Babbo

I just don't get it, more and more I see reviews where people complain about having a reservation and having to still wait 15 minutes, and how expensive dishes are.I am defending the industry being someone who loves to eat and rarely has a bad experience.Do you think they want you to have to wait?They are set up to make reservations work, what are they supposed to do tell the table that just dropped 400 bucks for 3 or 4 people to hurry up with their dessert?This is the way it goes,New Yorkers take their time when they eat and they relax and enjoy their spoils.I went to Babbo on New Year's day, I made a res a month in advance and still was only able to get a 10:45res. Babbo was amazing as always,I've been eating here since I was 19 and have yet to have a problem,my girlfriend and I decided to splurge for New Years and ordered everything and honestly once again we were not disappointed. The apps,pastas, and entrees were all simple and perfect just like Italian food is supposed to be.

This summer my boyfriend and his visiting sister and husband took us to Babbo. We were all VERY excited, especially my boyfriend who has been here many times and raved about the tasty food. When we were walking upstairs to be seated, you could feel a rush of warm, stale air. It was the middle of July, and the night before the restaurant's air went out. I went down to inquire with the maître d, and he told me the air was to kick on shortly. I reported this back to my perspiring table, including one who was pregnant, but we were hopeful we would be feeling some cool air shortly. The entire meal was dreadful the air NEVER kicked on the two hours we were there. Who can enjoy warm pastas and red wine with sweat dripping down your spine? But you know the worst thing about it? The staff never acknowledged the problem, only the rude waiter said, "If I had a fan I would blow it on myself," when I joking asked for fan. The food was good, but think about how many times you have eaten warm, heavy food when it is 90 degrees? It's not that pleasant. We didn't understand why they lied to us about the air coming on shortly, when they should have just canceled our reservation. Our better yet, why didn't the restaurant go out and buy or rent fans for the sweating patrons if the air had been out since the night before? There is an extreme snootiness of the staff when no one apologized or was friendly about the heat. Mind you we weren't looking for a comp meal, but it's rude the staff doesn't consider Babbo is a special dinner, and we could have come another night when it was more pleasant to enjoy the upscale meal. It will take me a long time to go back to this restaurant, and I share this story whenever people inquire about it.- tasty food-snooty staff.

After much anticipation, we went to Babbo and were not impressed nor satisfied. Service has always been an important aspect of our dining experience, and it starts with the maitre d'. In this case, the maitre d' was extremely pretentious and almost turned us off from dining there at all. We decided to give it a chance anyway. The food was not stellar, mediocre at best, and certainly did live up to the hype from all the reviews on the internet. Maybe the restaurant was taking a break after Mario visited the restaurant earlier in the week. I certainly hope that the food can be better.

Way over hyped... the food was tasty, but nothing exceptional and definitely not worth the attitude by the staff. From the host to the waitress, all around attitude. The sommelier was very well informed and friendly. You can have food this good at 100 italian restaurants in the city and not have to deal with the attitude.

We went two weeks ago for a special occasion meal after talking about going for a very long time. i was worried that all the hype & wait would lead to me being disappointed...but i wasnt. everything we had was excellent (other than the summer bean salad which was only okay) and you really the taste high quality ingredients that they use. The Halibut poached in olive oil didnt disappoint. i was surprised by the pricing it was not crazy expensive, especially considering how great the meal was. Two only small negatives: 1/t the tables are quite small and the decor doesnt an atmosphere of anything particularly special 2/ my server wasn't overly warm or willing to give suggestions on the menu. However, the woman who helped us select our wine was incredibly helpful - our wine was exactly what we were looking for. Last thing - you MUST try the maple cheesecake. killer.

My husband and I are leaving the city. I had always wanted to go to Babbo. He called and got late reservations, but who cares what time you eat, when the food is this good. Even though it was 10:15 when we sat down, we never felt rushed at all. The staff could not have been nicer. Our waiter was attentive and when it was the end of his shift, he told us we would be well tended by another staff member. And we were. The roasted beet tartare was excellent. The beets sweet and fresh tasting. My husband's salami and lamb prosciutto with a grilled bread was tasty and simple. The black spaghetti with rock shrimp, spicy salami and green chilies was amazing. The rock shrimp literally popped they were so tendercrisp. The waiter was kind enough to suggest we split our pasta dish. Boy, was he right. The portions are generous. My duck with kumquats was done to perfection and my husband's seabass was tender and delicious. Top off the meal with a marscapone/maple cheesecake. YUM. I'm so glad I got to Babbo. Thanks Mario. It was one fo the best meals we had in NYC.

Had dinner for two on Sept.1/08. We walked in at 8:30 and were seated about 9:45... Everyone at the table had to order the tasting menu...could not just be one person, so boht me and my bf order the pasta tasting menu. It was AMAZING! My bf is a very fussy eater and was alittle apprehensive about ordering after reading brain and cheek on the menu , but the pasta tasting menu was incredible, The outstanding food made up for the poor service. I didn't like that the tables were so small that we couldn't even keep our bottle of wine on the table...we were subject to our waiter keeping an eye on it and filling our glasses. Also, our waiter tried to deter us from ordering the tasting menu...i didn't understand that...he told us it was too much food and would take too long. Really, we think he just didn't want to wait around on a monday night to serve 8 courses. When our original waiter left for the night, the gentleman that took over was great! Wish we had had him from the beginning. Overall. the food was key and was amazing! Highly recommend this resto!