![\"Chef](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/71233e9bd909105d0bb9e7d6acb737cb5a-Mark-Ladner.rsquare.w700.jpg\")
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n
\n Lander, who adopted a large toque for his Babbo era.
\n Photo: Colin Clark\/The New York Times\/Redux\n <\/p>\n
Less than a year after Stephen Starr reopened Babbo<\/a> with Mark Ladner running the kitchen, the chef has left, according to sources inside the restaurant. Ladner\u2019s involvement was considered a major coup for Starr when the word broke last year that he had purchased Babbo and its sister restaurant, Lupa, from former owners<\/a> Joe and Lidia Bastianich. The chef had earned four stars from the New York Times and two Michelin stars during his tenure as chef of Del Posto and had previously worked under Mario Batali in the Babbo kitchen, before Batali\u2019s downfall<\/a>. Ladner\u2019s intimate knowledge of Babbo\u2019s complicated history seemed to uniquely position him to usher the restaurant into this new chapter, carrying on its culinary legacy without Batali\u2019s baggage.<\/p>\n \u201cWith a talent like Mark, I\u2019m just letting him go,\u201d Starr said last summer<\/a> ahead of the restaurant\u2019s reopening. \u201cI\u2019m giving him the keys and saying, \u2018Just do it.\u2019\u201d The initial plan was for Ladner to oversee culinary operations at both Babbo and Lupa, but, within a few months of Babbo\u2019s official reopening, the Lupa space hit the real-estate market. The move led to speculation that Starr\u2019s enthusiasm for the project had waned, and Lupa remains closed.<\/p>\n The reasons for Ladner\u2019s departure aren\u2019t clear (neither he nor Starr\u2019s restaurant group have responded to requests for comment), but excitement around his return seemed universal among Babbo devotees. There was optimism that the partnership had the potential to redefine the restaurant and restore its good name. \u201cI think Stephen Starr will encourage Ladner to continue to think outside the box,\u201d Ruth Reichl told me last year,\u00a0\u201cand I\u2019m hopeful that he\u2019ll give us some new kind of Italian food that is not traditional.\u201d Ladner introduced dishes like his 100-layer lasagna baked like a Detroit-style pan pizza while also providing fresh takes on Babbo originals like the spicy Two-Minute Calamari, Sicilian Lifeguard Style.<\/p>\n Critical response to the Babbo redux has been tepid. In his review last December, Matthew Schneier noted that the restaurant had lost its old magic<\/a>. Underwhelmed by the food, he was left wondering whether his memories of signature dishes like the beef-cheek ravioli were idealized or if the 2.0 versions were simply inferior renditions. A couple months later<\/a>, Times critic Ligaya Mishan found that many of the early stumbles had been corrected, although some of the cooking remained uneven. \u201cI do not envy Mr. Ladner the multiple masters he has to please, past and present,\u201d she wrote. \u201cI hope he\u2019s able to resist the pressure to keep looking over his shoulder.\u201d<\/p>\n Regardless of the reviews, all indications are that the restaurant has remained full since it reopened.<\/p>\n EAT LIKE THE EXPERTS.<\/p>\n Sign up for the Grub Street newsletter.<\/p>\n Vox Media, LLC Terms and Privacy Notice<\/p>\n