Babette’s

I went to Babette for lunch today with a friend, sat at a table in the bar and had one of the most bazar re experiences in a very long time. We both ordered a hot tea, I got ice tea and my friend got a hot tea and the teapot didn’t have a lid? The waitress said «all the lids broke in the dishwasher and there now using the small metal ketchup containers from now onI asked her for my hot tea, (it came cold) she brought it but left the ice tea on the table for the next 1 – 12 he we were there… Our lunch came, eggs, English muffin and fingerling potatoes would have been good had they been hot. Room temp eggs are just not ok at $ 17. At every turn something was so off, the waitress was so disconnected and just kept saying wow, this isn’t going well is it?
It was just the weirdest experience. There is no management or leadership in this restaurant,
I felt like I was in an episode of a bad reality show and at any moment someone was going to come out and say it was a joke

There used to be another good restaurant there. We miss it. But my friend recently took me to Babette’s for breakfast and we enjoyed it. We went there twice now and I like their Salmon egg Benedict a lot. Tables are are little too crowded and little pricy but then again it is Newport Beach. Lol.

Excellent ingredients within a beautiful décor. Plus, no crowds. Loved it.
The layout is very nicely done. We sat at a table near the bar and could hear each other very well; as they had the music turned down to a reasonable level. It looks like it belongs in Paris. Will return next time I’m in town there.

We found out this place had a lot of vegetarian options, so we decided to try it out.
We were immediately seated outside, without asking us if we wanted inside or outside. It would’ve been nice to have that option.
(1 star) Chickpea kale soup — was the special soup of the day. It had no flavor, very bland and tasted like canned vegetables with sodium, no seasoning.
(4 star) BBQ tofu — probably the best second dish we had, but it was too dry. Extra sauce on the side would’ve been nice, and strips of ginger mixed in would add to the flavor.
(4 star) Babette’s salad — best thing there. Lots of flavor and veggies to mix with.
(2 stars) Pesto pasta — not enough pesto — no flavor. If the veggies were grilled it would’ve tasted much better, maybe also adding some lime to it would give it a nice citrus flavor.
We also tried the Pineapple Express Cocktail, it was very strong on the ginger side, couldn’t even taste the cilantro or lime.
Overall it was just okay, definitely not a fan of the lack of flavors in each dish.
Employees were all friendly and courteous, but the food definitely needs some work.
Best thing to get are the salads, and stick with that.

Even with a confirmed 7:30 reservation, we waited an unbelievable 70 minutes to be seated at a table. There was no apology or attempt to make us welcome, and frankly, we were just about to leave when they finally offered a table. The food was fine (but not THAT great) and we tipped the waitress as if all was fine, because it was not her fault. We will never go there again. In such a situation, it would go a long way to show concern for the patrons if they had offered a dessert to share or some other gesture to show that they cared even a little bit about our business.

Made a reservation for 6. Arrive and are seated outside. When we asked about sitting under the umbrellas with heaters we are told those seats are reserved hmmmm. We go to order dinner, still early in the evening and they are out of chicken (one of the main entrées.). Next we Re told they will bring us blankets but then told they are all out. We order appetizers but when it arrives, they can’t seem to figure out where to put the dishes.
Main course; party of six, two order the steak. Five of the six orders arrive and the. We wait for the last plate of steak for a full 10 min. Fusion pasta is good as is the cod but we have to ask for salt and pepper meanwhile the second stake plate comes and now everything is cold.
Believe it or not, we actually decide to try desert after all this. Lemon cheesecake is very good but oops, we are also out of the bourbon cake. Now We have requested they. Ring us the coffee four separate times and it arrives just as we finish the desert. 467.00! The hostess shows up with some complimentary muffins. Thanks! Food was decent and our poor waitress was doing het best but clearly this place has major management issues. They did t even apologize except to say, we are really busy.
Won’t be for long I. My option with this service. Just pass and go across the street to Javier’s

— - — The Bar — — -
They have some decent selection. However, i don’t think they have any solid bartenders who can put the spirits to proper use. And the root of this problem seems to come from poor, and inexperienced management. The place is newer, and seems confused as far as what their identity is, and who they want there demographic to be. They are basically serving juice in a glass and calling it a cocktail. Seems like they are trying to go the, «healthy» route, but don’t have any idea on how to go about doing so. The ambiance is nice, it would be even better if they sold the place to people who actually new what they were doing. However, in that area of Newport, i don’t think many people would ever appreciate a quality cocktail bar, anyhow.

Gorgeous atmosphere, quick and friendly service, delicious food and coffee, and delightful overall experience! Food is slightly pricey but worth it for the good quality and large portions!

Ok, I have been to Babette’s so many times! It just keeps getting better and better.
One of the best restaurants in Newport Beach and the OC! Barbara and her son Zak have gotten it down. He is the most amazing chef and everyone is so friendly.
They are serving the best «healthy martinis», (think green) as well as a nice wine pour.
We live fairly close and try to get there often. My mother-​in-​law is turning 85 and I told my wife Laura, let’s have her gala there!

I have been wanting to come here for quite some time because the atmosphere is so dang great. And it really is. If only you could bring your own food. Despite the atmosphere and FABULOUS service, the food is so beyond blah, I’ll never come here again.
Server helped recommend a $ 16 juice cocktail. I’m not sure how a pineapple and rum concoction with added spicy jalapeño (server’s thoughtful suggestion) can taste boring but it did. It was like a glass of nothing. Apparently they were missing an ingredient so the server remade the drink with extra gusto. Still blah.
Hummus. Not too shabby. Needed salt. Aka lacked flavor. Again.
I ordered the panzanella salad with salmon. A whopping $ 30!!! This was literally the worst $ 30 meal ever. The salad did not resemble in anyway a proper panzanella salad and anyone who has reviewed this and said nice things doesn’t actually know what a panzanella salad is. They need to google panzanella. And then change the menu name of this awful concoction to «dry toast and lettuce». The «bread» component was essentially square cuts of dry toast daintily garnishing the edge of the plate. The salad components completely lacked the generous portions you would typically expect in a $ 30 salad. In fact, the size resembled a starter salad. The salmon was completely uninspired and the entire thing was flavorless and boring. My friend ordered the chicken pita. Also completely boring and in fact so base, she couldn’t bring herself to eat it.
The server felt so bad about the cocktail that he brought me a vegan carrot cake. Fabulous for vegan standards. But what about the rest of my $ 72 meal?
Side note: they charge $ 4.50 for a hot tea. I’m not one to quibble over small figures like that but are you serious? That is highway robbery.
Bottom line: the price you pay for this food makes it an absolute NO GO.

Came here for brunch. Had the French toast with a side of thick perfectly crisp bacon. I also had a mocha latte. The bartender Desmon recommended his new creation Cocktail Strawberry and basil cocktail AMAZING! The service and food and cocktails here are WORLD class! Definitely come here for brunch or just some great tasting cocktails

If you have patience to the tens and love fresh food this is a great little spot. If you have expectations of water/​beverages/​food coming quickly you are better off at true foods. The service here feels like they opened a week ago and are still not in the groove of who does what. There are a handful of people standing around seemingly content with the hustle of the people actually working. But, the food really is pretty tasty. If you like tofu scrambles, come when it looks empty and enjoy every bite!

I dined here with some friends and liked some things but not all. I can’t recall the exact names of what we ordered and all of the menus online are outdated, but hopefully some of this will still be useful.
Drinks — The best one was the billionaire cocktail with bourbon and grenadine.
Apps — We tried both the soup of the day (some truffle-​flavored soup made out of almond milk) and the lentil beet salad. The soup was good but I thought the truffle flavor was a little strong. It would have been better if it came with some bread in my opinion but my vegan friends loved it. The lentil beet salad was good but there were no beets in it! One friend got one piece of beet but that was it — so odd. We should have complained, I guess.
Entrée — I ended up ordering the pad thai with chicken added. I thought the pad thai was flavorful and not so sweet, which was good, but the amount of chicken seemed skimpy given the add-​on charge of $ 8.
Dessert — We ordered the chocolate cake with peanut butter. I thought the frosting was delicious but the cake itself was just ok — it had an odd taste and was a bit dry. It was vegan so that’s probably why it was on the dry side (my vegan friends enjoyed it).
I doubt that I would go out of my way dine here again but it’s not bad if you are already in the area. Just keep in mind that the prices are a bit high for what you get, but you can say that at lot of places in the area.

I went here for the first time on Monday and it was phenomenal! The customer service was excellent, even the man who was training did an exceptional job. Even when my friend and I were waiting to be seated, we were constantly acknowledged which I loved. I ordered the Egg’s Benedict and I fell in love. I also ordered a Pineapple Juice but I was told they were running low on pineapple, however, not even five minutes later, I was given a pineapple smoothie. They try their best to make your experience wonderful, always checking on you, forming a connection with you, and making sure everything is to your liking, this will definitely become a regular brunch spot for me!

Great service from Samantha the waitress she was very good and did a outstanding job making my morning. Thank you Kurt

We go to Bear Flag about once a week but my husband always wants to try Babette’s. So we came here with the dog and sat on the patio. Everyone from the hostess to the bus boy were super helpful and friendly.
We ordered…
Squash soup with spicy croutons — delicious!
Pasta Toscana — Hubby loved it!
Muscles — fresh and delicious!!!
Bottle of white wine and Dinner Bread completed our meal.
For the dog…
A Bowl of Lily Beef Burger which he loved!
This was one of those pleasant experiences that make you feel good about being somewhere that you’re welcomed. Every person we came across was nice and happy. It’s always a good sign when other patrons say the same thing and love coming here. Even the manager came by to check how the food and server were.
Our waiter, Antonio was incredible! If more servers in other restaurants were more like him, we all would have great service.
Bravo on the food and the great service of Babette’s!!!

Cool airy architecture with pastel colors. Came on Labor Day weekend and sat inside but there was still a cool ocean breeze. Breakfast items are good until 3 pm.
I had the Fried egg Sandwich, $ 14. It was big and the eggs were fried perfectly. It came with a side choice of either herbed French fries, sweet potato fries, mixed greens, or fruit.
My friend got the JoMama Breakfast, $ 18, which came with a multigrain pancake, French toast, oatmeal, fruit, potatoes and turkey sausage.
We had the vegan chocolate fudge cake with peanut butter caramel frosting, $ 11, for dessert. It was very rich and decadent!

This review is based on breakfast only:
DO NOT DINE HERE if you want great tasting food. I was misled by their beautiful ambiance and décor. Bear Flag wasn’t open yet so trotted on over here, peered in and was mesmerized by their beautiful patio. The breakfast menu looked fairly interesting but very limited. They only offered a small selection of omelettes, breakfast sandwiches, and some combination plates at may I add HEFTY prices. They had a nice looking fresh pressed juice list along with cocktails but I opted for a regular orange juice while the hubby got a double espresso cappuccino. Here’s what we ordered:
Jo Mama: BAD! 1 wheat pancake, 1 french toast, 1 small (I mean smaller than a handful) of fruit cup, 1 small (like 2 or 3 spoonfuls) of steel cut oatmeal, potatoes, and fluffy looking eggs. This plate costs around $ 18. My verdict? The most horrible breakfast I had ever. The pancake was dry and hard and the french toast was okay. The eggs had a taste that I just can’t describe without making a yack face. They had this really weird sour, bland, mushy consistency taste that I’ll never forget. I had maybe 3 forkfuls and I was done. Not worth $ 18!
Eggs Benedict: BAD! House cured salmon, potatoes, poached eggs, and champagne hollandaise sauce. My hubby ordered this because he’s a big cured salmon fan and assumed at an establishment like this it would be top notch. He had one bite and couldn’t go for a 2^nd. He shoved all the salmon to one side of the plate and just ate his eggs and potatoes. This is a guy that will usually just finish his food even if it’s not that good. I tried the salmon as well and it was horrible! It had this medicine taste to it that was very odd and unnatural. This plate too was at a hefty price, I believe somewhere at $ 16 – 18?
On top of that the coffee wasn’t great and for it being a double, it didn’t feel like there was any caffeine in it at all. Service: Could have been better. No one really checked up on us and it was quite slow. Won’t be back!

We chose this place based on fresh food and fresh pressed juices. Of which they had neither.
When BearFlag is next door and has a line out the door, this should have been a warning when Babette’s was empty. Not only did they not have any pressed juices (they weren’t made for the day), they were out of tofu and tempeh.
If they cared about their menu as they did their décor, it might be a busier lunch spot.
The redeeming factor was the cute English boy

I visited Babette’s with my family for New Year’s brunch and was rather disappointed overall. For the four of us, we ordered the:
–Great White Omelette ($ 15.50): 5 egg whites, caramelized onions, tomatoes, and a side salad with multi-​grain toast. The omelette itself was rather bland and disappointing. The texture was a bit hard and unlike fluffier omelettes I’ve had at other establishments. I did enjoy the side salad, which came with fresh greens and a refreshingly tangy dressing.
— The Newport Omelette ($ 16.50): turkey sausage, caramelized red onion, roasted pepper, smoked mozzarella, with sweet potato fries and toast. I didn’t try the omelette, but my mom also commented on the rather hard texture of the omelette. The sweet potato fries were actually cubed sweet potatoes, but these were actually very good. Delightfully crispy on the outside and warm on the inside.
— Babette’s Eggs Benedict ($ 17): house cured salmon, herbed potato pancakes, poached eggs, and champagne hollandaise. Mom was really disappointed — the herbed potato «pancakes» are actually just whole fingerling potatoes… the salmon portion was pathetic considering the $ 17 price tag, and the hollandaise sauce was too thick and overpowering.
— Organic Grass-​Fed Burger ($ 16.50): my brother ordered this and said the burger itself was mediocre. He did enjoy the side salad though.
Overall, for this price range, I expect a LOT more in flavor and quality, and these expectations were not met. The interior is nice but not amazing, and the service was good but not memorable.