Bavel: A Culinary Journey Through Middle Eastern Flavors in Los Angeles

We finally tried Bavel!! Yes the food is elite! And the staff is very knowledgeable about the menu and the wine selection. Came here on a busy Saturday night- waited a little bit to get seated but got a nice patio table in the end. Btw valet is 13$ We started with the duck hummus spread with the super fluffy pita. Followed by the grilled prawns with tzatziki. Everything was great but the star of our meal was definitely the wagyu beef cheeks tagine! Must try. Since it was my birthday we had to get dessert too and we didn't go wrong with the labneh cheesecake with berries! We were so full at the end of the night but tried to finish it all

Had to come back a second time!! The dorade was surprisingly delicious!! Baba ganoush also a hit Our waiter, Cole, was amazing!! So personable, took his time to explain the dishes and wine. Super friendly and welcoming. Really made our time there 100x better!

Loved this restaurant! Great birthday spot with plant filled ambience, intimate lighting and great Mediterranean food! Their pita was to die for, so fluffy I could eat my weight in them:) Everything else divine I also love labneh and they gave a special dessert for my birthday!

It was pretty loud in here, I guess most of the noise was just from conversations; the tables are pretty close to one another. Reservations are imperative. Parking is difficult; there was a valet, but that seemed fully occupied during dinnertime (6pm). I loved the appetizers/spreads, but didn't care much for the entrees. I'd reorder many of appetizers, but not the main dishes, which is too bad because the dishes are on the pricier side. Some of the items orders included the following: Hummus Cannellini Masabacha, Hummus Duck 'Nduja, Baba Ghanoush, Sweet Potato Flatbread, Grilled Merguez, Oyster Mushroom Kebab, Butter Lettuce Salad, Grilled Prawns, Grilled Dorade, and Slow Roasted Lamb Neck Shawarma. The Baba Ghanoush was my favorite from the spreads we tried. The Oyster Mushroom Kebab was my favorite starter; the mushroom tasted very meaty and the sauces it was served with were delicious! I tried the Labneh Cheesecake and Nougat Ice Cream Bar for dessert. I wasn't overly impressed with either dessert and could have gone without. Overall, very good flavor combinations with nice plating.

First time at Bavel and it's already ranking high in my list of favorite restaurants in LA! My friends and I made our reservations 2 weeks in advance for a weeknight reservation for dinner and we took the last 7pm spot. Parking was $13 valet or street parking. There was also parking structures thats $10 around. Street parking was pretty hard to find in the area. When we arrived there was still a small wait to be seated. I appreciated how our server explained the menu and was carefully going over the menu for allergies and marked off menu items that have those ingredients. The menu items are meant to be family style and shared, just the way we like it. For spreads, we ordered the Hummus Duck 'Nduja and Chicken Liver Pate. Appetizers we had Oyster Mushroom Kebob and the Malawach. For Entrees, we got Grilled Dorade, Slow Roasted Lamb Neck Shawarma, Braised Wagyu Beef Cheek Tagine. Everything was good, but my stand outs were the Hummus Duck 'Nduja and Grilled Dorade. Will def come back!

Gorgeous atmosphere and gorgeous food. I had an amazing birthday dinner at Bavel this week and cannot stop thinking about their food. I'm a die-hard fan of Middle Eastern food and loved how creative the menu items were. The baba ghanoush was the best I've ever had - sweet, nutty, and herbaceous. I also really enjoyed the oyster mushrooms, which were roasted on an open fire and tasted super meaty. The apps def outshined the entreés here. I really appreciate that our server gave the recommendation of ordering 1 spread, 3 apps, and 1 entreé to share. It was the perfect amount of food. I honestly would've subbed the entreé for another 2 apps because of how amazing they were. This spot is a must-try in LA!

We just had a fabulous meal at Bavel. Loved the interior, very open relaxing vibe. Service was very good - Steven approached us regularly to check-in. He offered recommendations as well as quantity recommendations. The only suggestions I would make for service and overall vibe - servers were inconsistent in explaining food as it was dropped at table. Some gave us detailed explanations, others just dropped and left. Since it is family style, it would also have been nice to have serving pieces instead of using personal forks we were eating off of over and over again. Also music could be turned down, it is difficult to hear even at a small table of 4. Baba Ghanoush was delicious and so colorful. The yummy bread that went with it was also good. Loved the Chicken Pate!! These two spreads were my favorite part of meal. The Kibbeh and Merguez were my husband's favorite. And the lamb Shawarma was delicious. We devoured the Chocolate lavender donuts. Food was spot on and we really enjoyed our meal!!!

Bavel is special. The service is outstanding (shout out to Britt, Meghan, and Andrew for the best night) and the room feels alive. We had the duck humus, celery root (secretly the best thing on the menu I think), rack of lamb, smoked trout, fried quail, and finished with the ice cream bar. 10/10 all around.