Babington's tea room — Restaurant in Rome

I had thought the prices were expensive because of the restaurant's convenient and nice location, exceptional fine food and impeccable service. After our meal there, I think prices are steep because the restaurant hopes to maintain some form of exclusivity only. Food is average - fried stuff is bitter and dry, dessert is forgettable, and overall quality and menu selection is no where near fine dining category. If your benchmark is TWG or your favourite tea place near your house, you will be underwhelmed by their tea. Ambience is not bad though, and it does give a feel of upscale dining.

Service from the cashier counter and some of the waitresses was the worst. Discrimination was grossly apparent. OMG. How backward these people are for such a fine city. Sometimes I wonder, in what capacity they are to think they are superior than others? Clearly, career is not one of them. It spoilt my impression of Rome which was quite good until then. The team is letting down the predecessors of a long-standing establishment if it just rides on the sails of its sucess and does not view negative feedback positively by taking constructive steps for improvements and corrections to diminishing quality of service and food.

So I guess you might enjoy the dining experience if you are of a famous personality or dressed like a wealthy person who needs someone to boost your ego with stiff smiles and artificial laughters. I suspect Asians might not make the cut too. Otherwise, unless you are desperate for food or water or toilet or table and could not walk another 10metres to the next eatery, there is really not much about this restaurant that one should especially make the trip to. We paid EUR38 taxi fare to get to this place to have a nice meal on our last night in Rome and it was my biggest regret for this trip.

Nonetheless, a special mention for the young and very pretty service staff with big eyes and short, black hair wearing the cloak, helped the restaurant to save some brownie points: She is very kind and very nice and very genuine - it is a pity that her professionalism and good character has not influenced the rest at...

High tea in Rome can't get any better than at the foot of the Spanish Steps on a balmy mid-October evening. The surroundings are a unique experience in their own right – it is still Rome after all – albeit the quality of the tea and accompanying sandwiches, scones and cake isn't particularly good: ordinary at best, in comparison with what is served in most respected high tea rooms around England.

The service was very much subpar: waiters had to be repeatedly called for attention (not just by us), would rarely survey the customer area for obvious calls for attention, would decline serving tables not assigned to them even if they were free with their colleague unavailable, and (like in our case) would let customers wait to pay their bill by card for over 20min despite repeated calls for a card reader, only to be then told that card payments are only taken inside. That is IMHO worth one star. This was very unexpected of what is widely recognised as'the' high tea room in Rome.

On the other hand, I must commend the senior attendant Francesca who, having kindly listened to my complaint, spontaneously offered a genuine apology to my party and unsolicitedly waived our bill as a token of good-will. If this isn't attention to the customer and sensitivity towards service incidents that may occur even in highly reputable establishments like Babington's, then I don't know what is. This is worth an unreserved five stars. Because of Francesca's handling of the situation I will make sure to return to Babington's and will speak highly of her training and skills: those surely on par with a highly reputable establishment like...

Visited Babington's on a recent visit to Rome, having been advised by a friend to give it a try, but in the full knowledge that it would be expensive. Very good selection of teas, coffees, pastries, etc. I was there mid-morning, so didn't explore the full menu. Lovely, quiet surroundings in which to enjoy a little treat. Very efficient staff, attired in extremely smart Victorian-style outfits. Lots of polished wood and tasteful mirrors. And, of course, located adjacent to the Spanish Steps. Now...the price. A pot of rather good English Breakfast tea will set you back about 11 euros. A small, simple pastry, about 6 euros. Be aware that these prices are towards the lower end of the range. I dare say if you're pretty well fixed financially, the price is immaterial. For many people, though, the prices will come as a bit of a shock. Having said all that, I have to report that I thoroughly enjoyed my visit. The temporary respite from the general buzz of Rome's streets was welcome. I had come prepared to be shocked, so was happy to regard the visit as an experience to be savoured. My three-star rating is simply to reflect the expense involved in sampling the goods on offer here. In truth, the quality is excellent, but it is worth being forewarned as to the potential for a sudden shock to the...