"Bavel is the middle child restaurant from the people behind , the Italian restaurant where it’s still , and Saffy’s, a neighborhood-y spot in East Hollywood that was our . With siblings like that, you might think the middle child could get lost in the shuffle—but Bavel remains the best of the bunch. This upscale Middle Eastern restaurant combines delicious, deeply personal food with reliably great service, all in a stunning, blockbuster space that buzzes with energy. Bavel is in the Arts District, on a stretch of pavement that might once have been described as quiet, but is now Times Square for hulking construction cranes. The industrial dining room manages to feel sunny even when you’re sitting down for a 10pm reservation: long green vines hang from the ceiling, a huge open kitchen, and a side patio that nearly doubles the size of the restaurant. It’s a place you instantly want to hang out in, and also a setting that will immediately blur into the background once you start eating. The Middle Eastern menu is mostly pumped-up versions of familiar dishes—they’re not trying to reinvent baba ghanoush here—but the food isn’t quite traditional either. There’s hummus with duck ’nduja, grilled celery root with honey mushroom tzatziki, and a lamb neck shawarma dish that’s so big it could be the only thing you order (it won’t be). Almost everything comes with some sort of pita, flatbread, or other carb vehicle to get food to your mouth, and all of them are fantastic. The menu is long, and seeing as you shouldn’t skip any of the sections, it’s impossible to cover in a single visit. This might be a strategic move to get you to come back, but you really need to try the tagine, so that’s going to happen anyway. And really, everything about this place will have you plotting a return visit. The staff is friendly (though they do have a habit of instructing you on how to eat everything, including hummus), there isn’t a disappointing dish on the menu, and the room feels like a big, orchestrated party, whether you’re sitting at the white marble bar or in one of the big round booths. There's still a strong chance you'll need to book a reservation in advance (even if you're eating at 5pm), but that comes with territory. Bavel remains a fine-tuned restaurant machine that we'll find any excuse to visit, and we recommend you do the same. " - Brant Cox
