Stephen Starr Has Bought Babbo

In her 1998 Times review of Babbo, critic Ruth Reichl praised the restaurant, warning readers not to expect a typical Italian food experience: “Mario Batali and Joseph Bastianich are not playing it safe,” she wrote. At a time when even the city’s toniest Italian restaurants could only pray for a starred review, Reichl awarded the charismatic and obstinate newcomer three stars, praising its chef and wine-savvy co-owner for bringing a fresh take on Italian cuisine to New York City. With a menu that rejoiced in offal and a Led Zeppelin–forward soundtrack of classic rock, Babbo was one of the first fine-dining restaurants in New York City to thumb its nose at convention. Its success helped to change the way New Yorkers think about fine dining and paved the way for a new generation of Italian restaurants: Marea, L’ Artusi, and the Carbone dynasty, to name a few.

Then its former chef, Batali, was accused of sexual harassment by former employees in 2017 at the apex of the Me Too movement and stood trial in Boston in 2022 over sexual-assault allegations brought by a woman he’d met in a bar years earlier. Somehow, the restaurant persevered, but in a much quieter fashion. (Batali was acquitted of the Boston charges and no criminal complaints were ever filed against him by former employees.)

Now, there are big changes afoot at Babbo. Bastianich, who’s maintained ownership of the restaurant with his mother Lidia and sister Tanya since Batali divested his share in 2019, has agreed to sell Babbo and Lupa to Stephen Starr’s restaurant group, according to people familiar with the deal. The Babbo redux will also mark the return of chef Mark Ladner, who was part of the original kitchen team when the restaurant opened and went on to open Lupa and Del Posto.

Del Posto was awarded four stars by the New York Times in 2010 (the first Italian restaurant to receive the honor since 1974) and retained two Michelin stars throughout Ladner’s tenure. Luring him back into the fray is a major coup for Starr and could go a long way toward helping restore the restaurant’s culinary primacy and to purify the restaurant of Batali’s history. Starr’s company is also taking over Lupa, where Ladner was lauded for his rustic, ingredient-driven style of cooking.