Introduction

The West Village restaurant Barbuto has long been a gathering spot for the neighborhood. It has served as a watering hole for locals, knowledgeable New Yorkers, and visitors from all over—a place where the cares of the day-to-day disappear. In its original Washington Street location, it was truly a West Village staple, and, as of this writing, it is well on its way to earning that status again in its new home at 113 Horatio Street, a mere three hundred steps from the original.

Not a day goes by without someone asking me, “What makes Barbuto special?” And the true answer is that I really don’t have a clue. In days past, restaurants relied on location, location, and location. Well that is not really a good explanation for Barbuto. When it first opened, the area was seedy and, honestly, scary at night. It hadn’t evolved into the trendy neighborhood that it is now.