Brunch at Barbuto, in the West Village

Photo by myself at Barbuto, on Washington and West 12th Streets in the West Village.

Brunch service was a busy blur, Saturday. Mark and I dined at Barbuto, Jonathan Waxman's restaurant in the West Village, after hearing rave reviews from a friend.

We arrived around 1pm, when the neighborhood was just waking up. By the time we left at 2, the place was completely packed. Many guests were young and fashionably dressed. The restaurant has a large, airy seen-and-be-seen atmosphere.

The interiors are not pretentious, though. There are roll-down garage doors on all walls, so in the warmer months, the interior space becomes exterior. Sunlight was streaming in and there was additional seating on the sidewalk.

Oh, and let's get to the food.

Brunch consisted of a rustic mortadella sandwich (background), crispy potatoes and oven-baked eggs.

Mark had a beautiful sandwich with mortadella, grain mustard and carmelized onions on crusty bread. Salad on the side had a lemony vinaigrette. I had tasty oven baked eggs with creamed spinach and parmesan.

We shared a side order of potatoes sprinkled with romano cheese and rosemary. Our meal was hearty and good.

From our seats, we could look right into the open kitchen, where it was non-stop action. A gorgeous plate of roasted chicken was sunning itself near a window. Mark and I enjoyed watching the guys work with quiet intensity.

One of the owners, Jonathan Waxman, is noted restauranteur from the West Coast. He appeared on the TV show Top Chef Masters, where established chefs compete against each other for charity.

Waxman was at the restaurant on Saturday and kept a low profile. Mark and I saw him walking around the Kitchen and chatting with the staff. He was one of our favorites on Top Chef, because of his laid back, jovial personality.

Menus change daily, but some typical menus are listed on the Barbuto website here. You can even make reservations online.


The view of Barbuto, from the entrance. Garage doors are located along all sides.


The spacious kitchen is open to the dining room.

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