Babbo - yes, no, regular menu, tasting menu?
 

Have a very late reservation on a Thursday at 10pm - nothing else available that weekend - going to try for Sunday evening today - a month out. After all this, what is the opinion on this restaurant. Is it overrated or a great experience?

Does anyone have any other suggestions for outstanding, exciting, different Italian dining experience in NYC? Celebrity chef ownership not a deciding factor!

Babbo is indeed worth the trip. I would stick to the regular menu though at 10pm. Otherwise it is just too much food and too long of a meal at that hour. Other favorite restaurants you could look into are Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe, Fiamma, Craft, and Esca (same owner as Babbo, but this is the seafood restaurant).

Yes, Babbo is very good. As far as which menu, why decide now? See what they have and then decide.

Il Mulino is generally thought to be the best Italian in NY and it definately lives up to the reputatio. However, reservations are tough.

Felidia is also very, very good. I also like Da Silvano in the Village for Northern Italian. I could eat their Osso Buco with Risotto Milanese once a week.

The Holy Grail of NY Italian is Rao's in Harlem. However, as once stated in Zagats, "unless you're the Godfather or the Governor, forget about getting a table."

Time Out NY awarded "Lupa" this year as best (on the affordable side)of Itallian. (Babbo was thier all time top pick of the city).
Hold out for Babbo.

I'm also going to try for a reservation there in a few days. One suggestion on deciding which menu to try is to pick up The Babbo Cookbook; it retails for $40 but I won it off of eBay for $14, or you may find it in your local library. It contains recipes and pictures from most of the dishes served there. In the back are sample pasta and chef's tasting menus, so you can scan that, look up the dish and its accompanying picture and recipe in the book, and see if you think that would appeal to you, as well as items from their regular menu (which you can find on their website at www.babbonyc.com).

So after all that, which meal with my wife and I go for? Still undecided! :) I think we might get out of there a little cheaper ordering an antipasti, pasta entree (secondi?), maybe dessert, and some wine.

Lupa is very good, but doesn't take reservations and you could wait a very long time (small restaurant). Babbo makes excellent beef cheek ravioli.

Lupa does take reservations (reserved parties are seated in the back room), but they're hard to get. Or you can show up early, say 6 p.m., and not have much wait. Both restaurants are informal in atmosphere, but Babbo is more formal, foodwise. I've not had the pasta tasting menu, but friends who have found it to be too much - after five or six courses of pasta, they weren't enjoying it that much, even though the individual dishes were all good.

L'Impero in Tudor City has been getting rave reviews from friends. Very inventive Italian menu there, and the four-course prix fixe for $50 or so is considered a steal.

I think phone lines for reservations open at 10 a.m., so try calling at that time one month to the day and keep hitting re-dial.. That's what I did to get a weekend reservation at Babbo for 8 p.m... Very well worth it....But I also love Lupa; a bit more casual but equally delicious!

Thanks everyone, for your advice. I got through this morning at 9:58, and was able to get a reservation for 7:15 on Sunday, which is perfect given that we're seeing Hairspray at 3pm, and much better, I think, than 10:00 on Thursday.

Babbo is excellent and well worth it. You can also try to go for an early dinner (5-6 ish) and eat at the bar. They have a few tables for which they don't take reservations.

i hope you enjoyed it more than we did.this was a horrible dinning eperience.

Fabulous place. TRy the mint love letters and get a proseco cocktail to start.

What happened to you there, cindymal?

Hi
Our server was horrible,food was average
and we were very disappointed in the whole experience.they really did not treat us well.