Babbo is back — and it’s better than ever without Mario Batali

Babbo, the once-great flagship restaurant from once-great Mario Batali, is back with a new owner and a new chef — and, maybe hard to believe, it’s better than the fabled original.

Babbo limped on after Batali was divested in 2019, in the wake of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct. Mega-restaurateur Stephen Starr bought the place from Batali’s former business partner, Joe Bastianich, last winter and closed it temporarily. Now, it’s one of the most thrilling reboots in recent memory.

With chef Mark Ladner in the kitchen, Babbo 2.0 is not only better than it was when Batali was under a cloud, but perhaps even better than in its late-1990s glory days.

Gone are full-of-themselves waiters and Batali-era innards — like goat’s head and head cheese — that made customers squirm. In their p