Once again, finding myself braving the cold I met a friend at Barbetta, an elegant Italian restaurant which is located at 321 W. 46th Street right on Restaurant Row. Restaurant Row which is located on West 46th Street between 8th and 9th Avenue has more than a century of culinary history and Barbetta is a part of that history. The restaurant just celebrated it’s 100 birthday back in 2006 and it’s going strong because it was packed for a pre-theatre even at 19 degrees and with the wind howling.

So here is the front of the restaurant and it’s entrance.

Here is the bar area and the inside of the restaurant.

So my friend and I decided to have the pre-fixed Theatre dinner instead of using the a la carte menu because we both decided that we wanted a full dinner and the price even though pricey was not that bad considering what eating in a nice restaurant can cost these days with hikes in prices because of Covaid and the break in distribution and supply links.

So here is a copy of the general pre-fixed menu and there was a separate sheet for the desserts.

So what did I decide to order?

I started with the Frappe of Melons which was a frothy mixture of melons and berries.

I really enjoyed it. It could have been a little sweeter but nonetheless, it was a perfect way to start the meal.

Then I ordered the Paillard of Chicken with fennel, fennel greens and oven roasted tomatoes.

The chicken was very tender and had an excellent taste and the fennel and the oven roasted tomatoes really took it a long way in taste. It was excellent!

And yeah for dessert, here were the choices…

And so I chose the Lemon and Pistachio Tart.

I was pleasantly surprised with the tart. I presumed that the lemon would be part of the actual tart but it turned out that the lemon was in creme form and coupled with the cake and the very generous sprinkling of pistachio nuts it was really both surprising and delightful.

Finishing up the meal with a cup of excellent coffee, I’d rate this meal as excellent. The ambiance (continuous dining room piano playing) the quality of the food, the preparation and the wait staff were all excellent so I definitely recommend Barbetta especially for their pre-fixed theatre menu.

Enjoy!