baba Spokane — Restaurant in Spokane

Oh-My-Goodness! Hubby and I did 'brunch' take out today. While there is one really-good Miditerranean restaurant and one so-so in town, Baba is Wonderful. The food is fresh, treated 'lightly,' and combined in EXCITING ways. Middle Eastern-Mediterranean, (whatever-you-call) it is my favorite, my comfort food. This is the best outside Detroit (huge Lebanese population and home of our family's go-to for at least 30 years). Specifically from what we tried today: Burnt Eggplant Dip: Marveous, creamy, fresh, very delicious. Sweet/Sour Cauliflower: 'Just right' texture-not too soft, not too dense, s/s enough to complement, not overpower. Fried Beet/Carrot Salad: New favorite. Lightly dressed, vegetable texture again, 'just right,' this unusual mix of items (hunks of feta, raisins, pickled onions, sauted shallots, greens etc) a light and very yummy combination. Loved that items vs. greens is to the item side. Koftka Meatball in Pita-tender, light 'bite' to it. Came with fries. Keep challenging palates and ditch the fries. Offer side salad or other. Falafel in Pita- Falafel not overworked; tender, such a yummy combination with the, again, lightly worked vegetables. Omit fries. Cheeseburger Kibbeh-Thankfully, not really anything like a cheeseburger, but a great . I love kibbeh. Andad for the unfamiliar. This is again, tender, wonderful mouth feel with all the fresh taste and herbs to raise 'meatloaf' to heights never experienced this side of the Atlantic. Chopped parsley on top heightens the light flavor and doesn't get lost as it might as an internal ingredient. Yogurt Donuts: Think crispy donut holes with tangy yogurt cheese and honey. A hit for me. The pita: for dips and sandwich 'holders,' Soft, tender, wonderful chew, FRESH adds 'yum' to anything. GREAT pita! Hummus: The only other ho-hum item, which is surprising. Not to be omitted but with a 'history' of great hummus eating, this isn't one that will test your willpower not to overeat. Yup, we ordered lots, one to give a new restaurant a good visit, and two, leftovers. There are dinner items not on the brunch menu, and we will certainly be back to try them and eventually, in their dining room. Baba, after one shot, is on my favorite list. It's the first M/ME restaurant I'd rate as on par with the family...

Title: Extremely Disappointing Experience at Baba's

Rating:

I recently visited Baba's in Spokane, and I must say it was one of the worst dining experiences I've ever had. As a Middle Eastern food enthusiast, I was genuinely excited to try this restaurant, which had garnered high ratings. Unfortunately, my enthusiasm quickly turned into frustration and disappointment.

The first issue was the lackluster service. Despite the restaurant not being busy, my family and I had to make the initial effort to get noticed by the staff. We weren't greeted and had to wait for what felt like an eternity to be seated, even though there were plenty of empty tables.

To make matters worse, we were informed that only the brunch menu was available at the time. This was a stark contrast to what I had seen when researching the restaurant, where a more extensive regular menu was showcased. It was disappointing to realize that our dining options were so limited.

The biggest letdown, however, was the excruciatingly long wait for our food. We watched in disbelief as other patrons, who arrived after us, were served their orders promptly. When we finally addressed our concerns with the assistant manager, we received an unsatisfactory response: "We are short-staffed." While this might explain some delays, it did not justify the fact that we were left waiting for over an hour while others were enjoying their meals. The manager made no effort to make amends for our frustrating experience.

We left the restaurant hungry and disappointed, with no apology or gesture of goodwill from the staff. This lack of customer service was astonishing, considering our ordeal.

In summary, my visit to Baba's in Spokane was marred by poor service, a limited menu, and an excruciatingly long wait for food. The lack of empathy and effort to rectify the situation from the assistant manager was the final straw. I would caution anyone considering dining here, as it was an experience I would not wish...

I've eaten at Baba before, so I was deeply disappointed in my most recent experience. The service was nonexistent; three or four employees walked right past us without even asking if we had been helped. I finally had to step up to the bar and ask someone to help us; they said someone would be right with us, but they apparently didn't pass that along to the other waitstaff, because it was 10 minutes before anyone even asked us if we needed to be helped. There was a waiting list even though the dining room was half-empty, but that might have been partially due to half those tables being filled with dirty dishes. One table near us wasn't bussed and cleaned during our entire visit. It felt like the place was understaffed, but there were at least five waitstaff that I could see.

It took nearly another 10 minutes to get water. Water. Seriously. It felt like we had been forgotten. When I was finally able to order iced tea, it took another few minutes for the waitress to discover that they had forgotten to brew any iced tea that day. To be fair, she brought me a complimentary iced chai.

The food, once it arrived, was underwhelming. My son's burger was charred, although he said it tasted good. My kofta kebabs with couscous were overcooked, dry, and tough. The couscous was also dry, but that's okay, because there was literally only about 1/4 cup of it! Couscous is cheap and plentiful, so there was no excuse for such a paltry serving. It was not worth $21.

Even the venue is unappealing; the chairs were very uncomfortable, the table wobbled, and there is no attempt at noise control, meaning that you will be shouting at your dining companions the whole time. I guess that's better than shouting at the waitstaff.

Overall, Baba was not worth our time or money. I won't...