Babbo is Italian for daddy, and this smart Mayfair restaurant makes great play of serving homemade dishes. Quite how many Italian daddies (or mummies) make risotto with two different coloured rices and a white truffle cream, it’s hard to say. What’s more, might they not faint at a portion of salt cod costing £26, not including veg and potatoes? Nonetheless, for those with deep wallets, there’s much to recommend this smart and civilised establishment.

The Venue
There’s a whiff of fin de siecle grand cafe thanks to an antiquey beige paint job; upholstered, bentwood chairs; elaborately framed, slightly distressed mirrors; starched white napery, and huge, lily-filled urn. Staff add to the effect with their black trousers and waistcoats, white shirts and black ties. There’s an impressive, wood-panelled bar and, to the rear, a grand and rather lovely, ornately carved, (faux) period staircase which sweeps upward, somewhat anticlimactically, to a tiny additional dining area. Meanwhile, three tiny tables-for-two on the pavement await warm weather.

The Atmosphere
All is civilised, Mayfair calm in the main ground floor dining room, even if the music is incongruously modern. Service is friendly, leisurely and generally efficient although not everything goes to plan: a wrong dessert is delivered and requesting filter coffee causes all kinds of baffled commotion (and when the drink finally arrives, it is clearly a large espresso with a jug of milk). Diners are of the variety who don’t need to dress up to demonstrate that they are among life’s winners.

The Food
A wise man once said "French food at its best shows the genius of the chef. Italian food at its best shows the genius of God." Babbo therefore wisely keeps it relatively simple and homely for a restaurant at this level offering lasagne, ossobuco, fish of the day in a simple tomato sauce and a whole roast leg of lamb.

Things start well with an interesting basket of breads including irresistibly salty little chunks of focaccia, although vegetarians would appreciate a warning that one of the breads contains slivers of (admittedly delicious) salami. Olive oil, coarse salt and softened garlic and basil butter provide delicious accompaniment.

A starter of stone crab salad is light and elegant, and so it should be at a deep-intake-of-breath-inducing £12.75. A couple of bits of shell have found their way into the disc of delicately flavoured white meat. A tomato has been teased into the thinnest of carpaccio. A topping of micro leaves adds punchy flavour as well as looking a million dollars. In contrast to the modest proportions of the crab, a wooden board of ham from Sienna with porcini mushrooms (£11.50) could easily feed two. The meat is meltingly tender and agreeably meaty and salty. The preserved mushrooms are a good-looking selection with plenty of flavour.

A risotto of Acquarelle and dark venere rice with white truffle cream (£11/£20.50) is beige with flecks of black, like the colour scheme of a modern London apartment. It arrives perfectly al dente and has a deep truffly flavour, though it would keep hot longer in a deep bowl rather than spread thinly on a large plate. A mixed side salad (£3) is actually a leaf salad of small, posh specimens. There’s quality olive oil in the dressing but maybe a tad too much salt. A portion of salt cod, once the preserve of the poor, will set you back £25.75: how very Mayfair. It’s a generous, tender, flaking, not over-salty portion, though, topped with what amounts to an onion and tomato ratatouille. A side of steamed veg (£3.75) includes asparagus, broccoli, spring onions, bok choi, baby corn and carrots, most of them correctly al dente. Roast potatoes (£3.50) are typically Italian, i.e. sliced new potatoes, redolent of rosemary but not crisp on the outside and fluffy inside as is typical with British potatoes.

A selection of homemade ice creams (£5) disappoints. The flavour of both the mango and orange varieties is terrific but the promised scoop of apple has turned into boring old vanilla. The portions are small and arrive far too soft. A disc of frozen chocolate mousse (£6.50) delivers great texture and flavour. Three little deep-fried batter balls with a liquid chocolate centre provide a delicious contrast of both texture and temperature.

The Drink
The almost exclusively Italian wine list leans heavily towards reds, and doesn’t come cheap. Entry level for whites is Madregale Bianco IGT, Terre di Chieti, Abruzzo, 2008 at £20 or £6 a glass, whilst the most modest red, Frentano, Cantina Frenta, Montepulciano D’abruzzo 2007, is £25 or £7. This being Mayfair, there’s plenty costing three figures, whilst Masseto, Orenlaia 1997 from Tuscany will set you (or, more likely, your expense account) back £1,750. A disappointingly small selection is available by the glass.

A glass of Billecart-Salmon rose champagne (£11) gets things off to a deliciously fruity-yet-dry start. The aforementioned house white is uncomplicated but agreeable zingy and astringent. The sole still rose, Chateau Sainte Marguerite, Grand Reserve, Cotrovence, France, 2008, £9/£35, is perfumed on the nose and tastebuds and is clean and very classy. Dessert wines perform well, too. Morsi di Luce, Florio, Sicily, 2005 (£6/£28) is floral, not overly syrupy and has a long finish. Aleatico, Candido, Aleatcio di Puglia, 2002, (£7/£29) is a glorious dessert red, slightly spicy, perfumed and not cloying.

The tea and coffee selection is surprisingly small, comprising espresso, cappuccino, latte (available decaffeinated), fresh mint, green and English breakfast. Isn’t charging a fiver for ordinary tea-for-one pushing one’s luck a bit? As mentioned earlier, straightforward filter coffee appears not to be available and causes all kinds of consternation.

The Last Word
Babbo is a stylish operation serving generally good food that treads a clever line between the homely and the cheffy where three courses with half a bottle of modest wine will set you back £60 to £70. If elegant surroundings, civilised fellow diners and attentive service top your list of must-haves, it’s probably worth a visit. If, on the other hand, you balk at paying £17.50 for a portion of lasagne, you might feel more comfortable elsewhere.

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