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All Reader Reviews of...

Babbo

110 Waverly Pl., New York, NY, 10011
nr. Sixth Ave.
212-777-0303

Avg. Rating

8
Food: 8
Service: 7
Décor: 8
"Recommended"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

68% would go back.

 Write your own review

Worth a break from carbo-phobia.

By Exuparem on 1/28/2003

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 7
  • Décor: 6
  • Yes, I would go back!

Although it took almost a month to get an 8pm reservation, it was definitely worth the wait to eat at Babbo. The pasta tasting menu that we tried almost had me in tears with the fluffiness of the pastas and the complex richness of the sauces. Being a French wine snob, I was also very impressed by the bottle of Emiglia-Romana wine recommended by the sommelier. A very pleasant dining experience, which I hope to repeat in the near future!

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217 out of 442 people found this review helpful.

Bobbie @ Babbo

By tbone on 2/1/2003

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 7
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

Since my wife's name is Bobbie, we decided to try Babbo. The food though a little too wild to be a regular here, we did love the food. And when Mario clomped past my table I had to shake his hand. We will be back, but not too often

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220 out of 424 people found this review helpful.

perfectly prepared traditional italian

By stephenm on 2/1/2004

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 8
  • Yes, I would go back!

If you want typical italian dishes prepared better than typical, go to babbo. The food and service are excellent. However, at this price, I would expect to be suprised and delighted by some inventive twist on the part of the celebrity chef, especially on the tasting menu.

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203 out of 353 people found this review helpful.

Vegetarian at Babbo.

By carlyh on 6/25/2008

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

Somehow, my family and I managed to walk up to the door of Babbo at dinner-time on a Wednesday and get seated upstairs immediately. My boyfriend, a huge foodie, could not believe our luck & I did not understand how unusual this is until I called him, bragging, from Babbo's cramped, one-person bathroom. All in all, the service was impeccable and the waiters were sweet, attentive, & not too overbearing. But being vegetarian, I found that the restaurant had little to offer besides my dish -- the goat cheese tortellini with orange drizzle & fennel. I also ordered the funghi appetizer which I found to be much too salty, and could hardly finish it. My parents & brother were very satisfied with their meals, but being meat-eaters, this seemed much more expected. I found the place to be very well priced when paired against all the hype it gets, & walked out of the restaurant feeling satisfied -- but not blown away -- by the food and overall experience. Though the ambiance is great, Babbo is not the first place I would consider when in the mood for Italian (although I might test it out someday but better prepare for the carnivorous menu).

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46 out of 82 people found this review helpful.

Good but making reservations is a joke

By lindie on 1/28/2009

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 7
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

I have been here a few times - the food is very good for sure - but good luck getting a reservation - their system is an antiquated joke - their phone is constantly busy, you have to book reservations a month in advance and if you don't call before 11AM you are out of luck - on top of that, every time I call I am kept on hold for at least 10 minutes, which is just rude. They should consider getting a better system if they are so great that they need to make reservations a month in advance - the ordeal of making reservations alone is not worth the effort and neither is the restaraunt.

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53 out of 104 people found this review helpful.

Business Dinner

By ksherry on 10/9/2009

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

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.

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59 out of 114 people found this review helpful.

traditional tasting menu

By seery2 on 10/9/2009

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 9
  • No, I would not go back!

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.

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84 out of 149 people found this review helpful.

Fabulous Food --Unfortunately, terrible table service this time

By motherhen on 12/29/2009

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 3
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

Spectacular food, they allow you to choose items from tasting menu to create your own "mini" tasting menu. Had the frutti di mare and the baccala ravioli, both perfect. The Maitre d', the same one we've seen for years, is always very nice. The lady that takes reservations and confirmations is helpful and polite. The sommelier was knowledgeable and put on a fun show. I have a laundry list of complaints about the waiter that wouldn’t fit with the character restriction. He was unhelpful and complained about going up and down the stairs for bar orders. Management may contact me: Server 1484 Paul G Ck 2558 Husband refuses to leave a message tip. Busy, fun place, not stuffy. You can wear your orange crocs here! Will return for incredible food but will ask for a real waiter next time.

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71 out of 144 people found this review helpful.

With such a price and reputation..... I expected little more!

By danac123 on 2/18/2010

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

Finally I made it to Babbo. I had the Tasting menu with the wine pairing. The food and wine was very good but the waiter was "pushy". Our reservation was for about 9 pm and I assume that he wanted us to finish and go. I hope that next time I will get better service . I will give it another chance in the future.

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80 out of 156 people found this review helpful.

BEST CHEESECAKE EVERRR

By dy4L on 3/16/2011

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 10
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 10
  • Yes, I would go back!

It was my first time dining with them. We were sat immediately, lovely ambiance and punctual service. Server was knowledgeable of the menu. Our appetizers of pumpkin lune, mint love letters and octopus were absolutely delicious. Everything was excellent until our entrees arrived. It took about an hour from when we sat to see our server again. Never came back to see if everything was okay, refill our drinks, when we asked the manager for another martini- came back with the wrong drink. It took almost 2 hours for our entrees to arrive, when it did the lamb was over cooked. But the saving grace of it all were the desserts, especially the maple mascarpone cheesecake. The food was exceptional but the cheesecake made the meal. We just expected much more of the service from a restaurant of this caliber.

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96 out of 178 people found this review helpful.

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