Babo: A Market By Sava

Agree with the previous reviews — this is on the pricier side but definitely worth it. High quality ingredients, great atmosphere and staff. Their hot food bar has staple sandwiches and rotating entrees, salads and sides. Great place to grab lunch if you have a group — especially once with dietary restrictions. Everything is clearly labeled vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free, etc. There’s plenty of variety. Coffee and cocktails are also incredible, and they have a nice outside patio. I recently discovered they do breakfast, and it’s just as great as everything else. I go here at least once a week and definitely recommend.

This is how you want all your neighborhood markets to be. Fresh, friendly, high end. Babo is awesome they have a great selection of beer, wine, fresh juices, now let’s move on to the cheese incredible selection. My wife and I walked into this place for the first time not knowing what to expect and was awed. We stayed for three hours drinking wine and eating cheese. We met a great staff first Jimmy, then Josh and the GM Mike came out to introduce himself. What a great place thanks Babo we are huge fans

The food and drinks are both good, but both a little pricier than merited (though grocery items seem appropriate). There’s nice seating by the windows with plenty of natural light coming in on sunny days.

I love the hot food in their deli… exceptionally good. Fabulous selection of high end specialty foods and drinks as well. Most of all — the breakfast — if I could eat their every morning, I would!
Only reason I didn’t give five stars is because the barista staff could use a bit better training/​consistency and not the best customer service focus.

Babo is great. I go to Babo about 2 – 3 times a week to hang out, relax, drink a beer, and when I feel like spending too much on food, eat a sandwich of the week.
However, a few strange things have happened here — all of which were corrected immediately:
— I’ve had a barista pour a beer straight into the glass from the tap and serving it to me half full.
— The coffee bar is typically understaffed with a few people standing around not helping, so pour overs aren’t made correctly. One time, a barista was serving one customer between pours so the coffee turned out lukewarm and overbrewed.
— A cheese plate I ordered came out with the cheese pulverized (crumbs) and nearly impossible to eat.
— Sangria was super peppery, and spice overwhelmed the flavor.
Again, in every case, the issue was corrected. Babo will offer to remake everything and more if you bring it to their attention through social media, Unilocal,or in-​store. Friendly staff, good food, prices are way too high for everything, and need a bit of attention to detail when it comes to serving high quality products like beer, coffee, and cheese.

Babo is definitely pricey, but I do think that you get really high quality stuff here so it’s worth the money. All of their fresh juices are amazing! Personally, I’m happiest with just a classic OJ, but there are a ton of options. They also sell dairy products from calders dairy, which are unreal. The chocolate milk! They actually do have pretty reasonably priced produce which id recommend taking advantage of.
I personally haven’t bought any of their ready to eat food, but I hear great things!

Really trendy spot that has a fresh and open atmosphere, some pretty darn good breakfast, it’s own little coffee shop, and a high end market area. It’s surely on the pricey side but it’s offerings are interesting and different.
It takes the staples and elevates them. For example, bacon egg and cheese on a croissant here is pancetta, egg, and havarti on a croissant. I went with egg and havarti on a croissant and it was great. On the lighter side and soft as butter without being oily or greasy. Definitely goes well with a solid cup of their in-​house coffee.

Throughout my schooling at Uofm I have been a frequent goer of Babos. It was convenient and had delicious treats to snack on, especially for student with no car. There is a great selection of freshly baked good, hot food bar, freshly squeezed juices. The vibe is definitely more like a large metropolitan city and so are the prices

I’m a regular customer at babo, more for geographical convenience than for choice. The customer service is really great, so is the visual displays, concept, ambiance. Today I was grateful on one side (the manager got me a product from the kitchen that wasn’t in stock) and angry when I got home and realized how overpriced a wine that I bought was. The ticket price was $ 20. Later I realized it was labeled on top of a $ 15 ticket, and even one underneath which I wasn’t brave to unveil. On an app called vivino (which is very accurate) the wine showed with an average price of $ 13. Dear Sava’s: If you are going to steal from me, at least invest in staff training. Pricing 101: remove price gun stickers before overpricing the merchandise.
I will make my best to buy as little as necessary from Babo’s moving forward, and definitely not wines.

Babo is amazing! It is not for people who are price conscious. It is for people who can afford to buy $ 11 sandwiches, $ 7 juices, and $ 12 – 16 counter hot meals.
Babo is mostly a staple for people who live downtown. It’s close to campus, various apartment buildings, and quite a few workplaces. The beauty of it is that it’s quaint and feels right at home as soon as you walk in. There’s a grocery section with produce, a tiny section of meats (mostly fresh chicken breast, sausage, pork chop and salmon), as well as prepared salads, cold beverages (not to be confused with juices) dry groceries, and frozen meals/​desserts.
There’s also juices. My personal favorite is the orange juice. It’s $ 4 a bottle and tastes like pure orange tears. I also like the honey gingerade and the strawberry and lemon juice (I forgot the name but that one is $ 7.)
There’s a counter with lunch meats where you can also get a sandwich. For $ 11 you get your choice of a meat, cheese, and 3 toppings on a baguette. They have a LOT of meats and cheeses to choose from. My fave combination is smoked turkey with either havarti or purple haze (it’s a goat cheese), greens, garlic aioli, and balsamic onions.
There’s another counter that has different hot foods for lunch and it’s by the pound. $ 12something which is $ 4 more than Whole Foods but like I said, Babo is NOT for the price conscious so if you care about that then just exit the building. They offer breakfast. I recommend you get the breakfast sandwich on a croissant or the huevos rancheros. For lunch/​dinner, the salmon, lamb, meatballs, grilled veggies and mashed potatoes never, ever fail. They mix it up every day and the chef is seriously amazing. One time I came in for breakfast but I wanted a breakfast sandwich without cheese (lactose intolerant) and with meat and they cooked me up a custom one. If you want something, just ask!
They also sell baked goods at the right counter (if you’re facing away from the door.) Things like croissants, brioche, cinnamon bun, danishes, etc.
Babo is an all around great place. Go get some OJ!

Having lunch in or to-​go
Buying fresh veg and fruits
Verity of healthy products available

I’ve heard great things about Babo. I was supremely disappointed. This seems like another place in A2 for the wealthy children of the nation’s elite. Not very interesting, or of high quality, but priced as if it is. The eclectic selection of grocery items simultaneously seems to be neither useful nor interesting. I couldn’t find anything there I would have regularly purchased as a student, and few that I wanted as an adult.
I did, however, want to try some prepared food. First off, the counter is way too high, putting the staff literally above the customer, which is an unwelcoming design. Then there’s no real menu. If you want a sandwich, you are instructed to pick your meat, cheese, and bread to get a sandwich. I don’t want to have to pick what I’m eating. If I wanted to do that I’d open my fridge and do it. I don’t go out to get a sandwich to do the work myself. Come up with something good, put it on a list, and serve it to me.
So I decided to have a bowl of soup, since it was already prepared (I did not, in fact, have to choose a stock and ingredients). I had chowder, and it was decent. But no crackers. Who serves chowder without crackers? That’s probably illegal somewhere. So I asked if it came with a piece of bread. No. Who serves soup without offering bread? So I asked to buy a piece. No. The best they would do was sell me a whole baguette. Keep in mind they do sell slices of bread… on those choose-​your-​own-​adventure sandwiches. I was in town for a short period of time, I didn’t want a whole loaf of bread. I briefly looked at their selection of grocery crackers, decided I didn’t want a whole box of those for one bowl of soup, and opted to eat my chowder without them. Frankly, having worked in a lot of restaurants, if a customer asked for a slice of bread, I would have handed them one without a second thought.
Bonus was that none of the staff seemed particularly happy to be there. All rather surly and bored. That’s how I’d feel, too, if I worked at a place that served sandwiches without a menu and chowder without crackers.

What a cool place! Ann Arbor has steadily lost downtown shopping for staples and wine ever since the old Village Corner on S. University shut down in the 90s. Then White Market joined the general malaise ma and pa shops faced due to rising rents and demographic changes. I stopped by to scout the place out today and left fairly well impressed.
My pictures give a general overview but I’d say the growing number of condo high rises nearby should support this well stocked market. It has everything you’d need for cooking at home, plus a really nice and nicely priced wine selection. I appreciated seeing wines from regions of France and Italy you don’t see at other places in town for $ 13 – 25. While small, the beer selection is decent. I also approved of the cold-​pressed juices and meats. Italian sourced beef from Piedmont? Awesome!
Anyway, this all-​in-​one deli should survive as the downtown continues to climb skyward, plus the student ghetto isn’t going away anytime soon.

Babo is a great place for a quick bite to eat, picking a couple of grocery items, a lazy afternoon with coffee, or even a productive study session. Though pricier than most places of similar purpose in the area, Babo’s location downtown is so convenient.
I came here on a Friday afternoon, and really enjoyed sitting at the communal table with a mug of jasmine green tea and free Wifi. The area is spacious, with lots of natural lighting and friendly employees.
Prices for their grocery items are about 1.5x as expensive as you’d find at big box supermarkets, which is why I knocked off one star. I love siggi’s yogurt and was excited to see it offered here, but was shocked to find that it was priced at double that of Target!

Easily my favorite eating spot for a quick meal in Ann Arbor. As said in some of previous reviews, it can be pricey. I love their fresh juices, but it’s hard to justify $ 7 for a drink. Sometimes they have free samples of their juice, but this usually sucks me into buying a full bottle.
Their sandwiches will change your life. I LOVE the green goddess sandwich! I used to be vegetarian for 8 years (I fell off the wagon thanks to hot dogs), so I can confidently say that this is a real treat for any vegetarian. It’s ~$ 8, which I consider a pretty good deal. You get big chunks of avocado, mozzarella cheese, along with other delicious vegetables.
Also, when you stop in, make sure to get some of their fruit water. Me and my friends call it «spa water» because it feels so fancy.

I stopped in and got a veggie breakfast sandwich it was just egg and cheese no veggies :(:(
Would have been better with veggies on it. Got an iced chai as well. Ordering was a little confusing for my first time in. I ordered my sandwich at the coffee bar and it took a while to get because I guess I was supposed to order it at the counter of let the counter workers know. A little confusing. Loved the croissant.

The only negative about Babo is the prices are a little high. I love their philosophy, everything I’ve had that is made in house is absolutely amazing. I love their juices and macaroons. They also have a great beer and wine selection.

The seafood salad is amazing. I can’t stay away from it. Hot food is slightly more expensive than the cold at the food bar.
There’s a nice selection of food & dairy that can’t be found at the other markets. I guess that accounts for the slightly higher price. There’s a sit down area too to eat.

My friend and I discovered this place wandering around A2, and man are we glad we did!
As others have said, it’s like a Whole Foods, but much smaller. It’s really bright and clean, and a great place to grab lunch or coffee and sit inside. I could spent over an hour just looking at all the things I want to eat/​buy. Seriously.
Their food is AWESOME. They have sandwiches, pastas, cold foods, salads– all fresh. I got a cold curry chicken salad and a risotto cake (very good and about $ 7)
They also have delightful coffee and macaroons.
Only con for me is some of the pricing. I completely understand paying for quality, but when pressed juice is $ 7 or a sauce I found at the supermarket for $ 2 is $ 8 here, it’s a bit much. But I honestly enjoy this place too much to care.
And I don’t know how, but the water here is amazing. It’s the best water I have ever had?
I will continue to come here and get sucked into buying things I may not need, but surely will not regret.

Babo is a genius concept for this area, creating an East coast-​inspired mash up of high quality produce, discerningly selected and hard-​to-​find dry goods, a diverse global cheese selection, grab-​and-​go prepared foods, and hot and cold meal offerings. But, wait… There is more! How about beer and wines by the glass or a latte offered up by the coffee bar? You may sit and enjoy your purchased food/​beverage items at the very chic tall-​top, communal table fashioned from a repurposed door or on the outside patio.
The prices are rather steep, particularly their fresh juices at about $ 8 per serving; however, the convenience, quality, and ambiance more that compensate for the extra few dollars.