BABA in Edinburgh, City of

Delicious and interesting food and drink choices! Enjoyed everything!

This is our first time here. The manager was not very nice. And a bit aggressive. I’m an expert on food but I could not understand The food is from which place !!! It’s not Lebenese. It’s not Turkish. It’s Not Indian. They don’t even have kebab !!! The tourists come eat and they only come once. We ordered a 600 grams. steak. It was not close to 460 grams. I ordered medium well. They bring the steak. Medium Rare When we complain they took the steak. Bring it after 15 min. Burnet. And the lady told me that this is new but she didn’t tell us yet truth. Any how. We didn’t have a good experience. Hope they will improve.

First class in every aspect - enough said❣️

We had amazing meal in the salon! McKinley was an amazing server and was so lovely, helpful, and friendly! Totally went above and beyond!

Absolutely Delicious! The best dips I've tasted in Scotland. Our waiter was also super knowledgeable about the food and very friendly. Will definitely return :)

Great food and service but perhaps worth ordering one dish more than they recommend, due to the portion sizes being a little small. Great food otherwise and definitely would return.

I'm sad to admit it but the food was disappointing, especially with these prices. I had high hoped after reading all good reviews and seeing stunning photos of the dishes. Restaurant is really beautiful inside and the staff is super friendly, but with these prices and reviews you expect to enjoy your meals and we didn't. The worst part was the hummus - bland flavour, we couldn't taste any cumin, but instead we were overwhelmed with the melted margarine flavour - I'd be very surprised if that was real butter, because fried butter usually tastes and smells delicious and that just smelled and tasted like margarine. Other dishes were ok. They also charge you additional 12,5% service which adds up to high prices for food as simple as hummus, pitas and vegetables. I'm not saying that the place is terrible or anything, but it's a city where you can eat delicious humus and falafels made by immigrants for muuuch cheaper. I know that restaurant prices must be higher because of the local and service, and honestly I was happy to go and spend money, I just wish food quality was worth my money and it absolutely wasn't.

The food was fantastic. The atmosphere in the dining room was great and the staff very attentive and knowledgable. Cant recommend enough

Friendly service & super tasty meal, we ate the "best of BABA" from the Eat Out Edinburgh offer and it was plenty food! Amazing BABA ganoush & lamb shoulder. Thank you again 😊

I love vegetables. Anyone who knows me knows this about me. But what BABA do with vegetables is of another echelon of taste experience. I literally do not understand how they can make any humble vegetable (be it brocolli, cos lettuce, or sweet potato) sing the way they do! Witchcraft! In the absolute best sense. And it's also a super welcoming, cosy but aesthetically delightful place to be. Cannot recommend anywhere to eat more highly!

I go to BABA for the food and, honestly, it's absolutely incredible and very reasonably priced indeed. I've been multiple times and have never had anything other than great experiences. The diversity of the menu is fantastic, so it's great for both meat eaters and vegetarians and the staff are attentive, kind and friendly. Decor and atmosphere are great too and it makes for excellent dining. I'm from Fife but whenever I meet someone in Edinburgh, BABA is often my go-to restaurant. Middle-Eastern food at its finest.

Truly excellent food, great flavors, beautiful ingredients. I would recommend to a friend without hesitation.

Very good food, cocktails could be improved, not much flavour coming through. Depending where you're seated, you can end up with very low seats which are very uncomfortable after a while! Also, the service charge(12.5%..!!!) is added directly onto your bill and this was not highlighted by our waiter... who came straight with the paying machine, which meant we didn't have time to check the bill .. it spoilt a bit the experience tbh :(

Be more like Abby! Absolute queen! Best dins, best service, best falafel. Really accommodating to our needs. No i’s no e’s but Abby is the reason Y! Also a special mention to McKinley who talked us through the shawarma. UnforgeEATttable!

Should be a Michelin star restaurant

Wow! The hispi cabbage and baba ghanoush (so smokey) were especially tasty 😋 The only thing I didn't like as much were the falafels (kind of dry) but the beetroot hummus under them was great. Surprisingly the veggie dishes (who knew cauliflower could be so delightful) trumped the pork and chicken ones although they were still decent.

Amazing food and great service. Most things could be made gluten free and they had a gluten free guide.

Marinated Chicken thighs 10/10 Slow cooked lamb shoulder 10/10 Charred hispi cabbage 6/10 Wonderful experience ✨✨

Great restaurant with Middle East spices and dishes. Reccomended to have several dishes for the table to share.

I recently went to Baba to try their Eat Out Edinburgh 2024 menu and was very disappointed. We ordered 2 set menus worth £55 and were served 5 plates to share which were of the same size or smaller than their standard dishes. Should we ordered these from the regular menu we would have paid £40.25. The food was tasty and service was OK but please be aware that the set menu is a scam and you are better off ordering from the standard menu.

Exceptional Lebanese food. We got set meal c which was delicious. Highly recommended!

Delicious food, fresh and well priced. Amazing atmosphere.

Disappointed high prices and absolutely not worth it at all

Simply delicious. We were there twice because we liked it so much. The first time we loved especially the octopus, prawn skewer and the cauliflower shawarma. The second time we had the hummus, burnt harissa butter and the whipped manouri which were just delicious! Really recommend coming here. The service was also amazing

Food: great. Ambiance: great. Service: great! I loved this place. Dishes are not authentic but it is an ok fusion, smart mixes.

The food in Baba was incredible, didn't taste 1 bad dish out of the many that our table ordered. Only reason it's not 5 stars overall was over a little confusion/delay in getting our table ready on time. However once seated the service was great. Would have no problems returning to sample more of the menu.

Exquisite food. Friendly staff. Great atmosphere. And very correct prices. 100% recommended

Best food I have ever had in the U.K.! We ordered the marinated chicken thigh, spiced red lentils, plum, yoghurt and mint. The flavors are a party on the palette the presentation is just as festive and vibrant. I never had chicken and plum together but it worked wonderfully! We also ordered slow-cooked lamb shoulder which was incredibly tender and flavor! Our waitress Aby was so sweet and helpful. She gave us great recommendations and was very personable and gracious. ,

Best restaurant in Edinbrugh! The food is amazing and full of new flavors. Superb culinary experience in a very chill setting. We arrived without a reservation and the waitress made us wait at the bar until a table became available (around 15 minutes, so quite quickly). A bit pricey but worth it!

We ordered bunch of meals but I personally enjoyed eating their slow cooked lamb, ox and finch. Great service!

Great culinary experience. Lovely atmosphere, tasty food with rich flavors, friendly service and very well priced. Big portions. Well priced too. Highly recommended!

Super nice place and good food,

Delicious hummus and baba ganoush!

Nice and friendly....be careful with the translation of the menus!!

Food was great, diverse menu with authentic flavours

The food is the most disappointing!! Mezze's were very bland aburgiene dish Babaganoush was mash to death you almost didint know what's inside ! Hummus and all the others doesn't have any wow factor to it I was expecting much more . My friend had chicken thighs it was very dry she didn't eat at all my lamb was nice but was such a small portion we paid around £55 each and not worth the experience sorry Baba you failed! Staff is nice and friendly though waiter said we won't be paying for the chicken still we ended up paying for it!!

For the first time, I left feeling sad. Food was okay. But it wasn't perfect like the ones I ate before. I think Chef was not the same chef. My friend couldn't eat her food. She ordered chicken and said she couldn't eat it. Because the chicken was dry and tasteless. Thereupon, Staff came and apologised,saying that it would not be added to the account and an apology was made. But of course that wasn't the case. When the bill request and everyone paid a different amount. And we couldn't understand the situation. It was a bad experience for us.

Amazing food, every dish was spectacular. It’s a mezze styled restaurant so expect to order 2-3 dishes each. The restaurant recommends to share too.

Baba Restaurant. What an explosion of umami on your taste buds. An unforgettable dinner highly recommended to those that enjoy mid eastern cuisine with a twist. Nothing is just plain. The chef thought every burn, grilled spice added through. from the cauliflower fritters to the dark chocolate cherry dessert. Abbey you were a stunning waitress. A real jewel for Baba. Your recommendations were spot on. And for those that like the alcoholic side. The honey & fig margarita was a stunner. Complimenting the meal we have chosen the Cullinan white wine. Yes it was the cheapest but it is highly recommended to compliment the fruit between the spices and pomegranate exploding with your taste buds. Thank you for a wonderful 57 date night in Edinburgh all the way from Ireland.

This review is for the restaurant, not the hotel. Went out for lunch for the first time here - high expectations. They catered well for dietary requirements, although the server didn’t know much about some items (eg she said hummus contains dairy - when/if it’s original it shouldn’t). We were sharing baba ganoush, I’m gluten free so the server asked if we wanted a non gf bread for my husband - so we said yes, without being informed, found out when we got the bill we were being charged for it. Absolutely fine with that, but would be nice if we were informed when making the decision. We ordered the chuck-eye steak - again was not asked what the preference was, so was quite surprised that it came rare. I am a medium kind of person. Decided to eat it anyway, 3 different slices, so chewy as there were a lot of tendon part that I had to spat them out to a napkin one after another. When server came over to check on us, I mentioned the steak was chewy and tough, her response was ‘I’m really sorry, we’re trying out a new supplier’. There is also a 12.5% service charge that’s not voluntary (at least not that it was communicated). All and all it’s decent, but not anywhere near expected. Service could’ve been better, especially if the server is aware we weren’t happy with the quality of one of the food.

One of my favorite places to grab a drink and small plates with friends. The interior is beautiful, there’s so much seating, and the staff are wonderful! Had the honey and fig margarita which was *chefs kiss*

Amazing experience. We did not have a reservation and the waitress make it happen for us! Amazing food, with great variety of food. Please if you are visiting Edinburgh, come here for a dinner.

Lo he visitado para comer con amigos y celebrar la amistad. Hemos recibido un buen trato en un lugar especial ( un pequeño saloncito). Como merendero me quedo con el postre. Nunca lo había probado: chocolate fresa con tahina y helado de vainilla con fresa.

Lovely Lebanese themed food with great atmosphere.

We turned up without a reservation and the front of house kindly sat us down, beautifully cooked and fresh and very friendly staff. The flavours was very welll put together and not heavy carb based meals

Birthday meal out with my wife. Tufest bit of shoe leather I've ever paid good money for. Very disappointed I'd heard such good things.

Superb Restaurant. Really Nice food, Great décor and overall great experience. The Food is amazing.

The food and ambience was lovely! The only point of improvement were the acoustics of the space.

Cool atmosphere but the food was mediocre

Such a nice restaurant! Really good value for all the dishes we got too. The whipped manouri and cauliflower fritters are a must order

Fabulous food and wonderful service. MacKinlay was both knowledgeable and helpful as well as full of fun.

Second visit. First time great food, service and experience. This time awful food, service and experience. Okay 3rd of January but… Burnt food. Not in the restaurant proper although booked weeks previously , spa guests passing through in dressing gowns and dogs. Recommended to so many people in November. This year. Avoid.

If you're looking for Lebanese food, this is not the right one for you. I brought my girlfriend for the first time to Edinburgh and we decided to have great food for our last evening. As a Lebanese expat, I was extremely disappointed... The waitress stated that its a Lebanese inspired menu - I would understand that maybe some dishes would be westernised but not a single dish was accurate as its supposed to be not even the ingredients. I also heard two tables reaching out to the waitress stating that its not accurate... BABA is another restaurant labeled to be Lebanese just for attracting customers.

It’s always good to discover something a little different and this place certainly is. The menu is great, and all dishes were really tasty and with generous portions and the setting is great with cool decor, music and atmosphere. We were served by four members of staff and each one was brilliant, friendly and efficient.

My foodie younger brother said that Baba was the best restaurant in Edinburgh in his opinion. The food, service and atmosphere are great for my January first dinner. I simply went with my server’s suggestions as I love Lebanese food. Check it out if you like great Mediterranean food, quality service and a wonderful atmosphere. I have not been in Edinburgh long enough to try more restaurants, but Baba is definitely one I recommend you try.

Baba Edinburgh ist echt ein Erlebnis! Tolles Essen, super nette Bedienungen und ein sehr angenehmes und ruhiges Ambiente. Es schließt sich eine Bar und ein Hotel und man kann sehr ungezwungen zwischen den Bereichen wechseln. Nochmal, der Service ist echt spitze!

Unfortunately, my recent visit to this restaurant left much to be desired, particularly regarding the hummus. It pains me to say that it was the worst I've ever had. I always believed it was impossible to encounter subpar hummus, but this experience proved me wrong. Even store-bought hummus surpasses what was served here. It's disheartening when a dish so commonly enjoyed falls short, and I hope the establishment takes steps to improve this aspect of their menu.

My girlfriend wanted to celebrate her 25th birthday here. She made a booking two months in advance. An email confirmation was sent regarding the booking, however on the day of the booking they were unable to seat us. They called 20 minutes prior to the booking to inform us there has been a mistake and that now they were unable to seat us. This is not the first time I’ve experienced bad service from this place. The staff is not very helpful in trying to accommodate walk-ins either.

We had a nice dinner. We were pleasantly surprised by how original the food was and the meal was very enjoyable. We did ask for some specifics ( no coriander ) and although waiter said he would make sure there was none in our plate we still found plenty of it in every plate. It happens, no big deal but i was still a bit frustrated. The place is very pretty and we were well seated.

Amazing place. Amazing food. Amazing chilled atmosphere. I would highly recommend for a meze, laid back zibe.

For 2 courses we were there for about 2.5 hours. Took a while for each course to come out. For what we received was ok, the mezze to start was pleasant but wouldn’t rant about them. The main grill items are FAR too overpriced for what they are. £15 ish for 4 small slices of pork and £16 give or take for good quality lamb but bulked out with cous cous. The service was lack luster and felt like we were an inconvenience. To finish, our table was fully cleared bar my drink as they were expecting another table within minutes, we walked out and we saw rather a good amount of free tables. Was a beautiful setting but really couldn’t justify the cost or the poor service.

The food is just amazing!!! Highly recommended. The staff is friendly and the service is excellent 👌 Will definitely come again. We ordered - Haggis Kibbeh - Baba Ganoush - Venison Carpaccio - Artichokes - slow cooked Lamb Shoulder And all the food was delicious

Great food, Lebanese wine and a waiter from Brittany. Will be back.

Such a great place to go with a group! Perfect dishes for sharing and enjoying together. Honestly struggled to pick what to have! Highlights included the hispi cabbage, the hummus and the chocolate and tahini dessert. Would highly recommend.

Go here if you are ever in Edinburgh!! Delicious menu, excellent service and beautiful atmosphere. The plates were perfectly portioned; I recommend getting a mezze plate, a grill plate and a side. I sat at the communal table and had a great conversation with some people. Will definitely be back!

Just THE best restaurant in Edinburgh, in my humble opinion. Booking, service and food exceptional. Thank you, Baba, for making a special day even moreso.

Highly disappointed in the meat humms The meat is burned and hard and when the waiter asks me what don’t you like about it? I said the meet is burned he said oh no it’s crispy!!🙂

Brilliant place to have a dinner for a large group, food was all excellent and plentiful.

The food was ok (they burned my steak), but everything was destroyed by the service. We were there on not a busy night. We waited 1h for smal sides. All my sides, mains and food was brought to us, my partners food was all missing. The staff cannot organize themselves enough to actually serve stuff to you so every party member can enjoy their food in relatively the same time. They say it is "how they do it" but if you order of the menu a dish and a side for each person you would expect them to be served together. This is not how you do it, this is you not knowing how to organise your kitchen. First for one person an entree after a dish, then dessert while another person is awkwardly waiting for their own food... Also the pita bread was served in a paper bag (such a waste)

I wonder how you consider some dishes as Lebanese food. Menu very limited

Lovely decor and ambience, good service and great food! The waitress was really attentive and friendly. The first one explained what the menu was about etc. The only reason I gave 4 stars for the service was because they got one of our orders wrong so we had to wait a bit for them to re-do the dish and then I think they must’ve forgot we ordered ice cream for the children because when it came it was really melted and didn’t contain honeycomb pieces like it said on the menu. But other than that, the food we got was really good - well seasoned and delicious.

Frenetic (in a good way), quirky decor (also in a good way), friendly service, and fabulous food. I'm vegetarian, and although the vegetarian food offerings from Edinburgh restaurants has certainly improved over the 40 years that I've lived here, it still tends to be pretty uninspiring: bland and samey. But Baba: just wow. Well thought-through, very generously-sized, and inviting-looking platters of deliciousness. For me, the two standouts were the crisp cauliflower fritters - insides tender but still with a bit of bite - with zhug, and the charred peppers with whipped feta and preserved lemons. The chef went to the bother of including 4 or 5 different varieties of pepper, all with different textures and different levels of heat. This attention to detail turned what would already have been a delicious dish into something truly sensational. I was slightly worried about whether - as is sometimes the case with Levantine food - there would be too much cumin and/or pomegranate molasses for my taste. I was deliriously happy with my choices, and can't wait to return to try the 7 or 8 other vegetarian choices on their menu.

Really good food and unique atmosphere.

Let me just preface this by saying the food was not the issue. The food was delicious and it’s got some of my favourite dishes I have ever had. BUT, the service was awful. Firstly, we got stuck in a corner back room (which is fine) except there was a huge party behind us and once they were seated, our server basically forgot we existed. We had to hunt her down to order or ask for anything. Secondly, I asked for a plain soda water and they charged me £3.50 for some fancy one I didn’t ask for. Thirdly, we asked for extra pitas when we were done with our meal as we had quite a bit of hummus related dishes left. Our server said that was fine, and then proceeded to bring out various drinks and dishes to the big table next to us for about 15 minutes before finally bring them- but the dishes we were going to eat them with THEY CAME AND TOOK AWAY. So we had extra pitas now, but with nothing to eat them with. On top of that, a 12.5% service charge for us having to play hide and seek with the staff. All in all, great food but not worth the price point if I have to hunt staff down and get ignored.

I gotta admit I was a bit hesitant to go in. But turned out one of the better decisions. Food was out of this world. Service stuff was super friendly and accommodating. The highlight for me were the non alcoholic cocktails. I am a stoner and don't drink at all having something like that on a menu is a refreshing changed and the taste mind f.cking delicious.

Amazing food as always but the standout was our server Letizia! She went out of her way to make our dinner so special, gave the best recommendations and was just an absolute all round star! Thank you :)

Who ever is responsible for the half star.... you are something sir/miss. This places deserve 5 stars all the way. I am not big into that kind of food but man was it delicious. The non alcoholic beverages great stuff loved it. Good experience all the way.

was really yummy food and we had the same waiter as last time mcKinlely - he remembered us after like a year! he’s fab, really funny and knowledgeable and he made my mums bday dinner feel special!!

Lovely atmosphere, amazing dishes throughout the menu. Very tasty deserts, definitely worth visiting if you are in Edinburgh

Overall great experience, food was good, the staff very friendly. After the flavourful main courses, the desserts fall a bit behind..

Gorgeous food, not a bad dish on the table. Staff were very friendly and knowledgeable.

The interior and atmosphere are nice, and they offer a variety of food choices, including vegetarian options. However, the food taste isn’t anything exceptional. The espresso coffee was disappointing and of poor quality. The shots of liquor were disappointingly small, barely a sip’s worth.

Really good food, freshly prepared and tasty. There are options for veggie and vegans too

Fantastic restaurant. Tash was out of this world! We were having a girls reunion weekend and she made it feel very special! The food was superb too, Tash gave great recommendations. The restaurant was unreal too, great volume levels to be able to chat and earth eachother but still great ambience.

Had a lovely dinner at Baba visiting friends in Edinburgh, the food and atmosphere was great. Our server Tash went above and beyond to ensure we had a wonderful experience. Couldn’t recommend more!

A taste explosion! Excellent choices, lovely service, great atmosphere. 10/10 would recommend.

Lieu calme et cuisine excellente !! De bons conseils pour les vins et whisky.

Our whole experience at Baba was stunning! Amazing food, amazing vibe of the restaurant + very friendly stuff. Highly recommend this place.

I enjoyed my dinner here, but it wasn’t as wonderful as I expected based on reviews I had read. For one thing, when were seated, I was placed in an armchair that sat very low, and the table came up almost to my neck. I finally managed to get a server to help me change the chair. Some of the food was a bit spicier than we had thought it would be, but the ambience there was great. Lots of atmosphere in the decor. And it’s a wonderful location. I walked here from my hotel down on York Place, and it was a beautiful evening walk to get back.

Amazing dips and breads in particular

All great full of flavour food. Only thing then mains could be larger portions compared to the price.

Review for Baba, Edinburgh: ⭐⭐☆☆☆ Visited Baba with high hopes after hearing a lot about it. However, I was quite disappointed with the food. Most dishes were overly spicy, making it hard to discern the flavors beneath the heat. Additionally, the food was dry, which made for a less-than-pleasant mouthfeel. To top it off, the saltiness was just too much, overshadowing the potential of the dishes. On a positive note, the service was impeccable. The staff were attentive, friendly, and genuinely seemed to care about our dining experience. It's just a shame the food didn't match up to their excellence. Would recommend for the ambiance and service, but brace yourself for the intense flavors.

The food was all burnt, unintentionally or not I could never tell. Wouldn’t go again. Haggis was so spicy I kept having to sip on my drink (which they also put spice in) thought I would be saved by the fish with the apples. I was wrong. They put spice on the apples too. I can tolerate my spice, but it becomes too much when it’s in every meal AND my drink. Don’t go near the coley!!! It was so dry I thought it was a land fish. #putitbackinthesea

Very good, I have been four times and twice had fairly average food that I could replicate myself but the other two times were amazing! I’ve been trying to reverse engineer the goats cheese dip thing and getting close

Everything was absolutely amazing from the food, the wine, service, the atmosphere, etc. 8 of us launched here while visiting Scotland and was raved by all!

The waitress was excellent but the kitchen needs to work on not charring and burning every dish. Almost all of my dishes tasted burnt. I've been to many Lebanese restaurants around the world but this is by far overall one of the worst restaurants I've been to since everything tastes burnt.

BaBadass. Get some hedonistic food stuffed in your face hole. I don't know how, but they made lettuce taste epic.

Not just some of the best food in Edinburgh but easily one of the best dining experiences I've had in Scotland. Superb, friendly and knowledgeable staff made the whole experience even better. Thanks so much for making it a great birthday evening. We will definitely come back and recommend baba to friends and family

We dined here on Sunday night and it was our favorite restaurant in Edinburgh. Service was great. The restaurant is more sharing style so two of us shared 2 mains, wings, labneh and our favorite the muhammara (soo amazing be sure to get an extra pita). Also really enjoyed the lebanese wine. Prices were very reasonable for the amount of food and quality.

Absolutely gorgeous food. Great service. Best meal out in a long time.