When I walked into Sabrina’s Café with a large group of friends, my first thought was, “How are we all going to fit in here?” This cozy restaurant near the Italian Market has the atmosphere of a true café: simple décor, small, intimate dining space and a neighborhood feel. What isn’t obvious to the first-time visitor is that Sabrina’s is actually a fairly large restaurant; with three separate rooms, there is ample space for large parties plus a regular Thursday night crowd.
While I didn’t have a regular dining experience at this BYO, famous for its brunch, we did enjoy a fixed menu with appetizers served family style and I can still attest to the quality of the food. The appetizers stole the show, particularly the hummus platter: a huge plate heaping with warm pita, amazing garlic red pepper hummus, olives and feta (usually a starter for $7.95). By the time my end of the table had licked our plates clean, we were pretty sure we couldn’t fit another morsel of food into our mouths. We were wrong. The other appetizers, vegetable spring rolls ($7.95) and calamari ($9.95), were taken in just as enthusiastically as their predecessor.
The people at Sabrina’s like to eat. A lot. Every plate — from salad to entrée — was huge. It is definitely the place to get more bang for your buck. I had a simple green salad with goat cheese, grape tomatoes and candied walnuts in an attempt to save my stomach from the workout it had been put through after that hummus plate. The greens were aplenty and the dressing — a homemade pineapple-balsamic vinaigrette — was delicious.
While the comments on the entrees, which ranged from pastas to salmon to chicken, were only positive, we had worn ourselves out by the time the once-again gigantic portions were placed in front of us. Our choices included a lemon grass coconut roasted chicken ($16.95) a hazelnut encrusted salmon dish in a pineapple berry sauce ($16.95) and a sweet potato-ricotta gnocchi ($12.95). If you are looking for an alternative to standard BYOB fare, you can also order Sabrina’s famous breakfast items for dinner: your dining companions will surely be jealous when your stack of fluffy pancakes is set down next to their salad greens. Everything was sweet and nicely seasoned, though filling almost to a fault. Last but not least, at Sabrina’s, we got to have our cake and eat it too. A cake was dropped off in honor of our resident birthday girl, a Philly native, and the staff at Sabrina’s handled a rowdy, cake-loving group of girls as well as anyone could have. Overwhelmed by the cake’s size, we decided to share with our wait and cook staff. There was cake. There was wine. They were happy, we were happy.
Only warning about Sabrina’s Café? Better call a cab to bring you home. Nothing like standing around in the cold to bring you down from your sugar high.
Sabrina's Café 910 Christian St. (215) 574-1599 Don’t Miss: Breakfast for dinner Skip: Over-ordering, it's easy to do Bottom Line: Just plain delicious
