Fire in Babylon

I’m looking forward to visiting Fire in Babylon again in the near future. The reason? I’m a bit undecided, to be honest. I’ve visited Jamaica and had authentic food made by locals. And have tried restaurants on the island as well as numerous other Caribbean restaurants in the USA and UK. And I found Fire in Babylon left me a bit wanting. The jerk fish was good, but not as jerk-​y I guess. Something was missing, and it just may have been the Fire. The beans and rice were very different from what I’ve had on the island. I was wondering if it was actually more of a Trinidad or Bahama style, but really don’t know. I enjoyed the sweet potato fritters and the accompanying sauce.
But here’s what keeps me wanting to come back… the wife and I were out the door with plenty of change after a £20 note… that’s really hard to beat. So, Fire in Babylon, I’m not done with you just yet… here’s to an updated review in the future with, hopefully, 4 stars.

Highly recommended! Great to see a Caribbean addition to the glasgow food scene. I had the roti which was delicious and my friends had the jerk fish! All was enjoyed. The sever and owner were also extremely nice and welcoming! I made a reservation before had and the owner was very accommodating! Also highly recommended trying the ginger drink!
Nice easy vibe and good music!

John and I had walked past Fire In Babylon numerous times, probably while quite drunk, and had exclaimed each time how we should definitely try it out. Then I would notice the plantain on the menu and start getting excited, hungry and impatient.
So we finally got round to going last night and it was everything I’d hoped it would be. Casual and relaxed, with loud Afro-​beat/​reggae music filling the room, and the smell of jerk in the air. It’s almost like being in the West Indies.
I think my only bugbear is that we’d brought a bottle of wine with us as it’s BYOB and when we asked for the bottle to be opened the server brought us some dusty wine glasses and put the bottle opener on the table for us to do ourselves. I thought the point of a £2.50 corkage charge was that it relieved me of the embarrassment of having to open the wine myself, as years of working in bars seemingly hasn’t made me any better at removing corks from bottles. But oh well, nevermind, I guess it was good practice.
We ordered the salt fish patties and plantain to start. They were, in one word, amazing. The plantain was soft and caramelised, and the serving was generous, while the salt fish patties were crispy, spicy and delicately flavoured. Both were served with a thickly spiced barbecue sauce and an eye watering chilli salsa. Ten thumbs up.
For main John had the jerk chicken while I went for the jerk fish. Both came with a huge mount of rice n’ peas, salad and a mango salsa. John said his chicken was juicy and well cooked, and had a light spice that was very tasty. Mine wasn’t the best quality piece of fish I’ve ever had, but the skin was thick with spices and once I’d flaked it through my rice it was delicious. Possibly a bit steep at £8, but I couldn’t have been accused of having left hungry.
They don’t accept card so John had to pop to the cash machine while I finished the wine (dregs fall to the wicked and all that) and I’d noticed that they had stayed open past their usual closing time of 8pm, especially for us. It’s a shame that it’s not more busy, but if I didn’t drink on Bath Street so often and therefore drunkenly walk past it all the time, then I wouldn’t have known it was there at all.
This is uncomplicated food for people looking for an uncomplicated meal. If I can drink my own wine, get fat on delicious plantain and sway embarrassingly with the music, then I’m happy. I really hope Babylon stays open to add a bit of spice to Glasgow.

At first when you walk in you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s just a sandwich deli, but turn the corner and there is a decent-​sized café area. They play reggae, of course, which helps to give this place a Caribbean vibe, but it is slightly spartan and visually could be more interesting. It has only a small canteen menu, but I had no problem picking a first and second course. A beef patty and a goat curry, lovely!
The waitress was really nice, but flitted in and out because it was busier on the takeaway side. Yes, I think that the takeaway business did affect the service because the food did come out quite slowly, for which she apologised.
When it did though I was pretty impressed. The beef patty was chocka and beautifully, freshly baked, and really infinitely better than a steak bake. Crisp and tasty, I enjoyed it quite a lot. The curry when it came, well at first I thought it was a little mild, but the more I ate of it the more the heat built up and the better the flavour became, until, just as I was getting to really enjoy it, it was all over! Ah well, I’ll just have to go back I guess.

Accidentally came across this place, and not knowing much about West Indian food, gave it a go. I went for a chicken curry and salt fish starter, the latter came with a scotch bonnet sauce that could take your eyebrows off. not bad at all. the chicken curry was pretty decent and tasty too but I think a bit more quantity would have been appreciated. the bloke running the show seems to be genuinely friendly, and keen. all round, a good option for those looking for a decent tasty alternative lunch.

NEW OPENING!
Fire in Babylon opened last week, and in the interests of full disclosure, I am friends with the owner… but I’m still a critical diner!!! :-)
We arrived this afternoon to an immaculately clean shop on Hope St (close to my office for lunch-​YAY!!!)
The menu is Caribbean/​Trinidadian-​the owner is half Trinidadian, so it’s all authentically made!
Both Him Indoors and I chose to have the jerk chicken with rice ‘n’ peas and cucumber salad… a bargain for £8! Him Indoor has Jamaican family so is extreeeeeemely critical of jerk; his words verbatim: «I can’t believe I can sit down to this kind of meal for eight quid in town!!!» He was very impressed, as was I… I would say it may be a wee bit spicy for some folk, but the flavour is amazing, just make sure to have some cold milk handy… coupled with the chilled reggae tunes and the bright cheery interior it all makes for a really pleasant dining experience…
And one thing I’m always a stickler for in a restaurant-​the loos… they should be spotless, and the ladies’ was!
The next time I go, think I’ll pop in for lunch, and I’ll try the jerk BLT… sounds yum!
To be completely honest, I don’t even need to be biased about this place, lol… I’d love it even if it weren’t my pal’s place!!! Definitely a recommendation for the city centre!

Is Caribbean the new trend in Glasgow? It’s either that, or indie coffee cafés (either one is a pleasant change from burgers!).
Fire in Babylon opened pretty quietly on Hope Street last week and I popped in for a late lunch today. Their quiet opening meant that I was the only person in there today but hopefully things pick up for them soon once the word gets out.
They’ve been doing stuff across Glasgow for a while now and this is their new kitchen space. From looking at their facebook page I expected it to be a wee café but it’s really quiet large and there’s seating for probably around 30 – 40 people inside (so take your friends). It’s decorated nicely (more café-​style than restaurant) and would be perfect for a change from your usual work lunches. There’s a separate takeaway and eat-​in menu which is a good idea although some of the takeaway dishes sounded really good and perhaps should be allowed for eat-​in too. I ordered and paid at the counter (jerk chicken, yes please), and then took a seat — they’ll bring the food to you when it’s ready.
The food arrived quickly and there was a massive amount of rice, two chicken thighs and some side salad. The flavour was lovely, super spicy and had a real kick to it. I did think the portion size of chicken was a little small for £8 and the majority of the plate was rice. That’s not to say I wouldn’t go back to try it out again though — overall I was really impressed.
Service was warm and friendly (she came over to check up on me a couple of times although I suspect there wasn’t a lot else for her to do!), the bottle of ginger beer was just 99p and the location is pretty damn handy (right by Rufus). I’m pretty excited about a new food place in the city centre doing something different so I’m sure I’ll be updating this review before long.
Note: they take Swipii card.