Babou's — Local services in Dallas

A shame that a place that has so much potential is wasting away into another trash bar with terrible service and overpriced drinks.

With the original team running Stillwell’s you could walk in sporadically at night, greet everyone at the bar, then get yourself a table outside on the patio and have a great round of drinks and catch up with the staff. Apparently this is a foreign concept to the new team, who will stare at your party as you walk through an empty bar to the patio, stare at you through the patio doors repeatedly after you are sitting down, and proceed to let you sit there for 20 minutes before you go back inside and ask if you can trouble someone to check if we would like to order, and then be told you have to go back and check in with the front desk if you’d like to be served drinks, the same front desk I had already spoken to as I entered the restaurant.

About 4 were people eating inside at that time, making the customer-to-staff ratio about 1:2, and it didn’t occur to anyone standing around that maybe they should at the very least ask the table they keep staring at outside what they are doing there, and if by any possible chance it was related to being in a bar and wanting a drink, even if it was just to tell them that “hey, not sure if you know, the hostesses haven’t told us about y’all”?

After being told we had to go back to the hostess before the waiters could gain sentience, we decided enough of our time had already been wasted, and that maybe Babou’s would be a better experience.

As we exited the elevator my optimism was short lived, as I remembered we would need the approval of the Gestapo before we could enter. I’ve been fortunate to have never been turned away from the door, but always forget how talking to this dude is about as fun as having someone fart in your mouth. After giving my drivers license, social security number, mother’s maiden name, and next month’s winning powerball numbers, we were let inside.

As usual, and the exact opposite of what having such strict bouncers would make it seem, Babou’s was almost completely empty, so we walked straight up to the bar and ordered a drink. No problems there, but cue my gasp when my friend orders a well tequila soda and is charged $25 before tip. Huh? How is the Ritz across the street now a comparatively more affordable option?

I order a White Russian, which again, I didn’t know would be a mistake, as I was then told, after a half made drink was sitting on the bar 5 minutes, that they were still looking for half and half, milk, or some sort of cream. Do y’all not take inventory before doors open? We waited another 5 minutes, to which the bartender then asked if I’d be okay with an espresso martini, or something else coffee related without the cream, which I said absolutely. He then turned it into an espresso martini, apologized for the wait, and offered it to me on the house — awesome dude, he’s great, was really nice of him to ask what else I’d like and offer it free of charge. Just had to mention he specifically was great, but cmon, I mean like how does Babou’s run a bar without having common ingredients ready to go??

Anyways, if you’re a geriatric with too much money and not enough taste, Babou’s is a great place to stand around weirdly placed couches with fellow seniors.

The library has always been sick, though, so can’t ding you for that, just a shame it doesn’t have better drinks. Great place for cool pictures. See attached picture for proof of coolness, my hedgehog is...

Foggy, still the fabulous shines through! Babou’s is a tale of complexity; Are we a lounge? Or are we trying to be a club? Are we striving for elegant, or settling for casual. The initial impression entering is one of early American, and European opulence; from the hardwood Parquet flooring, assorted upholstered seating, hand woven tapestry rugs & Helical stairs; The Library is elegantly practical, right down to the silver tray service, the smartly dressed staff, and diverse clientele. The adjoining room however is where the functionality of the design doesn’t rise to the occasion. The kindest word I can use to prepare any visitor, is compact. Based on the desired marketing plan, I love the idea, of a DJ, with table, and bottle service, however presentation, and execution are paramount. The VIP staff I experienced, (Victoria, Aarin, and Nai) along with other staff members are the gems of Babou’s, but they can only do so much. The well stocked standup up bar, minimalistic in both size, and customer flow area, offers little space to order or stand. The furnishings, although nice, sit much to low, not to feel your personal space invaded, while enjoying your cocktails. I wouldn’t consider any area in Babou’s a dance floor, but for those with deep pockets, and a reservation they offer true VIP seating. Always a plus for me, valet is offered, However an important FYI it’s North Harwood, their website makes no distinction, and for those of us not from the area, I learned, there’s definitely a difference between North, and South Harwood. I hope to enjoy Babou’s with you soon; you already know where you’ll find...

My sister came to visit from out of town so we wanted to try this place out since we found them on google. Like the other reviews stated it is very hard to find. But when we found it, we thought it was really cute. This place is not diverse at all. So I'll be prepared for that. We had an area reserved for us, and there was a wedding party there as well, so it got pretty crowded within an hour of us being there. We got up to use the restroom, and before we left, we informed the waitress that we would be right back and we left our Fiji water bottle on the table just to make sure they knew we were coming back. We walked to the bathroom and the bathroom smelled very bad so we turned around and walked right back to our seat and they had already thrown away our water bottles and cleared the table for someone else to sit at our reserve seat. We had literally only been there one hour And they were trying to push us out basically so that they could give our table to someone else. When I asked the waiter about it, she denied that she knew why this happened and offered to take care of our two drinks that we ordered. I still see the drinks on my credit card statement so I'm waiting for that to be cleared. But we will never come to this place again. This place is Not for people of color. It seems that they only respect rich people of non-color. Take that...