Savory Cafe

Went there to have dinner but this place is CLOSED. There was a ’ restaurant for sale’ sign posted on the window… if someone is interested to open something. Actually the area needs a good Diner.

My seamless research for kaya toast and Malaysian curry noodles led me to this place. They don’t deliver to my end of Astoria, so my girlfriend and I biked the 2 mile journey to the restaurant. The portions were slightly smaller than desired, but the taste was amazing. The woman who owns the restaurant is very friendly and even shared a Chinese New Year’s Malaysian snack with us that she was making for her family.
Savory Café is worth the trip :)

I was craving some Malaysian food recently but Nyonya and Taste good were a little out of the way, so I decided to try this place.
I am from Singapore originally, so I know what good South East Asian food taste like. Nyonya definitely comes the closest to being authentic SEA food. This place however, shouldn’t even market themselves as a Malaysian café/​restaurant.
Firstly, like most of the other reviewers say, this place is pricey. I ordered Nasi Lemak and Hainan Chicken rice, and roti canai, and my total was 40 dollars! At Nyonya, the same would be about 20.
Secondly, the food is bland and tasteless, and it doesn’t even taste remotely close to how these dishes should taste. My boyfriend has never tasted these dishes before and even he said it was bad.
Nasi Lemak: the main star of Nasi Lemak is suppose to be the coconut flavor rice, and to my disappointment, this was only plain white rice. The curry chicken was bland. It was just chunks of boneless, skinless chicken breast with some flavorless orange colored gravy (it doesn’t even deserve to be called curry) poured over it. The Achat was decent, but the sambal was horrible. No spice and flavor to it all.
Hainanese chicken rice: Same deal. Just plain white rice, no delicious chicken flavored rice hainanese chicken rice is known for. The same tasteless, boneless, skinless chicken breast, except that it’s drench in soy sauce. The garlic Chilli that comes with it is decent. My boyfriend had to pour the entire cup of Chilli over it followed by some sriracha to get any flavor out of the meal.
Roti Canai: soggy, and flavorless. The curry that comes with it was the same as well. Instead of chicken, they have chunks of pork in them. Bland.
I had a feeling they just cooked a bunch of unseasoned chicken breast and just use them in every dish. Needless to say, this is definitely not Malaysian food. According to other reviewers, the deserts are pretty good. If I ever bring myself to try their desserts, I will update this review. Food-​wise, I probably wouldn’t eat here again. It was a big waste of my 40 dollars.

Great Sunday Brunch Place!
Savory is an adorably decorated, has friendly service, and delicious Malaysian food.
Reccommened Menu Items
— Kaya Toast: Coconut spread is worth the trip alone.
— Carrort Cake Muffins
— Jasmine Green Tea
Also the Malaysian curry noodle soups are great for lunch.

I didn’t know about Savory Café, until I happened by it one day, saw the variety of pancakes on the menu, and resolved to come back with my boyfriend.
We came on a Saturday for (non-​alcoholic) brunch, and it was so good, we came back on Sunday. Both days, I ordered Malaysian vegetarian meals, and my boyfriend ordered breakfast items. Everything has been excellent! The coffee is great, the pancakes are amazing, and I really love the vegetarian items– they seem really fresh and healthy. I especially love the vegetarian noodle soup, which i kinda hard to find in restaurants.
The other really awesome part of our brunch was the experience. I ordered Malaysian soft boiled eggs and the chef came out to ask if she could show me how to eat them Malaysian style, which was awesome and delicious. THEN, she brought out several sauces for us to try. We bought one to bring to a Super Bowl party, and she bottled it on the spot for us to ensure freshness.
The chef explained that everything was fresh, not frozen, and made to order. The onion rings were actual slices of onion moments before they arrived lightly fried at our table! I felt the food came out very quickly, but the owner explained that some things take a while, like hamburgers, because everything is made form scratch.
The prices are really reasonable, and the interior design is lovely! We will definitely be coming back.

My husband and I went here for Sunday brunch. We live just a few blocks away and have been meaning to try this place out since we keep walking by it.
I would not recommend dining in if you are in a hurry; it took awhile for our food to arrive. I ordered the broccoli cheese omelette and my husband had the bacon cheeseburger. Both were quite good. Our server recommended their homemade sambal sauce to spice up my omelette and I’m glad I took her advice — so good! My husband and I also split a milk tea with boba, which came served in a mason jar. I thought that was a cute touch.
As other reviewers have mentioned, it’s a little pricey for the area and for the portion size. However, the staff was very friendly and I wouldn’t mind returning every once in awhile since it is so close.

This place is great! Vegetarian and vegan options as well as meat/​seafood. Love that it’s BYOB! Very nice and attentive waitress. I also got to try Vietnamese coffee for the first time (yum!). I highly recommend this restaurant.

What a great little place! Both Malaysian cuisine and standard American fare like hamburgers and salads are available to dine in or carry-​out. The owners are very friendly and helpful in making suggestions of what to order.

Went to this place with my gf today after we woke up at 2pm and missed out on Brooklyn Bagel. Went inside around 3:15pm and asked if they were still serving breakfast and was told yes.
We sat down and were the only people in the place which I found a little odd but that was fine. I ordered 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, and 2 pieces of sausage while she ordered some form of veggie omelet. We ended up waiting 40 minutes before she received toast as the only people in the restaurant! After the toast arrived we waited another 10 minutes and nothing ever even came out!
We ended up getting up, putting on our jackets, then proceeded to walk out of the restaurant without anyone even saying a word to us. The entire staff seemed to be back in the kitchen watching tv or something. I’ve had bizarre and bad experiences at many places but this place takes the cake… We never even received our food while dining in… I have NEVER had that happen before. TERRIBLE place, we ended up going to Sorriso’s and splitting an eggplant parm hero.
This place is a joke, I can’t wait until it goes out of business again.

Savory is a very welcome addition to the neighborhood. We live across the street and after years of failed or unwelcome places, this one stands out. The good is simple and straightforward, but very good. The nasi goreng and other Malay staples are all represented here.
I think as a coffee shop it’s not the best. Their operating hours and this stretch of 30^th Avenue doesn’t really warrant a full-​on coffee morning crowd. However as a homestyle dinner/​brunch place, it’s just wonderful.
A great touch: the interior design. The place is decorated in all gray/​black/​white with whimsical drawings and doodles in framed artwork, placemats, and so on.

This freezing morning we rushed in for breakfast at Savory Café and service was excellent even though they just opened minutes before we arrived. Constance and Elaine (owners) kept us warm and full with excellent conversation. They even served us delicious home made Brownie with White Chocolate drops. Will definitely come back for lunch and dinner, everything looks delicious on their menu!!!

When you first walk in you see an elegant yet simple café with that offers American breakfasts. Look more closely to the menu and head straight to the Malaysian dishes. We had the Roti Canai (a light fluffy crispy thin pancake and boneless curried chicken and potatoes). Simply delicious! We moved on to the Malaysian Specialties section of the menu and had the Hainanese Chicken rice and the Rendang (beef lemongrass chili paste). The hot sauce was so phenomenal that we bought it to take home (Sambal and the Chili sauce to mix — their homemade recipe)
It didn’t match the menu but don’t miss the Sweet Potato French Fries. A winner with a seasoning that we couldn’t stop eating.
The crème brule was one of the best I ever ate — not too sweet and a mousse like consistency.
We’re going back to this unassuming but lovely and delicious café and I recommend it highly.

As a designer, I absolutely love the design of the logo, menu, placemats, napkin rings, website, window graphic, etc. The friend of the family that created it all is very talented and they even featured his artwork on the far wall which ties everything together. Well done in making the décor stand out in a neighborhood that doesn’t really pay attention to such things. The round lit-​up sign out front is perfect too because you can see it from far away.
Elaine, the owner/​server is a real treat. She’s very attentive and was super accommodating when it came to giving us samples of things like sauces to make sure things weren’t too spicy. She makes a lot of the sauces and is from Malaysia herself. She even suggested another dish to my boyfriend since we had already ordered an appetizer that shared the same sauce. It was a good call. We got a little of everything on our first visit.
He liked the Chicken Rendang very much but the regular amount of heat isn’t very spicy (so ask for more spice if you can handle that). The Roti Canai is sooooo good. I could eat so many of these. The spices are just amazing and the roti was just crispy enough without it being too oily. Perfection.
I’ve been before for coffee and enjoyed their house blend. I will definitely return for their new Power Lunch Specials. I’d love to start an Astoria Work-​from-​Home group that meets up for lunch at places like this. Anyone interested, message me.

This place just opened, so keep in mind it’s probably still a work in progress. We ordered the Tofu Rendang, and veg curry noodle soup.
Pros: Clean, nice décor, good service, experimental menu for the area.
Cons: Too expensive for the ingredients and portion size. The noodle soup was ok, but if this place was in Flushing, it would be unacceptable to Asians that eat this regularly. They get a pass at this because their local clientele will probably not know better. The tofu rendang was blah, I got 5 pieces. Tofu is 50 cents a block, there’s no reason for this. The rice was microwaved, probably because it was made hours ago and got cold. For $ 30, tax and tip, I left feeling unsatisfied and ate again 3 hours later.
I would like this place to succeed, because there are so few choices of Asian food in Astoria that isn’t fast food. Malaysian food is amazing when done right and it is one of the best cuisines out there. Hopefully the new owners will work on this place and have a more focused menu.

My wife and I stumbled upon The Savory Café and we’re so glad we did. The place was absolutely empty when we walked in, not usually a good sign but the menu had a wide variety of appetizing offerings. Being local business owners ourselves, we decided to support the neighborhoods new addition and sat for dinner. Elaine, the owner was welcoming from the moment we walked in. The menu has a lot to choose from we finally decided on their Malaysian offerings. We started with a delicious Roti Canai that was as good as any we’ve ever had (the pancake could have been bigger though). We then moved onto delicious Chix Rendang and Nasi Lemak. Both were served with an unusual deeply caramelized, spicy onion Sambal. With every bite you wanted more… and apparently a lot of ppl DO want more because the restaurant has begun selling it by the jar! We were too full for dessert but Elaine promised to make us a peanut pancake the next time we came in… we’ll be back soon, next with the family or friends.

The Malaysian specialties at the Savory Café are delicious! My husband and I shared two different vegetarian appetizers and two entrees. Wow we’re they good! Everything was prepared beautifully with just the right amount of spice. I liked the food so much that I came back for breakfast. The coffee was delicious (their own blend) and there were a lot of breakfast options. I saw that they have a lunch special so I’ll be back for that! I really like this restaurant and the staff. They brought me done samples to try. They are very proud of their recipes as they should be. 5 stars for sure!

This café/​restaurant just opened in Astoria. I had high hopes for it. Unfortunately, the experience was disappointing. Part of the menu is standard fare: appetizers, salads, sandwiches, burgers, and so on. The other part of the menu is Malaysian fare, which is why we went. I tried the Beef Rendang, and my girlfriend tried the Tofu Rendang. We went for lunch. However, this place is seriously overpriced. The beef was $ 15 and the tofu was $ 14 for lunch. For this amount, I expected more. The portion was small (maybe 5 small cubes of beef) with rice and no other sides. The beef was a little tough. As much as I love Malaysian food, I don’t think I’ll go back. A note to management: please lower your prices or increase the quantity of food. You are not going to gain regular customers in this part of Astoria with high prices and small portions. There is a lot of competition just a few blocks down 30^th Avenue.

Came in with my dad to see what this place was all about. Turns out it’s a café with the coffee shop usuals and then a large assortment of Malaysian dishes, which is a strange mix but seems to work. I had a regular coffee (just regular coffee) and the Malaysian Pancake which was delicious! The Roti was a mix of crispy, warm, and soft. The curry and chicken was very tasty. My dad had some hot chocolate and a wrap which he said was well made.
The design of this place is clean, sleek, with a side a minimalism which is nice to see this side of 30^th ave.
The service is done by who I assume are the owners. Who were very nice and didn’t bother you at all once we got our food. Although I did have to go up to the counter to ask for the check because they never came back.
My only suggestion for this place is that they should have an actual waiter/​waitress and some better quality coffee. Overall I would come back for some more Malaysian food!

Savory Café is a welcome treat on 30^th Avenue. They serve breakfast and lunch/​dinner. The décor is very modern, and super cute. I recently went for brunch and can say the breakfast food is solid. They give you a good amount of food — my omelet came with hash browns, toast and salad or fries. There are a few kinks they seem to be sill working out, but I think with time they will get better. The only real downside is, they don’t give refills on coffee, of any kind.