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All Reader Reviews of...

Barbuto

775 Washington St., New York, NY, 10014
at 12th St.
212-924-9700

Avg. Rating

6
Food: 6
Service: 5
Décor: 6
"Mixed Reviews"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

42% would go back.

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A lot to Learn

By corjoe on 3/26/2013

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 6
  • Service: 1
  • Décor: 2
  • No, I would not go back!

Went to Barbuto for an early Sunday dinner. Must admit I was surprized upon entering at the stench from the bar. Not good. Table was fine, chairs ok but overall atmosphere musty. No table clothes. Not a crisp clean feeling. After ordering cocktails and while looking at menu I asked for an antipasti to be brought out. The waiter refused stating that the kitchen can only acceptable complete table orders given at one time...isn't that a statement lacking the "customer comes first" attitude. Be that as it may we continued. While eating our apps (we were a party of five) the bus service started to clear our dishes. While 3 of us had finished 2 of us weren't. The lack of common sense continued as he attempted to clear my dish while I was still chewing. Talk of terrible service this place is in a league of it's own! Food, apps and entre, were tasty and well prepared. Overall experience was negative and would not reccommend Barbuto. There are too many other restaurants in Manhattan that serve just as good, if not better food, at the same price level without the dirty facility and poor overall service. This place needs a good general manager who can deliver a few "swift kicks" to wake them ALL up.

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6 out of 11 people found this review helpful.

12 dollar Cappuccino anyone?

By foppan on 9/23/2011

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 5
  • Service: 4
  • Décor: 6
  • No, I would not go back!

I was in the neighborhood and after a long birthday weekend, we figured to stop by for a coffee to wake up. To make it quick, we decided to sit at the bar and ordered 2 cappuccinos with one extra shot of espresso. There is many things you expect to be pricey in NYC, but in our wildest dreams we did not think they would charge us $22.75 for two cappuccinos at the bar. That also made it easier for us not to pick Barbuto to have our Brunch the following day. That is scam!

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79 out of 153 people found this review helpful.

Forgettably Mediocre

By cmburgess on 7/9/2010

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

Starting with the most miserly of white wine pours at the bar that I have EVER seen, followed by a rowdy-atmosphere dinner: 2 of us had the lamb, which was just plain old uninteresing, 2 had the chicken - admittedly VERY tasty. The aps were average, the desert ok. Wait staff either disinterested or overworked. Hostess stand was a trio of 14 year old girls who didn't look like they knew what they were doing. Despite calling & being told they would fit our part of 5 in pretty quickly, we got smarmy 'that'll be an hour to an hour and a half" once we got there. What has happened to New Yorkers that they put up with this kind of shabby treatment and mediocre food/service?? Pricey. For what we got. Left hungry. Oh and they didn't bring my bar tab to the table, but then stuck a 20% gratuity on the tab anyway. I have one word for that: STEALING!

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91 out of 195 people found this review helpful.

Do it. Do it.

By BigTyme on 7/3/2010

  • Overall Rating: 9
  • Food: 9
  • Service: 9
  • Décor: 10
  • No, I would not go back!

2nd time to eat here in as many weeks. Go at 12:00 on the weekend, when they open, for brunch. Not too crowded. Great waitstaff. Better food. The chix is the mainstay but don't be afraid to venture out and try the pizza w/ egg - but only if you want your mind blown. Great for kids too. The atmosphere is exactly what most people are looking for: somewhere between outside and inside, but with an umbrella and a fan. Cheers.

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106 out of 190 people found this review helpful.

Amazingly Simple and Delightful

By tiffcal on 5/23/2010

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

Barbuto… there probably are not enough words to describe my experience. Loved the open restaurant and kitchen where guests can actually see what is going on behind the scenes. Barbuto is perfect for a summer day or any day in New York given you can sit in or outside and enjoy the openness of the restaurant. My guest and I enjoyed the simplicity of the food which was refreshing and far from boring. To start we had the salumi misti which proved to be a nice savory start to a good meal. I had the insalata pollo with fresh greens, chicken (I really wish I knew how they did the chicken), asparagus and radish. I actually was expecting a chicken breast with salad on the side but after one bite I was in heaven. My friend had the egg, pancetta, mozzarella panino and once again an incredibly satisfying meal! We were actually served a great surprise by seeing Jonathan Waxman come into the restaurant himself. While he may not have been working it was still great to see a chef actually stop into his own restaurant and walk out with a couple bags of food. All in all, Barbuto was fantastic – word to the wise, beware of the mojitos, after a couple you may just want to continue drinking because they are tasty too.

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82 out of 199 people found this review helpful.

wonderful chef's table

By NadiaNYC on 7/17/2009

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

i recently reserved the chef's table for my boyfriend's birthday, and it was a really perfect experience. 4 enormous courses cooked right next to you - a true feast and the food was excellent (omg the gnocchi...). it's very affordable for the privacy and amount of food you get. the only down side was that being next to the kitchen was a little loud. extra plus: now the high line is there for a pre or post-dinner stroll.

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120 out of 242 people found this review helpful.

Sad demise of Barbuto...

By nycdiner78 on 7/13/2009

  • Overall Rating: 3
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 2
  • Décor: 5
  • No, I would not go back!

Barbuto was once my favorite restaurant in NYC. Unfortunately, the past two times IÂ’ve been back, the food has been subpar, the staff has been snippy, and the overall quality of the experience just felt lacking. My waiter also tried the upsell - by warning my date and I that the dish I ordered (a basic pasta) would take much longer to cook so we should probably purchase an appetizer as well. My pasta was out within 10 minutes and, sadly, I overheard him use the same line on a different table with a totally different dish. I donÂ’t think Jonathan Waxman would be pleasedÂ…

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124 out of 238 people found this review helpful.

Great Unpretensious Resturnat

By KRB on 1/2/2008

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

Great experience in all respects. Food was creative and at the same time straight forward with no pretension - straight forward nature of this restaurant carries over to staff , service and look and feel of the interior. We had a very good and creatively prepared pasta Bolignese appitizer along with very good salads. Roasted Chicken and fish main dishes were excellent.

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176 out of 391 people found this review helpful.

Good Wine, Good Food, Good Service

By chelles316 on 7/8/2007

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

Every time i have been to this restaurant i am pleasantly surprised. it is fun and unpretentious with great food. the Bar service while waiting has always been a pleasant experience, with good wine and a nice and helpful bartender (i always ask for a reccomendation based on my mood and he comes thru). The dinner experience was equally satisfying. i love love love the decor and the whole set up of the restaurant. Bonus - the area is great with fun bars to walk to after.

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306 out of 653 people found this review helpful.

A meat-heavy meal (but there are other choices!)

By cartmall on 7/4/2007

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

I heard lots about Barbuto from friends/reviews and was disappointed when I first walked in to a bistro confused by cold cafeteria furniture with a noise level to match. The servers are helpful about selections and portion sizes. The close-but-not-quite-Italian names are too hi-brow so let me go with English: the octopus was rich, smoke-y delicious; the beef truly fantastic; and the pork tender, huge, & well spiced but with vinegary cherries tossed around the plate. UGH! vinegar on an otherwise perfect dish! Top quality except for ancient peas but the lemon zest was good. The greens with anchovy butter are worth going again. Packed, highly fashionable crowd but we were there just in t-shirts and no-name jeans and it did not matter. The food is so good (well except for the peas) that it is worth the chaos of noise/small tables.

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323 out of 648 people found this review helpful.

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