I started a Yelp account in order to create an entry for this café as it just opened up next door to where I live and I have so many good things to say about it. I don't know the owners personally, so my decision to write this is based only on my neighborhood pride.
First of all, it's not actually inside Gottsunda Centrum, it's in the new white and orange apartment buildings by the bus stops (11, 7, 12, 14). It is wheelchair accessible and the decor is fresh and charming. In other matters of accessibility, there were baby highchairs available and the WC included a cute changing table with a felt mobile. The babies that arrived while I was there were warmly welcomed by the staff.
At first I was put off a bit by the restaurant-style seating of tables and chairs (plus one bench against the back wall) but after I ordered a falafel tallrik and saw others order the arabic coffee, I understood the set-up better. The food is the star of this place, second only to the lovely service. Babas serves the best falafel in town and I've eaten a lot of falafel! The Arabic coffee is served on silver sets that probably have a fancy name because they look fancy. My two friends who ordered it said it was excellent. I ordered a boring bryggkaffe and was pleased. Nothing extraordinary, but a decent cup of joe. The chocolate cake, on the other hand was on the boring side of okay. None of us tried any of the other desserts, but the variety on hand were Swedish standards (cinnamon buns, raspberry pie, kladdkaka etc.). If you're not up for the falafel, there are also typical Swedish cold sandwiches.
I'm not sure if I this is right, but I think the two people working when we were there were a granddaughter/grandfather team. They were kind, gracious and genuine. Despite the small size of the café, they served everything we ordered to our table (including communal glass bottles of water). If you're an LGBT person or have LGBT friends, I hope you're still reading. This is a queer-friendly café. My first time at this café was for an RFSL boardmeeting (local LGBT association). It was a 3-hour meeting and we occupied the entire back row of tables. We are a visibly queer and gender non-conforming group of various backgrounds (South America, North America, Africa etc.) holding a meeting focused on topics of LGBT activism. We felt so at ease and welcome that we decided to hold our next boardmeeting there too! When I was talking to the "grandfather" about paying the bill, he asked if I wanted to pay for my husband's tea too, referring to my husband as my husband without any sign of hesitation. We were treated with all the normalcy as straight people. Now of course, this is not exceptional in Sweden, but sometimes queers feel a bit nervous about going to visibly Muslim owned and run spaces. I have no idea if that nervousness is warranted or not (probably not). Babas Café is a warm and welcoming place.
I will be broken-hearted if this place doesn't survive its first year, so if you live in the neighborhood, I encourage you to support this absolutely lovely new family-owned, local business. If you live in the city, now is your chance to explore southern Uppsala-- Babas is worth the trip! read more