Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca

Most people come here for the pizza or pasta but I come here for the charcuterie plate. I highly suggest the prosciutto di Parma! It’s seriously to die for. Skip the formaggio. There’s not too much to rave about here and the portions are tiny. One last word of advice, if you’re debating dessert, don’t. Please try the black&white (milk chocolate chip gelato, crème fraîche gelato, hazelnut croccante, chocolate, and caramel cream).

Excellent restaurant. The food Was reasonably priced, great selection, nice portions. Lovely venue. Great service. Good job Mario Batali!

The food here is fantastic. Batali does a great job with the recipes and sourcing top notch ingredients. The kitchen staff definitely gets it. I’m also a big fan of small plates and the way the menu is set up — you get to try some of everything!
However, my proverbial beef with this place is in the service. Since the beginning (I came during the soft opening) it’s been a very awkward fumble. Servers and assistants are constantly tripping over each other, while guests don’t understand this dynamic and ask the wrong person for things. The hosts have air about them as if they’ve forgotten Babbo is an enoteca serving $ 15 zas.
My biggest gripe with Babbo is takeout. Their policy is that you must order takeout in person. Meaning you sit there and wait for your food to be ready. The «reasoning» is that they want to protect the integrity of the food.
Sorry, Babbo. My time is far more valuable to me than the integrity of said $ 15 za, no matter how much truffle honey you put on it. If I wanted to wait for you to cook my food, I would dine in, instead.

I’ve come here a couple times and I have good news and bad news. Unfortunately, I can’t review much of their menu. The good news is that that’s because I love the goat cheese, pistacchio, red onion, and truffle honey pizza so much, I order it every time.
Luckily, the other people I go with order other items and I’ve always managed to taste something from them. First time I went, the margarita pizza we got was a bit on the softer, possibly a touch soggy, side. Strange considering the goat cheese pizza was always properly crisp so don’t know what happened with that margarita. The pasta alla norma was solid if unspectacular — definitely well made, but not one of my favorite dishes ever. And apparently the truffle honey is a key ingredient because the spinach, ricotta, and truffle honey salad was stellar as well. So apparently what I’m saying is to stick to the items with truffle honey and you can’t go wrong! But even if you don’t follow that rule, I suggest trying out Babbo, I’ll definitely be back

Service — 5 star the waiter suggested the best way to order, suggested a great medium bodied wine, just what we wanted very helpful.
Food — 5 star. Nothing that we ordered was bad or below average. We prefer vegetarian and this place had plenty of those options.
Started with La Moza Toscana 2013 red wine — perfectly medium bodied (server suggestion) and had Gimlet (basil vodka and lemon) Off to a great start
Followed by 3 cheese selection which came with awesome accompaniments like marmalades and truffle honey. We had Quadrello di bufala like aged Gouda, Babbo ricotta– light and creamy, rochetta slightly strong like goat cheese and perfectly accompanied by a syrupy berry.
Roasted beetroot with pistachio and faro with squash made us want to order all the vegetarian side dishes they had. The two were heavenly.
Patate fritte or potato fries — one of the best that we have had
Vongole pizza– we were not sure if this would be a thick base pizza and we tend to like crispier flat breads and lo and behold this was perfect — not too thick not too thin with a nice smokey flavor
The pigging doesn’t stop
We finally have the gargonelli fungi trifolati pasta — sooooo good
Desert and drink — olive oil copote (the icecream lover husband pigged out) … Limoncello (house made drink not in the menu) was ok-​nice. A bit like sweet tequila with strong lemon rind flavors
An afternoon lunch well spent in the cost interiors on a sunny after snow Sunday.

Mario’s empire doesn’t need my review to exist. But other Unilocalers need to know. I wish I could give it 5 stars… but when I do an Open Table, and its a business meeting having lunch in a swank — upper scale, HUGE open and beautiful eatery, and one of our diners has to get up 30 minutes into seating and counting (check your computer when you sat us), so we could get service (take our order)… And its AFTER the lunch crowd (1245−1ish)… that pretty much tells you that they don’t need the «little people».
Other than that, the food is FANTASTIC. The small plates pack a punch of flavor, although my grappa cured salmon was a tad on the salty side. My spinach and ricotta salata with truffle honey salad was DELICIOUS. $ 8 for a huge salad — not bad. My lunch was the grilled octopus on a citrus-​olive oil dressing, white beans, fennel and a lonely asparragus — it was so flavorful, perfectly cooked, hit the spot. Hub’s guanciale pizza is carbonara on dough — we are still reheating and plopping an egg on it — the dough is perfectly seasoned, charred right, and chewy.
Unfortunately, service was lacking… Maybe next time?

Nice new addition to the seaport area.
Nice ambiance and décor; service is great. However, not the biggest fan of their pizza. Came here for work lunch and had several different pizzas, along with different pastas. Can’t say any of the entrees blew me away; although the clam pizza looked really cool. Eating it was a hassle.
Their gelatos are amazing though. Tried three different flavors: gianduja, pistachio and sweet cream. Pistachio and gianduja were by the far the best. It’s hard, if not impossible to find good homemade gianduja (which is basically nutella) in Boston, so I would definitely recommend this if you are in the mood for gelatos. Pistachio is also great, not too sweet, with a great nutty flavor.
When we ordered the gelatos, the menu said 1, 2, or 3 flavors, so we thought we’d be charged for the price of 1 with three flavors. Turns out they thought we wanted three separate orders of gelato. So be sure to specify when you order more than one flavor. Minus one star for this.

The food at Babbo is fantastic but despite my earlier review which appeared to be a fluke, the service has gone down hill. Servers are slow to come to the table, simple things like salt require multiple requests, and for a menu that is essentially in Italian it would be nice to have someone explain certain dishes. Recommend the pizzas and the vegetables are always spot on.

As we’ve already been to Babbo a handful of times in a matter of months, I think it’s safe to say I’m a fan.
I’m always weary when giving an Iron Chef’s restaurant a chance, as many of them don’t live up to much, but it’s hard not to recommend this offering from Mario Batali!
Perhaps it’s the consistently-​good service. Maybe it’s the excellent Neapolitan pizza, delicious pasta dishes, and irresistible patate fritte that keeps us returning. Or, it could be the reasonable prices that make this one of the best bang-​for-​your-​buck meals we’ve had since moving to Boston a few months ago. Babbo has found a way to create a quality meal in a nice, warm atmosphere, while keeping the prices down and good service flowing.
My wife and I usually get a marinara or margherita pizza (both are excellent and $ 8 & $ 9, respectively!), two pasta dishes, patate fritte, two drinks, and an affogado… and we’re out of there for waaaaay less than one would expect for such a meal. Their pizzas are great, with perfect neapolitan crust and just the right amount of sauce and cheese (on the margherita). The marinara really lets the crust shine, but there was one visit where they had a heavy hand on the seasoning and it ended up a bit overwhelming. They’re probably batting about 95% though on excellent marinara pies, so one bad experience hasn’t stopped us from ordering.
We’ve tried every pasta on the menu. Perfectly-​sized portions to order a few and share amongst 2 or more people. My favorites are the squid ink cavatelli, which is delicious and lighter compared to the heavier options. Tons of texture and flavor, as well as a healthy portion of crab meat. The Amatriciana is our go-​to dish, with just the right amount of spice, and the crispy-​cooked guanciale providing texture and saltiness to the dish. The carbonara and the rage are both a little heavy for me on sauce, so I usually stick to the red sauces like the Pasta Alla Norma. Simple and delicious.
Overall, it’s easy to be skeptical of chains, let alone ones carrying the weight of a famous Iron Chef, but Babbo’s welcoming, relaxed atmosphere, and family-​friendly price points make it a no-​brainer for a consistently good meal. I recommend reservations and going before it gets a little too loud later in the day. Once it’s busy, the crowds and music can be a little too much. So far, my favorite time to go has been for lunch on the weekends. Enjoy!

Good location, atmosphere, nice vibe, etc. service was good — Attentive and straightforward.
Food is just ok though. Ordered several tapas plates as a starter. Olives we great, sausage was good, pomegranate was just plan and too sweet.
Next we had a very bland pizza with a couple of globs of cheese on it, a few pieces of basil, nasty tomato sauce, undercooked, chewy dough.
Boston has several great Italian restaurants and pizzerias that are much better options than this place that pretends to be an authentic Italian pizzeria.

I had very high hopes for Mario Batali’s restaurant. Chef Batali always seems to know what he’s talking about when he’s cooking and he’s definitely in touch with the «less is more» philosophy when it comes to Italian cooking.
Having relatives in Italy and traveling there at least twice a year, I know what Italian food is supposed to taste and look like. This is what I was expecting from a Mario Batali restaurant. Instead what I got was Americanized versions of Italian named dishes OR the cooks have not been trained on how to properly prepare these dishes.
1. Pasta alla Norma was made with fresh ricotta instead of either salted or baked ricotta. The tomato sauce had catchup like sweetness.
2. Spaghetti carbonara: it was a goopy mess and unrecognizable as what spaghetti carbonara normally looks like or tastes like.
3. The pasta with mushrooms dish looked very appetizing but instead the pasta was overcooked (a fatal sin in Italian cooking) and the cheese completely overpowered the mushrooms.
The service was fine and the prices are about in-​line with the south Boston waterfront area.
Given that three separate pasta dishes were all prepared either incorrectly or just bad tasting, I have no interest in testing out the rest of the menu.
The pizza looked appetizing but unless somebody wants to buy me a gift certificate I doubt I’d go back.

Went back with my daughter and her friend co– worker. Seriously LOVED IT! It was the 1^st time for my daughter, her friend and my husband and all enjoyed their dinners.

I love veggies and I love small plates. Combine the two in a nice modern space with pretty tasty food and well, I’m hooked!
FOOD:
Root Vegetables & Pomegranate — I’m a sucker for root veggies, especially during the fall when they’re in season. The pomegranate added a nice texture but I still can’t quite make out what the exact mix of root veggies were. Lmk if you know? 3.5÷5
Roasted Beets & Pistachio — Pretty par for the course. The beets themselves may have been a tinge under the full ripen stage but still pretty good and the pistachio added a nice chomp to every bite. 3.5÷5

Squid Ink Cavatelli — Dish of the night for me. A bit on the cheesy side but the squid ink flavor was amazing and since it wasn’t a pound of pasta, this was the perfect choice for me. ⁵⁄₅
Grilled Local Shrimp — Got a nice piece of colossal shrimp out of this entrée and it was nice. Good choice for something on the lighter side. ⁴⁄₅
Brown Butter, Hazelnut and Pumpkin Gelati — A sweet but not overly sweet ending. Wonderful way to end our experience.
I also had the pleasure of tasting their Octopus on a separate occasion and it’s so good! Definitely ⁵⁄₅. Order it. You won’t regret it.
Good eats, great space and pretty decent service. Hopefully, we will be back to try out one of their pizzas!

I’m always up for trying Italian restaurants, and Babbo did not disappoint.
The food, which came in small-​plate portions, was well seasoned and prices were fair. My favorites were the fennel and apple salad and the taccozzette. I thought the goat cheese pizza (which others Unilocalers rave about) was bland and did not have enough truffle honey, red onion, or pistachios. The verdure dishes we ordered were both cold (brussels sprouts and broccoli rabe) and did not get finished by the group.
Overall, my dining experience was positive. I don’t feel Babbo is up to par with other Boston Italian restaurants (in the North End, etc…), but if I were in the Seaport area looking for Italian food again, I wouldn’t rule it out.

I have to say, I didn’t know what to expect having been disappointed by other celebrity chefs restaurants. This was not the vase with regard to my visit to Babbo in the up and coming seaport area.
The ambiance is great, very clean, chill and welcoming. The hostess was super friendly, which started off our visit great. We were greeted promptly by Ashley, our server, who was just absolutely wonderful our entire visit. She was personable, helpful when when were trying to decide between a few options and never made us feel rushed.
We ordered the fried potatoes, squid ink cavatelli, bucatini all’amatriciana and a marinara pizza. We also had an Affogato and Cappuccino for dessert. Everything was wonderful — and we got to try a number of different things. Another bonus was that it didn’t break the bank… All of the above, a glass of Rosato and a Bantam Cider were all $ 77.
We will definitely be back and are looking forward to bringing guests to this awesome place.

The gist: Interesting vibe, location, and food menu. The service and timing of meals left me a tad-​wanting. The price for food was fair.
Vibe: Very Italian industrial Metro NYC sheik. I liked it. Unfortunately the large windows don’t create for much insulation and it was a cold, windy day. A lot of people were putting back on their layers and a couple of gals put their coats on. Bring some layers in the winter time.
Location: I love the site. It’s a good new area of the seaport. Unfortunately it is a bit of a pain to get to if you’re in the south end/​back bay/​brookline — no public transit of reasonable nature in bad weather — the bus/​T to the spot across the bridge is a long walk in rain/​frigid weather.
Food: The best part. Mario Battali. That’s why we’re here, right? The thin crush pizza was, as some others said, very delicious but a bit greasy. It often was with very droopy center and crisp outside. Mario: you love Al Forno and their grilled pizza. I recommend trying to recreate it! A mix of wanting to hold and you a fork was not appreciated. That said, the flavors were awesome. Neighbors had the meat extravaganza and I was impressed at the sheer volume of food. My date enjoyed her pasta, and we loved our antipasto dishes including the olives, cauliflower, and charcuterie. NOTE: the cauliflower comes cold for your non-​italianofiles.
Drinks: Great selection. Sommelier was very attentive and had some good $ 20 – 30 bottles, including great rose with bubbles. We ordered a second bottle for what I feel was 2 for the price of 1 compared to some other higher end Italian restaurants around town.
Service: Our waiter seemed swamped. He was gone for a bit of time and a lot of the staff was intermixed, serving different tables. Not a good system as obviously things will get missed, misrelayed/​miscommunicated. The table next to us got their mixed drinks comped from the bar as they waited for a long time for them. The table behind us was brought a couple of dishes they didn’t order and give for free. Hopefully this was just a one-​night snafu. My last complaint would be the size/​orientation of much of the seating. Some of the dishes are HUGE and come out all at once crowding smaller tables. Two seater tables (like ours) are stuffed next to other two seaters and there’s a lot of cramped feeling. Unfortunately there’s not even much room for side-​table stands for extra food. They either need to get better with timing of dishes or get some larger tables and have less people.

Have been here a few times now. Really impressed with the space, execution, pricing and food. I’ve tried a number of the pies, apps, pastas, charcuterie and cheese. Ultimately, I’ll keep coming back because Babbo is really family friendly, great for groups and somewhat unique in Boston. Here’s the rundown:
–Margharita pizza — solid
— Bucatini with crab — great call
— Carne — great Charcuterie
— Meatball app — good
— Cauliflower Alla Siciliana — excellent
— Tagliatelle Bolognase — put this in the rotation
— Bacala Mantecato — Pass, thought it was closer to Portuguese style Bacalau, it’s essentially mashed potatoes with a hint of cod
— Tiramasu — Pass. Probably pass on dessert in general

It’s fabulous if you like being an adult and treated like a special guest.
Everything we had was very good.
Meatball are a must as is the amatricuana with is very traditional, excellent Neoplolitan pizzas.
Not as impactful as the original in NYC & many of the menu items we are familiars with an enjoy were jot an option here w no apologies which we found a bit strange.
Beautiful location and sophisticated relaxed interior.
Huge wine list!
Sitting at the bar overlooking the kitchen is great for small plates & cocktails.

Finally got a reservation at a normal dinner time! I’ve been to some of Mario Batali’s places in New York (Tarry Lodge out in Portchester is great) and wanted to check this one out.
I would give this place 3.5 stars if I could. Overall, we all enjoyed the pizza and pasta but weren’t wowed. Service was confusing/​perplexing. The goat cheese pizza — which I’m pretty sure I’ve had at his other restaurants — was solid and just as I expected it would be.

I came here with a little bit of wariness, due to the fact that celebrity chefs can roll out some overrated restaurants after their found-​fame. However, Babbo was surprisingly positive, while presenting good food at acceptable prices.
The rustic bread in a bag was soft on the inside, while strong on the outside. The olive oil on a plate was good oil.
The pancetta porcini mushroom pizza was an attempt of umami overload. The combination of the two, along with the riobola cheese, gives the pizza various elements of flavor. There was plenty of the ingredients on the pizza. However, the pancetta was in strips and made it difficult to cut the pizza in slices. There wasn’t too much crust on the outside, which is good, though the bottom was softer than I’d like. It’s almost as if the restaurant still needs to figure out the sweet spot with regards to their pizza oven.
The pizza was $ 13 and I couldn’t finish it myself. Prices are surprisingly reasonable, given the location.
Service was passable, though the servers needed more refinement in their service. When I said I wanted to bring home the packet of breadsticks, I didn’t mean, «Toss it out, please».