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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.

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Big Flavors

By petrushka on 1/25/2003

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

Meat is featured in virtually every dish on the menu, so come prepared for big flavors - no sissy stuff. Everything we had - warm salad appetizer, gnocchi with veal ragu, the rabbit - was executed to perfection. Though decor suggests a neighborhood place the prices are anything but neighborly.

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180 out of 383 people found this review helpful.

BABBO is awful

By aliabarca on 4/5/2010

  • Overall Rating: 7
  • Food: 7
  • Service: (NA)
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

A high priced, no service restaurant with lots of attitude and no class. Horrific wait staff. Mediocre cocktails. No attention to detail. Water glasses sit empty forever, no butter is brought with the bread. Questions are answered in a rushed and surly manner. The only real workers are the poor busboys who work like slaves. But the waiters are pretentious and have no class and don't give a damn about giving good service. The food is good but everything else is so bad, that you won't enjoy the food you'll be so pissed off at the service. A pretentious over-rated restaurant with terrible service. Avoid it if you can.

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83 out of 152 people found this review helpful.

Pomp and circumstance

By nuriselena on 6/16/2008

  • Overall Rating: 7
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 3
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

To be fair, the food was excellent. That said, the music was too loud, the staff was too pompous and the service was nothing short of awful. It started when the wait staff could not be bothered with questions; they were outright feisty. Did I mention the music was too loud! I thought maybe they had a rough day or I was too sensitive. Nah, I have heard of others with similar stories. I don't get all the pomp and circumstance. I don't like being mistreated by the wait staff, I would never do it to them. I think me and my AMEX will be dining someplace else with our very special guests.

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27 out of 52 people found this review helpful.

HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT

By Ditas on 5/9/2004

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

Highly overrated. Nothing special or memorable about Babbo. Even had their house specialties, goat cheese tortellini, mint love letters, sweetbread, pappardelle bolognese, pancetta rapiena. I think we really gave it a chance, hoping it would deliver the goods and live up to its rating. Will not go back, Don't waste your time or money.

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190 out of 405 people found this review helpful.

Terrible Service but the food was good!

By andusigner on 4/18/2012

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 8
  • Service: 2
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

I went to Babbo for dinner on 4/15. My parents were in from out of town and I thought taking them to what is supposed to be the best Italian food in NYC would be a real treat for them. Our waiter was somewhat curt with us and definitely not friendly, When one of my companions found a hair in her plate, he rudely remarked that it wasn't his and did nothing else to remedy the situation. I had to flag the maitre'd down to get a new entree. This seemed to only worsen the waiter's disposition. Even ordering desert was the chore with this guy. He was even rude to my elderly mother. In the end , we didn't throw a fit so as not to ruin the evening, but for a place on this level, i really think we were treated terribly. That being said, the guinea hen and mushroom 'sformato were excellent, though the Sicilian Lifeguard style calamari was bland an unexciting. I hope we were just unlucky with the waiter, b/c the food was quite good.

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68 out of 115 people found this review helpful.

Food Ok- Drinks over the top

By jerseydan on 8/7/2011

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 6
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 7
  • Yes, I would go back!

The food was ok and their food prices reasonable, most of the staff is very nice but I found our waiter only helpful if we did not ask to much of him. The drinks are very expensive and that portion hiked our bill way to high in my opinion. Shame on us for not asking but a house glass of wine was $25.00. I wanted a nice dinner but felt the drinks were way too expensive. Since getting a good value is important to me, I would ask what they charge for a drink next time.

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86 out of 157 people found this review helpful.

Rudest, most arrogant maitre d' in the city.

By elizsmart on 5/12/2011

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 9
  • No, I would not go back!

We live in the neighborhood and have been to Babbo twice. We would go far more often; however dealing with the extremely rude and arrogant maitre d' is just not worth it. He is condescending and downright nasty. Beware and take your business to a Batali restaurant with better service.

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112 out of 199 people found this review helpful.

I hate to say it, but...

By mintypingers on 3/1/2003

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 9
  • No, I would not go back!

I had a bad meal at Babbo. My pasta was so oily, i could not eat it, beacause it kept slipping away. Everything from our appetizers to the desserts were average at best. Having lived in Italy, I was excited to go, and left highly disppointed. This restaurant simply did not come close to the hype. But everyone I know who has eaten there has loved it, so perhaps it is worth another try.

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229 out of 449 people found this review helpful.

No Big Deal

By JudgeJudy on 5/8/2010

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 5
  • Service: 4
  • Décor: 7
  • No, I would not go back!

Bustling Bar when you first enter is the attempt to be "cool" and "seen" (yawn). The food isn't special and it's over priced. LUPA is the restaurant to go for special italian food, not Babbo. BOO Babbo!

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62 out of 135 people found this review helpful.

BABBO: THE WORST NIGHT OF OUR LIVES

By BrunoMastretta on 9/21/2009

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

THE WORST NIGHT OF OUR LIVES: The bold men at the entrance is extremely rude. He ignored us and kept me and my wife waiting for 2 ours standing up, and when we complained he even yelled at us!!!. 1)Mr. Batalli:Why low class employees?; 2)Rank:Food is not that good -27 Zagat ranked? Never!; 3)Clients:OPEN YOUR EYES!; 4)Zagat&other Rankers: Be objective!. Dont loose the credibility to pamper Mr. Battali…, without that this is only a restaurant directory.

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60 out of 125 people found this review helpful.

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