Restaurants / Reviews
Baba Ganoush Kitchen – restaurant review
Baba Ganoush Kitchen was not so long ago a Stapleton Road favourite, but the restaurant has now upped sticks to make the move to a new home on the edge of St Paul’s.
A brightly coloured mural of fruits and a purple store front welcome hungry passers-by inside, with Baba Ganoush already appearing settled in its new location on the corner of St Nicholas’ Road and Newfoundland Road.
The restaurant is a vibrant splash of colour at the end of a residential street only a few hundred yards from the start of the M32.
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On a recent Friday evening, two of the three tables inside were already taken. One customer was trying his first meal at the restaurant, and the waitress suggested a simple lunch box as his first foray into the Middle Eastern food on offer.
On the other table, a couple were returning and had a selection of plates surrounding them. They chatted to the waitress, with the conversation centring on how good the hummus and falafel were.
The Beirut mezze at Baba Ganoush in St Paul’s is a feast of Middle Eastern food
Baba Ganoush focuses on hearty and simple eastern cuisine. It’s all vegetarian and vegan, with a range of dishes and mezzes on offer, as well as freshly-squeezed juice, coffee and mint tea.
Taking the last table, the small dining room is a little too warm and quite cramped, but ignoring the oversized seating and taking a pew, attention turned to what was for dinner.
Ordering a mint tea, it was a pleasant surprise to find that it was made with fresh mint leaves, the brew getting stronger the longer it was left. As the restaurant is so small and hot, it took a while for the tea to cool down enough to drink and the well-stewed mint leaves made for a tingling, fresh beverage.
It was hard to decide between ordering a few of the small plates or the vegan mezze. The vegan mezze has two variations: Jerusalem and Beirut. The Beirut mezze was ordered after some deliberation between the two.
Both mezzes come with falafel, tahini, chilli sauce, pickles and flatbread. The Beirut mezze also comes with kashari, moussaka, hummus and salad, which wins over the Jerusalem’s baba ghanoush, spicy potatoes and dolmados this time round.
The kitchen is in full view of the dining room and it was relaxing to watch the chefs create the platter. A few minutes later, the Beirut mezze arrived on a single, large plate, with a side plate for the flatbread. A smaller plate was brought to the table and cutlery and napkin placed next to it by the waitress.
Diving in for the vegan moussaka, the chickpea, tomato and aubergine were cooked perfectly. Warming and tasty, it was great way to start.
The kashari was not as good; the topping too spicy and the rice not quite cooked, but that was easily forgotten when trying the salad and hummus. The salad was crisp, with a chilli dressing, and the hummus fresh and nothing like the pots found in the supermarket.
Inside, Baba Ganoush is decidedly on the cosy side
The star of the show, however, was the falafel. Too often are vegans and vegetarians subjected to the dry, dense falafel of the local shop – the sort that’s just about digestible when slathered with hummus or warmed in a pitta.
The falafel served at Baba Ganoush are nothing of the sort. They are freshly fried and still sizzling, with a crispy exterior that’s not too oily. The inside was bright green and is filling but not solid.
The waitress noticed our enjoyment and came over, explaining how they’re made “fresh every day and with love. That’s why they taste so good!”
The mezze was a filling meal for one, or a good size tea for two. It comes with one flatbread, but two would be preferable if several were indulging in this Middle Eastern feast. And make sure you also try the excellent falafel, whether that’s as part of a mezze, a lunch box or a wrap.
It may have a new postcode, but this former Stapleton Road favourite is already feeling right at home in its new location.
Baba Ganoush Kitchen, 81 St Nicholas’ Road, St Paul’s, Bristol, BS2 9JJ
0117 955 6655
Read more: Real Habesha – restaurant review
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