The Cafe is justifiably praised as one of the finest episodes of Seinfeld's third season, all because of two words: Babu Bhatt!
Babu (Brian George) is the owner of a café right across the street outside Jerry's apartment, and Jerry decides to take a look after observing the poor guy's lack of customers for days. Once he sets foot in the café, he makes friends with Babu and even throws in a little business tip: since Babu is from Pakistan, why not serve Pakistani food? As a matter of fact, this makes things even worse, and while Jerry struggles to keep his new acquaintance happy, George has a problem of his own, as his new girlfriend has asked him to take an IQ test and he's so afraid to look stupid (what a surprise) that he asks Elaine to help him cheat.
Bars, cafés and diners have always had an important role in American sitcoms: just think about Arnold's in Happy Days, Cheers in the eponymous comedy or, pots-Seinfeld, Central Perk in Friends. It shouldn't surprise, then, that the writers of the show decided to make fun of one of the very staples the genre is based on. That it works isn't just due to the witty lines or Kramer's flawless presence (by the way, The Cafe marks the first time the studio audience applauds when he makes his entrance); fundamentally, the episode's appeal boils down to Brian George's delightful portrayal of the progressively neurotic Babu, an exercise in mania that culminates in one of the program's many quotable catchphrases: "You're a bad man! Very, very bad!". To paraphrase him, this is an essential chapter of Seinfeld: very, very good.
