had a really good dinner at bavel and went with @Chowseeker1999’s great recs, thank you. i’ll have to come back try try the foie gras, okra, and chicken.
duck 'nduja hummus - creamy garbanzo beans, jerusalem mix spice, herbs, pita
great pita and hummus and right up there with Dizengoff’s. bavel’s pita seems denser with more crumb, dizengoff’s is thinner and airier, but both are pretty great.
grilled australian prawns - harissa marinade, eggplant tzatziki, herbs, lime
wow, this was definitely the highlight of night. the prawns were some of tastiest and freshest i’ve had since the amazing tiger prawn sushi i had in japan. i don’t know how they did it, but they grilled it in such a way that the head and shell was edible and delicious as if it had been deep fried. the harissa was pleasantly spicy and was balanced perfectly with the cool refreshing tzatziki. Pro tip: save some pita to mop up the shrimp juice, harissa and tzatziki. @Chowseeker1999 must order.
slow roasted lamb neck shawarma - creme fraiche tahini, fermented cabbage, pickled turnips, laffa
Mary had a little lamb
Its neck was roasted slow
I ate it with some laffa bread
And it made my belly grow
licorice root ice cream bonbon - sour licorice caramel, muscovado cake, caramelized white chocolate, maldon
cold and refreshing, subtly sweet and tasted similar to root beer.
update
When you come back to try the chicken but then you notice the aged duck on the menu
They only had 16 orders of the duck so the chicken will have to wait.
saffron - pink lemonade with pomegranate and cinnamon
Nice and refreshing, loved the addition of cinnamon
scallop crudo - pomegranate molasses, citrus, burnt serrano chile oil, charred cucumber, mint, black sesame
This was okay, pretty spicy. This reminded me of an aguachile. I’ll stick to the awesome prawns next time.
foie gras halva - creamy pate, date paste, black sesame, buckwheat loaf
Loved this one, the bread was pretty tremendous. The date paste was the perfect sweet component for the foie. I wish the foie tasted a little more livery though, it was pretty mild.
(new) aged duck four ways - breast kebab, leg confit, chopped livers and hearts, ginger broth, fig leaf vinegar dressed herbs
Duck was only aged for 5 days, so nothing like the funky, geriatric, 21 day old duck at charcoal
leg
Extremely tender with the meat just falling off the bone. No knife required.
chopped liver and hearts over okra puree
Wow, this was my favorite out of the different preps. The liver and hearts were meaty and tender but the okra puree was outstanding.
breast
My second favorite, the breast had a great grill flavor and the skin was charred and crisped.
broth
This had a nice flavor but unfortunately was way too salty.
roasted cauliflower - hawaij chile sauce, creme fraiche serrano dip, pistachios, dried flowers
I love chef ori’s cauliflower at bestia so I knew this would be great and it did not disappoint. The cool creme fraiche dip complemented the slightly spicy cauliflower perfectly.
strawberry sumac and sweet cheese pastry - pistachio ice cream, labneh cream, cured sumac
So glad I saved room for dessert. This was better than the bonbon I had the other night. It was like the perfect strawberry poptart. You know it’s good when you can hear the crunch when you bite into it.
toto
update
baba ghanouch - smoked eggplant, burnt bell pepper, red walnuts, lemon chili salt, fried pita
Highlight of the night, loved the lemon chili salt on the fried pita.
marinated okra - whipped feta, cumin, mint, turmeric, black lime, lemon, radish, marash pepper, sea salt
grilled octopus - herb yogurt, fried Squid Ink pita, capers, smoked paprika oil, turmeric pickled onions
I should have listened to my fellow FTCers, this was pretty forgettable. Stick with the prawns.
confit turmeric chicken leg - yemenite pancake, fennel salad, black sesame, orange blossom toum
Looks like they’re already decreasing the portion size, this used to be chicken legs (plural). They also added the orange blossom toum to the dish. The chicken was indeed very tender but maybe a little too soft for me and unfortunately the skin was flaccid and limp.
paglava - rolled Walnut and apricot filled pastry, farm cheese, honey, dried borage flower
Kind of like a less sweet baklava, not bad.
I think my perfect meal here would be the hummus and pita, cauliflower, prawns x 2, and the duck.
farm cheese, fig leaf and borage flower za’atar olive oil, sea salt, buckwheat loaf
This was good, but very heavy, olive oil was insanely good. i prefer the hummus.
australian grilled prawns, harissa marinade, eggplant tzatziki, herbs, lime
The star of the show and the reason why I came back. Still excellent and my favorite thing on the menu. Everything is edible so make sure to suck those brains and eat those heads #prawnstars #headtotail
grilled dorade, herb-stuffed, red chermoula, preserved orange, smoked anchovy
deboned and stuffed for your pleasure. this wasn’t bad, but didn’t compare to the sand dab i had at gjusta.
(new) vanilla date creme brulee, soft candied orange peel shortbread
Outstanding, loved the date puree at the bottom.
menu
duck 'nduja hummus - creamy garbanzo beans, jerusalem mix spice, herbs, pita
steaming hot pita
I pita the fool who doesn’t order this.
(new) potato & yogurt manti - beef ragu, ginger, serrano chile, tomato, garam masala, soft herbs
delicious, perfectly cooked dumplings with essentially a very good bolognese sauce. pro tip: save some pita to sop up the spicy beef ragu.
roasted cauliflower - green hawaij chile sauce, creme fraiche serrano dip & dried flowers
Good, I enjoyed the spicier version I got before a little better.
grilled prawns - harissa marinade, cured zucchini tzatziki, fresh herbs, lime
Awesome as always, still my favorite dish on the menu. #foodprawn
slow roasted lamb neck shawarma - tahini, fermented cabbage, pickled turnips, laffa
Good, but I prefer all the apps and starters. Fermented cabbage was not good.
vanilla date creme brulee - soft candied orange peel shortbread
foie gras halva - creamy pate, date puree, black sesame, buckwheat loaf
RIP #gonebutnotfoiegotten
duck 'nduja hummus - creamy garbanzo beans, jerusalem mix spice, herbs, pita
The hummus was smoother than marvin gaye in silk pajamas on a velvet couch.
(new) grilled lamb belly - meyer lemon yogurt, burnt cucumber, radish, chili herb salsa
Tender and fatty, but balanced nicely with the yogurt and pickles. I shall coin it ewe-toro.
fried quail - cardamom date sauce, pickled celery, smoked yogurt, fresh herbs
Crunchy, savory, sweet.
grilled prawns - harissa marinade, cured zucchini tzatziki, fresh herbs, lime
Still my favorite thing on the menu, smoky, sweet, spicy, creamy all perfectly balanced.
roasted cauliflower - hawaij chile sauce, lime leaf, creme fraiche serrano dip, pistachios, dried flowers
aged half duck - break kebab, confit leg, green amba, duck bone broth, chicory salad
I wish they still served this with the chopped liver and hearts. The duck bone broth is still unfortunately too salt. The breast and leg are still delicious with crispy skin and rendered fat.
rose clove chocolate donuts - bar au chocolat ganache, sherry diplomat cream
(new) coconut tapioca - passion fruit, basil syrup, lime zest, coconut tuile
duck 'nduja hummus, creamy garbanzo beans, jerusalem mix spice, herbs pita
Smoother than a freshly oiled veal cutlet.
pita
oyster mushroom kebab, stinging nettle puree, sumac
The mushrooms were meaty like a soft tender abalone and i loved the charred almost crispy edges, but unfortunately everything was overpowered by a lighter fluid taste as if these were grilled before they had a clean fire going.
grilled prawns, harissa marinade, cured zucchini tzatziki, fresh herbs, lime
A bit spicier than before, but still excellent.
butternut squash, feta, baharat, pepitas, fried sage, wildflower honey
If not for the feta and sage, this would have tasted exactly like a pumpkin pie. It was okay, wouldn’t order it again.
(new) almond blossom honey nougat glace, candied mandarinquat, pinenut nougatine, minted citrus salad
Highlight. My favorite out of all the desserts. The candied mint was brilliant.
Bavel
500 Mateo St
Los Angeles, CA 90013
(213) 232-4966
I can’t stop thinking about all the great dishes there. Wait till you try their Turmeric Chicken Confit, the Handmade Buckwheat Bread w/ their Foie Halva and Okra.
But glad to hear it’s good.