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Babbo's Original Mediterranean Bistro
Categories: Restaurants Italian Restaurants Greek Restaurants Pizza Restaurants Mediterranean Italian, Greek, Pizza, Mediterranean [Edit]
717 Stanford Shopping CourtPalo Alto, CA 94304
(650) 321-1488
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
131 reviews for Babbo's Original Mediterranean Bistro
Review Highlights
"The seafood puff pastry is delicious."
(in 4 reviews)
"We had the gorgonzola pear salad, pizza margherita, and..."
(in 5 reviews)
"...we did enjoy the smoked salmon appetizer, and the pear and..."
(in 5 reviews)
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131 reviews in English
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Review from Christopher S.
Campbell, CA
11/27/2011
First off I'm going with A-ok... ready for some confusion? The food was whatever and our main server was overly forgetful, causing my food to be sent back for corrections. This was a return visit for my guest who has had mostly great experiences here (foood/service). This was my first visit and not my last... for some strange reason... I have yet to put my finger on it.
We'll start from the outside. Just after walking past fresh produce out front of a great Italian market, you almost walk strait into the BABBO'S patio seating. Blue and white table cloths on a clean patio... ooh inviting. And to top it off a little old couple out front was slowly making the rounds when the fella says to me "you looking for some good lunch? Come on in". Even more inviting now.... charming inside and out, cute little open kitchen (I try to get a good look, always), and the menu wasn't looking bad at all. I was really diggin the place. Service was fine except the server lack of attention to detail. He made an upsell, forgot to send it in, and questions me when I questioned him. "Yes I want the cheese goo.... you offered it man, don't say I forgot to mention it"... kind of a lame deal.
Anyhow after getting my food back we went onward devouring what was in front of us. And then I asked why. Oh yea because I was starving. That's it. I'm not one to complain about a pricey menu but I feel confident with my restaurant/menu/food knowledge and I have to let it spill here. I have no prroblem paying $20 for a burger, not at all. Just make sure its prime beef and God damn delicious. This was a giant onion foccacia roll with an average patty (say 7oz.-ish) and typical produce, no side included totaling to a $17 cheese burger. For that price I would have walked around to Flemings prime steakhouse (same shopping center) and had a delicious burger there. Too bad they didn't open for a few more hours. The ahi salad was more like and ahi-slaw-soup-thing.... after all the charm and welcoming arms.... I say what for. If I wanted to see nice old people and what not id be elsewhere. Shmee... you get the picture. Although the truth is ill be back. I don't know what it is, why it is, but I must return. I'm not done investigating this one. -
Review from Adam E.
San Francisco, CA
11/12/2011
This place was massively disappointing. All I wanted was a simple chicken sandwich. Nothing fancy, and nothing outrageously priced. (I know, I know, you're saying then why were you at Stanford Shopping Center in the first place?!)
I ordered the Foccacia Liguria, which apparently means foccacia chicken sandwich. I did have my hopes up, as I do like foccacia bread, and as you walk into the dining room part of the restaurant you can see all the different types of foccacia breads lined up ready to be made into sandwiches. What I didn't put together was the fact that most of those breads had probably been there a while. I got the sandwich and the first thing i noticed was that the foccacia was stale. Foccacia is supposed to be a little chewy, this was just stale. And since it was a thick piece of foccacia it made for a very VERY dry sandwich.
The chicken itself looked tasty enough, though the portion in between the giant pieces of stale foccacia could be measured in millimeters. It had grill marks though, so bonus points for that. The sandwich came with a watery honey mustard sauce which it desperately needed, though it didn't really add too much to the meal.
I didn't finish the sandwich. This place is apparently known for their pizzas, so maybe I'll give it another shot and order something different. On the plus side the atmosphere was really nice, and the owner, Babbo himself, came to our table to regale us with his childhood stories from Hungary. Yeah. -
Review from Koshka K.
Belmont, CA
10/21/2011
Charming place on the outside, but horrible customer service. It is particularly bad when the Owner treats his patrons purely.
It's difficult to get a table outside in this place... A couple of weeks ago on a sunny beautiful day strolling through Babbo's i saw an empty table for two. I asked a water to reserve it for me, i needed to use the restroom first. When i was back in 5 min., the owner was sitting a couple at my 'reserved' table. I told him that the table was reserved for me, but the owner quickly dismissed me by saying there will be "soon" another table ready for me. I pointed to the table for four which was not taken if i can be seated there. The owner said he would rather give it to a party of four (so he was not going to please me in any way! even though he gave my table away). I waited for another 10 min, but the promised table for two still was not ready since the couple was chatting. So i left... And the table for four was still unoccupied...Bye-bye Babbo's, you won't see me again!
I don't remember if i was treated more rudely in a restaurant in my life especially by the OWNER! -
Review from Saunders C.
San Francisco, CA
9/25/2011
Well, it's in a mall, so take that for what it is.
Walking in at 6pm on a Saturday, the place was fairly empty so we could choose a table inside or outside. The waitstaff was pretty nice, although they seemed somewhat understaffed, which ultimately resulted in spotty service (no water refills, forgot things we asked for). The space is somewhere between tired and interesting.
The food:
1) Appetizers:
- Baked goat cheese with crostini on salad. Baked goat cheese came out on a huge bed of mixed greens and butter lettuce, but the salad was barely dressed. The crostini with tapenade didn't really add much.
- Smoked salmon. A generous platter of smoked salmon topped with capers and sliced red onions, served with toasted pita bread. Actually quite tasty.
- Caesar salad with anchovies. Sorry, but much like the iceberg "wedge", I don't really like it when they don't at least chop the lettuce. Leaves of romaine topped with shaved parmesan and a few strips of anchovies. A little dry.
- Flatbread pizza. Topped with roasted artichokes, prosciutto, and some other stuff. Pretty good.
2) Entrees:
- Spaghetti and meatballs. Since when did spaghetti and meatballs come out greasy? The meatballs were overcooked and the sauce was a little off.
- Paella. Very generous with the seafood, the rice was pretty well cooked in a small paella pan, but overall, everything was overcooked! The nice, large shrimp were almost rubbery and definitely dry. The mussels and clams were barely detectable in their shells, and there were at least a few with sand in them. The biggest pieces of meat in the dish was the chicken.
- Also had salmon filet and prawn salad, but didn't get to try them.
Cabernet from Peju winery in Napa. Been to the winery, not a big fan of the wine.
Eh. -
Review from Nokie N.
San Francisco, CA
12/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Service - A bit slow. Took forever to get our order in, get our food, refill water, and get our check. Pizza - It's ok. Price - Expensive.
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Review from Anh D.
9/25/2011
We came here while shopping at the mall.
Service was prompt, but keep in mind that it's a long wait to get a table outside. We sat inside, and it's perfectly cute on the inside. It tries to give this vibe of old Europe, but I honestly think Cocola next door better achieves that.
Service was okay -- nothing to brag about. They don't do half-sizes of risotto, so that kind of stunk, because my husband and I wanted to also get some other items.
Anyway, here's what we had:
1. Four Seasons Pizza: There's 8 slices of pizza total with each season being reprsented by two slices. The whole pizza wasn't very big, it was about the size of a dinner plate? Totally doable by one person who's really hungry.
I'm not sure which slices represented which seasons, but we had the following toppings on top of our standard cheese and tomato sauce:
Prosciutto and capers: I like fresh prosciutto better, but this is pretty good. The capers add a freshness that my husband thought was really tasty.
Mushroom: Really good -- tons of mushrooms all over the pizza
Anchovy and onion: I loved it, but this was my husband's first time trying anchovies on pizza, and he was pretty scarred. Hahaha.
Grilled marinated artichokes: Tasty but the artichokes taste too overly vinegar-y, maybe they were in vinegar before?
2. Mushroom risotto: Not creamy enough but pretty tasty. I love that it's completely vegetarian, because most risottos have chicken stock in them and vegetarian people can't eat them.
Not sure if we're coming back. It seemed rather overpriced for the quality of food. -
Review from mme. s.
Palo Alto, CA
1/19/2012
Waiter was good but food was the pits. Unripe tomatoes for a $15 salad! Risotto which was in no way risotto, more like rice in a sauce with seafood. Tomato sauce on spaghetti which seemed utterly commercial. $84 for one starter, two mains and a kids bowl of pasta with no drinks was outrageous. We will never be hungry at Stanford Shopping Center again. Totally empty but they wouldn't give us a banquette for the kids to boot. Did I mention stale bread?
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Review from Janet P.
Menlo Park, CA
7/28/2011
I've always walked past this place with the charming outdoor seating and checked it out after a shopping date with a girlfriend.
We opened the menu and were a little unprepared for their prices, but decided to give it a try. We decided to split a pizza (goat cheese, olives, tomatoes), and their prawn salad (grilled prawns, corn, avocado, and black beans). Their prawn salad was delicious. Pizza was good, but not great. Especially for me after coming off of a super memorable meal at flour+water the weekend before.
Our waiter was friendly, and it was a nice summer night out, so enjoyed my friend's company the most. It's a nice dinner option, but think overall their prices skew on the high side. -
Review from John B.
Santa Clara, CA
Updated - 12/13/2011
I'm still rating this a 4 star restaurant due to the great food, but I'm updating the review based on some additional info. Went here recently and noticed some cost cutting. I guess this isn't really a bad thing if it keeps the restaurant going in tough times. During the most recent trip, I ordered a glass of their house wine. It was terrible, so I asked them what it was. They said it was Mondavi, but my father judged it (and I agreed) below $2 chuck. The worst part was that they charged almost $10 for it. Not gonna do that again! I'll stick to the wines I know. So to sum up: good food, bad coffee, bad house wine.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/26/2010
Have been here a couple of times for dinner. Both times I had their lamb dish. The first was the… Read more »
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Review from j. k.
Palo Alto, CA
9/28/2011
Wednesday @ noon. Lunch w/ 8 co-workers. Made reservation the day before. There were plenty of seating even without a reservation.
Several typos on the menu, but that's rather common with restaurants, so I don't care THAT much. I think they should care though... Can't take them seriously if there are too many typos.
Took over 10 minutes to get water service, after I said out loud "I AM SO THIRSTY!"
Some of us got entrées (mostly fish), some of us got focaccia sandwiches, and I shared a caesar salad w/ prawns and a peperonata pizza with someone. I think the ones who got focaccia sandwiches were pleasantly surprised and they would eat it again. For me, the whole leaf romaine caesar salad swam in a yellow/white dressing with a blanket of parmigiano and two tails of anchovies on top. The pizza was floppy. They proudly display the pizza oven at the entrance of the restaurant, so I was expecting a crispy thin crust made to perfection, but it was almost too sad to eat the pizza when I had to hold its tip up from falling into despair... at least when it flopped down, the grease would leave its host and lighten up the load a little bit.
$17.95 for the caesar salad and $15.95 for the pizza. With tip, it ended up being $32.65/person (not everyone got desserts/coffee). That's a bit pricey for a quick lunch, I thought. -
Review from b s.
Los Gatos, CA
12/26/2011
I am reading the reviews and realize I should have checked Yelp before coming. The food is not good, completely overpriced, but the owner is a wacko and the worst restaurant experience of my life. He is so lucky he is in prime real estate in Palo Alto. I am not going to relive the ridiculous situation this man put us (especially the child with us) in to tell you what happened All is say is DO NOT COME HERE! There are plenty of decent places besides this hole.
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Review from L J.
San Jose, CA
1/6/2012
It was fine but too expensive for the quality.
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Review from Mariko B.
8/2/2011
YUCK! I guess that's what I get for following my instincts when I'm starving. I would have rather ate next door at the coffee shop or even across the way and grabbed some fruit rather than eat here. My first impression was it was empty yet there were a few reserved signs, is this a joke? Maybe they needed the place to look appealing? I liked that it was empty but should have taken the hint. I was really disappointed to discover that they didn't have a pesto dish or gnocchi :-( Everything else sounded so saucey and a little greasy, so I found my favorite type of salad; greens with fruit, cheese and nuts.
A few minutes after we ordered a confused server tried to give us another tables' food, apologized and told us our food was on its way. I should hope so, I mean we ordered 2 minutes ago... Our server came with foccacia, another favorite of mine, but managed to drop a piece on me :-( Good thing I had my napkin covering, no crumbs! But still "my bad" is not an apology... We got our food and my bf's pizza was so odd looking, the toppings were all separated! 1/3 proscuitto, 1/3 olives and 1/3 mushroom. REALLY?!
As for my salad, it was ok, the walnuts were covered in honey and stuck to my teeth, it was hard to eat. The greens were also soaked in balsamic dressing, I like a minimal amount of dressing so that kinda sucked. My fresh lemonade was probably the best thing at the restuarant, its unsweetened and they only had equal, would have been so much better with splenda. Oh well... I now know better. The only word I can use to sum up my experience is CARELESS. Seriously, there's a mcdonald's at stanford mall for a reason... -
Review from Michael W.
Sunnyvale, CA
6/27/2011
So-so.
Valdostana Pizza - good
Focaccia Babbo - a bit dry, very average tasting
Lamb Shank - juicy and tender, but the flavor was a bit overpowering. -
Review from Devo S.
8/24/2011 1 Check-in Here
My tortellini with veal and chicken covered in cream sauce was DELICIOUS. The wait staff and line cook were very friendly. The place was pretty empty, but there were a few tables seated, and they all seemed happy with their food and server. I felt like some pasta, so this place hit the spot.
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Review from Shaun L.
San Jose, CA
9/27/2011
The food and service was good, but I just can't give this restaurant anything higher than two stars because it's way overpriced. I can think of at least half a dozen other restaurants in the area that offer the same items on the menu without burning a hole in your wallet. $18 for a caesar salad with pears on it?! C'mon man!!
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Review from Gokmen E.
Campbell, CA
11/27/2010
After today's lunch here, it'll be a while before i go out to eat without checking with Yelp first.
This place is a huge rape, ripoff, whatever you want to call it.
It is a casual place, nothing extraordinary or special, however,
How could you justify a $18 Chicken Sandwich,
$9.50 for a CUP of SOUP,
$22 seafood pasta.... etc.?
Food is nothing special. Lots of hits and misses. It is an open kitchen and everything is prepared by hispanic cooks (wink wink).
Bread was stale, my wife;s chicken on stale focaccia was terrible, my tuna steak was ok, $29 Lamb chops was good.
The only reason we didn't walk out was not to embarrass our guest out of town.
What a shame.
AVOID -
Review from Kate B.
San Francisco, CA
7/21/2011
This is a great little restaurant in Stanford Shopping Center. The food is so fresh and is made behind a bar so you can see the chefs working right in front of you. The owner, Babbo, is usually walking around and twice has come to my table to chat, ask how the food is and talk about his skiing days in Europe. The decor is fun and quaint and the lighting is very dim. It is a little expensive but the service is intimate and the food is always delicious.
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Review from julie b.
Antioch, CA
6/26/2011
Two stars is generous for the simple fact the staff is HORRIBLE. One patron said he was ready to order the server just yelled - I'll be back. Horrible - "sir, it will be just a moment is more appropriate." Food just eh. But the service ruined it.
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Review from kim n.
5/9/2011
Now I hate here many years ago and didnt really remember the meal. Guess it wasn't that striking. However having been back recently I will have to say I enjoyed the food. Good goulash and the fish/potato casserole was also solid. Sitting outside was kinda windy that day but great for the eclectic people watching. I think the downside is the prime Palo Alto rent you're paying for in the meal as a place like this anywhere else is probably 20-25% cheaper. 3.5 stars
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Review from Linda N.
Union City, CA
2/10/2011
My favorite place to eat handsdown. You are warm welcomed by the staff here. I go to this place alot. The staff knows what I want to order when I walk through the door. Yes that is how much I come to this place. I always order the pene pasta dish that has tomato cream sauce with basil and italian sausage with focaccia bread SOOOOOOOO GOOOOOOOODD. The pizzas are baked in a brick oven giving the crust awesome flavor. They have a full bar there mostly wine which I love. They have paella also and roasted chicken also. The decor is somewhat modern with an old world charm feel.
You can set outside or inside. This place is not big somewhat on a small side. But the food and service speaks volumes. Somewhat pricey but at the end it is worth it trust me.
Love this place to the people who complain that it's expensive. Umm FYI you are in a rich high class community near by Standford College. So get with the program take you're business somewhere else. Stop putting bad reviews because of it. So get a life. -
Review from sebastien d.
9/29/2010
Lovely authentic place!
The staff was very charming, and we had a few good laughs with them. The food was simple, well sized and really enjoyable. The service is ok, not super fast but we didn't really care. It was the WE and we had plenty of time.
The focaccia bread, with olive oil & vinegar is so good! I then had the spicy sausage oven-made pizza with a cold beer, with a green salad and that was magical.
Just a perfect break after a long sunny morning of hard-core shopping! -
Review from Mihir M.
Fremont, CA
8/3/2011
The food was good, but not outstanding, priced for its location. But it was nice to sit outside in the good weather. We had the gorgonzola pear salad, pizza margherita, and pizza babbo's. Again, good food, but nothing over the top. Decent service.
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Review from Suan W.
Silicon Valley
4/11/2010
Why anyone would eat at Babbo's when there are other dining options at Stanford Shopping Center baffles me. I only had lunch here because my companion was mesmerized by their sandwich selection. While his Chicken Foccacia sandwich was good, it was definitely not special enough for the ridiculous $14 price tag.
The $10 Baked Goat Cheese salad was presented on a huge lettuce-lined platter to mimic the shape of a bowl. It was a good idea in theory, but a pain in the ass to cut into bite-size pieces. Although the dish was hard to eat, I enjoyed the croutons with goat cheese and olive spread.
Skip Babbo's and go to the slightly more affordable Cocola next door.Listed in: Palo Alto
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Review from Michael S.
Cupertino, CA
1/12/2011 1 Check-in Here
Babbo's has a mix of the everyday run-of-the-mill American restaurant and really nice Spanish, Italian and Greek dishes.
I do not believe that they have a separate lunch menu or lunch portions.
The pizzas are all made in the brick oven and are quite tasty. They used to have a make-your-own calzone, which was quite fantastic, but during my latest visit, I failed to see it on the menu (it may be only a dinner item?). The paella comes in a very generous portion and is my stepfather's go-to dish.
The wait staff is very attentive and everyone will thank you and wish you well as you leave. Your meal will be expensive, so you might as well make the most of it and order something that you won't get anywhere else. -
Review from Nancy W.
San Francisco, CA
2/22/2011
I went to the Stanford Shopping Mall with my class, but we have could anywhere we desired. So my friend and I went here.
We ordered San Francisco Crab Cakes.
Everything is good except the waiting period for our food. -
Review from kate d.
Pleasanton, CA
5/2/2010
Food:okay
Service: very poor!
Knowing I was at the "mall" and not expecting much from a mall restaurant I was not disappointed by the average food. Both mine and my companions separate fish dishes were very heavy on the butter but the fish was fresh and the vegetable side of tomato and Zucchini was delicious.
The actual restaurant was empty on the inside as it was a lovely day and most diners were outside. Not wanting to wait we agreed to sit indoors....in an empty restaurant we were seated at the Bathroom entrance! In addition, the bathroom was filthy.
Our waiter continued to rush us through our order....coming to the table every 2 minutes to ask if we were ready to order, hardly giving us a chance to read the menu.(never mind him describing the specials or offering advice). Once we ordered......he was no where to be seen. We were not offered bread like other diners until we asked. Then we were brought bread without bread plates or olive oil. (again we had to ask). The waiter never refilled our champagne glasses so we poured our own.....as we watched the parade of people go in and out of the bathroom.
Overpriced and not worth a return visit! -
Review from britney p.
San Francisco, CA
5/2/2010
Beautiful day in Palo Alto, decided to go shopping with my aunt and enjoy the sunshine. We were starving and wanted a place that would actually serve us and a place we could sit down at. Babbo's looked to be the only place like that....though serve us was not what they did.
First of all, we were seated next to the bathrooms in a completely empty indoor section of the restaurant-first sign of a bad experience. Second, our waiter hounded us for our orders, before asking us if we would like to hear any of their specials or offering us bread. When we finally did place orders, our waiter disappeared into thin air. As we sat, we watched all the other patrons receive bread and water and oil, while we sat there with nothing. I had to politely ask another waiter for it, explaining I had no idea where our waiter was. We ordered a bottle of champagne, though the waiter basically uncorked, poured a little in my aunt's glass and decided to walk away.
When our entree's came out, we saw that they were not so much on the light side that we expected-my sole, while good, tasted like a crusty piece of toast slathered in butter. My aunt's seared tuna was covered with such a thick sauce, that we wondered whether or not it was actually seared tuna. Odd.
Overall, I was not pleased and neither was my aunt. We loved the mall, but will definitely not be sitting down for lunch at Babbo's again. -
Review from Eric A.
8/25/2010
We came here for lunch and while the atmosphere of the mall was really nice, the restaurant itself is way too small, they need to re-position where all the seats were.
The location where I was sitting was the waiter throughout my meal kept on asking if I could skoot up a bit, which was quite annoying. The way the tables were positioned, the wait-staff couldn't get to the corner of the room to serve the other customers.
The food was too expensive. $17 for spaghetti? $17 for a lamb sandwich?
Regarding the taste of the food, I had their Focaccia Babbo and thought the bread was very good, they salted it up which gave it a kick.
They gave me honey mustard on the side when the sandwich already had sauce, what was that for? Very confusing
Anyways, disregarding the experience, the food was really not that impressive. -
Review from Katie Anne N.
San Francisco, CA
3/26/2010
After some window shopping at Cartier and picking up some non-grandma undies from Victoria's Secret, BF and I stopped by Babbo's for a quick bite. We shared a greek salad and a lamb focaccia sandwich. Both were decent. Not out of this world but good for lunch.
Sit outside, grab a glass of wine and enjoy the food. Check out the supermarket right across the way too. Great organic items and loads of dried fruit. -
Review from Tanya A.
8/11/2010
This place had excellent food, but the service was okay.
First of all, we were sat down by our waiter, who took our order and walked away. In the meantime, he served two other tables their bread and olive oil and vinegar. We waited for ours, but it never came. Finally, once our salad arrived, we asked for the bread and olive oil and vinegar, which eventually came, but of course no olive oil and vinegar. Instead, another waiter had to see we did not get any, so offered us some. Other waiters had to assist us throughout the evening. Kind of irritating, but maybe that's just how the restaurant works.
The salad and pizza were great! We got the baked goat cheese salad, which was delicious! It was displayed fantastically, and even came with mini toasted bread with olive tapenade on it! If you do order this particular salad, make sure you like goat cheese, because there's a lot of it!
We also got Pizza Babbo. After loads of goat cheese, the feta on the pizza became a bit much, but overall the pizza was delicious!
Also, the ingredients are extremely fresh, and I love how their kitchen is in the front and not behind doors. At one point of time, the chef was cooking 6 dishes at once!
Great place with okay service. Quaint ambiance, especially if you sit outside! -
Review from Steph C.
1/13/2009
Babbo NYC it is not, but Babbo SSC provides consistently good Italian fare in a cosy setting. The outdoor patio is wonderful on a nice day and the wait staff is always so friendly I want to hug it.
I've been a handful of times and have tried most of the pastas. They've all been tasty, but the spinach tortellini in creamy sauce is great. This is coming from a marinara maniac - I stray from my preferences for that tortellini. Also worth noting is the smoked salmon appetizer that comes with the standard Lox accompaniments on flat bread. For dessert try the lemon tart. Yum num num. -
Review from Linda L.
Fremont, CA
8/17/2008 2 Check-ins Here
The place seems very busy, and there are tons of waiters there (sunday).
They even pull out the table to seat you and push back the table, and push in the chair as you are seated. how nice!
The prices are reasonable, around $15 a plate of pasta.
The penne ... bolognese was very delicous! It had a creamy tomato sauce that wasn't overpowering. The penne was cooked to prefection. While the bolognese wasn't too salty (unlike the ones at pasta pomodoro)
The only thing i dont like is how close the seating is to one another, not very private for conversations. -
Review from Christine L.
Honolulu, HI
2/16/2010
First of all, I don't knw who thinks this is a mediterranean place. That's not anywhere in the name, and the owner is from Austria. Its very much a European-Italian style bistro.
I came across it on accident one day. Have you ever walked into a place thinking it was something else? Well usualy when making this mistake I just leave. However, this time the waiters were so nice and friendly that I decided to stay. Big mistake on my part since the cheapest priced item was a bowl of soup for $13! For soup!!!?? But I had already commited to sitting down so I just decided to go with it.
The soup was hungarian gouash, which Im a big fan of, so I thought 'why not?'. Wow! It was delicious!!! Literally bettert han goulash that I had while in Hungary! Firt of all the bwl was hugeand filed with chunks of potato and choice cuts of steak. t was very filling and yummy The soup itself was thinner than I'm used to but incredibly flavorful! I tried to eat it all but it over powered me.
The food was definitely 4 stars, but he notch down on this review is for the ridiculous prices. The soup was great, but $13 is silly. -
Review from Katharine A.
San Jose, CA
3/9/2009
Pretty mediocre all around. I have come here several times and although I never really count the experience as anything remarkable. I always return, but it is never my choice.
The most stunning thing on the menu is this honey-mustard sauce that is addicting. -
Review from Amy R.
Santa Cruz, CA
9/13/2011
This is my favorite restaurant to go to when I go up to Stanford. I really like the vegetable plate. The flavors are great and everything is really fresh. The pizzas are great as well. I always look forward to my meal here. The other choices in the shopping center seem like chain restaurants so this is the only one that seems worth it.
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Review from Denny H.
San Jose, CA
9/8/2011
Overpriced bistro in a nice mall. Ok food and small portion. I would go to Max which is located just a few steps away.
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Review from Susanne K.
9/30/2010
This indeed is a find! we came here last weekend for lunch and didnt know what to expect. the decor is like we came straight into a real Italian place in Europe and the food that came after didnt leave us unhappy. In fact it was amazing! This is a non fuzz simple Italian restaurant with delicous pasta and pizza.
Thanks to the team, we loved it! -
Review from Candice S.
San Francisco, CA
4/5/2008
Loved this place! Super chic and conveniently located at the beautiful pedestrian Standford Mall. What's not to love, right? This quaint little cafe has adorable outdoor seating that resembles a true Italian cafe.
The menu has an asortment of unique apps, focassia sandwishes, soups, salads, pizzas, pastas, seafood, and rotisserie. Their wine selection is pretty inviting and you won't realize you're getting buzzed cause it's just that good.
This is a great place, and I highly recommend it! -
Review from Sean L.
Walnut Creek, CA
10/12/2010
The food was incontrovertibly charming. But I must sadly take off one star for the overpriced-ness.
My friend and I had an urgent business at the Stanford Mall 8 in the evening (unexpected too). After it was finished, we decided to drop in Babbo's because it was near the parking lot, and we were total strangers here. The food inside smelled scrumptious, alluring my ravenous stomach with tantalizations. So we went in.
We were promptly seated (outside - perfect, cool evening). But after that, the service was a bit too slow (even when it was an off-peak time with only a few other customers). Water came late (and it tasted strongly of chlorine too). So did the bread (cold, soggy, and oily - not what you'd expect from a restaurant with so many expensive items). Furthermore, the place barely had pasta - just pizza, sandwiches, and stuff like risottos and steaks.
Food ordered -
Seafood Risotto: My companion ordered this, and she was delighted by its full, bursting flavor. It had a hearty batch of clams, shrimps, and whatnot. However, the $21.50 price tag: is it worth it? Hmm...
Pepporinta (sp?) Pizza - Baked in the traditional fireplace oven. Delicious, rich flavor with lots of chewy mozzarella cheese. Definitely worth the $13.50 price tag. Excellent!
If you don't mind the price... GO FOR IT! Some tasty food here...
