Where to eat in Edinburgh | Baba Restaurant
If you’re looking for somewhere different to eat in Edinburgh; Baba is the one.
I really love middle-eastern food but where I live, it’s rare for a menu to stretch beyond grilled meats, kebabs, soggy salads, frozen chips and the national north east dish; the parmo. I’m not dissing. I love a parmo, me. And it’s what the people want. But I want more.
As soon as I found Baba, I knew it was where I wanted to go.
The restaurant is located at the end of George Street in Edinburgh with several rooms but the one we were seated in had high ceilings, dark interiors and velvet seating with plump, comfy cushions.
It’s just very cool and stylish, with a menu to match. The food is inspired flavours of the Levant; regions including Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Cyprus.
There’s small dishes, mezze, grills and sharing platters to choose from. You could order 3 mezze each, or like us, order a meal each plus a couple of small dishes to share.
We decided on the beetroot hummus (I’m obsessed!), whipped feta and pistachio dukkah with warm, soft pittas. If you like hummus, you’ll love the beetroot hummus. It was a delicious combination of sweet beetroot and nutty sesame, I dream of the day we’re reunited!
We also had the equally delicious baked sweet potato with creme fraiche and zhug (and there was lots of it!).
For main, I ordered the goosnargh chicken leg, merguez, butter beans and garlic tahini. It was rustic, packed full of spices, flavours and heat.
James, meanwhile, opted for beef, lamb and bone marrow kofte, pickled vegetables, herbs, zhug and garlic tahini. Tahini for days! And that suits me just fine!
The dishes aren’t big portion but it’s the right amount, especially if you want to try several dishes.
By this time, I had eaten far too much during my city trip (you can see more from my Edinburgh trip) so although tempted, I resisted dessert. But… I could’ve easily ordered another hummus. There’s always room for hummus.
There’s always a risk with places like this that it could be style over substance, but I loved my visit to Baba and I can’t wait to go again. It was the perfect balance between chic (the decor) and unfussy (the food).
The best thing is that the refresh the menu quite often so there’s always something new to try.
