Baba’s Shawarma Grill

All I can say is wow. If you’re looking for a quick place to grab some great food that won’t break the bank this place is definitely it. I had the spicy gyro, which is normally a 5 on spicy but can go up to 10. The waitress informed me that the really brave people can request up to 20 if they like. I had it at 10 and that was plenty hot. I consider myself a lover of spicy yet flavorful food and I think a 10 was a good balance. I also had the Greek fries which were bathed in an oil and feta cheese blanket. They were delicious and the feta added something that I’ve never really tasted on a Greek fry before. My girlfriend had the open face gyro which was presented beautifully. The tzatziki was a nice and creamy texture and paired with the standard gyro very nicely. The prices for everything was amazing and I feel I could get lunch there quickly for under $ 8. Definitely try this place out.

This place definitely does a decent gyro, but unfortunately decent is about the best I could describe it. The meat isn’t anything different from all the other places around town, the pita is microwaved at best, and the sauces are very bland. The amount of veggies you get with the spicy platter with salad is actually pretty good, and the rice was surprisingly not over done or crispy from having sat too long, but for the cost the whole plate was pretty underwhelming. If you absolutely must have a gyro and you’re on the block you might as well walk in, but there are MUCH better options around the city, and even the neighborhood.
Friendly staff and a drive through makes this place 3 stars instead of two though, because seriously a drive through gyro spot is like one of the best ideas ever… shame the food doesn’t live up to it.

friendly staff. hummus good. gyro some of the meat was very hard. we did not care for the greek fries. first time and probably wont go back.

Excellent service and even better food! Love to come here with my family. The onion rings are cooked perfectly the onion isn’t raw. The chicken tenders are juicy and yet the gyros are my favorite. I am never disappointed

Love this place. Visit often… dine in and carryout. The lady that waits on you is soon friendly. Always get the gyro. Hate to say it but I like it better than Sabastians.

Small, family owned. Always a pleasure to go to. Very friendly staff. Food is always top notch! I love this place and come here very often!

Our visit was a pleasant surprise. Dined in and the service was attentive and food was of high quality taste. Will definitely visit again and recommend.

After passing this place 1000 times, I finally drove thru a couple of weeks ago. I ordered a gyro and greek fries. The woman taking the order was extremely friendly and was wearing all sorts of fun greek jewelry. I did have high hopes.
I liked the gyro — the meat and pita were really good. The lettuce didn’t belong there. And, the tzatziki wasn’t good. Too much dill and not enough cucumber taste.
The greek fries were awesome — crispy and lots of seasoning and feta.
However, about 3AM, I started getting severe stomach pains. I don’t know if they use MSG or what was going on but I felt like I had a lead ball in my stomach for about 4 hours. I would like to believe that the 2 aren’t related but I don’t really want to take any chances.

Food was not the best. After a few bites, the chicken feels dry and becomes harder to eat as you go along. I ordered the chicken schwarma. The food does come out hot, but almost too hot and you have to wait to enjoy it, if you can. The ground beef kabob didn’t seem seasoned enough and was also somewhat dry. The grape leaves tasted like they came from a can. The staff was friendly, but that doesn’t make it worth the drive. I was really disappointed. I have been craving a good schwarma for a while and this really did not hit the spot.

Great place. Very friendly employees. Tasty gyros, burgers, fries and baklava. Not fancy, and not much in the way of ambiance, but they keep us coming back by getting all of the basics right.

Still awesome. Just make sure you specify that you want the shawarma «tahini style.» Otherwise you might get something called a beef wrap, which is not what you want. Apparently some customers do not prefer the authentic tahini style, and opt for something more resembling a big mac. Not cool. So just to be sure, make sure you ask. Greek fries are still incredible.

Weird atmosphere.
Friendly staff. Food ok.
Pita not grilled, rice was the best thing on the plate. Salad was fresh. Meat tasted like it had been frozen.

This was our first visit to Baba’s, but definitely not our last. Too bad it isn’t a little closer to home. This is one of those don’t-judge-a-book-by-it’s-cover situations. We walked in and it looked like a Captain D’s or Long John Silver’s (I always get them confused). It was ugly and not exactly what I would call a warm and inviting dining area. Don’t get me wrong, it was clean, but unimpressive.
Based on the recommendation of our super friendly server, we started with the vegetarian plate (hummus, baba ghanoush, falafel, stuffed grape leaves with pita) as an appetizer. SO GOOD. The baba ghanoush was a first for me. It kind of tasted like… smoke. Camp fire? I can’t really describe it. However, paired with the falafel or the stuffed grape leaves, it was perfect. For our entrees, I ordered the shawarma while my husband ordered the spicy gyro and we shared a side of greek fries. Fantastic. Honestly, I could skip the vegetarian dish and the fries and just order the shawarma. It was filling and quite satisfying.
The entire time we were dining, we noticed that, even though the dining room wasn’t busy, the pick-​up counter was extremely busy with a constant stream of carry-​out orders. That makes sense. It’s quick, inexpensive, and delicious. If we lived closer, carry-​out is the option I would choose every time.
So, if you find yourself in the area, which is an area of Cincinnati that we rarely visit, you should definitely stop by and give the shawarma a try. The menu is filled with mouth-​watering items, if the shawarma doesn’t interest you. I’m sure you will find something to put a smile on your face.

You can’t beat the quality for the price. Baba’s doesn’t look like much — I think they’d rather treat you great and serve you high quality fresh food than spend a bunch of money on renovating and have to double their prices. I eat here (or carry out) a couple of times a month, and I’ve never had a bad experience.

Loved everything I’ve ever gotten here — yes, ambience is lacking but who cares when the food is SO. GOOD?! I have enjoyed their tabouleh, falafel wraps, gyros, shawarmas and their vegetarian platter is a HUGE value for what they charge (homemade hummus, homemade baba ghanoush, falafel patties and stuffed grape leaves for under 8 $? MMMM) I usually do carry out, but that’s mostly because I just live around the corner and love not having to wait for my food to come out. Their drive thru window has been a godsend this past winter when it was so cool… Definitely check it out if you get a chance!

This is absolutely one of those «don’t judge a book by its cover» situations.
I’ll be the first to admit that the building doesn’t have the greatest curb appeal (it’s operating out of an old Captain D’s…which I found hilarious because I am a fool for Captain D’s), and the inside isn’t much to shout about either, but let’s be honest… nobody’s trying to eat the décor. What you ARE eating, however, is awesome.
I’m a real foodie, not that I’ve-lived-in-Cincinnati-my-entire-life-and-stuff-here-is-great kinda foodie, rather, an I’ve-lived-all-over-domestically-and-abroad kinda foodie. I asked the server what the best seller on the menu was, and she directed me towards the spiced gyro with fries. O. M. Goodness.
One bite and I was transported back to Paris in 1998 when I studied abroad for the summer and only knew how to ask for things like wine, cheese, and gyros in French. Baba’s reminded me of what I loved the most about those great French gyros: perfectly tender, perfectly spiced meat served with super-​fresh veggies and wonderfully crispy fries.
If you don’t trust any other recommendation on Unilocal (and really, a lot of them are questionable for the whole I’ve-clearly-never-been-outside-the-state-of-Ohio business), trust this one. I can’t speak for anything else on the menu other than the spiced gyro, but you better believe I’ll be going back to check out a few more things.
Two thumbs up.

The food is good if slightly over-​priced for what it is
The building is a complete dump with ripped seating, wobbly tables, peeling wallpaper etc…
The food is good for a dive of a mediterranean place. The gyros taste as they should, the taboulli is acceptable, the bread is slightly on the dull side. Baklava is unimpressive, tried a fish sandwich once and it was okay.
The spicy Fol dip is a must have it’s awesome. The Falaffel is quite good as well. The Greek fries are a must have as well. Greek dressing and feta cheese on crispy spiced french fries.

Food is good but had two bad experiences there:
1) They were out of the meat (I think it was turkey) that is supposed to go on one of their salads. So, they substituted with another meat (chicken, I believe). But instead of just substituting, they charged me extra for the different meat!
2) Another time, I bought a salad for my wife and brought it home. When my wife opened the box, we realized it was not the salad I ordered. We looked at the receipt, and sure enough I was charged for the more expensive salad that I had ordered. The next time we went in, we explained what had happened but the woman working there (I think she is an owner) didn’t even apologize or offer to amend the mistake! So, we walked out, haven’t been back since, and don’t ever plan to return.

Baba fueled my home renovation.
We bought a house a few blocks from this restaurant and the house was in shambles. It had been foreclosed upon and had sat vacant for a year and that year hadn’t been kind.
But the house was still beautiful — it just needed work.
So I spent the last three months working on the house every night and every weekend; Baba was with me through it all. When I stripped lamb wallpaper in long, ragged rips from the plaster walls in the front room, Baba’s gyros sustained me. Cussing as I nailed red oak flooring into the front room to cover a massive hole that used to be a fireplace, Baba was behind me, egging me on with his famous ghanoush. And last week I stopped by, covered in a scintillating display of drying paint and the stink of the Summer heat, I ordered the vegetarian platter and the son of Baba asked me how the house was coming along — he hadn’t heard anything since my wife had been in the week before.
Here’s the thing about Baba’s Schwarma Grill: it’s not meant to be fancy. As the other reviewers mention, it looks like a Captain D’s. But the restaurant is clean, the service is good, and it’s family-​owned. The food’s tasty and affordable. I always leave happy.
These are the places that serve the community and they serve them well. Fancy, more expensive restaurants have their place, but by nature they are transitory and subject to changing tastes and popular perception. Places like Baba’s stick around because they serve good food for a good price. I’ll be eating here for years.
Baba’s my bud.

The food is good, not great, but certainly better than I would expect. I recently had the pleasure of having a St. Patrick’s Day lunch here and found the meal to be very filling and flavorful.
Baba’s accepts
certificates and I used mine to have some of the Dip Sampler Platter
I also had a Gyro and wanted the tzatziki sauce on the side and unfortunately, the cook apparently poured it over the gyro, thus causing the sauce to soak into the wrap and not the meat. Bummer. I’ll survive, ha ha.
This place could be a good introduction to the wonderful world of Mediterranean/​Middle-​eastern food. The place is no frills and it’s fast foody appearance might be less intimidating for some.
The seats and interior are no different than when it was a Captain D’s restaurant, and could probably use some updating. The free WiFi makes up for a lot of the shortcomings of the place. I noticed a man with his Kindle reading a book and enjoying some food. Nice.
I’ll be back and look forward to trying some different items off their menu.