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
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