While shoppers were clamoring for treasures in big-box stores and online, the best Black Friday experience was happening on Welborn Street. On the evening of Friday, November 28, Babel opened its ornate front doors to its first official dinner guests.
Located in the Centrum building in the heart of the Oak Lawn neighborhood, Babel represents the logical evolution of Lebanese cuisine under the leadership of restaurateur Mo Kamal, whose Open Sesame Lebanese Grill a couple of blocks away, has become a local favorite.
“My busiest time at Open Sesame is weekdays. A Lebanese doctor friend told me he’d love to come here for dinner on the weekends, but his wife won’t let him. You know why?” Kamal says. “It’s because it’s not fancy enough.”
Because of this and similar interactions, Kamal realized there was a market for the same tasty Lebanese food, served in a space with a full bar, private dining room, and sophisticated decor. In other words, a place people can dress up for—or not—and have a sophisticated night out.
Rather than reinventing the menu entirely, Kamal is sourcing higher-quality ingredients, adding seafood and a full-service bar, creating dishes unavailable elsewhere in DFW, and focusing on striking presentation and top-tier service. He convinced his sister, chef Zeina Kamal, to create the menu based on family recipes for Open Sesame, and she’s back in the kitchen alongside chef de cuisine Blake Andress.
In the two weeks since opening, the culinary team has continued to tweak recipes and presentation to meet Kamal’s standards. You’ll find plenty of staples, including hummus in three varieties: classic, basil, and spicy, with the option to add Wagyu beef on top. Baked-to-order pita is fit for dipping into or wrapping around baba ghanouj, muhammara, fatoush, tabouli, and kafta meatballs.
Lesser-seen starters include fried sardines, which Kamal says “people in Lebanon eat all day, every day.” Another dish he’s never seen on menus in Dallas is Kibbeh Nayeh, a raw version of kibbeh, a highly snackable treat made from bulgur wheat and spiced ground meat.
Another item you’re unlikely to find anywhere else (other than the West Virginia prison where Martha Stewart made headlines for foraging) appears on the menu of side dishes: Dandelion greens. In Lebanese cooking, the greens and the dish are both known as Hindbeh. The dish is similar to cooked collard or mustard greens, without the bitterness. Main courses include a whole branzino, fileted, lamb chops, a Texas Wagyu striploin, and lamb-stuffed ravioli. And, for dessert, a scratch-made-daily baklava, which arrives at the table warm, crisp, and dripping with honey.
The full bar features a variety of cocktails with Lebanese twists, including a riff on what many people consider Lebanon’s national alcoholic drink, Arak. At Babel, you can find an Arak Attack, made with tequila, arak, almond orgeat, lemon, orange blossom, and egg white. The Babel Old Fashioned features liquid saffron, while the Viral Espresso Martini capitalizes on the Dubai chocolate trend with cocoa bitters and pistachio. Babel also boasts a wine list including several Lebanese wines.
If making a late reservation on a Saturday evening, Babel could easily serve as your sole destination for the night. Kamal built a DJ booth, discreetly located off the main dining room, with equipment already in place.
“It’ll be a seamless transition about 10 p.m on Saturdays. If people are vibing, we’ll raise the music volume, and people can stay and have drinks after dinner,” he says. “I genuinely want people to feel welcome and be part of our family experience.”
Babel is now open Monday through Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday from 4 to 11 p.m.; Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m.; and remains closed on Sundays. Kamal says he has plans to launch lunch service in the future.
3180 Welborn St., Dallas, babeluptown.com
