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I was surprised to see the negative reviews below. You don't go to Barbetta for a "hip", modern experience - you go for the oldest family-owned Italian restaurant in NY, the beautiful brownstone, the romantic garden and the traditional Italian menu. A New York experience not to be replicated anywhere else. I've been here many many times and have always loved it - both as a restaurant experience and for private events.

New Year's Eve 2011 - $165 per person tax and gratuities was an utter disappointment. Should have been wary when they did not have a published menu for the Evening 2 days before the event. The best part of the meal turned out to be the passed hors d'oeuvre of smoked salmon, prosciutto and melon. The pasta appetizers following were bland, the beef and swordfish entrees made ordinary by the sauces, the service mediocre. 12:30 am all got their bill and sort of pushed out.

Was just there late nite. While the atmosphere is definitely old world, There are only 2 options prix fixe- $35 or $58. None of the menu items were tempting and we all ended up getting the same thing! Completely uninspired menu. Where is the caprese salad? More pasta options? Cold Chicken w/tuna sauce? We were very disappointed though were left alone and had time to talk..not noisy. Would not return. Overpriced and boring.

If you are looking for a dining experience, this isnt' the place. Despite making a reservation and telling both the maitre-d and the waiter that we were not going to the theater and didn't want to be rushed, our drinks, appetizers and entrees appeared within about five minutes of each other. But hey, they didn't rush us after that! It took a half hour to get a look at the dessert cart and then ZIP the bill arrived. This restaurant--once a top-line dining experience (I've been going there since the early 70s) is in desperate need of an updating--both physical and mental.

What a disappointment. We were looking for a tried and true restaurant and selected Barbetta. The maitre d' was affected. The restaurant was empty and when we asked for a particular table, we were told it was a table for 5, not 4. Not ten minutes later 4 people were seated there. There was no heat and the waiter was rude and "bothered" by questions. Sorry we stayed. Must say that the food was halfway decent. Never again.

We held a private party in the upstairs room for about 30 people on a Friday night. I was a little nervous based on previous reviews but I have nothing to complain about. The building is a brownstone and the room was beautiful and we could wander around the whole upstairs. The waitstaff could not be better from making sure our glasses were full at all times to providing the scores of the Mets/Yankees game. Additionally, when a guest commented he was a seafood lover the waiter provided him with a meal that was not on our pre-set menu at no extra cost. The food was excellent - the beef tenderloin like butter...no knife needed. The dessert cart looked heavenly and again the waiter allowed us to have more than one type of dessert at no extra cost. The baked pears were delightful with the creme zabaglione. I would definitely return to this restuarent on my own.

Our third visit to this lovely restaurant was unpleasant. We were dining for lunch prior to a theatre performance. Six tables were occupied. Our food was warm, not hot. We ordered along with our entree a pasta dish to share, we never got it. the coffee was old, and served with skim milk. Service was poor, poor, poor! We had to we had to summon the waiter continuously .Two of the six occupied tables got a lot of attention. The person passing out bread was very attentive. We were seated at a table near the doors opening to the porch, and they opened up letting in very cold air to an already unpleasant dining experience. After having been here before, this is not what we expected on our return to Restaurant Row.