As a frequent contrarian, it is hard for me to compliment a restaurant that so many people won’t stop fawning over. However, Bavel is undeniably excellent and i must admit that the people are correct. Unique Israeli flavors and lesser known dishes from the levant that are so good you forget about Gaza - 🫣😅💃🏻🕺olé!
Greg
Food was below par and nowhere near as good as previous experiences Services was scant - when we did speak to a server they were good but, particularly toweards the end of the night was hard to get attention Very very loud and noisy So disappointing compared to prior experiences (haven't been for about 4 years or so as moved away from LA) Was previously a big fan
Dan Sheetz
Best restaurant in america , for real
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Edward Wang
Food: 4.5/5 Service: 4.6/5 Value: 4.3/5
Bavel was really strongly recommended for date nights/celebrations, and it didn’t disappoint. I think the food was phenomenal but the only reason I gave it a lower score is that the majority of the food didn’t blow me away like I would expect for the price. However, that does not mean that the food wasn’t good! My only other con was that the tables were extremely close together and we felt like we had minimal privacy
Hummus Mashaushe: Yummy but preferred the baba ghanoush for a dip with pita bread. Baba Ghanoush: highlight of the dips! Would strongly recommend as a starter Sweet Potato Flatbread: the surprise of the evening. The sweet potato was nicely contrasted with all the other savory toppings. The thin pita bread made it seem different than all the pita we had with the hummus and baba ghanoush even though it was the same. Oyster Mushroom Kebab: So tender and pairs really nicely with the puree on the bottom Grilled Prawns: Another huge highlights. The prawns were huge and succulent, definitely worth the money here! Slow Roasted Lamb Neck Shawarma: The lamb was incredibly tender and the sumac onions were a great addition to break up with dense meat. A great entree to share! Baked Alaska: A delicious cap to our night! The raspberry sherbet was nice and tart, allowing the toasted meringue to really shine.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
M Me
Citrus curry carpaccio is good, and the prawns were great probably my favorite two items. Don't like that you can't add small hebs like cilantro. Good service as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
H Lee
Absolutely stellar service. Fantastic depth in flavor across the dishes and excellent cocktails. Our server helped us appreciate the detail around the preparation and ingredients of each dish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Mimi
Terrible food. Claims to be middle eastern but they’re literally not? Trash service too. Would not recommend
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Patrice
This restaurant has a very good vibe going on. We were seated about 10 to 15 minutes past our reservation time but the restaurant was packed so we kinda understood the wait. Once seated at the food bar, we were greeted by our server who was excellent! He went through the menu with us as this was our first time here, and even took it upon himself to go to the chef to mark off any item that had pork or peanut in it. The drinks were excellent. The food was scrumptious! Everything was on point and we will definitely be returning. This restaurant is a must try if you've never been.
Vanessa Rodriguez
I wanted a beer and had to flag down the waiter bc nobody came back towards the end, otherwise it was good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Shannon
we had a 8pm reservation and were not seated until 8:30. It was pouring rain and the valet was down the block. typically valet are right in front of the door. the food was really good albeit VERY small portions for some of the items. we loved the spreads and appetizers but did not love the entress.
Food was incredible. We made reservations for right when the restaurant opened, and there was already a line out the door - and it was raining! What blew us away was their lamb rack. We’re definitely coming back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Johanna R
I had high expectations but unfortunately this restaurant was just okay. The food was alright, the service was also solid, however it was not phenomenal, considering the costs. I saw this restaurant being recommended a lot so i guess my expectations were just too high. One major annoyance was that it was so loud I couldn’t talk to my partner properly. I don’t know if it was just that night but it gave me bar vibes, not nice-restaurant-date-night vibes. Also no vegetarian Entree’s.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
Monique
The food and staff are outstanding. Everything we had from appetizers, starters, to the main course: delicious. The only complaint I have is the noise level of Bavel. But it was so intrusive that it colored the evening, not a side issue. In looking around it became clear that Bavel was not designed with any noise absorption other than a single cushioned bench, and so, even without music, the noise reverberates. Add to that the booming loud music (probably so loud to overcome the voices noise level) and it just makes conversation a challenge with anyone who is not directly across from or next to you. I am not usually bothered by loud places, this is the first for me in a restaurant review, it was that loud. So I would not advise this for a group of more than 3 people, and would not return only for this reason. Truly exceptional staff from the hostess to the wait staff to the sommelier, and every dish was delicious. We just want to enjoy our friends as much as we want to enjoy the restaurant, and that is not possible inside Bavel, unfortunately.
Alla
As always , excellent food, service and the sommelier was at the top!! He brought us some wines options that weren't even on a list. Bavel is a gem!!
Dinah
Emily L is an incredible Bavel team member. She immediately set the stage for us to have a beautiful and welcoming dining experience. She was eager to answer our questions, had perfect suggestions for our party's different tastes and palates, and she made sure we were satisfied with our more experimental choices. I have no doubt every Bavel customer who is fortunate enough to have Emily L shepherd them through the perfect dining experience will have as glowing a review. Bavel is one of my favorite restaurants and the one restaurant I love to bring out of town guests to. It didn't disappoint this time around despite the changes to some menu items. It's only room for improvement is with the noise level but even that is a minimal concern, particularly with the excellent playlist they curated for last night.
As a frequent contrarian, it is hard for me to compliment a restaurant that so many people won’t stop fawning over. However, Bavel is undeniably excellent and i must admit that the people are correct. Unique Israeli flavors and lesser known dishes from the levant that are so good you forget about Gaza - 🫣😅💃🏻🕺olé!
Food was below par and nowhere near as good as previous experiences Services was scant - when we did speak to a server they were good but, particularly toweards the end of the night was hard to get attention Very very loud and noisy So disappointing compared to prior experiences (haven't been for about 4 years or so as moved away from LA) Was previously a big fan
Best restaurant in america , for real
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Food: 4.5/5
Service: 4.6/5
Value: 4.3/5
Bavel was really strongly recommended for date nights/celebrations, and it didn’t disappoint. I think the food was phenomenal but the only reason I gave it a lower score is that the majority of the food didn’t blow me away like I would expect for the price. However, that does not mean that the food wasn’t good! My only other con was that the tables were extremely close together and we felt like we had minimal privacy
Hummus Mashaushe: Yummy but preferred the baba ghanoush for a dip with pita bread.
Baba Ghanoush: highlight of the dips! Would strongly recommend as a starter
Sweet Potato Flatbread: the surprise of the evening. The sweet potato was nicely contrasted with all the other savory toppings. The thin pita bread made it seem different than all the pita we had with the hummus and baba ghanoush even though it was the same.
Oyster Mushroom Kebab: So tender and pairs really nicely with the puree on the bottom
Grilled Prawns: Another huge highlights. The prawns were huge and succulent, definitely worth the money here!
Slow Roasted Lamb Neck Shawarma: The lamb was incredibly tender and the sumac onions were a great addition to break up with dense meat. A great entree to share!
Baked Alaska: A delicious cap to our night! The raspberry sherbet was nice and tart, allowing the toasted meringue to really shine.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Citrus curry carpaccio is good, and the prawns were great probably my favorite two items. Don't like that you can't add small hebs like cilantro. Good service as well.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Absolutely stellar service. Fantastic depth in flavor across the dishes and excellent cocktails. Our server helped us appreciate the detail around the preparation and ingredients of each dish.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Terrible food. Claims to be middle eastern but they’re literally not? Trash service too. Would not recommend
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
This restaurant has a very good vibe going on. We were seated about 10 to 15 minutes past our reservation time but the restaurant was packed so we kinda understood the wait. Once seated at the food bar, we were greeted by our server who was excellent! He went through the menu with us as this was our first time here, and even took it upon himself to go to the chef to mark off any item that had pork or peanut in it. The drinks were excellent. The food was scrumptious! Everything was on point and we will definitely be returning. This restaurant is a must try if you've never been.
I wanted a beer and had to flag down the waiter bc nobody came back towards the end, otherwise it was good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
we had a 8pm reservation and were not seated until 8:30. It was pouring rain and the valet was down the block. typically valet are right in front of the door. the food was really good albeit VERY small portions for some of the items. we loved the spreads and appetizers but did not love the entress.
Restaurantji Recommends
Food was incredible. We made reservations for right when the restaurant opened, and there was already a line out the door - and it was raining! What blew us away was their lamb rack. We’re definitely coming back.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had high expectations but unfortunately this restaurant was just okay. The food was alright, the service was also solid, however it was not phenomenal, considering the costs. I saw this restaurant being recommended a lot so i guess my expectations were just too high. One major annoyance was that it was so loud I couldn’t talk to my partner properly. I don’t know if it was just that night but it gave me bar vibes, not nice-restaurant-date-night vibes. Also no vegetarian Entree’s.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 3
Service: 4
The food and staff are outstanding. Everything we had from appetizers, starters, to the main course: delicious. The only complaint I have is the noise level of Bavel. But it was so intrusive that it colored the evening, not a side issue. In looking around it became clear that Bavel was not designed with any noise absorption other than a single cushioned bench, and so, even without music, the noise reverberates. Add to that the booming loud music (probably so loud to overcome the voices noise level) and it just makes conversation a challenge with anyone who is not directly across from or next to you. I am not usually bothered by loud places, this is the first for me in a restaurant review, it was that loud. So I would not advise this for a group of more than 3 people, and would not return only for this reason. Truly exceptional staff from the hostess to the wait staff to the sommelier, and every dish was delicious. We just want to enjoy our friends as much as we want to enjoy the restaurant, and that is not possible inside Bavel, unfortunately.
As always , excellent food, service and the sommelier was at the top!! He brought us some wines options that weren't even on a list. Bavel is a gem!!
Emily L is an incredible Bavel team member. She immediately set the stage for us to have a beautiful and welcoming dining experience. She was eager to answer our questions, had perfect suggestions for our party's different tastes and palates, and she made sure we were satisfied with our more experimental choices. I have no doubt every Bavel customer who is fortunate enough to have Emily L shepherd them through the perfect dining experience will have as glowing a review. Bavel is one of my favorite restaurants and the one restaurant I love to bring out of town guests to. It didn't disappoint this time around despite the changes to some menu items. It's only room for improvement is with the noise level but even that is a minimal concern, particularly with the excellent playlist they curated for last night.
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