Baba Grill — Restaurant in Waterloo

Tldr: Cheap, quick chinese takeout. Inconsistent quality and taste

Came here a couple times when i succumbed to my chinese food cravings during school at Waterloo. This place is conveniently located in the University plaza, offering take-out chinese food. They offer combos with choices of fried rice and fried noodles (shanghai and chow mein) as the staples, a choice of vegetables, and a selection of meats.

In my opinion, the quality and taste of the food here is just ok. The amount of food that they give is not always consistent (also depends on the person that is serving you), and some days the meats are pretty dry and can get pretty salty and greasy. However, they are pretty speedy with their service, and the price is pretty competitive relative to the other food joints in the plaza as well. If you want a quick bite (kind of like a grab and go type of meal), then you could try this place. But if you're looking for better tasting chinese food, i would suggest...

I have been going here for almost once week for 10 years. Started with Panda King and now BaBa Grill. They have had great food, portions and price…. Unfortunately things don’t last forever. Food is still very good. The fish is fantastic. Spicy chicken my second choice. Fried rice isn’t bad and not always hot, I just wish it was fresh everyday without adding any corn. Lol. The problem now is portion and price. Depending on who is serving will depend on how little or packed your container is. The price has gone up 3 times in a year. The owner we don’t see Friday at lunch anymore, so I can’t ask why. Covid I am sure will be the reason. Cook doesn’t really speak English at all, also unfortunate. I know of others who have stopped going due to price alone. Better value on other lunch menus in the plaza. Overall I am enjoying this cafe style Chinese restaurant. I will go at least once a week, for now. Go easy on...

This place is awesome.

For the food, it is packed with quality with good quantity. I got the lunch special which is $9 for two meats, mixed veggies, and a choice of rice/noodles. I recommend the chicken fried rice. It's soft in texture and has a good egg overlay in the rice - not too much or too less. To go with it, definitely get their BaBa chicken. It's sweet marinated diced chicken. I haven't tried it yet but my buddy said the BBQ pork is super tender as well. Going to give that a try soon.

For the ambience, it's newly renovated and is probably the cleanest restaurant in the plaza.

If you're hungry and looking for quality Chinese (not super authentic but still good), then give this place a try and you...