Babani’s Kurdish Restaurant

I LOVE THIS ESTABLISHMENT!!! I went to Babanis this week and asked the server (the same one who is always there) if he recommended ordering Entrée #2 or #3. He said it was hard to choose but I could just do a combo of both. How awesome!!! I wasn’t charged extra for it or short changed on food. I have at least tasted most of the entrees there and have enjoyed them all. I highly recommend this place.
Make sure to get the Baklava :)

YAAAS! Two enthusiastic thumbs up! The food at Babani’s is so delicious and full of wonderful flavor.
Our server, Mo, was super helpful and explained to us about the dishes. Get the «Babani’s Family Style» dinner so you can experience a little but of everything. Even the stuff that we didn’t think we were going to like, we loved. I am not generally a fan of tabouli, but Babani’s tabouli is fantastic. I am generally not a fan of eggplant, but the Sheik Babani was delightful.
Don’t skip dessert! They have the best baklava I’ve ever tasted. It isn’t overpowered with sugar and honey – you can actually taste the subtle flavors of what’s in it.

Went here for the first time a few days ago and hasn’t had much middle eastern food, let alone Kurdish. It was so delicious! Their dowjic soup (lemon chicken and rice) was so good, I have been craving it ever since! I had the chicken tawa which was really good, the only thing I wished for was more of the delicious broth that it was stewed in.

It was delicious. The service was great, and I found the food rich in flavors. The Turkish coffee along with the baklava was a great end to my meal.
At the end I double-​down on the baklava. I detected a hint of lemon; a wonderful flavor from their own recipe.
A must-​munch!

We had special Fridays meal (Kebab) and it was so delicious and fresh! Try Nareen bread.
Friendly staff and nice environment!

We picked this place on a whim, got there late, and were the only diners. The food was simply excellent, flavorful and spicy. We had a dumpling with ground meat filling, deep fried. Wow, delicious. We tried all three soups, all excellent as well, but the lentil soup stood out. The place has lots of vegetarian options, good for our group which included two vegetarians. We were just passing through St. Paul so were lucky to make such a great choice.

Unique Cuisine, Good service, Great Food. Also profile-​picture worthy interiors. Would love to come back again.

I love Babani’s It’s one of my favorite places to eat. I always get the Kuba Bring.
They wait staff also the owners are always smiling and friendly. Feels good to support a small business owner. Oh yes and the kurdish lemonade is delightful.

The food here was awesome. Had the chicken tawa and excellent. Kurdish lemonade great. Will definitely be coming back.

Amazing food, very friendly staff and beautiful ambiance. Tava chicken and the dowjiv chicken soup were full of flavor. Nareen — bread baked with feta — and biryani were worth coming back for!

I would say it is the best Kurdish place I’ve been to but it may be the only one. The eggplant dish, chicken dishes, appetizers and salads we’ve had were all delicious. Great spot and street parking nearby.

Sweet little love story. First Kurdish restaurant in the US. Flavorful. I liked the high ceilings.

Don’t let the weird introduction on the menu fool you, this restaurant is definitely worth a visit. Everything from the appetizers to the dessert was great. I’d especially recommend the baklava and the kurdish tea. The baklava was probably the best I’ve ever had!

Hello all,
I am actually very disappointed to do this review. I was in saint Paul for a week and wanted to go here, I finally decided that I would go tonight. After seeing online that they closed at 9 and after reading that they closed at 8:30 on the door, I figured going in at 8 o’clock as a single person, I might be able to squeek in.
Unfortunately at 8:09 I was told that the establishment was closed when I entered the restaurant saying I was one person eatting alone, even though I saw other people seated in the restaurant
Careful of the hours of operations and hopefully you get food because I am going home hungry…

I’ve given my fair share of 5 star reviews in the past, but maybe only one or two other places are as deserving as Babani’s. This is by far, hands down, lightyears ahead of the pack, my favorite restaurant in the Twin Cities metro.
Babani’s is a beautifully decorated, open, and welcoming atmosphere, packed with working class and white collar individuals alike with no pretentiousness or need to shout over your meal for good conversation. Our waiter was absolutely fantastic, doing as good wait staff should: making you feel like you’re at the dinner table at home. The hospitality, willingness to answer questions, and general friendliness of this place is unmatched. I rarely give too much thought to service but this place REALLY stood out.
Food-​wise, also amazing. My girlfriend and I started off with Nareen, accompanied by a delicious hot sauce. The bread was warm, fresh, soft, and absolutely baked to perfection. We got Chicken Tawa and Sheik Babani for our main course, accompanied by Dowjic and Mahagic.
The Chicken Tawa looked bland, but upon both of us sampling it, we were transported to what one spikey haired creep from the Food Network calls «flavortown». I picked up a piece of chicken and the bone literally fell off of the meat, no assistance required. Nowhere that I’ve ever been has perfected chicken and the rice had a wonderful citrus and spice taste that wasn’t overpowering in any direction.
The Sheik Babani was abso-​effing-​lutely outstanding. A rich red sauce surrounding stuffed eggplant and spiced beef, accompanying a generous portion of basmati was perfect for the cold evening. Seriously, one of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten. I can’t think of any adjective that is good enough for it.
The soups, dowjic and mahagic, we split ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. Both were rich, the mahagic being more creamy and hearty, the dowjic being spicy, tangy, and great once it settles in a Grandma’s-chicken-soup-kind-of-way.
Finally, we got tea, coffee, and baklava. We regularly drink cardamom tea but this blend apparently includes something else called atra, which no one (even the Googles) knew what it was. It’s delicious though. Steeped to perfect strength, our waiter notified us it would take a few minutes because he’d rather have it fresh for us. The coffee was similar to many SW and W Asian styles, a mixture of sweet arabic coffee and the prevalent dill and other herbs contained in Kurdish cuisine, though a bit less overpowered by sugar than frequent examples.
The baklava? Well, it was baklava and clearly homemade. Have tea with it and it’s perfect.
All of that said, I think we’ll be regulars when we move up permanently at the end of the month.

My first visit to Banani’s. We had Naska Nan We Panir which was kurdish bread with a special blend of feta cheese, pure olive oil, oregano, garlic. served with cucumber, tomato, olives & lemon. Which was very good (I would get again). We also got, Nareen which is a kurdish bread topped with feta cheese and served with a homemade spicy red sauce. I liked eating it with the cucumber, yogurt and dill sauce. It was also really good. The red sauce really wasn’t spicy. The Tabouli Salad (fresh mix of couscous, parsley, tomato fresh onion, and lemon juice) was indeed very fresh. I couldn’t stop eating it even though I was full. For my entrée I got the Chicken Tawa which is
Chicken sauteed in lemon and other spices then baked in layers of potato, green pepper, onion, and dried limes. served with basmati rice. The chicken just fell off the bones. Full of flavor, but not overwhelming lemon. I would recommend. This little restaurant was cool because it’s kind of hidden away. There where three or four tables of people when we got there and another couple came in while we were there. Closed early on a Friday night and there was no alcohol on the menu, but the lemonade was really different (good and sweet). I would go back for sure. Oh and the waitress was very sweet.

So glad to find this hole in the wall!
Never had Kurdish food before. Tons of vegan options. I had the tomato & cuke salad, with the chickpeas & rice. Plus their housemade bread– YUM. WARM baklava was amazing (not vegan… I do eat honey)
This place is very easy to miss– their is very little signage & it’s in a random building next to a liquor store. The décor is pretty dated, but whatevs. Kind and attentive staff.

Wow. Last time we will be dining here. This visit was rather insulting. I had greater expectations since my last visit was pretty good.
We entered around 1:30. There were two tables finishing up. We were there well before their 2:30 closing/​ending time for lunch.
There was nobody there to tell us where to sit, so we sat at a booth which was dirty and had yet to be cleaned off. The female owner looked and acted put off from the start. She wiped the table down and plopped down the menus and came back to take our order.
J ordered the Chicken Tawa which I told him was good from my previous visit. He didn’t care for it other than the potatoes. Just thought it was really bland. The salad was thrown together and not like the one that had come with mine on a previous visit and she didn’t offer any other choice like she did last time.
My meal was pretty good. I don’t remember what it was called.
It sounded like she was microwaving our food in the background. I kept hearing a microwave beep and door slam.
Floors were dirty.
Tables all around us were dirty. Cleaning supplies and dirty rags sitting around, just kind of unappealing to look at.
J had floating things in his water– twice.
When he went up to pay the bill, the owner asked, «how did you like the food»? Honestly, he said, «I didn’t like mine», but my wife liked her meal.” Then things turned ugly.
She got very rude and confrontational raises her voice and says” why you come here then” and kept trying to engage him to be confrontational back. And continues to go on about not liking their food and so on. mumbles something we couldn’t understand. It was just very awkward.
Sheesh– she asked; he told her his honest opinion. He wasn’t rude about it, he just said he didn’t care for his meal and wanted to try something different that’s why he came to the restaurant. Apparently she would have preferred he lie to her and raved on about how much he liked it.
She seemed very put off from the minute we stepped in the door. Her confrontational attitude was just unnecessary and out of line.
Will not be venturing back to this place.

The first time I came here, I thought, «hmmm, Kurdish food?» Now I’m saying, ‘KURDISH FOOD!!”
It’s so good, you guys… Who knew?
My absolute favorite thing on the menu is the jaajic. It’s so creamy and the dill + cucumber combination is fantastic. My other favorite appetizer is the dowjic. It’s a tangy, lemony, slightly creamy soup. Totally Kurdish comfort food.
My favorite entrée is the chicken bakla, which is essentially Kurdish stir-​fry. The chicken tawa is also really good, and has the same lemon-​y flavor as the dowjic.
The front of the menu gives you a history of the restauranteurs and the Kurdish tribe (the Babanis) that they come from. My favorite line is, «The Babani men were known throughout the land for their patriotic sentiments, their fierce fighting habits and their sexual prowess.»
It makes me giggle.
The food here is really great and you don’t even need to be that adventurous to try it. I’ve brought people here who I know are scared to eat outside of the culinary box and they have been very pleased with the food here.
Service is so great and they are always patient while we consider the menu and the tasty choices offered here. The owners are truly gracious hosts, almost as if we were dining in their own home.

Yum! I am so sad we have lived within a few blocks of this little gem for almost a year and just recently learned of it!
I had never been to a Kurdish restaurant before so its always exciting for me to try new things! We ordered some Nareen, amazing Kurdish bread served with a spicy red sauce. Thank you Babini’s for not skimping on the sauce!
Our soup and salad choices were the Tabouli Salad, Traditional Silopi Salad, and Dowjic. My Silopi salad was so fresh as was the Tabouli, so I hear. I am not a Tabouli fan, but Ci gobbled it right up. I had a taste of the Dowjic and it was tasty.
Our entrees were Kubey Sawar and Vegetarian Bakla. I shared the Bakla but I honestly wished I had ordered my own, it was so good. Even though I rarely eat meat, the Kubey Sawar was amazing and it is going to be my choice next time. The portion sizes are perfect and this is a great spot to catch dinner before heading to the History Theater.
We ordered Baklava for dessert and FYI, one order has two pieces so we ended up taking some home. I am not a baklava fan but after reading the Unilocal reviews, we had to try it and it truly is the best Baklava I’ve ever had.
Service was good. Don’t expect the warm and fuzzy type of service here but its excellent, quick, and attentive.
Come check this place out, it is Amazing!