Babbo Italian Eatery

Reviews 4

MI

Mike Patsy

I wouldnt give it any stars really. I wrote the Operations Manager (Amy) a nice email, see below. She never responded. "Good Evening, I wanted to touch base with you to provide my recent experience with your restaurant located at 303 and Bell Rd in Surprise. I am writing you as a Operations Manager myself with a large company. I appreciate feedback in areas that can be improved upon. Today, 2/12/17, my wife and I stopped in to this location to grab some lunch prior to moving on to the remainder of our errands. Initial impression our server, Sierra, seemed very nice and courteous. My wife ordered her food, then it was my turn, I had to repeat the order a couple of times as it appeared that possibly Sierra was confused. My wife ordered a chicken chop salad and I ordered a steak and blue salad with a meatball panino. For whatever reason Sierra could not wrap her mind around this simple order. As time passed I realized that guests around us that arrived after we were seated were getting their food before us. I understand that the location is new, however we ordered a couple of salads and a sandwich. We waited over 30 minutes for the salads to come to the table. Sierra stated that the sandwich would be right out, when the sandwich arrived it was a steak sandwich which was not what I had ordered. I told Sierra that this was not what I ordered and she walked away abruptly. Sierra later stopped by and stated that the sandwich I ordered would be out shortly and that she placed a rush on the order. 15 minutes had gone by and I notified Sierra that I would not be interested in the sandwich at this point because we had been there now going on an hour. The manager came to the table 10 minutes later with the meatball panino and asked if I still wanted the sandwich. At this point I was very irritated that we had to wait this long for our meal and that the managers excuse for Sierra was that she was new. I understand this, however this is no excuse. The manager stated that he hated to waste food and wanted me to take the sandwich, which I replied that I didnt even want to see the sandwich let alone eat the sandwich. The manager did comp the meal however he never asked how he could help, which is surprising. I wanted you to know of our experience because I am certain these types of scenarios are not often brought to your attention willingly. From my perspective, the server may be new however the manager needs some training as well in diffusing situations and customer relations. Thank you for your time. I would appreciate any feedback you might have. " Poor poor PR from a company that did relatively well in their old location.

DE

Dev C

The food is always great, but today the service was an absolute disappointing experience. We had an older female with dark hair as a waitress and she was rude, slow and appeared to be irritated. When she brought out the oil i asked for some without vinegar. She just looked at me and walked off. When she brought the oil, bread and marinara sauce she put down the marinara sauce then asked who had the oil. She then immediately asked about water and told her i had the oil. She looked at me and told me in a super rude voice "this isnt about you right now". I dont know about other people, but I do know if I was rude like that at work I would probably get time off without pay She filled up our water once and that was when we were 90% of the way finished eating. We asked for side items and all she could say is it cost more. I did not ask her if it costs more I just asked her for the extra items. Of course extra items cost more. We ordered spaghetti and meatballs for my two young kids to share. All she could do is tell us they do not allow splitting. Really. REALLY! She ended up letting us split it and gave us two bowls yay for her... why even bring it up if youre going to let us split it. The manager, well I think it was the manager he did not say anything. All I know is he was wearing a black vest and a purple shirt, was asked by another person in our party if they could get more bread and oil because our waitress never showed up. The guy just looked at him walked away and then had somebody else bring it five minutes later. Maybe thats how they are taught to just look at people and walk away. I worked in customer service for a long time and we were always taught to talk to people. This was definitely a long day that just got worse. when people go out they like to have a nice time. Not have to worry about people being rude in the establishment they are eating at. We have been to Babbos many of times. We have been to the old establishment many times and the new one several times since it has recently opened. I give this experience a two-star only because the food was good. Although when we have Cameron it is definitely a five-star for the experience and food. Unfortunately Cameron was not there tonight.

LY

Lyn Lynch

All previous visits have been a delicious meal and great service at this Italian style restaurant. The bread is always good. I stopped in at the Surprise store on Sep 15 at 11:30. I had the BEST server--I think his name is Dave--who recommended the Mista Side Salad. It was Delicious, meticulous chopped preparation as it should be, and I commented so to the male host, as well as to Dave. I asked about a T-shirt because I would be happy to promote this fine place. Dave said it was $10 and if I wore it, I would receive 10% discount. This place is a fav, so I bought the shirt. Stopped in again on September 19 at 11am. The server was great although I forget his name; he remembered me buying the shirt. I ordered again the Mista Side Salad and as my favorite dinner entree Roasted Brussel Sprouts & Pancetta Pasta was the Special, I ordered it as well. The entire meal was substandard. The salad was barely chopped and drowning in Balsamic Vinaigrette, so I set it aside; the entree was also drowning in oil , with pancetta so raw with the first bite I thought it was Calamari, and spat it into my napkin. I could not eat this dish either. I commented to the waiter on the poor kitchen work of both dishes. I asked for to-go boxes because I did not want to signal poor preparation to the patrons who were streaming in, as they always are in this popular eatery. But, at home I tossed them both in the trash--inedible. A restaurant is only as good as the last meal they serve. I regret buying that shirt. PS: I wonder if that is an "American in Paris" print, on the wall. The rear view appears to be the Iconic Italian Sophia Loren, and may be a still from a movie.

CA

Carter Roberts

Just ate at the new Surprise location for the first time. As other reviewers have said, it is a very nice upgrade from the prior location. Overall, we like Babbo and have gone several times, but this time I had a sandwich and I need to write about it. The “Italiano” sandwich is a mess. It is a variation on a standard Italian sub (i.e., similar ingredients) but the chef is trying waaaaay too hard to make it unique. It is on focaccia bread, which in itself isn’t a bad thing, but the bread was not cut entirely in half, i.e., it wasn’t two slices, one on top of the other. Instead, it was partially cut open like a submarine sandwich roll, and then stuffed with an architecturally unstable combination of ingredients, The result is that everything just falls out of the sandwich. It is a mess to try to eat. As to the ingredients, they are okay, except for the random globs of tasteless mozzarella cheese. It added nothing to the flavor and kept just falling out onto the plate. Also, the lettuce was in big chunks, so it made the sandwich ingredients taller, but once again made it harder to eat. So, we still like Babbo, but I won’t be ordering that sandwich again. You should skip it too, unless you like a challenge.