Man o man is Bavel good!!! It’s in my list of favourites for LA. I went with Al when it first opened and was blown away. So recently, I took some family who were visiting, you know, so I could order more dishes 😂😂. It didn’t disappoint.
Bavel is down town in the art district. It’s a reasonable size restaurant that has a huge patio. Last time we were on the patio, which was nice, but this visit we scored an inside table. Normally, I’m all about a patio but at Bavel, you want an inside one so you can enjoy the show aka the open kitchen. I am a HUGE open kitchen fan. I get seriously mesmerized by the dance of the kitchen and am in awe of the chefs who make it happen, without swearing!
Everything we ordered was phenomenal. I mean everything! The first time we went I tried to be sensible in my ordering, this time, not as sensible, but not crazy. Definitely not crazy. It’s also one of those places where it’s really hard to pick your favourite dish. Hmmm what did I like the best?
The scallop crudo: this pomegranate sauce with the scallops was perfect. Didn’t over power the scallop, and with the charred cucumber it was really refreshing.
Chicken liver pate: I am not normally a pate person but this was so smooth and tasty. Plus the bread was delicious.
Green beans: the citrus sauce with these made the beans pop. An excellent way to get in some greens
Duck nudja hummus: don’t miss this dish. Soooo good. The hummus is perfect, the nudja makes it phenomenal and the pitta is like a soft toasty pillow of yumminess. Is this my favourite?
Marinated tomato: some smoked harissa, a little black garlic and whipped feta. Delicious! Light, and a really great dish to balance some of the meat.
Oyster mushroom kebab: so smoky! In a good way. The smoky element made the mushies extra meaty. Big fan.
Octopus: I mean is octopus ever bad? Ok if it’s been cooked badly, but this is far from cooked badly. It was grilled to perfection, so you had the char crisp of the outside and soft not chewy inside.
Lamb shawarma: I’m not normally a lamb fan. I get overpowered by the flavour a lot. But this was really really good. Al is a huge lamb fan and he hoovered it!
Beef cheek tagine: I was pretty full by this point, but there is always room for cheek! This tagine was so flavoursome and the couscous was ridiculously fluffy. Well worth ordering.
I am going to work my way through this menu. I love the modern middle eastern flavor, and they surprise and delight me every time. Any more visitors want to come over to give me an excuse to book a table?
Jilltopia 