Barbuto
Jonathan Waxman cooked at Chez Panisse under Alice Waters in the 1970s. He has been putting that hand on Italian food in the West Village since 2004.
Why go
The building's new owners pushed the restaurant out in 2019. Waxman moved it a few streets over into a big industrial room in 2020, and it came fully back in 2021. Hannah Albertine rated the new room 7.9 for The Infatuation and said the food had not changed with the address. The same publication puts I Sodi at 9.1 and calls it the best Italian in the West Village, so Barbuto is not the top of that argument.
Order this / avoid
- Order: the pollo al forno. Add the finely chopped kale salad and whichever pasta is on. When the gnocchi is there the kitchen pan-fries the pillows so the outsides go crunchy.1
- Avoid: the pizzas. Albertine likens them to the previously frozen discs you get at an airport bar.
What locals & experts say
- Hannah Albertine, The Infatuation (14 January 2022, 7.9):
Whenever you go to Barbuto, there will be roughly half the amount of chickens as there are humans in the restaurant. And that's because this roasted half-bird is juicy, and gets pops of acidity from the salsa verde on top.
1 - Jonathan Waxman to Eater NY (28 May 2025), on opening a second Barbuto across the river:
my mom was from Bed-Stuy, so Brooklyn is in my blood.
2
Good to know
- Timing: lunch, brunch and dinner.
- Booking: book, and ask for a table away from the bar if you want to hear anyone.
- Which door: this page is 113 Horatio Street in the West Village. Barbuto Brooklyn is a separate room at 60 Furman Street, inside 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge, open since summer 2025.
- Next door: Bar Tizio, Waxman's wine bar, opened beside the Manhattan restaurant in May 2025.
Verdict
should-visit — Waxman opened his first New York restaurant, Jams, in 1984, and it lasted four years. This one has run twenty-two.