New York.  For instance, La Petite Abeille is a chain of Belgian restaurants (because we all know how great Belgian cuisine is, right?), and I was recently introduced to a Swiss restaurant in SoHo, Cafe Select.

What meal are the Swiss best known for? Brunch.  Just kidding, but I went with Hakeem and Chamique to Cafe Select for brunch, as is their obsession.  We started off with a baked goods platter ($10), which included slices of brioche, banana walnut bread, and blueberry muffins.  The breads were all great, but the highlight was the banana walnut bread, which was amazing.

I ordered the mushroom and Swiss omelet, a standard for Swiss cuisine.  The omelet was served with a rosti, a Swiss hash-brown, where the outer layer of potato is fried to a crisp, with the inside being soft and potato-y.  I have had rostis at other pretentious brunch venues, and this was by far the best I’ve ever had.  However, I don’t understand why they can’t put some cheese in the middle of the rosti, making it that much more amazing.  But I guess from this standpoint it is vegan-friendly.  The eggs were pretty tasty, though the filling was quite meagre.  At this point, I am very unimpressed by most omelets unless they really stuff it with fillings.

Cafe Select is not very vegetarian friendly, as I would expect from my experience in Switzerland.  There are one or two entrees or dishes that are vegetarian friendly, though it doesn’t appear that these vegetarian dishes are signature quality.  What is the most impressive aspect of Cafe Select (at least for that afternoon) was the music selection.  Dropping 70’s Italian disco, and old school house, the atmosphere created was somewhere between chic and nostalgic (nostalgic only if you’re Italian or really into house music).  As a former DJ, I respect that music selection, which biases this review more favorably than perhaps Cafe Select deserves.  So, I’ll give them three and a half cheese sandwiches.

Cafe Select
212 Lafayette St # A
New York, NY 10012-4025 
(212) 925-9322