Babalu

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1002 Montana Ave
Santa Monica, CA 90403

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(310) 395-2500
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Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Babalu - Santa Monica, CA
Reviews
( 10 )
( 13 )
( 10 )
( 6 )
( 4 )

Best

My boyfriend recently had dinner with a friend at Babalu and had the amazing Turkey Meatloaf. He was dying for me to try it. It was great! But the big satisfying surprise was o...

Worst

Friend found a very long hair (she has short hair) mixed into her pasta. When presented to the manager, her response was not to take any responsibility. She claimed it 'flew in ...

Food OK, Service Terrible, Dirty Forks, LOOOOOONG Wait 8/18/2007

The food was decent but the wait was horrible and they even sat three people who were behind us even when we had been waiting over 40 minutes. The forks had gluey goo over it and it took over 10 minutes to get water and coffee. The waitress finally spilled hot liquid all over my legs and in the end, we left the restaurant disappointed. I definitely don't recommend this place, and there are many other restaurants on Montana where you can get the same quality of food without going through the hassle of bad service. Thumbs down for me. Pros: Some hot women eat here Cons: Service more
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great food, HORRIBLE MANAGER 8/4/2007

The food here is great and the staff is very friendly, however they seem overworked and under appreciated. I've been to Babalu many times now, sometimes eating in and sometimes picking up to go orders and everytime ive always been impressed with my meal. The hostesses are always polite and friendly as well as the people waiting tables. The only complaint I have- other than the long waits- is about the blonde manager. She is rude to customers and every time I have been in the restaurant she is yelling at her staff. Then, today I went in and after picking up my to go order she actually stopped yelling at her waitress for accidentally breaking a cookie and started yelling at me for not being prompt in paying for my meal. Frankly, it was enough to make me swear off Babalu- on days she is working, that is. Pros: food, desert, their salad dressing, serving staff Cons: offensive manager more
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loved the pies 12/2/2006

I really liked this place, great and healthy food and amazing desserts. Afterwards you can go shopping on Montana too! more
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great food, HOT staff 11/25/2006

Decided to check out Babalu with some friends last Wed night. Had a great time, even though the place was a little chaotic. Food rocked, and so did their staff. Men, leave your dates at home. Every one of the girls that was working was SMOKING. We were treated to a great time by a group of sweethearts. Fyi, we had the special halibut, special baby back ribs, ahi salad and chicken bolognese. All of us cleaned our plates...but we couldn't resist the banana brownie cream pie at the end, and damn it was tasty. We'll DEFINITELY be back! Pros: SMOKING HOT STAFF, great grub Cons: lots of people in a tiny area more
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Decent food, TERRIBLE service 11/24/2006

My buddy and I arrived a few minutes before noon to beat the crowd. Even so, it took 15 minutes just to get water. Their menus were interesting if not oddly limited, considering the number of choices availble. My chickenw was a touch dry but otherwise tasty. But it was like pulling teeth to get our server to refill our drinks. I don't really dig places being snooty for the sake of being snooty. It wasn't even that fancy. I'd perhaps give it another try someday, but only on off-hours. more
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Bad Hostess 11/17/2006

My boyfriend and I went to Babalu's on a Wednesday night. Clearly, Bablalu's suffers from delusion of grandeur since they insisted on sitting us at a tiny table that was in the middle of the walkway and practically next to the cash register since the other tables were ""reserved for larger parties""...Well, considering there were more than 2 larger tables (for 4 - not in a walkway and not next to the register) open and it was getting late on a Wednesday night - I thought they may consdering switching us. But, no, alas, she didn't. And then she said if another party of 2 comes in - then she would move us. Yeah, ok..like we want to sit in the walkway and pray for another party of 2 to come in so we can proceed to move all of our stuff. Yeah, no thanks. We left and went to Louise's Trattoria who was happy for our business and said ""go ahead, sit anywhere you like!"" as soon as we walked in Cons: Dumb seating policy more
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felt like part of the family! fun, attentive staff...great food 10/24/2006

Just moved here from back east and found this little spot. Now am a regular...the staff is so down -to-earth! Sat at the counter first time in and had a great chat with the GM...and when my parents came to visit she bought them drinks and the entire staff stopped by the counter to say hello even though i'd only been coming in for about a month!! (One negative, they don't take reservations and we couldn't wait for a table...but trust me, the counter is where it's at!!) By the end of the night they had my parents in stitches...everyone was smiling and joking around...plus, my parents couldn't stop talking about their meals when we left. I go in about twice a week now. more
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Terrible Manager 10/21/2006

Babalu is one of my favorite restaurants, however recent dining experiences have been ruined by the blonde-haired female restaurant manager. On all of my recent visits she has been yelling loudly at other employees, making rude comments to the chefs and barking orders loud enough to make diners uncomfortable. It is a shame because the food is wonderful - if only the owners would can the manager and hire someone pleasant. Pros: Good food, nice staff except manager Cons: Terrible Restaurant manager, long seating wait on weekends and during lunch more
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Spotty food, terrible service 9/28/2006

Since its reopening last year, Babalu has been pretty disappointing. The food is lower quality and spotty at best, yet the prices are higher. The service is terrible--slow. forgetful and generally annoyed. Waits are 60 minutes when you're told 30. If you complain, management acts defensive and unapologetic. I have had a couple of lame salads with spoiled lettuce and vegetables--blamed by the management on the ""produce vendor"" rather than their own staff that let visibly rank food leave the kitchen. Pros: Pies, Breakfast Cons: Any other food, service, anything with vegetables more
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Go to Babalu at odd hours 8/28/2006

The food is tremendous at Babalu. The turkey burger was juicy. Pasta was excellent. Calamari - perfect. I only wish I had enough patience to try their desserts (they LOOK fabulous), but herein lies the rub: Pros: Fantastic food Cons: Can take a while to actually sit and eat the fantastic food more
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Great food, inefficient service 7/12/2006

I went to Babalu with three friends, and if I didn't have them to entertain me, the wait to be seated and to get our food would have been intolerable. The staff seems overworked and disorganized even though the restaurant itself is tiny. We were told our wait would be 10 min, but we ended up waiting 30 and our waitress, while sincere, took forever to even bring our drinks, extra utensil, food, and bill. The food, when it finally arrived, was delicious and inventive. Even the vegetarian dish was flavorful and carefully prepared. We heard about the great desserts but didn't want to wait even longer. The crowd is typical wealthy-casual westside, with the people who arrived after us throwing a tantrum about the long wait and the location of their table. I would say that the food at Babalu is worth the excruciating service but not if you are very hungry, short on time, or trying to impress a date. more
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BAD Managment 7/8/2006

Looks good, tastes good, but it's not enjoyable or worth it because of the bad customer service. It's over crowded and we waited longer that we were told. We had to wait a long time to order and to get our food. Lunch on a Saturday took two hours. We were not there to sit and talk for hours, we were ready to order by the time the waiter came for our drink orders and asked for the check immediatly after we were finished. Two hours is how long their service took. We talked with the manager after we were done and she seemed aloof, never even offering an appology. Bummer because the food was good but I won't go back. Only go here if you have time and aren't hungry because you'll be waiting a while! Pros: good food, good location Cons: bad service, bad managment, parking more
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great food, poor customer service 7/7/2006

Great, tasty, original food. Our party of 3 was told that we'd have a 15 min. wait. Instead, we got seated 30mins later. Our waiter seemed to have too many tables and didn't get our drink and food order for another 10-15 minutes later. 2 hours later, we decided to ask for a free dessert. Our waiter said he would have to ask his manager. The manager said no. We talked with her. Basically she blamed us for not speaking up sooner about the long wait. She never apologized. Just was we left the counter, she turned to our waiter and yelled at him. Pros: fresh, tasty food Cons: Poor customer service more
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crowded but lively - i wish i'd tried the ribeye 2/20/2006

I ended up getting the Chicken farfalla and the sauce was delish although the chicken was a little overcooked and thus a little tough... mi novia got the Halibut (wrapped in a banana leaf w/ coconut sauce) which was wondeful! get an order the fried plantains and try a soju drink (made w/ Han)! but be careful! :-p Pros: clean, atmosphere, speed service seated Cons: wait, small more
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ho-hum 2/16/2006

The service was lovely, but I was disappointed by the food--I got the halibut roasted with curry sauce in a banana leaf, but the fish was waaaay overcooked and dried out--not worth $22. They have a lengthy dessert list, and a piece of turtle chocolate pie was about the size of a quarter-cake and delicious, although it would have tasted better warm so the caramel wouldn't have been so hard. I would advise eating elsewhere and just coming here for your dessert. more
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A little gem 5/31/2005

The food was nicely flavorful and the desserts were rich and enormous. When it's crowded, it's a bit too cramped. With the right table however, it provides an excellent cafe experience. It's a place that would lose it's charm if it got too popular so I won't call it a must try but go if you enjoy quaint cafe experiences. Pros: food , desserts, location Cons: parking, cramped more
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Not all I thought it would be 3/13/2005

We were on Montana last Saturday and walk by Babalu. I had read good things about it, so we decided to have lunch. I was disappointed. The salads we eat had less than fresh vegatables so to speak. And the bread on our sandwiches was not fresh. Maybe it was a bad day. But I won't be back. more
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Great food! 3/8/2005

We went here for brunch but ended up ordering lunch items, all of which were great! also tried the muffins which were amazing. I'd recommend getting there early as the lines were long and the restaurant is small. more
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Desserts first! 2/1/2005

After reading the reviews on this site, I've decided to try this place. It's quite small (seats about 20-25), but there's always some people waiting. The place has a warm ambiance plus sufficient staff members to keep you at the center of attention. We ordered the Greek Isle Broschettes (chicken, onion, red peppers) and sweet potato. One word: HOME MADE DELICIOUS. This is definetely not microwaved junk canned food. On other aspects, there's only street parking so you might go around the block a few times. The best plates are the DESSERTS (Coconut praline is to die for). Pros: Homemade food, Awesome desserts, Friendly staff Cons: Tough to find parking, Very small restaurant, Limited menu more
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Awesome place. 4/2/2004

Favorite restaurant in Santa Monica. I eat everywhere: $2 taco stands to $100/person snob-joints. Babalu has the best once-a-week fancy kitchen in Santa Monica. Get the fish specials, a beer and save room for dessert. Order the fried plaintains & yam fries as sides! Enjoy. Pros: Fish specials, Dessert more
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Menu for Babalu


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Editorial

  • In Short
    The sarong-clad waitstaff glides from table to table, casually serving stylish Montana Avenue shoppers and neighborhood families. Brunch favorites include pancake and omelette...

  • 5/8/2008 Provided by Citysearch
Additional information
  • Hours: Monday To Friday From 11:30 AM To 11:00 PM Saturday To Sunday From 08:00 AM To 11:00 PM
  • Payments: Master Card, American Express, Visa, Diner's Club
  • Neighborhoods: West LA, North of Montana
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