Babbo Pinsa Romana & Wijn 🇮🇹 — Restaurant in Tilburg

We came into this restaurant expecting a traditional, good Italian cuisine based on the reviews we had seen. Yet, we were faced with poorly seasoned, bland dishes and long waits. While the atmosphere was quaint and expectations were high, just like the prices, the halibut had undercooked, outright raw potatoes with a basic roasted pea and kale combo that added little to no complexity to the dish other than increase our desire for any sort of seasoning. Whilst the halibut itself was cooked very well, the rest of the dish failed to capture our attention. It became notable that the expertise of the chef would be in question from the frittata we received at the beginning of the evening. Instead of the rich yet simple dish frittatas are, we received a soggy Philadelphia sandwich which completely missed the mark. Needless to say it was incredibly disappointing off the bat. The sword fish carpaccio was actually well put together considering it is merely a raw cut of fish, and the orange was a good complement, though the dish left much to be desired. It was desperately still thirsting for anything, anyone could come up with. The lobster tortellini seemed to be the popular option for the night, also recommended by staff. Upon arrival, aside from already being visually underwhelming, the dish was heavily masked by the thick tortellini dough with little to no flavor of the lobster coming through. Unfortunately the dish itself was so shallow that there isn’t much else to say about it. To end the night, after waiting 45 minutes per dish, for the starters and the main individually, we were finally met with a “short” 20 minute wait for the dessert. The tiramisu was satisfying and well made, making us atleast somewhat satisfied for the night. Leaving the restaurant, one walks away feeling somewhat satisfied with the money and time put towards the experience considering the quality of service, food, and complexity yet the recurring consensus we received at Babbo is that, whilst the chef would be able to cook me a weekday dinner, for the prices charged they should not be at the back of a kitchen with the lack of depth and creativity...

Visited this place with two others, based on a friend’s recommendation. Sadly, it didn’t meet expectations. We were seated outside on the terrace, and although the atmosphere was cozy (even in the rain), the experience fell short in almost every other way.

Service was extremely slow — we had to wait ages just to be noticed and served. Normally, I’d walk out at that point, but this time we decided to stick around (not that we had much choice). We sat down at 18.50 and didn’t get our main course until 20:45. Staff said they were short-staffed in the kitchen, but then... don’t seat so many people. Guests who arrived after us were served long before we were.

The food? Overpriced and underwhelming. €18.50 for a plain carpaccio — just meat, cheese, oil, and rucola, with zero presentation. The lasagna was overcooked, and oddly, it looked like someone had dumped half a jar of plain tomato sugo on top. Very strange. I probably should’ve gone for the pinsa — it is in the name of the place, after all...

Total bill: €140 for three people. The pinsa, wine, and salad were decent, but not enough to justify a...

When we first arrived, we were told that they don't accept walk-ins without a reservation. So, we made a reservation by phone, and then the waiter walked away with a negative expression on her face. After five minutes, she came back, during which time 4-5 tables were empty, yet we were left standing. When she returned, still with a sour expression, we were told to sit at a specific table. We waited for 25 minutes to get a menu, and only after asking for it were we finally handed one.

One of my friends has a significant following on social media, and we shared a story about our experience. After that, they came over to apologize and even tried to offer us complimentary items. The chef also came to ask if we had any special requests. I can’t help but wonder, do you only cater to Dutch customers? And would we have received the same polite treatment if my friend didn’t have such a large following?

As for the food, I had read that their pizza was the best in the city; however, it was extremely dry, and I didn’t enjoy it at all. I definitely won’t be returning and absolutely do not...