Baba Ghannouj

I never know why I keep coming here. I regret it everytime. The ‘specials’ they advertise on their board are a complete lie. It’s just a way for them to charge you more. I also have absolutely no idea why it takes 20 minutes every time, even though there are only 3 people in the entire restaurant. Seriously, the food is OK, but the overall experience is NEVER worth it!

Just ordered here for the first time. The food was good but my «platter» contained 3 bite size pieces of chicken. The best Mediterranean food I’ve had in Durham, but for 3 bites of chicken and 3 pieces of pita brad, I would settle for much less. I wouldn’t pay $ 4 for the amount of food on a $ 10 platter.

I really enjoyed everything I got here aside from the falafel which I don’t think I’d like anywhere. The service was excellent and the food tasted very fresh. Everything had alot of flavor and a home cooked feel to it. I’ll be back.

The food was tasty, the fries a tad soggy (maybe I waited too long to eat them). The gyro was delicious. The tomatoes and onions and lettuce were extremely fresh (bring tic-​tacs). However! The meat was scarce. I was extremely disappointed in the meat serving size of my gyro (they should be ashamed), or maybe I should be ashamed for not ordering double meat.
Tad bit pricey for the portion size, but I’ll totally go back for something other than the gyro. WHERES THE MEAT!

Delicious! I had the veggie platter, everything was fresh and pleasing to the palate. My daughter ordered the falafel wrap and I have to say these were some of the best falafels, ever! Very filling serving sizes.

had the chicken Baba Ghannouj plate. Good food. I’ll be back.

The food is okay, service is really mediocre due to the lack of employees. It gets really busy sometimes and your order could take up to 45 minutes to be ready!

Baba Ghannouj isn’t going to win any awards for ambiance, but who really cares when the food is so darn solid?
This is definitely a no-​frills joint as mentioned by other reviewers, and is probably best served as a solid take-​out option. That’s not to say that the inside is cramped, unkempt, or crawling with cockroaches, but rather there simply isn’t anything to set the inside apart from any other quick dine-​in/​take out restaurant.
Now I will say I have dined in here numerous times before, and the service has always been friendly and attentive. Furthermore, I recently swung by to grab some take-​out during the holiday season (aka the «No Duke Kids Around» season), and the restaurant essentially looked like it was closed. I poked my head in, however, and the gentleman who I believe is the owner assured me they were open and was more than happy to whip me up a couple of platters as he chatted about how «no one wants to eat tonight apparently». Now that’s some hospitable service!
Let’s talk a bit about what will really keep you coming back to Baba Ghannouj – the food. They offer the typical Greek and Lebanese fare including kababs, gyros, falafel, shawarma, and appetizers such as hummus, grape leaves, and baba ghannouj (obviously). All of the food I have had here is fresh and delicious, and portions are good for the price you pay. For my money, your best bet is one of the platters which will basically come with a main course of your choice (ie, kabab or gyro and with the meat of your choosing), a salad (the Greek salad is great!), and a side. I have noticed that the chicken kabab and rice platter will sometimes be a bit lean on the chicken, but it’s still decent even at its leanest.
For cheap (ish), quick and healthy, you can’t do much better than Baba Ghannouj. Also they offer delivery service from 11am-​8pm!

I was somewhat disappointed with food and dine in service at this restaurant. Frstly, their chicken platter was mostly salad with 3 pieces of small chicken. A better name for it would have been chicken salad, and for $ 10 it didn’t come close to being called an entere. Second, there was no service. The guy who served us basically sat behind his laptop the whole time and looked like he did not want to be there. Finally, after 30 minutes, he came to pick up our dishes. The food quality was just okay… I’ve had better greek food than this before.

This is a no-​frills sort of place, but the food and service make up for that. I had the veggie plate, which was quite good. I usually don’t like stuffed grape leaves, but I enjoyed the ones here, which either means they’re excellent or I’m acquiring a taste for grape leaves. The falafel are also good, especially dipped in the tzatziki. The hummus is also really good, though a little on the thin side, while the baba ghannouj is decent but not the best I’ve ever had – it lacks the smokiness that I really enjoy. The plate also includes a generous portion of salad and pita wedges.
We usually don’t get dessert, but there was a sign advertising «baklava cheesecake». Admit it, you’d be curious about that too. It was, in fact, cinnamony cheesecake with layers of phyllo and honey on top. It tasted great, though it was a little hard to eat the phyllo with a fork.
Our server was also one of the best we’ve ever had. She was friendly and relaxed, and talking with her made dinner an even more pleasant experience. She also immediately asked about any dietary considerations we had. As a vegetarian, I really appreciated that.
Overall, the food here is pretty solid and we’ll definitely be back.

Great grape leaves! Need to try the «famous fries» next time. Yeah I know… Greek fries? Everyone there was ordering them though. More to come on my next visit!

I tried the Lamb Gyro Platter which comes with 4 slices of pita, 4 shavings of gyro, hummus, greek salad, and tzatziki sauce. The gyro was slightly salty, but the other components tasted pretty good (comparable in taste to those of a typical Mediterranean café). My main gripe with this place is that the platter is a little pricey ($ 9) for the quantity of food given.

This is probably a 3.7 — it’s a clean restaurant with tasty food that doesn’t invest too much in the ambience.
Baba Ghannouj is one of my go-​to places for a take-​out dinner because (a) they offer a 10% Duke affiliate discount, (b) they can prepare food in around 10 minutes (if you call in an order), and © they offer the tastiest chicken shwarma wrap that I have found within 10 minutes of Duke’s Campus.
The chicken shwarma wrap consists of pita around pickles, juicy tender chicken, and french fries with some sauce. This wrap can be upgraded to a meal that includes hummus and warm pita.
There are a few vegetable options, but the menu would be dramatically improved with simple additions — some steamed vegetables, or something.

Came here by chance and it was actually not bad! The food was good. I didn’t get the buffet though so can’t speak for that. The interior is little old and the atmosphere is casual but overall, I enjoyed it.

Awesome food and fast service! I really enjoyed the chicken kabobs, hummus, baba ghannouj and falafel and will definitely be back for more!

Simple honest very low cost food. ALERT no wine /​beer. Not a glamourous location but if you are from the Mediterainian region looking to get away from American food then this will be a huge relief.

Had to say that I really liked this place and just had to review it because of the awesome sandwich they made. Came in here for a quick bite and was extremely happy with the sandwich I got. They where running a special for the day which was strangely named «the Calvinator» and the sandwich was GREAT!
Since then I’ve been back 2 other times and always got the same thing and the sandwich is awesome the only thing is that it’s not on the menu so i have to ask for it and they always accommodate my request which is nice! Thanks Baba Ghannouj!

This place is OK, but nothing to make a special trip for. I went because a friend and I needed a quick dinner before an event at the Nasher Museum at Duke, which is close by.
We both ordered the Baba Ghannouj Veggie Platter ($ 9.99) which comes with falafel (3), grape leaves (2), and a salad made up of lettuce, a couple of tomato slices, and maybe a cuke slice. You also get a dollop each of hummus and baba ghannouj (they ran together on my plate), raita (yogurt-​based cucumber sauce), and about 5 pita triangles.
The good points were the falafel and pita, both of which were tasty. The «meh» parts were the raita, which was very bland, and the hummus which also lacked flavor. The baba ghannouj was runny and not very memorable. The stuffed grape leaves were small, and looked like they had seen better days; the outside surface of the leaves was inexplicably rough, like they had been sanded. Grape leaves out of a can look and taste better than these did.
Overall, it felt like I overpaid. A price of $ 6.99 would have felt better for what they delivered. Maybe I have been spoiled by Greek and Mediterranean places that serve food with more flavor, more passion for food — Mediterranean Deli in Chapel Hill, for one — but Baba Ghannouj does not pass muster.

My first time at Baba Ghannouj. I would be fine going back again if someone really, really wanted to go. However, I would never choose to go back again.
My partner and I each order a tabbbouleh which was brought out in advance of the meal. It was basically a giant bowl of parsley. There was hardly any onion or tomato in it or bulgar wheat.
I ordered the chicken shawirma wrap. It was lacking flavor as another reviewer has noted. There were a handful of french fries inside it which I thought was strange. Suprisingly, it made the wrap more enjoyable.
My partner ordered the katftah kabob platter. He reported that his kabob was not much better than my chicken. His rice was decent. His hummus though was the best! We both agreed that the hummus was the best we had had anywhere. First, it just looked gorgeous. Second, it actually had flavor. We asked our server, and she said they put sumac in it. If the rest of the food was as good as the hummus I would want to go back all the time. That hummus was addicting. I have uploaded a picture of it.
Our server was fine. I didn’t even expect a server here. I thought I was just walking up and ordering. She was prompt and friendly. The restaurant itself is bright and colorful and very clean. They did have a TV on for customers which I am not a fan of. In a place like this, that is not large to begin with, the tv is very distracting and loud. It would be nice if some restaurants chose to forgo the tv.

Baba Ghannouj is where my sister decided to host her bachelorette dinner. The decision was great for vegetarians and omnivores who enjoy Greek/​Mediterranean cuisine.
I called in advance to reserve a table for our party, but the table (s) didn’t seem available maybe because we arrived late — what with the prep work for the bouquets and boutonnières for my sister’s wedding and reception. All worked out OK since there was plenty of seating — we opted to dine al fresco and enjoy the fabulous weather that evening.
The vegetarian platter worked great for me since I like variety in my Greek/​Mediterranean foods: «A veggie lover’s dream comes with falafel, grape leaves and salad accompanied by hummus, baba ghannouj, cucumber sauce and pita.» per the menu description. If I wanted to be vegan rather than whatever-​vegetarian, I could’ve requested to leave off the cheese and the yogurt sauce. I’m a sucker for grape leaves (especially if warm, not this time around); hummus and baba ghannouj (I would hope) were also delicious.
The other people in my dining party seemed to enjoy their food as well. I was so focused on my own veggie plate and picture taking and conversation. I’d probably go back — though I’d be curious about other options in the area.