Food first, thoughts after... Went here later at night after michigan's football game. Overall thought it was good. We placed an order online so no distinctive interaction with the staff. The rice was good and paired well with everything. Chicken was a little dry. The fattoush salad was very good. read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Fattoush Salad, Lamb Bowl, chicken bowl - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Their chicken shawarma is delish! The falafel wrap was made with fresh chickpeas--savory and moist!

I appreciate that everything is freshly cooked upon order and not premade. But the taste is average.

Decent Mediterranean spot in AA, some parking around the area, interior is clean and the food good. I got a falafel bowl, it was good but I wish you could add more toppings. We got our order to go it was prepared quickly and the staff was nice. Not a bad spot! read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Outside - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Great food for the price and the staff is awesome, been going here 1-2 times a week while working nearby, highly recommend!

If I review as a young 20s UM student four stars for value. If I review as a well traveled parent who as earner the gamut I'd the best campus food to the worst , 2.5 stars. Here to move my daughter in for her 2nd year. Ordered Gyro wrap: two stars, skinny bland very forgettable veggie bowl: three stars just bland all around Mixed kabob bowl: three stars credit for portions but meat was bland and dry and really forgettable as well Pita was totally forgettable starch filler read more

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best shawarma in town very big portion and friendly stuff i tried the chicken shawarma saj its really awesome

This place is right by my office, so convenient at times. The Chicken Shawarma wrap was very mediocre and dry. However, the chicken kebab wrap surprised me. Tender, juicy and flavorful. read more

Asked for Ranch chicken wrap w/ no tomatoes. The worked agreed no tomatoes. When I got home and ate my food it was pickles, and tomatoes through my wrap very disappointed. read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Super... simple, fast and economical,,, friendly helpful staff. Dedicated parking (may be 6 spots). But lot of street parking near by Went here for weekend lunch. They were busy with lot of to go orders, took a minute to take my order. Lot of vegetarian option, average 7-8 bucks per head not a bad deal. Decent quantity. We liked everything that we got.. We got the Falafel wrap- very good, crunchy falafel, longer than usual . Hummus bowl, plenty full. Amazing free topping option with pita. We also got side of hummus, I thought it was way too little for 4 bucks. See picture. The vegetarian grape leaf was good too. The only off was - pita was little old. They have self serve pop machine and the place was clean. read more

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This restaurant loses a star due to lack of transparency regarding cost. My biggest concern with this restaurant is that their prices are not transparent when customizing a bowl. The bowls are marketed at around $11, but you have to pay extra for your base like rice, and then pay again separately for the protein and other toppings. By the time it was done, I paid almost $50 for two bowls. That being said, the portion size is large and you can save some for later. The sticker shock for a simple bowl with one protein was just a lot. I enjoyed my bowl and would likely return here, but I prefer restaurants that are a little more up-front with their costs. read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - a plate of food - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

I was a patient at U of M Hospital and my girlfriend picked up some food for us. I got a Chicken Shawarma Bowl which was great and tasted fresh. She has a Beef Shawarma Wrap and said she loved it. Prices seemed fair and she said staff was great when she picked up the food. Recommend. read more

Baba Daris portion sizes made me question how they are not bankrupt! The chicken shawarma bowl and the grape leaves were very good. Next time you're starving, dont think twice read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Chicken Kabob Bowl, Veggie Grape Leaves, Mixed Kabob Bowl Combo - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

First, I didn't wanna eat here - the location is at a busy intersection with lots of traffic and little parking, and the signage looks very chain-like. Neither the yelp nor independent online ordering platform worked, so we had to wait to order until we were in person. But I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the food. For garlic lovers, this is your happy place. The chicken shawarma pita wrap was garlicky goodness and loaded with chicken. The mixed shawarma bowl was pretty standard, could have used more meat, and we asked for hummus but just got tahini sauce. The meat pie was $5 and so worth it - soft bun and the meat filling was delicious. We will eat here again if it's convenient or if we are craving fast casual Mediterranean. read more

Very bad food. When you are hungry you feel every bit delicious but I was fasting and I don't eat what I ordered, I threw it.

I ordered a Greek salad w/chicken shwarma add-on from Uber Eats. The chicken was overcooked and dried out. No taste of Feta cheese as they use something that looks like a scattering of rice grains only smaller, which is too tiny to lend any feta cheese flavor to it. Meh, not doing that again. read more

This place is IT for a quick lunch. I mean it is sleek inside, the service is fast, and it's very affordable! I walked in and I was greeted right away, I ordered a Falafel pita wrap. It wasn't " Blow Me Away with Rich quality ingredients," but it was blow me away with how cheap and how tasty it was. It's a build-your-own scenario with unlimited toppings. They are the classics for a pita. I LOVED their baklava, I literally had 3 pieces by myself. I'm disappointed that it took so long for me to discover this restaurant. I'll be back for sure. read more

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Quick, delicious, moderately-priced, well-presented food. There are healthy options, vegetarian options, and small sides if you just want a bit of food. I saw two postal carriers get lunch there, it must be a good local place. read more

We stopped in for a quick dinner as we felt the need to deviate from our other usual places - and I'm so happy that we ended up here! After living in Ann Arbor for so long, it's good to know that I've found a solid Mediterranean food place to go to when I have a craving. This review is completely from the standpoint of the restaurant now, I can't say that I went to the restaurant before it's face lift. I love the simplified menu of this place. Sure, it mimics a Chipotle or Qdoba style restaurant - simple starting point and then you can add toppings, proteins, and sauces. I went with a salad and added shwarma chicken, a whole mess of veggies and feta cheese, and added their signature dressing. The serving was massive and the salad bowl was overflowing with flavor. The chicken was tender and perfectly seared and paired well with the house dressing and hummus that I requested with it. I will certainly be coming back. Sure, it may be different from a traditional restaurant or what it used to be, but judging it right now - it was AWESOME! read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Huge, delicious salad with shwarma chicken - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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Baba Dari is a solid fast casual middle Eastern place. Since they rebranded from Ali Baba, they've revamped the look of the restaurant. Everything is pretty sleek and modern now, the space is just clean and pretty minimalistic. The food is overall good, I most recently went on a football Saturday, so things were pretty hectic, but my order still came out pretty tasty. The gyro wrap in particular was very good, whereas I think the tabouleh chicken shwarma wrap was a bit too heavy on the parsley. Everything on the menu is generally pretty cheap, all pretty much standard middle eastern fare-- no surprises here. Overall a good quick bite in a great location on campus. read more

It is a mixed reviewed: We ate here, Friday 28May on our way north to the dunes. The food was great! Exactly what we ordered. I asked if they would be open on Memorial Day, the answer was no, so we ordered 6 chicken and Tabbouli sandwiches to go. This is where the food goes wrong. When we began to eat the sandwiches- there was no Tabbouli, instead there was lettuce. Definitely not the sandwiches we ordered and paid for. Needless to say we are beyond disappointed. I won't be ordering to go again without checking my order. read more

Wonderful new-looking Mediterranean meals. Create a bowl, either rice or humus or you can have a straight pita. Then pick your protein, your sauces and then toppings. I had the chicken schwarma rice bowl with bell peppers and baba ganoush sauce. FANTASTIC ! I will definitely be back and you should go there. read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

I made a carryout order, then turned to find the restroom while I waited, and got a look at the place. It's disgusting. Run down, grease and dust covered everything. The only clean spots are where people's hands have rubbed the yuck off of door faces, walls, counters, etc. I don't think that anyone has EVER cleaned the women's restroom, based on the one foot radius of gross around the light switch. They need to close down, spend a day scrubbing, and painting. Yuck. My husband liked the sandwich I ordered for him. I also ordered hummus. The pita that came with it was cold, dry and I am positive that it is store bought. I didn't tell him about their lack of cleanliness. I wanted him to enjoy his lunch, but I definitely won't go back there nor recommend it to anyone. Just the opposite. *shudder* read more

I am not sure what happened because my first experience with Ali Baba's was decent, but my second time there was definitely a horrible time afterwards. I'm assuming the food wasn't fresh as some other Yelpers have mentioned, so I, along with my other two friends, suffered from food poisoning right after eating here. Definitely not worth the trip or money. read more

This is what fresh food should look and taste like. I appreciate the kind and friendly brothers that work at this location (during the day), they provide great service a calm and helpful environment. the food just taste amazing, I was introduced to Mediterranean food about 3 years ago, and I have been hooked every since. I started getting deliveries at work and then when Covid hit and I was sent home to Ypsilanti to work I still would drive to this location in Ann Arbor. introducing friends and family all the while. Now I am about 50 Miles away and I still cant stop heading back to the area for a Mediterranean chicken shawarma and a fresh vegetable filled beef hummus bowl. they complement one another so well. and the portion size makes sharing or saving for another sitting or 2 very easy. This food, from this location fills my heart with peace and happiness. read more

Ali Baba was one of the first Middle Eastern places I tried when I moved to the Ann Arbor area. I've since found several others I like better, but Ali Baba is good. The restaurant itself is cute inside, and in nice weather, there's a shady outdoor seating area. The food is good if not spectacular. I recall especially enjoying the spinach pie. Parking can be a pain here. They have their own dedicated parking lot, but it's tiny. If it's full, you may have to end up parking several blocks away, feeding quarters into a meter, and walking back to the restaurant. read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

This one is definitely Lebanese-American Girl Approved! Baba Dar is the updated version of the more typical style middle east food restaurant, Ali Baba, which stood here for over 25 years, since I lived nearby. I liked it then but I liked fried and carbs more then, too! Baba offers a variety of vegetables and meats and sides to make a big bowl of tasty food so healthy and delicious, why, you will be saddling up a camel the next day (maybe. Or at least go pet one in Manchester at the camel farm). Wow! My sis and I have talked a lot over the years of simplified Lebanese food as a business, kind of like a fast food style place. She ended up running a food truck with Americanized versions of middle east food. Me? Sure, I can cook most things. But why? When I live here? I can get my heritage food in so many good places (and some bad) and Baba ranks at the top for their grilled chicken chunks, with that musty, yummy, smoky saffron flavor. And portions were perfect. Their garlic sauce was really strong like I like it. The mixed bowl was also good as were their soft, tender, not too salty stuffed grape leaves. I am not always a fan of the redux, but this one is right on! read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

I'm a vegetarian and I ordered a vegetarian bowl to go with falafel patties as the protein. So of course when I encountered a huge piece of chicken the meal was essentially ruined for me. Getting something this basic wrong is a deal-breaker for me, and as a result I won't be back. The one positive for me was the young woman working the counter was very friendly, hard-working, and efficient. read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - A piece of chicken found in my vegetarian bowl. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Update 10/15/18 We still really like this restaurant, but the attention to detail has been lacking lately. The past few times we've ordered, the meals have been prepared wrong. Tonight, instead of the double garlic sauce that I ordered, I was given hummus. The red onions were also missing from my meal. I really want to be a regular at Baba Dari, but I want to know that they're going to prep my order correctly. read more

I've stopped in to Baba Dari a few times and have always been pleased with my meal. I'm a giant fan of pita sandwiches and they make a great one. I've had the chicken and the beef pitas with extra garlic sauce and I've had the tabbouli, both very tasty and highly recommended. The falafel is also very good if you want to avoid meats. The menu is unique and has many options I still need to try. Pretty sure they do rice bowl type meals also and they sound delicious. I've had their baklava and I'd say it's better than your average baklava. Competitive prices and healthy good food make it an obvious stop for wandering Ann Arbor foodie. read more

Tried this place for the first time today and absolutely loved it! I've been following a low carb diet for quite a while, so I got a build your own bowl with salad base, topped with chicken shwarma, feta, pickles, tomato, cabbage, banana peppers and got garlic sauce and baba dressing (fattoush) on the side. Total $8 for a huge bowl. Great value. Food was fresh and tasted great. My son got a pita wrap with gyro meat, feta, garlic spread and pita chips. They grill the entire sandwich so its nice and toasted. I highly recommend this place and will back very soon! read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

We ordered take out from here for an office lunch. There was about 9 of us and we ordered about an hour ahead of time. We were very pleased when we got our food. Everyone's order was correct and everyone really enjoyed their food! I had the gyro bowl which was delicious! Lots of meat and rice at a very reasonable price! Would definitely come back to try more items on the menu! read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Falafel bowl - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

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The one star only applies if you had been to the old Ali Baba. This new reincarnation is not even close to being nearly as good as the old restaurant. After waiting months and months for the reopening after remodeling, to say that I was terribly disappointed with the result is a huge understatement. I won't be coming back to this Middle Eastern Chipotle rip-off. If Trump was to tweet about this place, all he'd have to say is..."Sad"!!! read more

The food tastes good for sure light yet seasoned well, but for 2 of us to eat was almost $50 and the portions are tiny. $3 for $0.50 worth of pop. My daughter wanted to try Mediterranean while we we in A2 and now she has. Would I ever go back? No. Not unless the prices are cut in half. I tipped even though you fill your own drinks and grab your own food, guess that was kinda my fault but it automatically selected on the screen so I felt guilted into tipping. The seating was nice I guess, although the floors and seats were sticky, may have been from the cleaner they use I guess, but you could hear your shoes sticking like you were at a movie theater and if you touched the benches or table your hand stuck, which feels dirty. If somebody else was paying I'd have gave it 4 stars. This place was listed as one dollar sign, to me that's no more than $30 for 2 people. On a positive note it has inspired me to buy a shawarma rotisserie and research how to make Mediterranean food myself. read more

Love that you can build a meal, and have rice and/or mujadara as a topping, fulfilling my love of carbs without going into a starch induced coma. Beef shawarma was flavorful, and the tzatziki and hummus deliciously with the garlic not overpowering the sauce. The only disappointment was that the lentil soup was thin and watery, without few actual visible lentils. But the staff were friendly, responsive, and the decor is bright and open - a nice update from Ali Baba where I felt stuck in the early 90s. read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - Chicken shawarma salad bowl, sooooo good! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

If you don't feel like reading a lot, read no more - this place was BEYOND disappointing. We were new to town and saw an ad saying this was voted the best Middle Eastern food in Ann Arbor, so we were quick to come in and check it out. The restaurant was clean, but the service was slow despite the restaurant being pretty empty. We started off with dolmeh (grape leaf wrapped rice). The leaves were dry and chewy, and the rice lacked flavor and had a weird gelatinous quality. The chicken was dry, over cooked, and completely lacking in flavor. The rice was also terrible, and I didn't think it was possible to mess up rice. It seemed old and dried out. Our drinks weren't refilled. I can not for the life of me explain all of the great reviews this place has, nor the rating of "best in A2". ???? I'm not a harsh critic of food, but I would not come here again, and I wouldn't recommend you come here either. read more

During my first year at Michigan, I dined at Ali-Babas four times in a five day span. It was a refreshing taste, compared to my school meal plan's fry-everything-you-see-mentality. As a result, I've tried quite a number of items off of Ali-Baba's menu. My first obsession was the **Fatoush Salad + Chicken**. The dressing is slightly lemony and very very light. It adds some moisture and balance to the grilled chicken that, while healthy, will always be only grilled chicken. It has crispy pita chips broken on the top, providing each bite with a crunch. The portion size for this dish is huge. I've seen grown men order this salad and be unable to finish it. I then moved on to the **Shish Tawook** sandwich, which is still my favorite sandwich at Ali Baba's. The chunks of chicken here are a little bit more moist than the chicken in the Fatoush Salad. Inside they spread a garlic mayo sauce and add some of the dressing from the fatoush salad. It's the definition of savory. When I'm feeling vegetarian, I order the **Falafel Sandwich**. The falafel is served hot, with a crispy exterior. My friends like the **Shish Kabob Sandwich** but I find it a little bit bland compared to the Shish Tawook. The only downside is that the sandwiches are kind of small. I recommend ordering an appetizer, such as the **hummus** or **garlic** as dips for the pita bread. Even though I generally prefer more paprika in my hummus, it is always enjoyable to eat. The garlic is that deep dark secret that I'm ashamed to admit. It comes in a mayo consistency, but it is perfectly pungent and spicy. If you're a garlic lover like me, it's the essential shock to your taste buds. Sometimes when I'm stuck in my apartment studying for finals, I order the **Ali Baba Combo Plate** to be delivered. It's enough to feed me for two, sometimes three meals. It comes with meats (shish kabob, shish tawook, shish kafta, meat grape leaves), hummus, and a small salad. It's enough variety to make it more acceptable to eat the same thing for 2-3 meals in a row. read more

Now called Baba Dari (after a much needed revamp), this place maintained the quality of food while bringing their restaurant into the 21st century. I had the chicken tawook pita, hummus, and falafel app - it was all great. They new layout is fast casual, with the only disappointment being the lack of a chipotle-style assembly line. read more

Baba Dari Mediterranean Grill - New name - Middle Eastern Near Me - Ann Arbor, Michigan

Baba Dari (previously known as Ali Baba's) underwent renovations in fall/winter 2016. It was a little dated before but now it looks modern and bright. Very clean. Perhaps it lost a bit in character as a side consequence but I think an update was necessary and will help the restaurant's long-term vitality. It now has Middle Eastern bowls (think Chipotle or Piada, except there's no assembly line), as well as some of the old menu items: Middle Eastern salads, hummus and baba ghanoush plates, excellent baklava, fruit juices and smoothies, and French fries. Servings smaller than before I think, but still a good amount of food that I couldn't finish in one serving. Pros: Prices are reasonable. Love the bowl concept. Colorful interior - good for casual dining with kids. Carrot juice seems freshly pressed. Parking available. Fast service. Love the pink dressing on the salad. French fries were fresh, hot, and crispy. Garlic sauce ridiculously good. Cons: Black olives seemed canned which I'm not a fan of but can deal with (think pizza topping quality vs. restaurant olive quality). Pickles also not great and were burger-topping style. Mujaddara rice overcooked. Chicken a little dried out. Skimped on the lettuce in my bowl. A big plus was the service. I've been a few times and there's always a guy who is very cheerful and helpful. He gives recommendations and is so enthusiastic. I think he might be the owner. Clearly excited to be there. The cashiers were also nice. I wouldn't call this place authentic Middle Eastern food but I think it's perfect for a college town. read more

This is my most favorite Middle Eastern restaurant in Ann Arbor. The food is always fresh and delicious. The servers are always so nice and the prices are very reasonable. Highly recommended! read more