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Babylon Cafe has terrific food. But this one is closed due to the demolition of the building.
Try one of their other 2 locations in the West End when you're hankering for a falafel or a shwarma (or do as I do, and get the shwarma with falafel). You won't regret it.
Happy dining.
Everytime I walk by this place, there is always a line-up.
I was finally able to try it last week, and bonus for me - no lineup! I originally wanted to try their chicken schwarma wrap, but at the last minute, changed my order to falafel wrap. The owner said it was a wise choice, mentioning, "You can eat falafel every day, but not chicken. Chicken is too much sometimes."
He proceeded to grab a few balls and stuck them in the micro. He then loaded up my pita with homous, veggies and sauce and squished the falafel balls in.
I was on my way. At first, I expected the falafel to be dry from the microwaving, but my wrap couldn't be more delicious! I'm craving it as I write this review.
It's a great meal and pick-me-up before a day of downtown, not to mention how cheap it is. My falafel wrap was under $5.
This place is pretty much a staple on the Robson & Granville corner. The chicken shawarma is great and they are fairly generous with the meat portions. They have a nice selection of different veggies and pickles and nice flavourful sauces to finish it off. The wraps are a little under $7 and are pretty worth it considering it's the same price as a McDonalds combo, but more wholesome and "real" tasting. The line-ups can be long. If there are 5 people ahead of you, you can expect to wait 10 to 15 minutes. And the place is very small. Just enough space for a single file line to the register, so when you get your wrap and pay, it can get awkward shuffling your way out of the store. The wait is probably the biggest downside, but there are times when no one is in line. The workers are generally friendly enough to you. I don't expect much from a take out stand, and they haven't really been that rude to me. I just take it that they're busy and that it's nothing personal.
I remember eating here for the first time maybe about 2 years back. Started having the veggie wrap, then to the falafel wrap. Incredibly yummy but without all the pickles. It really takes away the taste of the entire wrap.
Unfortunately, they always have these lineups it seems and at this location they don't have any seating. The service is a little slow sometimes but understandable. It's tiny and the menu is definitely limited.
Super filling. Super yummy.
I have eaten here three time in the last 2 weeks. The chicken schwarma (sp?) is amazing, huge portions with all that salad, rice and potatoes and abundant chicken with tzaziki and hot sauce, it is the best,I love this stuff and wondered why I've never ventured in before until recently. Don't be daunted by the line up, it is SO worth it!
I live in Richmond but whenever i get the chance of going to downtown, I always come here to have mouth watering shawermas. Juicy, succulent peieces of met with just the right amount of veggies always seems to satisfy my hunger. The staff, I agree are not always friendy but what do you expect , they work in a small cooped up place and exposed to intense heat.
First time to try it , food not bad, but pretty sure it's my last time .
This day, I tried the lamb shwarma... the sign clearly says ' 7.xx ' .
I paid them ( 20$ bill ) . Then the cashier took a loonie ( which was supposed to be part of my change ) from the cash register and chucked it into a plastic container that was sitting on the countertop.
I thought that was my change... so I reached in to get it ....
as I was about to reach in , the cashier man stopped me and said those ( the money in the plastic container ) are TIPS for ' them ' ( the person wrapping the donair ? the person cutting the meat at the back ? the cashier himself ?? I duNNo ... )
Then he gave me the rest of my change ... which was 10.xx ~
Lived over 30 years on this planet, never once had to pay TIPS ( service charge ?? ) for a street food joint with no seats , no water no waiter ...
it's like having to pay TIPS / service charge at KFC / McDonalds... ridiculous !!
this restaurant really put me off. the service was very rude and the meat was very dry. and while waiting since the staff was so rude i had to wait even though there was no line at the time, i noticed the place was dirty and things were on the floor. and i didn't finish the doniar. i will not return.
I go to this location quite often for the chicken shawarma. It is by far one of the best. Really juicy chicken with the sauces and veggies taste amazing. Haven't tried the lamb as chicken seems to be the most popular. They don't carry beef though, which is too bad. It's crossed off on their sign with one long piece of tape.
There is always a line up and there's not space for dine in. You order, pay, get food and leave. Very crowded. They take a number of orders and it becomes an assembly line. I noticed that they aren't consistent with the veggies. I ordered a chicken shawarma with grilled veggies, but there was barely any of the veggies for the extra money I paid. However, they are really good the chicken portion. On other occassions, they weren't putting much lettuce or tomatoes. But for those willing to ask for more, they are willing to add the extra requested veggies (e.g. more lettuce plz).
The long line ups are usually a good sign... Good food at good prices mean people are willing to waste their time in a lineup... These guys are masters at Shawarmas. As other have mentioned, come here for a takeout since the place is usually too small to accomodate sit-down diners... it's really crowded... The chicken and lamb shawarmas are a thing of beauty. The owner even puts an aluminum foil on the chicken/lamb to keep the heat concentrated on the surface of the shawarma... that's a man on a mission... Spices are amazing... Every time I come back I become more addicted to their cuisine.
If you come from Halifax or Ottawa, you'll appreciate Babylon cafe... It's hard to explain, but for those of you from those cities will understand what a good shawarma represents for the true fast food foodie...
OK, I guess it’s not fair to penalize a place for being too good. I resisted putting on a review in for quite some time but this place really satisfies. I don’t get there as often as I would like but I love the chicken shawarma. The combination of taste and texture just keeps you eating and eating and eating....Yes it's busy but the taste and value are outstanding.
This place has the best chicken as far as lebanese meat on a rotating stick goes. The sides are great and you get large portions for about 6 something a plate. They have alot of vegetarian options as well. The place is tiny and not pretty to look at but there is always a constant stream of people which is a good sign because it means the rotating meat doesnt stick around long enough to get old. I would suggest getting your food to go since the seating isn't comfy at all. The service doesnt come with a smile but they get the job done. The one thing that blew my mind is they didnt have any shwarmas just plates of food hence the name gone baby-lon (gone baby gone) Because the whole time i was wondering where are the shwarmas? Overall a must try if your in the area.
I was reluctant to share this restaurant here as there is always a queue for food. However, I learned today that they have opened another outlet 2 doors away. Now, I have no qualms about reviewing this place here.
On certain days, you can smell the grilling chicken as far away as Seymour, almost 2 blocks away. This is a no-nonsense place. You order your food, pay, and walk out to eat. The place is so small that there is no room to stand and eat inside.
Frankly, the chicken shawarma (???) is the only thing I have tried here, and it is excellent. Most places will cut the meat and put them in a food warmer (where the meat starts to dry up) waiting for customers, but not this place. Even if there is a queue, they will not cut the meat off the grill until the meat is perfectly cooked (read: slightly burnt). The meat is always juicy and crunchy (the burnt part), the way I like it.
Service: Always friendly and efficient.
Ambiance: When the food is this good, who cares about the ambiance?
Return? Most definitely.
This place is good and I come here often. The line ups are usually long too so that tells you something. Nonetheless they have clearly skimmed their veggies though and the wrap seems to be getting smaller and smaller with time. I guess with that many customers it doesn't really matter to them. I found 2 other spots that serves a bigger portion and much more sauce on Granville. I will still frequent babylon but if they skim any more or burn anymore of that chicken i might have to permanently switch places. .
Everytime i've pass by this little store on robson street, i always love the smell the roasting meat slowing roasting. Therefore, i finally decided to give it a try. I ordered the chicken shawarma and it was very tasty. At first i thought the chicken would be super dry, because of the slow roasting but it turned out very juicy and moist. Infact i liked it so much that i went back two weeks later for anothe chicken shawarma. Next time, i would like to try the falafel wrap!
So I decided to check this place out based on some recommendations from friends and ordered the falafel. The size of the wrap was very big, much larger than I expected. The falafel patties were very tasty however,the downfall is the veggies, it was mainly lettuce, along with some tomato, cucumbers and peppers. I opted to not include the pickles and hot peppers.
Overall its a decent falafel very filling and good value at $5.95 but nothing spectacular. Next time I'll try the Shawarma, maybe that'll be better.
Have seen the very long line ups for quite some time now.
Went finally a few months ago and had the Chicken Schwarma with the grilled veges.
Went back again last Saturday with fiance and again had the same thing. Still very tasty. Enough filling and seasoning. Only complaint was that the amount of chicken is not always evenly distributed between orders. Chicken was a little bit dry at the ends but it tasted really good. Definitely satisfying and the price is right. Will go again but next time will have to try the lamb.
There are actually two Babylon Cafes and they are almost side by side. One offers beef and chicken schwarmas and the other offers the same items but as platters. You get value for your dollars and it tastes good.
This is the place to stop when in the Robson area for a quick bite. They have awesome kebabs (lamb, chicken, beef) and make it the way you want, asking you what veggies you want to add. Excellent place, highly recommended!
I was such a fan of Babylon and got a take-out atleast once a week. Last week there were stones in the Khuskhus and the food was hardly edible. The falafel was rubbery and the salad was not fresh anymore. Has the cook changed?
I thought I had bad luck, but my significant other complained about his chiken shawarma too. Such a pity!
I didn't try a lot of shawrma places in van; however, this is the best by far
keep in mind, it is not an authentic middle eastern shawrma especially in the way its prepared and what they put in the pita; its sort of canadian shawrma
but its quite good...
especially the lamb, tastes like authentic one. they are doing a good job in lamb shawrma
| 1. | Robson Market (1.3 km) |  |
| 2. | Denman (1.7 km) | |
| 1. | Aladdins Shawerma Cafe (1 m) | |
| 2. | Kaboom Box, The (43 m) |  |
| 3. | Lennox Pub, The (45 m) |  |
| 4. | India Gate (48 m) |  |
| 5. | A & W (49 m) | |
| 6. | Cafe Crepe (49 m) | |
| 7. | Starbucks (52 m) | |
| 8. | Burger King (55 m) | |
| 9. | Taf's Cafe and Gallery (59 m) | |
| 10. | Shuraku (67 m) | |
