haven’t been to either in probably 5 years or more and they both needed to be visited again. babbo because it was always a challenge to just get in the door a nab a place at the bar, ang gt because i just never really “got” the food there.
babbo
weather was just terrible in nyc last night so figured i’d get a spot. for a little while, i was the only person sitting there. great staff and somm. had 3 wines and an app and a pasta and everything was damn near perfect. great bartender and it seems that except for weekends it’s a lot easier to get in these days. i will definitely be back when passing by waverly, although still prefer the more casual lupa and fish-centric esca.
gramercy tavern
great room. friendly and competent service. very good food. no mistakes, just nothing that i find remotely exciting. everything tasted good to great, but i just can’t figure why what appeals to so many generally doesn’t thrill me. the bar scene is always hopping, the wine list is great, and… i guess it’s just me.
Thanks for the write ups. A recent lunch at Gramercy was unbelievably boring.
Had dinner at Gramercy a couple months ago.
Your take is spot on to my experience.
Enjoyed a late night adventure last year to Babbo…it is exciting in a way that Gramercy ceases to be these days. With that said, I am happy to go to either place. The place that was the biggest disappointment in the last year was Union Square Cafe. A long-awaited, first-time visit, it was lack luster in its ambiance, presentation, and food.
Mark Rudner - when is your long-anticipated dinner at Per Se? ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
Mark’s experience at Gramercy Tavern is in-line with my 2 previous dining experiences. While the service and food are just OK, not great … just OK, in this bustling place, I’ve never found any compelling need to return quickly nor to recommend it to others.
i’m glad to hear that the gt experience is not mine alone.
merrill. the per se dinner went off as planned and i will post the menus as soon as i remember to bring them to the office where i can scan them. for now, i’ll just say it was perfect and worth the wait and maybe even the cost!
Ok, I’ll be the dissenting voice. I like Mike Anthony’s cooking. Not cutting edge by any means, but solid and comfortable, as is the dining room. We are always treated exceptionally well there the 1-2 times we go annually. And I like the list that Juliette Pope has put together.
A couple of years ago when we went for dinner with our then graduate student daughter, she and my wife couldn’t decide which desserts to order, so Jon Perez (service director) served us all of them. And when my daughter asked that the left-over desserts be boxed to take home to share with her friends, they boxed up fresh desserts for her. All of them.
I was just at Gramercy Tavern last night and had a wonderful experience. The smoked trout first course is flat out sensational. The rest of the meal was very good, but not exciting as others have said. But what lifts GT to a higher level in my mind is a combination of outstanding service, warm without being cloying, a great wine list, and a great space. Love the place.
While I agree that GT is not cutting edge stuff, I’m not going there for that type of meal. I find it to be a great combination of tasty food along with warm atmosphere and service.
On the other hand, I haven’t been back to Babbo in a while after writing them off. I find the food other than the pastas to be average at best and I can get great pasta at a lesser tariff at Lupa.
bill
i had the trout and it was the best of what i tasted
mike
can’t disagree with your comment on lupa
as to gt not being cutting edge, i think we all agree that’s not its aim.