Baba's Place

Whilst I’m a dedicated reader of the Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Food Guide and have myself judged restaurants for publication, I think it is a travesty that Baba’s Place in Marrickville didn’t receive a hat this year.

House focaccia and house yoghurt with chickpeas, garlic chive oil, almonds and pita crumbs

 There have been several restaurants hatted by the GFG I’ve visited in the past year that simply did not impress me (but you won’t hear about it as negativity, generally speaking, is not my style). One of the most hyped but biggest letdowns I visited twice in one month and found the food to be unimaginative and bland each time.  

Neither descriptor can be applied to Baba’s Place, which firstly is imaginative in its location. The restaurant is set up in a warehouse in Marrickville, and if you take public transport to dinner like we did, the oddity of its locale is reinforced as you walk past streets of identical warehouses, the streets empty at dusk. The restaurant itself is inviting, with a nice outdoor to indoor flow with open roller doors lining one wall. The warehouse’s inherently high ceilings were made cosy with dinky light fixtures, and the op shopped dining tables were dressed with crochet doilies and clear PVC coverings. There were many family photos covering the walls and there is hodge-podge of mix and matched cutlery. The open kitchen has been set up in one corner of this cavernous warehouse and its clever retro-fitting creates a point of interest whether you are farther afield or seated directly around it.  Its design prevents cooking fumes from escaping into the rest of the restaurant which is nothing short of impressive.

The inspiration behind Baba’s Place is the middle-class immigrant-parent upbringings of the respective owner-operators, a story I can wholeheartedly relate to. The menu certainly speaks of a Middle-Eastern backstory but the riveting menu also draws on inspiration from all parts of the globe including Asia and America. At first glance the menu, much like the décor, appears to be a culinary mish-mash but their unifying features are invention and bold flavours that make you sit up and pay attention.

Rice noodles with soy, bean sprouts, tahini, peanuts

Mushrooms with parmesan, smoked garlic and pickled table grapes

We did the set menu for $78 which delivered the perfect amount of food and I liked in particular that the dishes arrived grouped into discernible courses with little, well-timed breaks in between. One never felt like they were waiting too long, or that they were being assaulted by dishes all at once. 

First to arrive was the house yoghurt (complete with geo-coordinates, read the menu to see what I mean) and focaccia. The focaccia is the best I’ve had, with a crunchy top and bottom that can only be achieved with ludicrous amounts of olive oil to baste the bread in, which I am all for. It was well seasoned and the topping nice and garlicky. The house yoghurt was luxuriously creamy and thick with two ‘C’s’. It was dressed in a vividly green garlic chive oil and had a lovely contrast of textural elements from the soft, almost melty chickpeas and the crunchy almonds and pita crumbs.

After we were done licking the plate of yoghurt clean, we were graced with a medley of mushrooms and a cold rice noodle dish. The mushrooms, of which several varieties featured including enoki and king oysters, were very earthy especially with the addition of fresh oregano. The umami factor was ramped up with the addition of parmesan and smoked garlic. The pickled table grapes were half way to becoming raisins, I assume having been roasted beforehand, concentrating their sweetness and the result little tangy pops amongst the meaty mushrooms. The joy of noodles is, much like the variety of dog breeds, they come in many forms. So I was surprised to find rice noodles in the form of chee cheong fan (large flat noodles almost like lasagne sheets, rolled into fat cigars). Refreshing and delicate, Baba’s version was dressed in salty soy and tahini dressing which was both sharp and rich, the peanuts adding a woody essence and crunch. The raw bean sprouts added a final refreshing bite to the dish. Baba’s is generous in describing all versions of this dish, including the OG kind had at Hong Kong style restaurants, as beautiful but I have to disagree, Baba’s is the best. I don’t miss the tacky and overly sweet hoisin sauce that usually accompanies the noodles.

King prawns with house tomato vinegar, olives and burnt butter

The best dishes, believe it or not, were still yet to come. At Baba’s Place I have had the pleasure of eating the best prawns of my life. Barbecued king prawns were cooked perfectly with a nice lick of char and dressed in a super umami dressing made of house tomato vinegar, kalamata olives and burnt butter. These prawns are truly crack. You’ll definitely need to use your hands to eat these ones and my advice is to start by sucking the prawn and head to extract all those delicious juices before peeling and dunking your naked prawn in more of that dressing before devouring.

Rocket pear and molasses (left) and spiced lamb neck, corn, succotash (right)

The spiced lamb neck arrived also perfectly cooked and seasoned, with a blackened spice crust on the outside that provided textural contrast to the unctuous lamb underneath. The cut had just enough fat to keep the meat supple without it being sickly. The lamb is served on a bed of corn custard with succotash. Succotash it turns out is a dish with Native American origins, not just a curse used by Sylvester the Cat. Here it is a kinda succotash, the corn is well represented but the rest is Baba’s spin, turning it into a refreshing salsa with lots of soft herbs like mint and basil, pickled shallots and garlic. The corn custard is sweet and mellow with a soothing texture most akin to soft polenta.  A very generous salad of rocket, pear and pomegranate molasses is served alongside the lamb. The dressing is well balanced and sharp. The pear was unusually served grated, which is more a note than a criticism, as it made for a much more even distribution of pear. A simple but effective salad that balanced the richness of the lamb well.

We finished dinner with the focaccia and whey caramel tart which was sensational. The tart had a caramelly filling and a texture close to a fudgey brownie which was nice and toothsome. The focaccia gave the base had a pleasant grittiness about it that reminded me of semolina. It was accompanied by a dollop of culture cream, of which I am now obsessed with. Why don’t people use this ingredient more often in dessert? It had a gorgeous gooiness about it and a sharp tang was a lovely contrast to the sweet caramel notes of the tart. There was also little bites of flaky sea salt on top and the fruity olive oil took things to another level. This is possible one of the most memorable dessert I’ve eaten in the last year and I wish I could have more. In fact all the desserts on the ala carte menu sounded incredible, and I think I might return for a dessert degustation one day instead, skipping dinner beforehand. Dishes that I missed but are on the cards for next time include the raw beef with special sauce, whey pickle, praline/focaccia and cheddar (I can hear you saying “what is going on in this dish?!”) and the fermented pancake with banana cream, coconut and walnut.

 Street parking around Baba’s is free which is unheard of when it comes to visiting many of Sydney’s best restaurants. Leave your excuses for not visiting Marrickville at home, Baba’s is easily one of Sydney’s finest dining establishments that deserves your undivided attention. Book your table now!

Baba’s Place
20 Sloane Street
Marrickville
NSW 2204

Ph. 0423 587 481
@babasplace_
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