Babbo

There may be one or two in NYC comparable to Babbo but it would be darn nigh impossible to be better. We celebrated an engagement in the family here and if the quality of the relationship turns out to follow the quality of the evening we experienced at Babbo, then my son and his fiancee have lots to look forward to in the years ahead. Food, wines, service, comfort and ambiance were of the highest order and what surprised us most was the reasonableness of the cost, having regard to the superlative experience. Without any doubt we shall be returning each time we are in NYC.

I just had dinner here with my parents for my birthday and it was an amazing experience. We got the traditional tasting for the whole table and each course was sheer culinary perfection. Even the most simple elements were done to such a high degree of flavor. Among the dishes involved one with the most delicious tomato sauce I have EVER had. The pacing of the courses was spot on, too. We were never rushed, our meal lasted about 3 hours, but flew by really quickly. The waiter was very informative, and his descriptions of the food and wine enhanced the flavor incredibly. I hope my parents tipped him well. He even brought out the complimentary cookie plate with a candle and "Happy Birthday, Sam!" written in chocolate. Bravo, Chef Batali!

With all the rave about this place you would expect the most spectacular experience. The food was well prepared, but considering the great food in this city, it's not worth the hike. The service is sub par and you feel rushed by the staff, probably because they want you to finish so they can turn over the table. I understand collective service where you're served in unison by the entire wait staff, but in fine restaurants you should be able to recognize the main server of the table. This concept is attempted but lost at Babbo, in the sense that you don't know who to ask for, nor whom to ask it from. I've been to all of Mario Batali's restaurants and feel they all have the same theme. The insincerity of the staff makes the entire experience disappointing. There is so many great restaurants in NYC with equal and better food that I will spend my time and money elsewhere.

Not sure who you meant to review. Babbo is my favorite restaurant in NYC, but don't go for lunch, they are open for dinner only

Everything works. No matter which dish you choose, you will not be disappointed. Although expensive, it was well worth it: service, recommendations, taste, presentation, and ambience erases the fact you're going to spend some serious coin. Thank you to the cute sommelier for the wine selection. Hands down favorite restaurant in City.

i took my girlfriend their for her birthday on an early sunday dinner. the host immediately questioned on what we were doing in the restaurant and if we had reservations. UH yeah we did. aside from the rude host, we opted to stay and the food was good. loved the bean bruschetta & arugula parmesan salad. wine recommendation by our server was excellent. would go back as long as i never see the host's face ever again.

impossible to get through on the phone. you finally get to eat there and have to listen to loud over played music. there is nothing interesting about this place except for the lemmings that work there- who are afraid to step out of the box and deviate at all from what they are told to do. we were told they could not lower the music even though they were literally blasting "trucking" (played out dead song that has nothing to do with italian food) on REPEAT. it was actually funny how annoying it was. when asked why they couldn't lower it, they said because they aren't allowed to. the food was fine, everything else was not. overall, it was unsophisticated and irritating.