Babylon Kitchen — Restaurant in Alpine Township

We visited on an evening midweek.

Placing our order at the counter went smoothly except for drinks. They don't have fountain drinks which is really disappointing (I drink a lot, so canned/bottled drinks are prohibitively expensive for me).

Bottled water (the 16.9-oz Members Mark bottles that Sams Club sells in 40-packs for $4.00) is a couple bucks per bottle, so I asked for a cup of tap water instead. They didn't have any cups, either... At this point we felt set-up/railroaded.

This place loves sumac, so if you like sumac (I do) you'll like it better and if you don't (my wife doesn't) you'll like it less.

Food recipes seem good but prep & cooking quality was mediocre; meat (both beef and lamb) was chewy, wraps are cut down the middle which makes them impossible to pick up (like a broken hard taco), and hummus tasted good except for occasional unblended chunks of garlic.

I don't think the falafel is made fresh. It wasn't green and it was in uniform "wheels". Still tasted decent.

The atmosphere is really, really bad. The dining room feels unfinished; hanging wires, no speakers, really bad lighting (insufficient lights and awful cold/blue color temp).

It was COLD in there (I think it was probably around 60 degrees inside! Outdoor temp was 40 or 50). I tend to run warm, but even in a hoodie I was chilly. Wifey (who runs cold) was freezin.

There's no speakers built in, so when we came in the dining room was cold and silent. Someone turned on music from the back which helped some, but it felt strange to broadcast music...

Using Google search, my daughter found Babylon kitchen after a day spent at a nearby apple orchard with the grandkids. She knows I love Middle Eastern food, having grown up in an Iraqi-American household. She and the grandkids are vegetarian and my husband and I are omnivores. We found food to delight all our palates, from falafel to chicken shawarma entrees, served with two kinds of rice , the best hummus I’ve ever had (topped with pomegranate) and all the authentic condiments like Amba, garlic dip, and yogurt sauce. The food is freshly prepared, so you may have to wait a little, but believe me, it’s FANTASTIC and soooo worth it. I don’t often take the time to write a review, but this experience warranted it. In fact, my first review froze up for some reason and I even took the time to rewrite and resubmit. It’s just that special! Prices are very reasonable, quantities are substantial, and our server was very kind, helpful and friendly. If you get the opportunity to converse with the two men who are chefs and potentially owners, don’t miss it. They are lovely people who are happy to share their knowledge of the Iraqi cuisine, Chaldean culture, and heritage with you. Come in for a meal, and leave feeling like family. I highly recommend Babylon Kitchen, and although it is over an hour and a half from my mid-Michigan home, I’m looking forward to a...

This is a must try restaurant experience. The food is the best Mediterranean food in West Michigan. There is an exciting explosion of flavors that will bring you back here again and again. This is a family owned place authentic to Iraq's special and unique taste of Mediterranean style cuisine. I lived in the middle east for 6 months and it is the real thing. If you want to experience Mediterranean or Middle Eastern food this is a must. We had the privilege of trying a good variety of the menu including the lamb tika, falafel plate with sides of baba ganoush, two styles of rice, hummus, Mediterranean salad, & eggplant salad. We followed up the meal with pistachio tiramisu, in baklava. We loved the eggplant salad so much that we ordered a large version to take home with us. Everything was just amazing and couldn't ask for better quality of food and service. Alicia at the front desk was attentive and very friendly made sure we had everything we wanted, we also had the privilege of meeting the owner Brandon and the chef Leo, who shared a little of their history and story. All together an amazing experience. For the quality of food in amount that they served us the value...