carlota

Hi!! As I said in another post, in december I'll be in nyc and would like to have dinner in babbo (monday, tuesday or wenesday) and brunch in pastis (sunday)
Last year we booked in 21 and were in the second turn. I was wondering which is the best hour (not too early and not too soon and the best day to try babbo, as in spain we tend to eat much later) Is it better to have the pasta menu? the tasting menu? or order a la carte?? what do you recommend??

Also: I've never had brunch and don't have any idea of which is the best hour to be at pastis on a sunday. By the way, will the shops be open in the meatpacking district on a sunday?
Thank you all again for your help!!

TwoFatFeet

Whatever you decide, you'll have to book Babbo exactly 30 days in advance, by telephone. Start calling at 10am (right? that's when they start taking reservations, I believe), and just keep calling until you get through.

mclaurie

The typical dinner hour in NYC is 8 pm. I can't advise about which menu to have b/c I've never been. YOu must reserve exactly 30 days in advance but maybe you can get your hotel concierge to do it for you. I don't think you have to decide now which menu to have. Perhaps this a question to post on chowhound.com

Brunch is generally from 12 noon - 3 pm. The shops in the meatpacking district generally open 11am-12 pm on a Sun. but during the Xmas season they may open earlier. I'd go for brunch right at noon so you have some time after for shopping.

elysag

The Babbo pasta tasting menu is great but so is the a la carte menu. I have never done the regular tasting menu. You have to book 30 days in advance and even when you do that you might get stuck with the 5:30 pm or 11 pm options. If you cannot get a table you can try calling the day you want to go -- all reservations have to be confirmed that day and sometimes they get cancellations.

mp

mclaurie and 2fatfeet are dead-on - call Babbo 30 days before at 10AM - sometimes you can get thru right away, this past month it took me 20 minutes of redialing.

As for menus - I have been to Babbo many times and never had the tasting or pasta menus - it is a lot of food (I've witnessed nearby diners), many courses (6 or 7 I think) - one or two tapas size, the rest are 'media raciones' . . .

I think they usually require that everyone at the table gets the tasting menu - and believe me - no one in my family EVER agrees that much . . . also, almost all the dishes on the seperate menus are offered on the regular menu. And there are always a few specials of the day offered. If you like offal - Babbo is the place for you - tripe, sweetbreads, beef cheeks are all specialites.

In NYC, prime dining hours are 8 to 9;30pm for the locals, 5:30 - 8pm for most tourists, 5:30 - 7:30 for those with younger childern and (I'm sorry, it's my observation) older people seem to like to eat earlier too. Of course, lots of people eat around 6PM or so to make a show or movie. Babbo really gets going around 9;30 or so - a very young, lively crowd is there at that time - but be sure not to start a meal too late - after 10:30 - because the kitchen staff HATES it . . .

carlota

thank you all so much, yes, mclaurie, I'll try to do it through the concierge, because when you book a table from another country, it doesn't seem too reliable...I didn't know the website chowhound and will find it useful!!
thank you for the tips on the menus!!

ekscrunchy

Also keep in mind that if you can bear to eat early, Babbo holds back a few tables for walk-ins; you would have to get there when they open to snag one of these. Another option is to eat at the bar; these seats are first-come-first served.

www.chowhound.com is a great source for all things related to food; there are endless threads on Babbo on the site.

carlota

I've been reading some reviews in chowhound of pastis, baboo, 21 club, and other restaurants and most of the posts there seem to be complaints...

mclaurie

People who are dissatisfied are more likely to post than those who are pleased. I guess it's human nature to focus on the negative. No place can be perfect for everyone every time (very few, anyway).

mclaurie

PS, an acquaintance whose palate I respect is currently raving about Eleven Madison Park.

NewbE

I haven't been to Babbo, but Pastis is lovely for brunch or a casual meal any time. I agree that websites like Chowhound always get a lot of complaints, about every restaurant. The overall reputations of Babbo and Pastis are very good. Good luck!

doug_stallings

If you can use opentable.com to make your NYC restaurant reservations, you'll get an emailed confirmation and can sometimes get a good time at a restaurant that's otherwise difficult to book. It's a free service and reliable. But you are coming in the absolute busiest time of the year, so you would be very wise to book 30 days out or you may not get anything. You will also need reservations for brunch.