Baba Ganouj (Brisbane, Australia)
Feel like having some shawarma while you are in South Bank Brisbane, well you are lucky because there is a Lebanese restaurant that serves this dish with a lot of filling options like beef, chicken, minced lamb, falafel, soujouk and fish. It does not stop there so if your Middle Eastern Cuisine craving is not just satisfied with that grilled wrap then you have other options like Mezza platters, array of dips, salads and desserts.
This was my first time in this place, and I came across this when I was looking for some quick bite after a late flight. I saw this place and their shawarma plus a very clean inviting premises appealed to me that night, so I grabbed a seat. As I look through their menu, I grabbed some of their Baba Ganouj Summer Gold Lager 3.5% Pint (AU$8.00) which I really loved, really light and taste and refreshing, a perfect summer beer.
I got offered some starters in the form of Triple Cheese, basically a wrap filled with melted Mozzarella, feta, haloumi and herbs. This was really good, especially with the beer that I have. Excellent pairing but be careful and don’t get carried away with its goodness, it’s quite heavy and you must need to reserve some space for that next plate.
I also ordered some dips as I know Lebanese dips are amazing hence, I grabbed The Mixed Dip served with Hummus, Baba Ganouj and Labneh. I advise you to get this as the bread they serve is quite large so it’s good to dip those leftovers with these amazing dips.
For the shawarma, I tried the Beef Shawarma (AU$24.90) which is prepared with thinly cut marinated beef with tomatoes, onion, sumac, Lebanese spice and tahini sauce.
Another shawarma that I tried is this Soujouk (AU$24.90) made with spicy sausage cooked in capsicum, tomato, onion, mixed Lebanese spices, lettuce and tomato. First time trying this type of shawarma and I loved it, it was very tasty, spicy but not too hot and saucy.
Both shawarmas are plate menus, so they were served with Chips, salad and Saj bread. If you closely check the shawarmas is not wrapped, that is what I was wondering as well when it was served to us. I have mixed emotions on this one as I am expecting a wrapped food item so I can eat it without fuss but on the other hand you can control on what goes on that wrap.
The wrap was enormous trust me, it’s almost as big as a place mat that is why an extra dip is recommend if you want to finish all of that. Saj is freshly made so it comes warm if not hot, and you can see this from the window where they cook it in something like an upside-down wok.
Serving sizes are quite large so if you are really hungry this will fill you up.
I like this place, food was tasty, the beer was really good for me (I love light beers), the place was clean, and the service was good. I would not mind giving this a go multiple times in the future specially if I am craving for some shawarma or any Lebanese food.
Baba Ganouj
Address: 6A Little Stanley St, South Brisbane QLD 4101, Australia
Phone: +61 7 3846 3402
Website: https://babaganouj.com.au/
