Babylon Café

The following is based on my experience this evening at Babylon on Denman.
Food was mediocre:
— Dry chicken
— Good, fresh-​looking fixings
— Sauces (tsatsiki and hot) were like everywhere else
Service was poor:
— I walked in and was ignored until someone came from the back and ordered the guy stocking the drink fridge to take care of me.
— I ordered a chicken wrap and then a customer who came in after me ordered a chicken plate. Halfway through making my wrap, the dude stopped and started making the plate. Puts the meat on both our orders, then finishes up the plate before my wrap. My meal is the quicker one to prepare, but the later customer is out the door before me – wtf?
— During prep, the pita was opened along the edges (complete circle) so that the meat and veg was placed on top of one side, and then the other side was placed on top of that like a hat. Consequently the donair looked more like a salad by the time I got halfway through eating it. Someone should teach them that pitas can be opened up like a pocket rather than split completely.
— The foil wrapping was actually rolled into the pita! I had to unravel the food to avoid biting metal, which of course contributed to it all falling apart.
Hygiene was poor:
— The guy stocking the fridge was down on his knees with one bare hand on the floor while loading in drinks. He then got up and prepared our food without washing his hands. If I hadn’t already paid on debit, I would have walked out right then. Decided to soldier on.
Will not go back.

Without a doubt the best shawarma in town and one of the best I have ever eaten! The chicken is cooked to perfection, and the falafel is heavenly! The recent addition of fries have been a great one, my favourite place to eat by far!

Three stars. No more than three stars. We tried a chicken wrap in the late afternoon. Nothing was special about it.
The price was ok but the wrap was dry and there was not a lot of chicken in the wrap. Fresh vegetables were the only good thing about the wrap. If I really wanted a delicious wrap, there are many other choices in Greater Vancouver.
The restaurant was small. Spaciousness was not an issue, but the environment or ambiance inside the restaurant did not make me feel that I wanted to go back unfortunately. It was dirty on the counter. To my impression, any restaurants in downtown Vancouver should be at least having an average or above average standard in terms of ambiance, price, service and etc. I don’t see any in this restaurant.

Just a three star experience for me. Nothing wrong, but nothing special. I probably should have ordered something else besides the chicken wrap. The pita bread was whole wheat but tasted pretty bland and dry. I think grilling it or steaming it would have helped. The vegetables were fresh; that was the lone bright spot. There wasn’t that much chicken or sauce in my wrap. I guess for $ 6 something, it’s not bad, but it didn’t make me want to go back. I felt like I had better experiences at the other Bablyon Cafes. Not sure if they are all part of the same family business or franchise.

I really like this place. The staff are friendly and good at their jobs. The food is excellent. far superior in price and quality than the falafel place next to it and the other down the block on Denman; just skip those places and go to Babylon instead.

If I ever want something delicious and also healthy, this is my spot.
I get the chicken salad. It’s probably like 8 grams of chicken. It’s crazy. I get tzatziki on the side and it’s the best thing around.
I also get a kick out of the guys who run it, who are definitely the real deal.

Cripy falafal and amazing wraps !!! But as the new owner has come in the quatity of chicken and veggies has decreased. The fact that they charge every little extra i add on my wrap is too annoying. Would suggest them to increase the prices on the entire dish and give everything unlimited which would make it a much more pleasant experience like it was it was with the previous owner.

This place is pretty decent but the sharwarma wrap is lacking they Barely put any chicken! Falafel king which is right beside them gives u so much chicken it reminds me of the days as a kid in Damascus Syria in the sook eating a sharwarma and a orange pop ahhh! Babylon is good but could be better

Followed a recommendation from a friend and really enjoy chicken dinner platter. Very nice staff and generous portions. The only request I would have is to put less mayo on a salad. More tzatziki!

Busy place. I got one chicken skewer and they threw it in the microwave to warm it up. The taste was good and flavorful but I don’t know if I would go back for that. Lots of people were getting the full wraps which looked tasty.

Review based on a chicken shawarma wrap.
Judging by the other reviews, I must have went on a really bad day.
The chicken was not fresh — it was very dry and had the overpowering stale chicken taste.
Nothing redeeming from my visit that I can think of.

Best shwarma in the west end, hands down. Not a fan of the baklava but everything else is awesome.

The best Shawarma place in the West End/​Downtown area! The Chicken, Lamb, and Beef! And for those who give up meat for Lent or are of the Vegetarian persuasian this is one of the only places I’ve found that cooks their Falafel fresh to order! They can get slammed and service seems a bit slow then but it’s worth the wait!

The line was out the door but service was quick and friendly. Chicken Shwarma wrap was delicious and the Falafal were hot and fresh! He even gave us a sample to try on the house! Probably one of the best Shwarmas i have eaten! I like the addition of pickles and hot peppers! Will return!

I always get the chicken shawarma plate to go. I sub out the salad for tabouli and get extra hummus. I est here about once every week or 2 weeks. I love it so much.
My only gripe would be the ordering process. If they don’t have the music blaring SO LOUD they can barely hear their customers, they just seem to have absolutely no sense of any kind of «system» when they get busy. They get very flustered and waiting for your order takes forever. They need to develop a solid game plan and assign each other to take care of one part, and then work in a assembly line. That’s just my opinion. It certainly doesn’t stop me from going there, but every time I think of going there I definitely heave a big sigh when I think of the ordering process!

I just bought what I believe was advertised as a beef shawarma sandwich and the one bite I had of it was disgusting. First of all, I saw them warm up the beef in the microwave, then I was asked if I wanted hot sauce — who on earth puts hot sauce on a shawarma sandwich??! Knowing that beef shawarma is served with tahini, I asked if I could have garlic sauce instead. I was told they don’t have garlic sauce or tzatziki sauce or any products at all made with dairy because a lot of their customers are allergic to dairy — so pathetic. What is this place?! The meat I tasted didn’t even resemble shawarma — it had some weird coating and was absolutely awful. If I could return this sandwich, I would.

I was looking for a quick, tasty, and inexpensive take-​out dinner (was on a business trip and staying at the nearby Sylvia Hotel). The service was friendly, and the music was festive. The Babylon Café totally hit the spot!

Very tasty food. I love it always here. It’s always fresh and good price. Must visit and try the donairs.

The lamb shawarma wasn’t good. Lamb was hard and tough and lack any flavor. I couldn’t taste the lamb in it at all. Definitely won’t be back.

Having been to Iraq, Dubai, Lebanon and such, I feel that this is some of the more authentic middle eastern grab and go food. the humus is great and portions are generous.

Denman street and its surroundings are practically the go to place for middle eastern food. You get to choose from a large selection of shops offering very similar menus: shawarma, falafel, wraps. From the little experience I have had at Vancouver I think Babylon stands out for the quality of of shawarmas it offers.
We chose to have the lamb shawarma platter. It came with pita bread, brown rice, lamb skewers freshly cut from the spit, greek salad and humus. The lamb tasted delicious. If you ever visit this place, and are torn between whether to go for lamb or chicken in your shawarma, just go for the lamb. :)
Well prepared lamb meat is not always easy to come by, and these guys really know how to cook their lamb! The salad and pita bread were standard. Having the option of having brown rice instead of white rice was a nice addition. Next time I am at Denman, I would like try out their falafel plate. It looked yummy in their display photos.
Some fellow Unilocalers have expressed their concern about the cleanliness standards of the place, I personally found no hygiene issues at this place.

The only place in Vancouver that makes fresh falafel to order. Small size place.
Also the best lamb shawarma.