BABA in Edinburgh, City of

Had a fantastic time at Baba! The flavors were incredible—so many bold and exciting combinations. The carrots with tahini sauce were a surprise standout, and the sweet potato and pork dishes were delicious! A big shoutout to McKinley—an absolute legend. Fun, engaging, great chat, and spot-on with food recommendations. He really made the experience even better.

Absolutely stunning food, the flavor combinations are really special and so obviously made with care. We were served by Kash who was extremely attentive and made us feel very welcomed. Baba is one of our favorite places to eat in Edinburgh because the food and the service are always exceptional.

This is not a Mediterranean place. It's a modern cuisine place based on Mediterranean cuisine. Amongst the starters, the taramasalata was very basic, not the strongly cod roe thing it should be. However both the Baba ghanoush and the hummus were a cut above any other version I've had, due to how they incorporate other elements, esp the oils to enhance the intensity of aromas. Really, really good. Pita was alright Lamb w haggis was interesting, esp because the texture was homogeneous. Slight crispy on the outside Sea bass main was very lacking. Monkfish was a pleasant tomato sauce version. Lamb Adana was a lot firmer than usual, although could do w more umami. The pork shoulder was done beautifully, tender and has a nice bite, but dressed with a herb based sauce instead of something more aggressive. Lamb shoulder was the highlight, with great gelatinous tenderness and good crispiness. This was memorable. Also the ptitim was so unique and had such an interesting texture, like sago. Dessert was fine too. The caraway cake wasn't too strong in caraway seed aroma but the peeled grapefruit worked nicely For this price, it's unbelievable that we get to taste fine dining techniques. No wonder they're always booked out despite the huge dining room

First, the restaurant is very large. There are many warm rooms. Regarding food we took the Baba menu which offers a selection of their best dishes. It was very good and well spicy. The quantities are largely sufficient.

This was my second time at Baba after visiting a few years ago with friends, and it was just as delicious as I remembered. We had the ‘best of Baba’ set menu and everything was absolutely delicious, especially the slow cooked lamb and ptitim. Special thanks to Kash for her wonderful service, she couldn’t do enough for us and made our anniversary meal extra special with a complimentary dessert. Highly recommend 🙌🏼

Delicious taste, great service. Sabrina was so helpful and friendly. Must try their Moussaka, lamb shoulder and grapefruit cake.

Fabulous meal at Baba last week with a work colleague. Delicious food - could have happily ordered anything on the menu. Great selection of wines and prompt, attentive service. Would definitely visit again.

The most delicious Mediterranean food I ever had! Muhammara was incredibly amazing the beef I had a juicy and fluffy ahhh if I live here probably I will definitely will go every week! Also Sabrina was sooo friendly her tips for the foods was helped so much! Thank you Sabrina and thank you the chefs

We had an absolutely wonderful evening of delicious food and magnificent service. The chefs were impeccable and Bonnie looked after us all evening with a smile. Highly recommend.

Went to Edinburgh for NYE in 2024 and my brother recommended this restaurant to us. Amazing!!! It’s such a great vibe and the food was amazing! We ordered the hummus, marinated chicken the sweet potatoes. We did pay more as we ordered a bottle of wine. Highly recommend this place!!!

Delicious food with beautiful atmosphere! The service was impeccable. We tried 7 small plates on the menu, every single one was unique with modern flavour combinations. The muhammara and babaganoush were insane but my favourite was the cod cheeks with prawn and mergez! Babette steak was a little dry and tough to chew but the buttery lemon sauce made up for it.

I find it disappointing that we cannot share certain mezzés which is the principle of LEBANESE cuisine is sharing Very good food Friendly waitress

Good food, although small portions, too bad we can't share the dishes.

Honestly this was the nicest meal I can remember in the last 30 years. Service was prompt, polite, professional, informative. Food was sooooo good. The variety of the menu was heavenly coz it is so varied and non of us had a problem choosing something. Back to the food. Just fantastic. Maybe I just like the variety and ease you get but it was delicious

Food was really tasty, but small portion sizes. Mezze is obviously small so no complaints there on size but some mezze plates are almost £10 which is a bit silly. The grill plates are not big enough to justify £15-17 but they did taste good. Drinks are very expensive. £7 + 12.5% service charge for a pint of peroni is a joke let’s be honest. Service was friendly but slow.

Amazing, food was great. 1st time visitor but really impressed. Well priced and a lovely place.

Food wasn’t bad but 3 of us felt so ill after eating the falafel do not recommend

This Mediterranean restaurant has twisted all the dishes to make them special, but on the way, they managed to ruin them all: falafel hard as a rock, Hummus with raisins, etc. We didn't like most of the food, but the service was very good.

Beautifully decorated building on George Street, loved the decor and atmosphere. The menu looked really exciting, great selection of dishes based on cuisine of The Levant, with lots of veggie options. Some things seemed a bit strange, for example there was a nice looking « best of Baba » meal with five dishes, but only for the whole table. That was fair enough on the basis it was dishes to share, but we were told if we ordered that, we couldn’t add a side dish from the main menu, as the menus couldn’t be mixed. Strange. The food looked amazing when it arrived, but was so disappointing. The prawns and cod cheeks were cooked nicely, and the lentils in the broccoli dish were good. But everything else in every other dish was seriously overcooked. The broccoli and the cauliflower, cooked to death, lifeless and flavourless. The chicken thighs, overcooked and dry with a hard surface. The lamb and haggis skewers, overcooked and dry, and everything smothered in sauces, which bizarrely all tasted the same. It was like the food had been pre cooked then warmed up and covered in sauces to hide the defects. Such a disappointment.

The BABA restaurant in Edinburgh, top experience! The dishes, inspired by Levantine flavors, were all delicious and well prepared. The welcome and service were top notch, with very friendly and efficient staff. I highly recommend this restaurant for its delicious mezze and impeccable service.

Visited BABA on Friday night for dinner with my boyfriend. We were seated in a quiet corner so the atmosphere was a bit mediocre, but nothing bad! For food we ordered the ‘best of BABA’ set menu and another main from the grill. Service was slow in general - it took around 20/25 minutes for our order to be taken, and our food then also took a while and came out in an odd order. I got one item of my vegetarian mezze, and then around 10 minutes later the separate main (sea bass) we had ordered came out but nothing else. This was frustrating as we wanted to have the fish with the other mains. We flagged this to the waitress who apologised, and the rest of the mezze then appeared and shortly after that the rest of the mains. The food itself was nice and tasty, although a bit over seasoned for my preference. But the service certainly let BABA down sadly - hopefully just a one off!

5 stars all around!! I’m such a foodie and have been to sooo many restaurants, and can say that this is the best restaurant I have been to. The food was phenomenal. The service was fantastic. The decor and atmosphere was lovely. We had a reunion dinner and were laughing the night away, and the waiter had really kindly extended our time by an extra half an hour. The food was so flavourful, fresh and well presented. Blown away. Can’t recommend BABA enough!!!

The food is delicious and the atmosphere and decor is great too. We had a mixture of dishes to share and they were all delicious. The broccoli dish was my favourite but it was all so good.

The food is very tasty and the service was also very good. Definitely recommended during a city trip :)

The service in this place is phenomenal they always make sure you have something at your table and you’re never waiting too long. The food is amazing we always order way too much when we’re here because there’s so much to chose from on the menu. Fabulous experience 100% recommend if you’re having a trip to Edinburgh the food isn’t too expensive either.

The place was gorgeous with the most lovely seating area, and the food was so flavourful and filling, would definitely come back.

BABA had been recommended by a few friends and surpassed expectations. We had the menu explained by our waiter and advised about portion sizes etc. Choosing from the menu was not easy, as everything sounded good. We ordered 2 mezzes, 2 from the grill, a side and a pita. The baba ganoush and cod cheeks with prawns arrived first and were an explosion of delicious flavours. The artichoke with falafel were then served, along with the lamb. Again, both a perfect mix of flavours. We ate at 5pm as we were going to the Lyceum, and there were a fair few diners in the restaurant, which had a good buzz about it. The kitchen is open to the restaurant. Afterwards we had a drink in the adjacent bar area. I will return.

The food was fantastic, service was speedy and Mickinley was a magnificent (and very funny) waiter. Top marks.

Nice restaurant with good atmosphere and great menu.

Baba is a great spot. We are both vegan and love the variety and ability to adjust dishes. The staff are fantastic and knowledgable. One tiny request...a vegan (or vegan-able) sweet please!

Great atmosphere and dinning experiencing. We felt very welcomed and were well informed by our waitress with recommendations. The dinning room is well designed and carefully thought out from the decor, lighting and very comfortable dinning furniture. Food was fantastic and nicely portioned.

Great tasty Middle Eastern food, very reliable

We had a lovely dining experience. The food was delicious and reasonably priced. The atmosphere was intimate but still lively. Above all, our waiter Mckinley was so friendly and gave us great menu recommendations. We left with big smiles on our faces!

Amazing food, with great service specially Kimon, was super helpful and gave great recommendations. Lovely atmosphere as well!! i recommend :)

Remarkable atmosphere and food.....

Absolutely delicious food and great service. Rachael our server was so friendly, explained the menu well and made our dinning experience really relaxed and enjoyable. The food was beautifully prepared and came promptly, we could not fault the food or service and the atmosphere was vibrant even for a weeknight, could not recommend enough!

Fab food and drink and great service. The chicken sharing dish was my favourite.

Ugh, the bread smells burnt. The service is long. Small portions. I wouldn't come back.

Went to BABA on the 29th for my girlfriends birthday, she has a few allergies and the staff (specifically Kimon) went above and beyond to make sure she wouldn’t miss out on anything and even recommended us his favourite dishes. The food was very tasty Lebanese cuisine with a modern grilled style and even incorporated some Scottish dishes, such as the grilled haggis which was my favourite along with the bavette steak and chargrilled broccoli. Open kitchen looked great and the cocktails were also very nice, Would definitely recommend

Really great experience at Baba, Edinburgh. The food had varied ingredients with interesting combinations. Service and atmosphere was excellent too.

Great food and fantastic service at Baba today. I’m particularly grateful to our server who, on hearing I have a particular food intolerance, made a point of talking to the chef and coming back with an annotated menu and some dishes altered so I could eat them. Above and beyond the call of duty and really appreciated. Also great, friendly banter from all the staff who served us today! Cracking place to eat and really tasty food.

The combination of ingredients is quite unique and not what I would typically expect from Arabic cuisine. However, I did enjoy the pleasant ambiance of the restaurant. I feel the prices are a bit high, especially for just appetizers.

Zakharia provided us with an outstanding experience from start to finish. His service was truly impeccable, and he went above and beyond to ensure we were well taken care of. He was attentive, kind, and always had a warm and professional demeanor. What stood out the most was how genuinely nice he was to everyone around, making the atmosphere even more welcoming. His dedication to providing top-notch service did not go unnoticed, and we couldn't be more grateful for the exceptional care he showed. Highly recommend him—he’s an absolute gem! Plus FOOD was really really good highly recommended!

The taste has nothing to do with Lebanese cuisine. We ordered hummus, the taste is canned, and the cauliflower is as if it were boiled, flavored with turmeric, may God bless the blessing, and delicious falafel. I would never recommend it. Not at all, and the price is too high for it. I give it 1 out of 10. The place is clean, honest, and the location is close to the center

Good selection of Mediterranean food choices and a nice wine menu. Service was great and food quality tip top. Pleasant surroundings.

Very expensive for what it is. Beer options really limited. Food portions are terrible value.

We stayed in the Kimpton although we didn’t eat in baba we stayed for drinks at night. Ina was such a lovely friendly girl who was really attentive to us. Very informative with the menu and gave us great recommendations…she made our night. Thank you again

We had a beautiful anniversary meal, with kind attentive staff, wonderful food and a great relaxed dining atmosphere. Thank you Baba! Really enjoyed the carrots!!

Very tasty, very nice staff, thank you very much for everything

The first time in the Edinburgh and the first dinner @ BaBa. Excellent place for a dinner. The mussels with Pitt bread are my favourites and strongly recommended. A sweet and efficient girl staff also made my dinner an unique experience. Only the salad and the beef are too strong in the favour and oil which a little marks were deducted. I will go again definitely in the future.

We had a lovely dinner at BABA! The tapas-style menu was fun to try many dishes. Everything we tried was delicious. They had a great selection of wine as well. The decor was very beautiful as well.

Favourite restaurant in Edinburgh by far! Food to die for, ambience 10/10, staff super attentive. Literally couldn't ask for anything more.

While stopping at the hotel we noticed how busy this restaurant was. We decided to book for our last night. We weren't disappointed. The service was perfect. Food was that of a true mezze. Lots of dishes come out as they have been cooked/prepared. Grilled mussels, chraime and toasted pitta. & Whipped smoked cod roe, macadamia and guindilla chilli. Were the stand-out dishes, both packed with bold flavours. Other items we picked were venison carpaccio whipped feta, kalamata olive, chilli and orange. baharat-spiced nuts. Lemon and chilli Halkidiki olives. Slow-cooked lamb shoulder, ptitim, rose harissa, preserved lemon, mint and pomegranate. Grilled monkfish, spiced sugo, tzatziki and chickpeas. 600g grass-fed côte de boeuf, grilled veg, harissa, zhug, tahini and herbs. Cauliflower shawarma, ras-el-hanout, tahini and rose. Grilled hispi, Yemenite and smoked almonds.

We loved this place. It was our first stop for my birthday trip to Edinburgh and it was a fantastic start. The food was phenomenal, the service was friendly, and the atmosphere was relaxed - just what you want for a nice lunch out. The blend of Scottish and the Levant might sound strange but it works so well. My husband kept saying "the next time we come here, we need to try [insert pretty much everything on the menu]". They even very kindly gave us a complimentary dessert for my birthday! Suffice it to say, we may go back to Edinburgh purely for Baba. Go, book in advance, you won't be disappointed.

The food was very good, the atmosphere and service were also excellent.

The place is very good, excellent atmosphere and spectacular food! Without a doubt one of the best restaurants for Middle Eastern or Lebanese food!!!

If you’re visiting Edinburgh, Baba is a must-try! Their Mediterranean small plates are inspired by the vibrant flavors of the Levant, and let me tell you – it’s rare that a menu completely blows me away, but Baba did just that. Every dish was perfectly balanced, with the smoky depth from the charcoal grill blending seamlessly with the fragrant herbs and spices. Honestly, 10/10 – don’t miss this one! We enjoyed the following: Freshly grilled pitta Hummus Lamb Adana and haggis skewers Duke of berkshire pork neck Slow-cooked lamb shoulder Blackened sweet potato Charred cos lettuce

Amazing food, second visit in as many days. Service was top notch from McKinley. Accommodating, funny and attentive.

Visited twice whilst visiting Edinburgh for NYE. Both experiences were outstanding. Delicious food, generous portions and great friendly service from McKinley.

We had a wonderful dining experience at Baba on our 1st night in Edinburgh. The cocktails were great, the food was very good! The carrots and the buffalo mozzarella were very yummy! The pork was very phenomenal and that green sauce. They forgot to ring in our cauliflower snack. The service was very good as well.

Had mckinley as our waiter. The food and service were all top notch

Loved Baba. As a guest at the Kimpton Charlotte Square, I dined and drank there several times! Pare and Robbie provided fantastic service! My favorite dishes were the Haggis Skewers, The Cauliflower Fritters, and the Hummus. They had an amazing holiday themed craft cocktail menu, and I tried almost all of them. Favorites were the Pear Margarita and the Cinnamon White Russian. Will definitely be back when in Edinburgh again! 🎄✨🥃❤️

Everything is charred and smoky, based on two visits five years apart. So much so that all five in our group felt it prevented the food's natural flavor from being experienced in December 2024. We mentioned it to the server and she said she'd pass along the feedback.

Food was so good . I would definitely go again

Just visited baba as a solo diner my server Zach was amazing, very friendly and gave me great vegetarian recommendations according to my spice tolerance. Every dish I had was better than the last and I enjoyed watching the chefs work away. Scrumptious!

It was our first time here & we thoroughly enjoyed our meal 👍 We were given good advice and recommendations

We came here tonight after kindly receiving a gift voucher and oh my days are we glad we did. The food was incredible, we started with the baba ganoush and flatbreads, then had the crispy cauliflower with a main of bavete steak, monkfish and a side of the sweet potato dish. My palate was loving every bite! The dishes were intense and so full of flavour, everything complimented well and if I had room I would have ordered everything all over again. I also want to give a massive shout out to McKinlay who was our server and he was so funny, very attentive and when we thought about ordering his recommendations were spot on. I would come back for his service alone!

Great service - attentive and friendly. A lovely atmosphere too. The food was tasty enough, but the bread was rather tough and not so pleasant. I also felt that it was slightly overpriced for what we got ( we had a platter for 3). We gave a tip of 10% but a 12.5% discretionary tip had been added and the waitress came back to tell us that the Bill was short. Gave a while new meaning to the term 'discretionary '..

The food is a failed attempt to make it Lebanese/Mediterranean. Tried the best of Baba, and I could not believe how disappointing everything was. The haggis mergues and babaganus were very average, the mozzarella tasted like normal mozzarella, it can't be a main dish, especially if you don't know what to do with it. The lamb was dry and the big grains under it tasted like kid's food. And to finalize, the coliflower was again kid's food, mayonnaise with coliflower. It was mostly big word, but when eaten, it was bland average food. Also portions were extremely confusing as some plates were big and others small. As it is a tasting menu and not a sharing menu, in no way shape or form, you can serve it like they did.

Baba is my favourite restaurant when in Edinburgh. Found it by accident a few years ago and return at every possible occasion. I have taken my friends who have never been and also highly recommend for anyone to go if they are in the city. My favourite dish is the lamb. The cauliflower is delicious as well. Until next time Baba.

We ordered the menus thinking it would be easier for a big group but turned out more complicated as the plates were shared so we didn’t know who gets what and what portions. If I wanted to share I would have ordered the small plates and shared. The flavours are not at all Mediterranean or Middle Eastern especially the mayonnaise grilled cauliflower dish!!! The lamb was dry and over cooked. The baba ghannouch not thick enough. Very disappointing eating experience. Would not recommend.

Can't have gluten, but they gave me gluten bread. I had to dash home to take my meds and sit out the effects. If I could give it a - 5, I would. Won't be returning.

Amazing food, so many great veggie options, McKinley looked after us so well, would be back every week if we were local. The dark chocolate crémeux was one of the best desserts we’ve ever had.

My go-to place whenever I come to Edinburgh. Every item is a delight of its own, especially the mussels. Lovely service and ambience.

absolutely delicious! very good at catering for gluten allergy. well priced plates considering the how interesting everything was and exceptional taste + the sides are massive. only thing was it was a little empty. falafel and the brussel sprouts were the favourites

Tasty food, pricing represents pretty good value. Restaurant ambience is really nice. The coley was maybe not to our taste, but we liked everything else. Perhaps overall a slightly different style of execution of some of the dishes than you’d get elsewhere - flavors are perhaps abit heavier, which can be good depending on your preference. Totally worth a visit if you’re in Edinburgh.

My daughter treated me to a meal at this restaurant for the first time. The food was great but the service let the restaurant down. We waited at least 10” in a queue to be greeted and taken to our table. The waitresses slapped our meals down on the table instead of placing and rushed off. I was trying to say that I had ordered the lamb but she just rushed off. The service ruined our dining experience which was very disappointing for a restaurant in central Edinburgh!!

Loved the sharing dishes.Very tasty. Great atmosphere

Everything about this place was first class. Excellent service, delicious food and great atmosphere. Definitely be back

Great concept, inspired by Levantine cuisine, you will find some typical common Middle Eastern dishes and some other creative untraditional dishes with Arabic flavours. Great place for sharing food, loved the grilled dishes, top quality ingredients and very enjoyable experience. Superb service and atmosphere.

We had a lovely dinner here while visiting Edinburgh. The place is massive and lacks a bit of soul. It was hard to get anyone's attention. The food is amazing. We had a mix of meze and grilled plates. I think this is a place for big groups. Being just two of us, we felt a bit strange sitting surrounded by loud groups.

lovely, lovely food at a spacious, cozy location for special occasions (at a very fair price too!) a good mix of veggie and meat plates for sharing.

Great food, lovely place. We had the fixed menu - so if you are stuck go for it, you won't regret it.

Great place. The lamb shoulder with pomegranade seeds, yogurt and sour vegetables was the best lamb dish I've ever had. The dessert and rose tea were also perfect.

A beautiful restaurant worth a visit. The staff is very friendly. There are various types of food. You should be careful if you are looking for halal meat and chicken because it is not available. There are many vegetarian options. -I tried the following dishes: 1. The hummus was very delicious 2. Falafel is delicious and crunchy 3. Muhammara is delicious, but 🌶️ spicy. Caution should be given to those who do not like spicy food. 4. Zahra shawarma is marinated and grilled flower. Water is provided free of charge.

Every single dish was absolutely delicious: the haggis skewers + meatballs, baba ghanoush, lamb shoulder, buffalo mozarella + cauliflower. Great ambiance and service. Now one of my favorite restaurants.

Lovely lunch with a friend. We shared delicious plates, felt unhurried and not neglected (our table was tucked away in a corner). Staff were friendly and welcoming. Great spot

Unfortunately, I found the quality of the food to be below expectations, and I also observed unsatisfactory behavior from some members of staff. pRegrettably, based on this experience, I do not intend to return and cannot recommend this services to others.

12.5% service charge for drinks when I'm stood at the bar? Nah.

I’m Turkish so I am quite familiar with the cuisine. Count on my words that you won’t regret anything here. Best food I’ve had in Edinburgh.

I was disappointed with my recent visit to this restaurant. Although the listed closing time is 12 am, when I arrived at 9 pm, I was told the kitchen had already closed. It was frustrating and inconvenient, as I had planned my evening around having dinner here. It would be much better if they updated their hours to reflect the actual kitchen closing time, or at least informed guests more clearly to avoid such misunderstandings.☺️

It belongs to the Kimpton Hotel, where we stayed, had breakfast and ate there. The service at breakfast was slow, the water we asked for at the beginning was brought at the end, when we had finished. The breakfast buffet was quite good. The dishes we ordered to eat were quite complete and the cuisine was different from normal. The mussels, as in all of Scotland, are delicious.

Very good food and excellent service.

I used to like going there but last time we had dreadful service (not just incompetent but rude with it). This means I will not be going there again.

My wife and I had a great time here! We were looked after by a gentleman named McKinlay (apologies if that wrong and also spelt incorrectly). He had great recommendations and was very chatty with us which was welcomed. All the food and cocktails we had were delicious. I’d recommend the pork neck and slow cooked lamb for your mains The only very minor thing is that I ordered a Whisky sour which never arrived, not sure if I paid for it either as I didn’t see a receipt.

Fantastic food, superb service and a great atmosphere. What more do you want ? Highly recommended!!

The restaurant is stunning! Everything from the interior, through the service, ending with the food is just next level. Very reasonably priced too! It was recommended to order a few plates per person but we were completely fine with 1/2 mezze’s and 1 side each. This said, I wish we could fit in more to try all of the lovely dishes. Special thanks to Kinley for looking after us :)

Very cozy and nice restaurant. Not expensive and definitely an enjoyable food experience. Our server Zak was so nice and knowledgeable!

Felt pressured into accepting the bolted on optional service charge. Ruined the night having to ask for it to be removed. Food was great.

Never answer your phone ? Have a booking and trying to discuss some additional requests.