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Home > Restaurants > Babbo

Babbo

Critic's Pick Critics' Pick

110 Waverly Pl., New York, NY 10011
nr. Sixth Ave.  See Map | Subway Directions Hopstop Popup
212-777-0303 Send to Phone

  • Price Range: $$$

    Key to Prices and ratings

    Upscale
    • Almost Perfect
    • Exceptional
    • Generally Excellent
    • Very Good
    • Good
    Cheap Eats
    • Best in Category
    • Excellent
    • Delicious
    • Very Good
    • Noteworthy
    • Very Expensive
    • Expensive
    • Moderate
    • Cheap
  • Critics' Rating: ****

    Key to Prices and ratings

    Upscale
    • Almost Perfect
    • Exceptional
    • Generally Excellent
    • Very Good
    • Good
    Cheap Eats
    • Best in Category
    • Excellent
    • Delicious
    • Very Good
    • Noteworthy
    • Very Expensive
    • Expensive
    • Moderate
    • Cheap
  • Reader Rating:

    7.4 out of 10

      |  

    41 Reviews | Write a Review

  • Cuisine: Italian
View Slide Show
Photo by Babbo

Official Website

babbonyc.com

Hours

Mon-Sat, 5:30pm-11:30pm; Sun, 5pm-11:00pm

Nearby Subway Stops

A, B, C, D, E, F, V at W. 4th St.-Washington Sq.; 1 at Christopher St.-Sheridan Sq.

Prices

$24-$29

Payment Methods

American Express, MasterCard, Visa

Special Features

  • Hot Spot
  • Notable Chef
  • Notable Wine List
  • Prix-Fixe
  • Romantic
  • Special Occasion

Alcohol

  • Full Bar

Reservations

Recommended

Profile

The most exciting Italian restaurant in town serves food you'll never find in Little Italy. A staff as smart as you want your kids to be helps. So do two uncomplicated floors suffused in honeyed amber light, as easy to get comfy in as a calf-skin slip-on. But what will stun, fool, bewitch, and ultimately obsess you is chef Mario Batali's staggeringly original yet startlingly airy Italian cooking. Ever try goat-cheese tortelloni dusted in dried orange and wild-fennel pollen? Or spicy lamb sausage romanced by mint love letters and a paste of sweet peas? Get ready. Ingredients you didn't expect or have never heard of are about to become unforgettable. Hot-chili-flecked linguine and clams will make you lose your composure. Just get it together enough to make another reservation before you leave. Don't fool yourself into thinking that if you can't get in, you can hit Casa Mono and Otto for the same rush at half the price. Methinks Batali loves Babbo just a wee bit more than the others. And it shows. — Rob Patronite and Robin Raisfeld

Pasta Tasting Menu

Eight courses, $69

Traditional Tasting Menu
Eight courses, $75

Note
The bar opens half-hour prior to the dining room, every night.

Recommended Dishes

Goat cheese tortelloni, $19; mint "Love Letters," $20; beef cheek ravioli, $23

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Recipes at Babbo

7.4 "Recommended"
Average Reader Rating
on a Scale of 10		 Write Your Own Review
65% Would you go back?
70% Would you take a date?
23% Would you take kids?
62% Would you go on business?
62% Would you go on a special occasion?
Food: 8.0
Service: 7.4
Décor: 8.0
Value: 6.7

traditional tasting menu

seery2 from 11217 | Posted on 10/9/09

Overall Rating: 7 (Recommended)
Food: 7
Service: 9
Décor: 9
Value: 4

The tasting menu was completely unbalanced. It started off strong with a parmesan custard paired with a duck breseola, followed by two satisfying pasta dishes and one small but excellent pork entree. However, four of the eight tasting courses were dessert. Although they were delicious, this was excessive, and frankly a little sickening. We cannot recall a single vegetable which was served to us in the entire 8 course tasting menu. We find this disturbing and wonder who is planning these menus. It would have been an excellent experience if two of the dessert courses would have been substituted with more savory dishes (for instance a vegetable, salad or seafood option would have been great). That still would have left two more dessert courses, more than enough to satisfy any normal person's sweet tooth. Each course was excellent on its own, but this much sugar is overkill. We left feeling jealous of our neighbors' savory entrees.

Business Dinner

ksherry from 10016 | Posted on 10/9/09

Overall Rating: 8 (Recommended)
Food: 9
Service: 8
Décor: 7
Value: 8

Babbo.... Elegant environment, very white and crisp. Tables downstairs and upstairs. Restaurant was unassuming. We had a group of 7, and we did the pasta sampler, paired with wine tasting for $120/person. It was a great deal. Each course was better than the next, and the wine pairings were superb. With that being said, there is a lot of wine and a lot of food. You get almost a full glass with every course. The Black Squid pasta was great, as was the ravioli. I thought the service was appropriate - The dinner lasted 3+ hours - we definitely could have cut that down. Net net, food wise , one of the best places i've been to in the city. Everything we had was better than the next.

Read All 41 Reviews >>

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