Babajan - Melbourne

Babajan is a Carlton-based Turkish cafe that brings the fresh, fragrant and spicy atmosphere of London's Ottolenghi and Honey and Co.

Best breakfast I've had in a while! I kinda don't want to tell you all how amazing it was so I can keep this place to myself! We got greeted with smiley

The baked eggs with slow roasted lamb shoulder is a double edged sword in that it is the best breakfast ever but I've also been disappointed by every other

This little cafe was packed inside and out so I opted for a takeaway salad of two options. The rice/cauliflower/stone fruit salad was divine, though the burnt eggplant one wasn’t as pleasing because I really felt I was just eating a lot of (tasty) yoghurt and little eggplant. I’m sure I’d have been less inclined to feel the price of my small bowl as a bit high if the salad selection was more substantial on this particular day. Service is helpful and hard-working but brisk.

Real score 4.2.<br/ <br/ Babajan has been on my radar for a while. As soon as I entered I started kicking myself I hadn’t been here already. It’s fabulous.<br/ <br/ This struck me as the perfect cafe to visit if you’re in a hipster style brunch rut. Too many avo smashes, a few too many big brekkies anyone. This is the cure. The food here is genuinely unusual. It demands to be tried. I love modern middle eastern type food and they do it here very very well here. I wandered up to the counter and was immediately goggle eyed at the food available. I couldn’t wait to get at it. I ordered a lentil salad and a chicken salad with pumpkin, chicken peas etc. Both dishes were utterly delicious. The textures and flavours were outstanding. I savoured every single mouthful. You know that feeling of regret as you come to the last little bits of really good dishes. I had that here big time. I really didn’t want to finish these dishes. They were wonderful.<br/ <br/ My coffee to finish was a beauty too. Dark, deep, inky and rich. Melbourne in a cup. I had one last 1% observation. They have an awesome sound system here. They had a fantastic playlist on. I’m serious. It is a terrifically rich sound they offer here. Best I’ve ever heard in a cafe of this size. I love music. A good sound system matters.<br/ <br/ It’s a great cafe. It’s a must visit.