Babaz

Babaz is a mediterranean, arabic grill spot on Islington at Norseman featuring shwarmas, falafels, souvlaki and burger type fare. The owners have done a really nice job of transforming the ratty old KFC into a new neighbourhood chow house with a fresh look and nice place for quick family dining. I've eaten there several times since it opened using both the eat-in and drive thru features - service has gotten marginally better with each successive visit. Their menu is a tad unauthentic (Hawaiian Shwarma - wtf?) but hey! this ain't exactly the ol' world here. I personally prefer to stay with the traditional.
After several random samplings, I offer this on Babaz... The Shwarmas are tasty, Burgers are not horrible, wings are actually surprisingly good, Fries are OK, souvlaki seems average (I was only allowed to nibble on the Mrs'order), unfortunately though, the falafel is just not cutting it - too bad, because falafel should be the simple, tasty, staple at a place like this. Regardless, overall it has inched it's way to average and has the potential to dramatically improve if they pull their head from their arse and figure out how to make a proper, affordable falafel (check Falafel World at Bloor and Jane) - we'll see where it goes....


Price: approx $5-6 / Sandwich
Rating: C