Barbette

Ambience : 8.3
Food : 8.5
Service : 7.7
on a scale of 1 (worst) - 10 (best)
based on 18 Rater comments
Rate this restaurant

1600 W Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
info@barbette.com
Phone: (612) 827-5710
http://www.barbette.com/
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Perhaps the most pleasurable thing about Barbette is the feeling that, upon gliding through its velvet-curtained entry, you've walked into a French movie. Stained-glass fixtures in circus colors suggest the performer from which the cafe takes its name. If you're lucky, you'll be seated with a view of a painting of a lovely nude with a sensuous backside. Patrons to your left slurp oysters, and across the room, a couple lingers over a bottle of Sicilian red with a spread of fruit, artisan cheeses, and warm olives. You can't decide whether to indulge in the grass-fed steak frites or the wild mushroom risotto, but one thing is certain: it's time to learn French.

Rater Comments

6/24/2008
Lunch, Number in party 2, Check total $50.00, Visited 4/3/2008
Ambiance 8.0, Food 8.0, Service 7.0
Love the pommes frites here! Cute place, great service. Have been a fan for some time.

12/1/2006
Dinner, Number in party 7, Check total $30.59, Visited 7/1/2006
Ambiance 7.0, Food 9.0, Service 10.0
It was like a little sidestreet restaurant, very crammed together with the little seatings. On the other hand they had great food, and the service was great except the bartenders who I found rude. If you ever want a little Italy, this is the place to go.

6/12/2006
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $80.00, Visited 6/10/2006
Ambiance 8.0, Food 9.0, Service 7.0
Very good. We had the four course tasting menu which was unbelievably good for $30. The crab/mango/mint salad opener was a treat, with each bite highlighting a different flavor. The sweetmeats were an interesting second course, and the marlin with tartar for the main course was delicious. Panna cotta was a light palate cleanser of a dessert. Having had other stuff on their menu before, Barbette is a fun place for just about any price range.

6/7/2006
Other, Number in party 3, Check total $55.00, Visited 5/28/2006
Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 10.0
Barbette is without a doubt my favorite wine bar in all of Minneapolis. Great ambience, people watching, wine selection, and very attentive and knowledgeable waitstaff/bartenders. Always willing to let patrons do a wine tasting, even if that means sampling three different reds while they wait patiently for you to choose. Sidewalk seating is great on a summer night, but if you want to get cozy with your date avoid the tables by the large kitchen windows; too noisy and the florescent lighting spilling onto the sidwalk kills any sort of a romantic mood.

6/2/2006
Dinner, Number in party 1, Check total $36.00,
Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
Food is consistently delicious. Service varies according to staff, but for the most part service is excellent. Breakfast is wonderful as well. Staff is willing to make slight adjustments to any meal. Overall a great experience!

5/25/2006
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $100.00, Visited 5/19/2006
Ambiance 8.0, Food 8.0, Service 8.0
Barbette is one of the best kept non-secrets in Minneapolis. Being a European who now lives in the Twin Cities, Barbette not only makes me/us feel at home, but with its gorgeous and organically derived food always makes me leave with a glow. Fantastic Nicoise Salad (quail eggs, purple fingerlings, crisp greens served with fries and aioli,) risotto, great cheese plates, affordable and incredible wines, friendly service without being intrusive or patronizing...lovely. Vive La Barbette!

3/1/2006
Dinner, Visited 2/24/2006
Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 7.0
Barbette is a lovely bistro with top notch food. The service can be hit or miss but is generally welcoming. Try the nicoise salad - the best in town! - or the risottos.

2/26/2006
Dinner, Number in party 1, Check total $38.00, Visited 2/24/2006
Ambiance 7.0, Food 6.0, Service 3.0
Barbette is always a pleasure for people watching and overall ambiance. It's a great place to take a group of friends after work or to open the weekend, with its cirque francoise decor and flattering red-gold lighting. The french fries are always terrific, and the wine/beer/libations list has something for everyone. The service can be weird and affected ("How do you get an annoying actor to go away?" "Order your dinner."), but the delicious bistro eats and the relaxing vibe make it worth it.

1/23/2006
Dinner, Number in party 12, Check total $250.00, Visited 4/16/2005
Ambiance 8.0, Food 9.0, Service 5.0
Our party was too big for this restaurant and the staff made sure we knew it. We had an early dinner on purpose, 4:30 on a Saturday, and the staff was trying to shuffle us out by 6. Despite that, our dinners were perfection. I had the pork chop, nothing like my Mother would make. No cream of mushroom soup here! The ingrediants were fresh and well prepared. The wine selection was divine and I love the decor. I'll return with a smaller group or for a late night glass of wine.

11/7/2005
Lunch, Number in party 4, Check total $56.00, Visited 11/6/2005
Ambiance 8.0, Food 7.0, Service 7.0
This was my first visit to Cafe Barbette. I used to go to Cafe Weird all the time and I was worried this would be a disappointment. It wasn't. The food was good. I had a scramble with roasted red peppers, mushrooms, and guyere cheese. It was very tasty. The side toast and salad were really bland, but I was pleased enough with what I ordered to not be bothered. For dessert, I shared a creme brulee which tasted delicious. The service was so-so. Everyone working was very nice, but also really busy and hard to track down. Oddly, there are no salt and pepper shakers available, which means we had to find our very busy waitress to get these. The hot chocolate was delightful with chocolate drizzled on top. The art work and general decor make for a very trendy and fun setting. Would definitely go again. It's a fun place to go with a few friends.

11/4/2005
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $30.00, Visited 1/14/2004
Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
This is an extremely pleasant, not to mention sexy, place to nibble and drink. The servers are very cordial and the menu is nicely built. A perfect date place.

10/4/2005
Dinner, Number in party 5, Check total $350.00, Visited 10/3/2005
Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
I'm constantly surprised by how good this place is. Two of us had the special lamb chops, cooked to rare perfection. Another had steak frites, which is a much better steak than you'd ever get in France, and spectacular fries, to boot. A veggie crepe and the prix fixe menu rounded out our selections. Two very reasonable bottles of Spanish wine, one white, one red, and another of Malbec capped the perfect evening.

7/18/2005

Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 8.0
A great atmosphere, very fun people watching. The food is fantastic, and the servers are knowledgable and helpful.

6/21/2005
Breakfast, Number in party 1, Visited 6/19/2005
Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
Sat outside on a beautiful day, the service was friendly, accomodating but not overwhelming. Problem was handled gracefully. Food was perfectly done (with one small exception that was, as mentioned, corrected immediately) I will be back!

6/20/2005
Other, Number in party 2, Check total $50.65, Visited 6/19/2005
Ambiance 9.0, Food 9.0, Service 10.0
A lovely spot for a late night snack. We had a bottle of wine with the cheese plate and the warm olives. I like this place because they have resonably priced things as well as dishes and bottles on the higher end. Everything was tasty and our server was very sweet.

6/20/2005
Dinner, Number in party 3, Check total $120.00, Visited 5/25/2005
Ambiance 7.0, Food 9.0, Service 9.0
The mussles are extrodinary as are the salads and entrees. Wonderful specials for people that like to try something different. The wine selection is good. It's all good. One of my favorites.

5/24/2005
Dinner, Number in party 2, Check total $40.00, Visited 5/21/2005
Ambiance 9.0, Food 8.0, Service 3.0
The wait staff is surly and mean (except for the cyclist-dude up front, who's nice) but the food's good and the restaurant is absolutely gorgeous! The walls display work by some of our better community artists (including a painting rumored to be modeled after Alexis Bailey proprietor Nan Bailey). It ALMOST feels like Paris. Almost. The French would never try this hard.

5/23/2005
Dinner, Visited 5/3/2005
Ambiance 8.0, Food 8.0, Service 8.0
One of the things I like about Barbette is they've always been extremely helpful with wine selections without being snobby. Always been good people watching, too.

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