Babylon Café

Consistently good quality met with reasonable prices, Babylon Café is great.

Great for what it is. Nice fellas running it and the portions are bigger compared to others on the Drive. Good Value and the veggies are pretty fresh looking.

Hands down, best falafel on the drive, and I’ve had them all. Be prepared to wait for the falafel cause the spoon drop on order, not sitting in some warming pan or heated in a microwave. Dudes aren’t going to ask you about your day, just if you want hot sauce! Get the plate. It’s filling and we’ll worth the price. These guys love making good food. A hidden gem for sure!

I absolutely love this place. The shawarma wraps are delicious!!! The falafel appetizer is so flavourful and the tasty as well! I have got to say it’s an amazing joint. The gentleman that works their regularly is really nice. He lets you try things if your not sure of the taste. I come here often now cause of the location being near my place. The plates are delicious as well. This place defiantly satisfies any Mediterranean cuisine cravings you may have! It’s very reasonable price as well. Defiantly a place to check out if your on commercial! :)

Went in and asked for 2 chicken wraps, based on there being a beautiful greasy slab on the spit. After some confusing banter, the counter guy went to work on preparing the pitas while a larger fellow came from the back and started covering a pathetic small hunk of beef/​lamb with aluminum foil. «It’s really good» I think he said, explaining with hand motions how they layer the meats on the spit (irrelevant) «You’re getting this one.»
After fussing awkwardly with the pitas for a long while, our counter guy finally deemed the beef/​lamb warm enough to fill the wraps, while the other guy proceeded to charge me $ 18.39 for two frigid wraps, even though I was there for the chicken (which would have been closer to $ 15). Outside, my partner and I hoped for the best but the meat was hard on the outside, cold and stringy on the inside, and first bites were promptly spit out.
It’s too bad because the Babylon on Robson has delightedly filled my gorge into full submission dozens of times. Go there, and get the full chicken plate. AVOID THIS ONE.

Cheap and filling. This location can get busy after 5 pm, therefore, some patience is required especially since it is a small store, however, it moves pretty fast. I do find that you can get a lot for so little which is appreciated and fits the culture. Very awesome customer service.

Loved the original hole-​in-​the-​wall (quite literally) on Robson and Granville. It was a tiny walk-​up counter that would only fit four people max, the three behind the counter and you making payment. Not the place you would imagine great mid-​eastern shwarmas and falafels, but the ingredients were really good and at a fair price. That memory served me well until the building was torn down and I lost sight of Babylon café until searching for mid-​eastern foods on Commercial Drive I found the familiar name.
This location was not quite the hole-​in-​the-​wall feel, actually quite the opposite (as there’s tables and chairs, a washroom, and it’s much cleaner), but the food was like what I had several years back at that original location on Robson. Had the shwarma plate and found it tasty, but I suspect that ordering it late night probably did not get the fresh ingredients that had originally kept me coming back to that little hole-​in-​the-​wall. Nevertheless, it was a good heaping portion and the flavours on par with a decent meal.
Will try again for the shwarma wraps — my benchmark for mid-​eastern fair :)

This one star is not based on the restaurant, but based on the rude worker at the commercial drive location (I would give a 0 star, but 1 star is the lowest possible). Twice the husky bald worker was very rude to us. The first time we went in 30 minutes before closing, and he wouldn’t serve us and rudely kicked us out saying he was closed. Today (Dec 14) we arrived at 6:30 and he was sweeping the floor and told us rudely «COME BACK 30 MINS» We asked why and he just pointed at the floor and said he was sweeping. We were surprised since 6:30 is dinner time and he turns away paying customers to sweep the floor. This is not how you run a business and have repeat customers. There is no way a customer would come back since there are so many other food establishments in the area who value their customers. We are very disappointed and will NOT be visiting this location again. The Denman location however is very polite and courteous. I would give the staff at the Denman location a 5 star review and the husky bald man at commercial drive location a big fat ZERO. Its a shame how one person can tarnish and ruin an otherwise fine dining experience.

Two words: fresh falafel!
The falafel are made fresh to order and you may add one or two to a chicken or lamb plate for a buck or two. Love the rice, like the salad, hummus, and tabbouleh, don’t care for the tzatziki or pita.
But for lunch under $ 10, with leftovers to supplement another meal, this can’t be beat.

I stopped in one cold and rainy night and decided to try this place out. The staff was super nice and friendly. There was a girl behind the counter ready to take my order and another doing food prep in the back. Both smiled and greeted me upon my arrival. I decided on the chicken shawarma and the girl politely walked me through all the available toppings when I was pleasantly surprised there are more options than other places. My food was ready quickly and since the weather wasn’t so great I decided to stick around and eat inside. The décor is nothing special but you cant expect it to be for a little place like this. It was nice and clean and I liked the music that was softly playing in the background. The shawarma I had was awesome! The portion was big and everything was fresh and well prepared. I almost couldn’t finish it but since it was delicious, I couldn’t stop either. The only thing that bothered me was the conversation I couldn’t help but overhear. It was a holiday and a man that came in after me mentioned that he hoped they were getting good overtime pay for having to be there. The girl behind the counter was surprised and confused. She didn’t know that they were entitled to extra pay for holidays. He asked if they receive additional wages for overtime or holidays and she shook her head no. The man expressed his disgust for unfair treatment of employees and let her know that it is a violation of labour laws and she should report her boss and then he quickly received his food and he left. I loved the food, loved the service, appreciated the cleanliness, and also felt really bad for these girls so I pulled out some additional tip money and went back to the counter to leave it for them. They didn’t see the tip right away but noticed that I was getting ready to leave so they both smiled at me and wished me a good evening and thanked me for coming. I hope the treatment of staff has been worked out because I love this place but don’t want to support shady business practices.

I probably average a chicken plate from this café once every two weeks. Maybe a bit more during the summer when the weather permits.
I’m not a Middle Eastern food specialist and my experience is limited to Doner kebab and shawarmas. But compared to similar restaurants on the Drive, the portions are larger and it’s about 10% cheaper. The chicken is consistently good with the occasional plate of dry meat. They’re generous with the tahini sauce but hummus results in an extra charge. I tried the lamb plate once and it was dry like jerky. I’ve not ordered it again since.
The venue is what you would expect for a $ 7 or $ 8 plate of food. The customer service is friendly and approachable. They also sell some soft drinks and juice which seem to be imported. Overall, it’s a nice place for a wholesome lunch or dinner.

Ordered a Chicken Shawarma Plate — $ 8.75
Let me begin by saying that the décor is your typical bland, run-​down take out joint, which does not leave much to desire. However, I am here for the food, so let’s get straight to the that.
After my order was compiled, the portions were slightly bigger than your average Shawarma plate, so it’s enough for someone that has a big appetite.
Now, onto the sides, The side salad was very sour, they put too much lemon juice dressing. The potato was roasted right and flavourful. Can’t comment much about the pita, the rice was good and well spiced. The tzatiki sauce was very tasty, love the strong dill flavour. The MAJOR disappointment, and also the highlight of the dish, the chicken, was terribly dry. The texture was like sand paper dry, hence the two stars. I suspect that only the lamb options are good here because when a customer came in and ordered a lamb plate, and was told that they ran out of lamb for the day and the server asked if he wanted another plate instead, he politely declined and left. I’ll try to drop by again next time and order the lamb plate, as the rest of the components of the plate is from decent to good. It’s just that the chicken sucked. Big time!

I love the felafels here! And the hummus! So delicious!
And the staff is always so friendly!
It’s a joy coming here: D

Unlike DT, Commercial Dr doesn’t have as many donair places, though there’s 2 – 3 that I can think of off the top of my head, this is the best one, esp. in terms of the action by the window, right at the corner ;)
Floor to ceiling high glass for maximum daylight.
But their portions are quite generous, even by DT standards. I recommend the lamb, nice & moist.
friendly service.
they have 3 other locations in DT.
Parking available right next door, or the side street since there are rush hour restrictions.
It’s a good casual 1^st date ;)

The falafel is the best I have ever had. They make them from scratch and they fry them to order. They can only make 3 at a time so expect to wait. The wait is worth it every time. I have had the falafel plate and wrap many times now. This has replaced Red Burrito as default lazy cheap dinner on Commercial Drive.

When Babylon Café of Denman Street fame opened up shop on Commercial Drive, I knew *exactly* where I’d be eating many a lunch and dinner in the near-​future.
You see, in the wonderful world of shwarmas, Babylon Café pretty much takes the cake. I argue it’s the best shwarma in all of Vancouver. Quote me on that.
Chicken shwarma is Babylon Café’s claim to fame, in particular. The chicken is delicious and crispy (and not gamey or fatty like I’ve had at other shwarma shops), plus the selection and quality of ingredients for your shwarma wrap is top notch: hummous, yogurt, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, pickles, pickled turnip, tabouleh, tahini, and hot sauce.
All together these wraps cost under $ 8 — incredible value given that they’re tasty, full of flavour, they fill you up, and they’re healthy.
One dollar cheaper than the chicken shwarma wraps are the falafel wraps — identical to the chicken, except made with fresh-​to-​order crispy falafel. The falafel have that nutty pistachio green hue to them — a sign of fresh chickpeas. These are equally as tasty as the chicken and make for a delicious vegetarian option.
You can order all these items are plates, which is one way to eat their food. For example, the falafel plate (which I ate for lunch today) includes 4 falafel drizzled in tahini & hot sauce, a heap of tabouleh, hummous, pickled turnip, and an untoasted pita. While the plate was good, I think the wraps here are more satisfying. If you’re looking for amazing Middle Eastern plates, I’d rather go to Nuba, although I’d also be paying $ 3 more. But for shwarma? They beat Nuba out of the ballbark! Babylon Café is where you need to go for all your shwarma cravings.
And if the food being awesome wasn’t enough, the staff here are super friendly, always ask how you’re doing, always serving their customers with a smile on their face. If you become a regular customer, they’ll recognize you almost immediately and the whole experience becomes even more enjoyable.
So that’s the Babylon Café. Come here for shwarmas once and you’ll never go anywhere else for them again!

My wife loves the food here. I tried it myself for the first time on Sunday. It took FOREVER to get my falafel wrap but they make their falafels right there to order. Very fresh. But slowwwwwww… The thing was HUGE. Too big for even my bottemless pit. Come hungry! I’m giving it another shot when the wife wants to go back for herself and I’ll try the veggie plate. MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A LOT OF TIME!

Had the vegetarian plate and lentil soup. Every single item on the plate was delicious, beautifully spiced, and fresh fresh fresh. Fragrant dolmas, fresh-​cooked falafel, light and flaky spinach pie. Very friendly folks at the counter, too.

This place has amazing potential but doesn’t live up to the experience that one had had at the Robson location.
Nice that they make the falafel fresh for you. The chicken shwarma plate was good but it wouldn’t be the reason to bring me back time and again. The lentil soup was disappointing and the tabouleh was merely okay.
I really crave falafel and shwarma and was hoping that this place on the Drive would be the answer. Not yet. Taste of Paradise was great with the original owners (and the lentil soup was great even if the people were a bit odd) but went downhill in a major way after others took over. I gave it two chances and have now given up.
Babylon could be great. It needs more street traffic to keep the food hot and fresh. Otherwise, I’m afraid this can become another doomed location.