Babbo

110 Waverly Place, Greenwich Village, NY

8.9

map & more

Neighborhood
Greenwich Village

Cuisine
Italian
Pasta

Nearby
Blue Note
Le Poisson Rouge

212-777-0303

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By Andrew Steinthal
April 4, 2011

Of all the Batali restaurants, Babbo is the one most aligned with the Infatuation ideals for good eating. Del Posto, Lupa, Otto and Eataly have a tendency to be filled with faux-New Yorkers, which Stang covered in depth in the Lupa review. Babbo (and Casa Mono) are where the real motherf*ckers are at. When we want to get our Batali on, this is where you’ll find us. And that’s not to say some of his other spots aren’t great; they are (although that Del Posto 4-star NY Times review is kind of extreme). We just feel very strongly about the fact that Babbo is the one that you, like us, will enjoy the most.

There are a couple ways to do Babbo. The first is the most difficult, getting yourself a reservaton. Reservations become available by phone only, 30 days out at 10am, so plan accodingly. You can also roll the dice without a reservation and stake out a seat at the bar. Once you’re in, the task of navigating through the vast menu can seem a bit daunting. Multiple tasting menus and over fifty delicious a la carte options stare you in the face, making you weak in the knees. Stay strong. Two words: pasta tasting. That’s why you’re here. And if you don’t go with the tasting, promise that your main focus is on the secondi part of the menu. If you don’t go to Babbo and hit the pastas hard, you’re cheating yourself.

You also can’t touch the atmosphere at Babbo. It’s a special place. You can feel the Good Vibes. Tables are filled with diners who’ve had this date starred on their calendars for the last month. It’s fancy, but it’s not stuffy. Service is friendly and informative without being overbearing. The wine list is insane and there are plenty of excellent options in the $45-75 range. We jumped on a delicious Italian red, a 2006 Conte Loredan Gasparini from Venegazzu, as suggested by the sommelier and it was a home run.

The bottom line is that Babbo exemplifies everything we want out of a classic Manhattan dining experience. The food, the wine, the service. It’s all top notch. New York, I love you.

Photo Credit: Kelly Campbell

Food Rundown

Salumi Friulani
The meat plate is mandatory. When we went recently they were serving “Osvaldo Prosciutto” from Cormons and “Salame” from Valter Scarbolo in Lauzacco. It was all excellent.

Grilled Octopus
One of Babbo’s classic antipasta dishes. This part of the menu should only be covered lightly, allowing for over-ordering on the pastas, the grilled octopus is the one to get. An exquisite stack of thick octopus with beans and dressed in a spicy Limoncello vinaigrette. It’s amazing.

Warm Lamb’s Tongue Vinaigrette
Another one of their highly touted and much loved starters. It’s an amalgamation of flavor: a “3-minute” poached egg sitting atop a bed of lamb’s tongue with brown beech mushrooms. All you really need is a couple of bites, but it’s a really nice dish to share. Don’t be scared off by the fact that it’s tongue, all you can taste is goodness.

Black Tagliatelle with Peas
After one bite of this, you might be wondering why Babbo serves it’s best pasta dish first on the pasta tasting menu (it’s also brought out as the first pasta if you order a la cart). This squid ink dyed tagliatelle is insanely good. Like, ridiculously out of this world. The pasta alone would be worthy of high praise, but add in some kind of fresh pea and butter concoction along with castelmago cheese, and we’re talking about a truly epic pasta dish. One we thought was the best we’d taste all night…until the next course came out.

Pappardelle Bolognese
Just when you think it couldn’t get any better than the tagliatelle, the bolognese steamrolls the table. Look at it, it’s beautiful. Perfectly cooked pappardelle with a chunky, rich meat sauce. Perfection in every bite. You can try, but you’re not going to find a better pasta with bolognese combo than this.

Beef Cheek Ravioli
To appreciate this dish, you need to be down with liver. The crushed squab liver it’s made with isn’t fully overpowering, but there’s a strong hint of liver which people either love or hate. Not even the black truffles can save this dish if you’re not down with liver. If that’s your style though, you’ll be a very happy camper.

Homemade Orecchiette
Similar to one of our favorite dishes on the Del Posto menu (which is the same pasta but with lamb shoulder sausage), this orecchiette with sweet sausage and rapini is another solid move. Honestly, you can’t really go wrong on the pasta menu. It’s all incredible.

Barbecued Squab
A full bird, ‘cued up medium rare over a bed of roasted beet “farrotto.” Juicy, tender dark meat that couldn’t be cooked any better. Order it.

Deconstructed Osso Buco for Two
We’ve never actually had the pleasure of eating this ourselves. However, there’s a future trip to Babbo already in the works to do just that. We’ve seen it in the flesh. We need this. Badly. Who wants to come?