Babylon Restaurant and Bar — Restaurant in West Homestead

TL;DR: Don't judge a book by its cover. It may look like a dive, but the food and service is on point, and the price is a great value for the amount of food you get!

We visited on 6/8/24. It was my eldest son's birthday, and they wanted to try Mediterranean food for his birthday. This was close to where we were picking up his cake and was highly reviewed, so we decided to give it a go.

Fair warning: When you pull in, the place looks like a slightly seedy dive bar. When you enter, you go through the bar portion. My kids all said that it seemed weird (no one in our family frequents bars, so it was a very different experience for them), I told the them, ot would be fine, and we walked towards the back and was greeted warmly by the waitress, who flipped on the lights and fans in the dining room, which had a much warmer decor than the bar.

Service: The waitress (I'm sorry, I didn't get her name) was super sweet and friendly. She constantly checked up on us and made sure everything was good (Spoiler: it sooo was!). At no point did we ever feel rushed, just a really chill laid back vibe.

The Food: My family is a little on the less adventurous side, so the four of them got the Gyro Sandwich, while I went with the Lamb Shwarma Sandwich, something I've never tried before.

The gyros were really good and very authentic, I wasn't able to try much since no one wanted to share. Something something, ravenous wolves.

I've never had Shwarma, so I had no idea what to expect. The meat was incredibly tender and not gamey at all. The sauce, which I'm guessing, is basalmic vinegar based, was both sweet and tart, and was really bright with a little heat at the end.

All of the meals came with a ton of fries that were absolutely on point.

Price: On the surface, this place seems kinda expensive. The gyros were just under $10, and the shwarma was $13, and drinks and baklava (and trust me, you'll want to add the cashew baklava), and it gets up there with a family of 5. But, there's so much food that we had enough left over for 2 more meals for each of us. Suddenly, the value proposition makes the price a steal!

There's so many great options that I want to try that I know we'll be back here again and again.

One slight nit pick, the music from the attached bar was a little loud, but it honestly wasn't enough to interfere with normal conversation, even sitting next to the open door to the bar. Other than that, there was nothing to complain about. Just don't judge a book...

DO NOT EAT HERE IF YOU HAVE ANY DIETARY RESTRICTIONS / ALLERGIES I called before ordering because my wife and I both have gluten allergies and asked if there was anything we needed to be concerned about or avoid as far as gluten/wheat and discussed what we might get. I then called back and placed the order again mentioning that we needed GLUTEN FREE. After we got home and each ate a significant portion, my wife noticed there were tiny vermicelli noodles mixed in with the rice. She called and confirmed they are wheat and not rice noodles. We will both be sick tonight… paid almost $45 to get sick and can’t eat the remainder of the meals. Do NOT recommend. REGARDING OWNER RESPONSE ==. I mentioned GLUTEN AND wheat AND flour. I said the word GLUTEN no less than 5 times. As a restaurant owner you should clearly EDUCATE YOURSELF regarding what gluten is. Given this response, there won’t ever be a next time. Never mind that we both DID get sick (my wife worst of all) and you still didn’t even offer a refund. Also your response is kinda dumb saying I only mentioned flour… you still ended up selling / making us food - vermicelli noodles made with wheat FLOUR that you still didn’t disclose. If you didn’t know what gluten was when I mentioned it multiple times and even if I had only mentioned “we couldn’t have flour”… maybe YOU should have asked what kind of flour… either way, your answer should have been YES, there is flour in the vermicelli noodles in the rice. 🤦🏻‍♂️ Please keep in mind that some people can end up in the hospital as the result of situations like this. It is your responsibility to know enough about food allergies to be able to have a basic discussion about it with your customers and to ensure you are not...

This place is a gem off the side of the road. I had no idea this restaurant/bar was here so close to home! It turned out to be such a treasure for the neighborhood. My son and I stopped by on a Wednesday evening after a friend of mine told me about it. I loooove hummus, so I was excited to try out a place so nearby. The vibe inside is perfect. It's got a small town feel, and the staff was so welcoming and hospitable. The guy who was working was super friendly and kind, and from what I could tell, he knew the name of each person who came in, which was just cool to see. You don't find that in many places! The food was delicious! We got hummus, Greek yogurt, chicken tenders and a Gyro. Everything was so good. You could taste that the food was homemade with love. The breading on the chicken tenders tasted like the comfort food my mom has made in the past. It was crispy and flavorful while the mest was tender and juicy. Everything was served piping hot. The French fries were so crispy and fresh, too. Hummus was fantastic, and the presentation was beautiful, as pictured. The gyro was tender and tasty. I love tzatziki sauce. All I can say is please go and support this local restaurant/bar! Especially if you live nearby in Munhall, Lincoln Place or Homestead. There really aren't any other Mediterranean restaurants near us, this is the spot! They also have a great bar selection, and we found out they have monthly karaoke on Saturdays, so we will be stopping back for that!! Parking was ample...