Barbette

I want to like Barbette as it is in my neighborhood, however the service is usually very bad. The male servers are very rude and never smile. The female servers have generally been nice. The foodcan be amazing, or sometimes just average..however, the fries are always good! Pros: Sometimes food, Ambiance Cons: Service more

I used to go to Barbette for breakfast/brunch semi-regularly a few years ago, until the service (esp. the hosts/bartenders) drove me away. I decided to give Barbette another try, this time for dinner, and I'm glad I did. The special fish dishes are beyond reproach; fresh perfectly cooked bass, with light crisped skin in a red wine reduction with diced lardons and morels, and side of whipped potatoes, was possibly THE BEST fish dinner I'd ever had, and I lived in Hawaii. I had another fish special at another time, a different type of white fish, also perfectly cooked, in a different sauce, still delicious. I tried a bite of a friend's chicken breast, moist delicately seasoned, fantastic. I've ordered the mussels a few times (a deal at $5 during happy hour), they were very undercooked twice, had them sent back to reheat, both times came back still slightly undercooked (I never open or eat the closed or mostly closed shells; these were the open shells). The female waitress, a pretty girl named Hilary, is attentive and accommodating. The male waiter (tall, thin) was inattentive, not so much rude as not caring about our table. He definitely paid more attention to the older more affluent looking clientele than he did us, though he has served us before and we order food, drinks and tip well (over 20% of entire bill). Also, have been ignored by the hosts/bartenders, yet again, we were standing around the front, waiting for a table. Other friends have had the same experience, and I recognize a lot of the staff that made me want to leave in the 1st place. The food is great, but the mixed service makes me hesitate to go back. It's always a crapshoot of who's going to be working, and I wish the owner would check the attitudes of those who had been working there for a while. I mean, if you're burnt out by the service industry, maybe it's time to move on? Pros: Fish specials are amazing; Great happy hour Cons: Service, with a few exceptions, is quite lacking more

I have patronized Barbette a few times and found it charming,eclectic and intimate. The food was wonderful and the waitstaff seemed very pleasant. more

This is one of the best meals I have had in Mpls. since moving here. On par with a typical night out in SF - that is a compliment. Basic, good, non-pretentious food that is elegant, but not intimidating in a comfortable and intimate setting. Every single thing I had here was great - from the appetizers down to dessert and coffee. I hear they may be opening a place in the NE - I can not wait! Good quality food, good service, good atmosphere. Pros: food, atmosphere, price Cons: parking could be a bit more difficult on the weekend - but still go more

Went on a quiet weeknight around 8pm. Had a nice table for two. Liked the atmosphere, lighting, decoration. Parking is a negative. Server was neither attentive or indifferent. Took my order, brought my food, brought a bill, pretty standard. I had the steak and fries. Steak was great, fries were greasy, limp, cold, not good. Friend had a salad and said it was good. I thought it was overpriced for what it was, but it would be a cool date place if you like the hip and trendy uptown thing. Pros: ambiance Cons: parking, service more

I like to come here after the dinner hour. It's nice to cozy up to a special someone and have a glass of wine, share an appetizer...best darn fries EVER! Also have a great mini steak type thing for appetizer...super yummy! more

This is a great place for late night dinning and a glass of Champagne. We had the mussels and they were hit or miss. Some we good others were gritty and about broke a tooth. Hopefully it's just a bad batch. The rest of the food we ordered was great and we will be back. more

Atmousphere: bustling, crowded, somewhat noisy - things that remind me of a bistro in the Marais. Food: Authentic, rustic as well as refined. No skimping corners on all the necessary rich, indulgent ingredients. Pommes frites were exactly 3-1/2"" - 4"", crisp on the outside and fluffy inside with a garlicky aioli. Only frying in goose fat could have improved them. Even though we were seated at the bar, the service was very good. That plus a reasonable house red and Lillet Aperetif (blanc, on the rocks with an orange twist). Maybe my new favorite Twin Cities French? Pros: food, ambience, service Cons: parking more

Got seated right away, hmmm, no wait on a saturday for brunch? That should have been our first clue. Slow, poor service from the start. Wanted a Waffle, sorry it is 2:05, can't get a waffle after 2, forget the fact that we were sitting there for 15 minutes. Fries were out first, they were good, but then we sat and waited. An hour later we left with a dinning experiece that we could have gotten at Denny's, for a fraction of the price. No atmosphere or hip trendiness is worth the wait, price or horrble experience! Get a clue, or better yet, some experience at customer service! Cons: Service, Food, Speed more

The champane is fantastic...accompanied with the roasted organic chicken sandwhich and fries...Over all terrific experience and would highly recommend all of the above! more

Barbette is a great neighborhood spot - I wouldn't come from too far to go there, but to walk to it is perfect. I have been there many times and basically had the same thing each time - Steak and Frites. If the steak is cooked as ordered (most of the time it is) it is very very good and the fries are great. Followed it up with a molten chocolate cake to share and you will be happy. The service is another issue - the waiters, in general are pretentious and annoying. I do recommend Barbette for a drop in meal or late night dessert or wine (or dessert wine) but be in the mood to abide out of work actors practicing their craft. Pros: Steak, Fries, Chocolate Cake Cons: Waiters, Occasional wait, A little pricey more

December 2, 2005. Nice wine, scrumptious french fries and good desserts. Skip the dinner - it's overpriced and awful. I have to disagree with the reviewer who finally discovered that the food is ""simple"". This is an excuse for poorly prepared entrees in need of flavor. I had the crepes with smoked salmon and roasted peppers with a mixed green salad. My husband described it as a smoked salmon burrito - no subtlety, no sauce that I could find, no mingling of flavors and not a hint of spice. The greens were fresh but without dressing - dry. The other three had seared sea bass that was not fresh. Desserts were good. It is the worst dinner we've had in Minneapolis - We gave it a C before reading the review and I'm tempted to give it a D because the bill was an insult after such poorly prepared entrees. Pros: french fries, desserts Cons: bad food, overpriced, noisy more

We tried this for the first time on Sunday 11/20/05. Seated promptly. Service was a little slow (fortunately we were in no hurry). Soup was excellent! Liked the warm olive app. Veggie crepes were really tasty, too. Funky decor, nice atmosphere. more

The french fries did indeed live up to the hype. The service wasn't bad. The room is pretty cool, with odd lamps and exposed bar joists, but it became very difficult to see, as they kept turning the lights down lower and lower. It was supposed to be romantic, but it just made reading the dessert menus a challenge. Definitely a place to go for late night french fries. The second time I went, I was less impressed. I had the ""fresh seafood special"" which was seafood. It wasn't fresh (fish shouldn't be fishy). It wasn't so special either. It was overcooked and otherwise underwhelming. At least the olives are good. Pros: interesting food Cons: bad lighting more

My wife and I had dinner at Barbette on Friday 29 April in the evening. We were seated promptly and the staff and service was tre' bien! However the food was another world altogether. We both ordered the gnocchi as our main course: mine served cold and her's hot (I didn't realize that that was an option). We both instantly looked at each other on the plate presentation and quantitiy: 15 small gnocchi were served on a very large plate (no garnish). It simply looked like a half portion for only $14pp. Once eaten, the soft, runny gnocchi was a disappointment. The only up momoent was the combination of the spices and vegatables. This is our second AND LAST visit to Barbette. Overpriced, small, and poor food quality give this restaurant a C+. Pros: Serivce, Staff Cons: Food, Price, Food Quality/Quantity more

Cafe Barbette recently received a glowing review in the Star Tribune. I recently moved to the neighborhood and have had several opportunities to dine there. Most of the time, the service was horrible. HORRIBLE! Oh well, maybe they only want a cetain clientele. That's all I can figure. It bums me out because Giorgio closed across the street. Well, Lucia's is right around the corner, and Auriga would be a nice walk. Same with Giorgio on 24th and Hennepin. Well, Barbette is due to be blown out of the water. It sucks. Big time. more

Cafe Barbette provided one of the worst dining experiences I've ever had, if not THE worst. The help was extremely slow (but not overworked) and apathetic. The food was overpriced based on the quality. For the first time in my life I simply threw down my money after a few bites in total disgust. I wouldn't waste my time here. Pros: Location, Atmosphere Cons: , Service, Price more

It took me many visits to get to know the real Barbette. I was not happy with my first few meals there because I thought they were too simple, not enough bang for my buck. But I eventually realized that simplicity is the key to this restaurant. To put three or four excellent items on a plate is far better than loading up the dish with fancy this-and-that. You must know food and love it to appreciate the Barbette menu. If you like chain restaurants, don't go there. Pros: location, espresso, hanger steak more

First visit to Barbette. Took a friend who had been out sick for several days. Food took over an hour to arrive. Friend's food didn't arrive - it got missed in the order. No overt appology - suggested he order something else that they could quickly make. I talked to manager, suggested that she give him a gift certificate for another time - so that he would give them another chance. Instead she just gave him his bowl of soup and glass of wine free. I've been to restaurants where our entire table would have been comp'd. She either didn't have the power to do more, or isn't very experienced. In the restaurant business you must BEG for forgiveness. We'll never be back. Food wasn't that good to overlook this rude disrespect. more

If you don't have reservations you can take a seat at the bar and have access to the full menu. The food was solid from the salad through desert. Reasonable wine list and some good by the glass. Our waiter could have been a little more attentive, but service was OK. Since it is located on the edge of Uptown the parking situation is OK; we lucked out and parked at a meter right outside the restaurant. I thought the decor was hip . . . the bar had cool curving lines and walls splashed with French commercial art. Pros: bar seating available, energetic crowd more