My family loved Baba's food so much that we ate here twice during our Edinburgh trip. Everything we had was delicious, so I feel like you can't go wrong here. The pita bread and hummus was something we ordered both times. The lamb shoulder is a must-order. And of course, the whole fish was a treat. Easily a five-star restaurant, and kid- friendly to boot. (There's even a separate kids menu!) read more

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I was staying at the kimpton and this restaurant is part of the hotels dining options. Ambience is elegant and beautiful. Staff are all very friendly and helpful. Food is Mediterranean and offers a variety of mezze, snacks, and options from the grill. Prices are very reasonable and quality of food is amazing. That's why every night this place seems to be packed, even on weeknights. They also have a separate bar that adjoins the restaurant. I tried the mumaharra and smoked salmon roe dips which come with accompanying pita. I also tried the lamb sausages and a slow cooked lamb, both were delicious. The dessert was just ok and I think I will skip dessert next time. read more

Baba - Middle Eastern Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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What a delicious meal. Lively noisy place with interesting cocktails. We ordered lots of appetizers and three entrees. The vegetarian choices were just excellent. I especially liked the broccoli with lentils and the cauliflower shawarma. My husband said the beef was succulent and the charred gem lettuce was good as well. The restaurant is very loud. read more

Baba - Cauliflower shawarma - Middle Eastern Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

We booked seats for an early dinner at Baba after wandering around New Town. The restaurant was larger than expected after we entered and got seated. The decor was quite nice and a little different depending on which room you got seated in. Baba's menu was quite varied and there was even a feasting section for sharing. We started with the Baba ganoush and it was quite good especially with the pomegranates popping as we chewed. The side of pita was warm and so soft. The cauliflower shawarma was a great side. Loved the seasoning. The sea bass was flaky and had a slight kick from the red pepper sauce. I just wished it was a little more substantial. The lamb shoulder was the highlight of our dinner. The meat was tender and filling. Service throughout was attentive. There was an automatic 12.5% service charge applied to our final bill. Will come again next time we're back in Edinburgh. read more

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This place is a must try. We got this recommendation from a coffee shop owner and we are so grateful that we did. This food was amazing, definitely one of the more memorable places. Everything tasted so fresh. We had the chicken thigh and the fillet both were very tender and very flavorful. The restaurant was very unique and had a cool style. The bar area was packed at 4 PM but looked like a great place to grab a drink. read more

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The staff are incredibly accommodating with allergies! They really took the time to mark up the menu to identify all the allergens and made sure I felt safe ordering. The roe dip is fantastic and paired well with the warm bread. The chicken was tender and had great herby flavors. The pork was smoky and good but could've been a little more moist. The vibe is great for a fun night out or date! read more

Had a great lunch. The hummus was amazing. Grilled pitas were perfect. The chicken dish was also incredible. The cauliflower was ok, prop wouldn't get it again. The most shocking one was the miso sweet potato. Get this! We randomly got it and it ended up being the best thing we had. Service was super friendly. The ambiance of the restaurant is chill yet a little more elevated than a super casual restaurant. read more

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Has a wonderful lunch here on our first day in Edinburgh. Perfect for a jet lagged meal. Great service and delicious food. read more

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The restaurant had absolutely no wait. The server was really attentive and clarified any questions with the kitchen and bartender that we had. Definitely a more intimate setting but still a great place for a cute dinner with friends. The restaurant was gorgeous it had an open floor plan and lots of natural light. The food itself was so fresh the chicken and lamb was super tender and melted in your mouth. It is not featured here but I would definitely recommend you get the freshly grilled pita bread on the side to dip in your entree. read more

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What a beautiful restaurant! Make sure you book your reservation as it may be difficult to get a table otherwise, it's so worth it! The flavors are exquisite and you can tell that the ingredients are fresh. You can't go wrong with the hummus and pita for a starter! read more

Again I was peckish and this wasn't on my list of to try restaurants BUT IM GLAD THAT I DID Service was meh but the food was great. I had the tempura style cauliflower and the mussels. First off, if you're just looking for a smaller meal you DONT need both. But glad that I tried both as each was so tasty. The batter on the cauliflower, yes please. The crunch, flavor and consistency was a definite yes. But the mussels were everything. The only negative is what I assumed my breath smelled of after consuming, but it was worth it. Hands down one of the best flavor profiles on mussels that I've experienced. They were in a red sauce but not tomatoy. They were well balanced with a hint of spice and ohhhhh so flavorful. As a matter of fact I want more but I'm nervous, what if the second time isn't as good as the first? If your a hotel guest, or not definitely give them a visit read more

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Truly appalled and disappointed with the experience my family and I had here today. This has been the only restaurant I have ever stepped into where the staff themselves have made me lose my appetite before even ordering food. Flying across the world to visit a new and beautiful city, just to have a horribly distasteful experience at what we thought would be a wonderful restaurant, is not how I had envisioned our last evening in Edinburgh playing out. It began when we entered the restaurant for our reservation, which was at 6:30pm. The hostess was unhelpful and unable to give us direction on whether our table was ready. We were finally seated late; however, our table was visibly sizzling in the sun next to a large window with zero shading. When we asked a blonde woman for assistance, she dismissed us immediately and said there was nothing that could be done. As we were forced to solve our own problem at this point, and had two young children with us who could not sit in the boiling heat for the length of the meal, we began shifting the table slightly over (not even a full 12 inches) to just barely get out of the blazing sunshine. A male waiter walking by confirmed that this would be just fine -- so we continued. Not even ten seconds passed before another woman with a ponytail, who becomes a pivotal figure in this review, approached me with a very harsh, and quite frankly rude, attitude. She snapped that we weren't allowed to move the tables too close to a single table that was going to be seated in an HOUR, and I calmly and kindly explained the situation to her, to which she dismissed instantly. At this point, my family and I were saddened by the lack of compassion or patience, and it had not even been a full 10 minutes since we had been seated. Thankfully, our assigned waiter, Edward, was great and attentive. He was a problem solver and was consistently kind with his approach. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for a SINGLE other individual working at Baba. Even the manager, who was clearly made aware of the situation due to the ponytail woman rolling her eyes, pointing at us, and ranting about the situation to him in a highly inappropriate and unprofessional manner, did absolutely nothing to even attempt to bring a sliver of satisfaction to us. She continued to make her rounds to every other staff member around the restaurant, and directly in front of our view, gestured toward us while ranting to each person. Genuinely disheartening and the complete opposite of a respectful dining experience. While the food was great (compliments to the chefs), the service we received (outside of Edward), was frustratingly poor -- below a one-star experience. I truly hope that changes are made in the future regarding the behavior of the staff at this restaurant so future customers do not have to experience the appetite-crushing energy we did on our last evening in Edinburgh. Being attached to a nice hotel and located at the end of a high-end street should not be an excuse to treat kindhearted families with disrespect and discontent. Confident to say that if I am lucky enough to visit this city again, I will not be returning to a restaurant that clearly hires people for reasons I cannot comprehend. At the very least, please look for individuals who can communicate with EACH OTHER to avoid the disorganization and confusion we were victims of last evening. Do better, Baba. read more

Amazing staff and explanations of the menu, the restaurant was huge and had an amazing vibe inside. Definitely worth checking out! read more

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Baba was excellent . It's located in the Kimpton hotel. It's decorated so nicely . The bar staff was outstanding and fun to talk to . The bans ghanoush was terrific and a good start to the lamb dinner. read more

Baba - Middle Eastern Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

I unexpectedly loved the food here and ate there twice during my Scotland trip. Slow -cooked lamb shoulder and muhammara are strongly recommended. read more

Wonderful and very well lit place for a dinner. The service was a bit rushed due to us arriving at closing hours. The food is tremendous and the meats are cooked to perfection. read more

Baba is a trendy small plates restaurant in Edinburgh's New Town, presenting a creative take on Mediterranean flavors. My favorite dish was the Grilled Mussels served in chraime, a strongly spiced North African tomato sauce that went nicely with the side of grilled pita bread (or simply all on its own!). Another highlight was the Slow-Cooked Lamb Shoulder, served over ptitim (Israeli couscous) and yogurt, flavored with preserved lemon, mint, and pomegranate. This dish had the perfect pairing of flavors, as the hearty, crispy lamb added a deep, savory flavor to the couscous underneath, while the lemon, pomegranate, and mint added a refreshing contrast. We also had the Falafel dressed with tahini sauce and served with beetroot hummus, marinated artichokes, and guindillas (pickled hot peppers); and a side of the Cauliflower Shawarma, made of cauliflower dusted with ras el hanout and dressed with tahini, dried rose petals, and chopped herbs. Overall, the plates here were creative and delicious, the service was friendly and attentive, and the atmosphere was trendy and colorful! read more

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Vegetarian/vegan friendly Lebanese restaurant inside the Kimpton Charlotte Square hotel. Most dishes are tapas style small plates, so you can share and try a few. Delicious cocktails as well. Lots of vegetable dishes that can be made vegan by omitting the dairy. I also appreciated being asked whether I had any food allergies. Start with the cauliflower fritters. Just the right amount of spice that is nicely balanced with the yogurt sauce. For dessert, I recommend the dark chocolate cremeux. The über rich chocolate mousse again is balanced by the dark cherries and a tart yogurt. Large enough to share but you won't want to. read more

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This wasn't what we were expecting. Very Middle Eastern! Great olives! Good drinks. The food just didn't fit our tastes.

We thought this was a great place to eat. Staying at the hotel and a bit annoyed that we could not get a table at a time we wanted, but... Started with the merguez haggis and venison carpaccio which were both rather good - not true haggis, I would say, but probably the better for that! Then the shoulder of lamb with the tomato side salad. Both really good. Tasty, light, good mixture of flavors, just right for an early evening meal. Finished off with the chocolate desert (Lebanese mousse, I think) which was also a pleasure. Excellent service from our N Irish waitress Arina, recommend as a good place to eat. read more

Baba - Forgot to photo the carpaccio and lamb, but here is the chocolate dessert :) - Middle Eastern Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The monkfish was amazing, let's start there. The other dishes were very tasty too but the sauce with the monkfish really stood out. Also enjoyed the hummus, which was a little chunky and nice and thick. The service was very attentive. The wine was great. Overall good value for money and a really nice place to go and share some food with friends. read more

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Napkins. A lot can be gleaned from a restaurant's napkins. Are they 1-ply toilet paper that crumples in your hands? Are they stained cloth that's seen too many laps? Don't get me started on absorption. Well, Baba? Baba has some killer ass napkins. Soft, thick, gentle-waffle-patterned paper. They unfold to offer ample hand-cleaning real estate and absorb, absorb, absorb. Great napkins. read more

Baba - Middle Eastern Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

The ambience is beautiful and the music playlist is modern and vibes. The hummus and falafel is gorgeous and tasty. The bespoke drinks are unique. The decor is rich and comfortable. Service is great. Get a window seat facing the square. Highly recommend visiting Baba. I'll be back. read more

Really great meal! Getting four stars because my expectations were pretty high and the food was really good but not like the best Mediterranean of my life. I ate here for lunch, service was on the slower side but wait staff was super nice and pleasant. I got the haggis which was INCREDIBLE and the lamb which was possibly my favorite lamb I've ever had. The sweet potato was meh - too soupy and wouldn't get again. But I'll probably compare every lamb I ever eat with this one for the rest of my LIFE. Definitely check it out if you are in Edinburgh - but it's tough to get a table especially for dinner, so plan ahead! read more

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The food and the flavors! Mediterranean with Turkish and Lebanese twists, wonderful combinations of spices, don't the toasted lamb shoulder, muhama, or babaganoush read more

Baba is lovely! The food is absolutely delicious and the staff were super friendly. It's not authentic Lebanese food in the traditional sense, but instead a fusion of Lebanese-inspired dishes that get the flavors of Lebanese cuisine just right. The restaurant itself is beautiful and our group had a fantastic time. There were six of us visiting from the US and we ordered lots of mezzes, mains, and sides and split them family style, per our server's suggestion. We ordered two "snack" sizes of olives, the Buffalo mozzarella, octopus, hummus, and muhammara mezzes, both lamb mains, the chimicurri steak, and falafel/artichokes, with the blackened sweet potato and tomato sides, and ended by each having a bite of the crémeux and olive oil cake. I'm getting very specific because literally every dish we had tasted amazing! All six of us left full and very, very happy :-) read more

Baba was delicious! We've spent over a week in Scotland and have loved the Scottish food but it was so nice to have some different flavors with fresh vegetables. All of our dishes were so colorful and flavorful. Absolutely recommend the lamb nuggets (A MUST), the sea bass, and the broccoli lentil dish. Love the ambiance and the service was great. Definitely recommend! read more

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This place was a miss for me. As much as I love the Kimpton, this place was giving more hotel restaurant vibes. Firstly, I started with a drink at drink at the bar while I waited for a table. I ordered the Prosecco Fizz. I don't recommend it at all. It also took a long time to receive after ordering while being seated at an empty bar. The drink was 90% juice and super sweet. Based on the description I was expecting a smaller format, doctored up Prosecco so was disappointed. I chose not to drink it and ordered wine when I was seated for dinner. For dinner I ordered the venison and Urfa pepper carpaccio, the slow cooked lamb shoulder and the roasted beet roots. Honestly everything was a bit of a miss for me. I feel like either items lacked flavor or had far too much flavor there was no in between. Also, most dishes were covered in a lot of seeds/spices/etc which added a bit of an aggressive/overwhelming texture in some instances. The lamb shoulder dish did not need pomegranate seeds, I felt like this took away from the dish. I would not go back as I have had significantly better Mediterranean food. read more

Baba - Slow cooked lamb shoulder - Middle Eastern Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

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Thank you Baba for such great service, food and drinks! This place is awesome! We will definitely be back when we return for another visit to Scotland! read more

This was our last meal in Scotland and it was truly fabulous. I have several food allergies and they were super attentive to that. We sat at the communal table, which was fun. We didn't talk a lot with the other parties there, but we could see the popular dishes. The baba ganoush was AMAZING as were falafel and the blackened sweet potatoes. The cocktails were also inventive and not overly sweet. If you like Mediterranean food, Baba will not disappoint! read more

I don't usually write reviews, but they are new and don't have a lot of them yet. I'm visiting from San Diego and know good middle eastern food. I found every dish extraordinarily tasty and inventive. I highly recommend the place. read more

Baba - Cauliflower never tasted so good as this one. Wow! - Middle Eastern Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Excellent middle eastern cuisine, with a deep nod to Lebanon. It was new, so the staff was understandably a bit frazzled and confused. Should be better in few months. read more

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Very good! Get the monkfish and the lamb shoulder. Dessert was low point of the meal -- far too sweet & one-noted. Nice ambiance, too! read more

This place was extraordinary! The lamb shoulder was amazing! The baba ganoush was the best I have ever had! We got the hummus falafel n grilled artichokes - wow! Highly recommend. read more

I had some high expectations as i genuinely like (and eat + cook myself) this type of food. So i was very disappointed to find out that the food is not authentic at all. It is further, very bland and underseasoned.There is no flavor at all. This is all explained by the fact that all the starters that we ordered were either not what they are at all (labneh balls were purely goat cheese balls rolled in spices !!) or store-bought (both the hummus as well as the babaganoush are from a cheap tin from a supermarket). Let alone that serving sizes are rather small for the price and quality of the food. Alas another place that has spent a lot on premise and interior but the food is just very bad. If you have never had middle eastern food, you would be intrigued, mostly by the presentation. if you have, you will be very underwelhmed, to say the least. There is nothing authentic, fresh, or flavorful here. I am not a picky customer; all i want is food that has been cooked at the premise, is fresh, and is with quality ingredients. I dont think this is too much to ask. I get particularly irked, however, when i am served stuff that is readily bought of the main street supermarket, unpackaged and put in a plate literally. And be charged a ridiculous amount of money for that. God bless the ignorant :) read more

Lebanese style restaurant with a simple menu. 9 choices of mezze dishes, about the same of mains plus some other starter and nibbly options. Really liked the grilled prawns. Seems very popular and I'd advise you to book ahead a fair while in advance if you can. Otherwise you'll need to go for an early sitting like us (5pm) which actually worked pretty well with kids in tow. Wine list is pretty expensive starting at £28 a bottle for (red) Lebanese wine. Service was friendly but a bit scatty and inattentive. We had to chase up half our drinks order that had been forgotten. Interior is nicely done, tables are a decent size and not too close together. WCs could have been nicer and cleaner. If you've got young kids use the easy access one. read more

The dishes are larger than expected for tapas plates, but everything was delicious. Went there for a late lunch and ended up not being hungry for dinner, but it was worth it. read more

Food was good. Nice and quiet. Staying in hotel from the States. Service was not satisfactory. Took a long time to order at 5pm while restaurant was empty and the wait staff stood around. One waterless could not bother answering my question about draft beer. Whenever she came to the table, she would roll her eyes at us. Not sure why. She also did not give me a pen with the check. When I asked, she told me to sign to my room. I said I still needed a pen to do that. She stood next to me while I signed, as if I was going to take her plastic pen. Very rude. Wish the hotel would reconsider having it on site. read more