Bab Arabia - Trivandrum

Food is expensive but for the rate it should be around 600 for 2 people. Taste is not at par. I don't know why it's so hyped in TVM with regards to Arabic food. It's better to have a classic Kerala chicken biryani.i had some dish name kapama biryani.it's just shredded chiken. 1 grilled tomato 1 boiled potato. I had asked the steward will 1 full kapama rice will be enough for 5 adults and 2 children.he told no you have to order total 2.and as usual almost parceld the remaining rice which was almost 1 full rice.and if I am not wrong the restaurant is under staffed. I went searching for the steward to give the order for icecream and asking for a bottle of water. I had come with my entire family.and was feeling embarrassed.
In short - overpriced for tasteless food.
No proper service.

Only thing good is the ambience.and they are charging for the ambience

The food was awesome. I liked the ambiance, the place was calm and relaxed. The only issue I can say is the lack of parking space.

Sound ambience and delicious food.
Istanbul chicken kebab was sparkly to the taste buds.and tender Turkish BBQ too
And top of all Umm ali stole my heart

Had a very good experience, the food was delicious and authentic, and the interaction of the staff was very good and hospitable.

Customer service was poor, they urge to clear the items from table before we finish the food. It's not a welcoming approach.

I love food and this place has some of the best and most delicious Arabic dishes I've ever tried. However, I was a bit disappointed by the portion size, especially for the platter for 2. It was not enough to satisfy our hunger and it was quite expensive too. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere and the service is friendly and fast, so I would still recommend it to anyone who loves Arabic food. But I wish they would lower their prices or increase their quantity, because it's too pricey for what you get.

Had a wonderful experience with trying out the Arabic cuisine. They have set an Arabian ambiance everywhere so that we feel we are in an Arabian country. I had tried almost every starters but were not into tummy filling dishes like alfams and biriyani. The way chiken kappama served was good to watch and the food was good also. The main thing I found is they don't add spices, so for a keralite who is preferring a spicy food might feel it uncomfortable. The 1 meter kebab, chiken lolipop, icecream & cheese kunafas, Turkish alfams where pretty good but the mutton kebab kind of dish (sorry I forgot the name) was not upto the mark. Guys don't go for heavy food before the startes. Personally I enjoyed there hospitality and food. I am providing a higher rate per person because I tried 8-9 items and its a bit rated, but I think every Arabic cuisine they are charging this amount.

Quality food with quality services.
Had a great time.
Thanks to the entire team.

Beef shavarma was not at all tasty. Platter was not worth the money. Bukari rice and lemon was good. Service was courteous.

Very pathetic.went around 1.15 pm.they told wait for 20 minutes.as I was alone, they gave preference to other groups with 4,8 members. I waited for nearly 50 minutes.at last gave a seat.even they didn't give me a glass of water which I was askwd for a couple of time.very dissatisfied even if we pay a high amount.

If somebody got to taste authentic Arabian dishes, I think this is the place for now. Should give all the credit to the chefs who make it happen, marinated with selected spices, u will be delighted to have lots of choices including Turkish, Afghan, Lebanese, variety of salads, hommos etcetc. Excellent hospitality of the staff is something unique. Its crowded almost all the time, with limited parking spaces and long queues to get a table, but the food is worth waiting. Prices are not very high nor too low, I will say excellent value for money comparing other restaurants of that sort. Overall good ambience and I highly recommend for friends, families or even large groups of foodies.

Bab Arabia is one of the newly opened restaurant in trivandrum as a branches in different parts of Kerala.
With great expectation My Friend Ken and I went in after a great struggling for a parking slot, once entered they told us that all seats are full and are we willing to wait for the next 15-20mins. As we Came in for Getting the best experience from Bab Arabia we agreed to wait.
We had to wait for around 25mins, by that time few people who came even after us got seats (maybe because of the bigger seating arrangements- no complaints).
Our name was called out and told us the table is ready.
We got the table and the Menu was Given as soon as we seated. Within 5 mins we decided what to order and waited for placing the order.

We waited.
And waited.

After around 10 - 15 mins their comes the man to get the order.

We ordered and waited for the food.

We Waited.
And Waited.

About 15mins later we got one of the dish (side dish) on our table. We ordered one more dish once the first dish came. Soon after the second dish too came in a mud pot.

We finished both the dishes and waited for some more time with a bread aside which is getting harder and getting colder. By that time our neighbors got their sets and we called the waiter (they can be seen once in a blue moon) and asked him to cancel the last order as it is taking long and to get me my bill.
He said okey and went off.
After about some long time he sends us a bill with a items that we haven't even ordered.
We tried to call him to ask if the bill got changed.
By that time we studied the bill and came to know that it was the bill for another table.

We Waited.
And Waited.

At the end of the day another person came and we told him to rectify the bill and after some time we got the bill and settled and left the place.

We entered the place by 8: 20 PM and was inside for long 2 hours with such experience.

It would have been better if the quality of the food according to the hype and expectation.
That too average quality and taste.
Not a good ambiance.
Was suffocating due to various smoke and smell without any exhaust system to drain out the smokes, as it is stuck within the same room.

Ambiance **
Food ***
Service *
Worth **

Different food, supposed to be middle eastern/ Turkish. But does not seem authentic. Surprised that there was no sheek kebabs. Service and menu suggestions need to improve considerably. Food was ok, ordered 4 dishes and only the wrap with beef stood out.

Tasty food. Kapama Mutton and chicken wings are must tries for first timers. Soups and Indian curries are on the average side. Desserts are delicious but expensive.

Had to wait about 1 Hour for a table, And to me personally this was not worth waiting for that table. It was over priced for the quantity and taste. They seemed to bring the Grills in an Iron Grill POT that looked hot but it was just normal temperature meaning, the food was just luke warm. We ordered a lot of starters and grills. But didn't go for any Rice varieties or Indian cuisines, so not sure how they taste. Overall not satisfied. Their Turkish bread was nice, Chicken Fateyar and kunafa was nice but again not worth its price. Grills had the same taste and didn't find any difference between Turkish BBQ and alfaham. Mix Salad was of very very less quantity. Mayonnaise or Garlic Paste didn't taste like one.

Tasty food. Service is good. Arabic ambience inside is okay. Look from outside could be improved. Rate is reasonable. Quantity is more and hence an area to focus in connection with reducing the price. In general it's a good place. However the smoke inside could be reduced or controlled in a better way.

Poor service. Had to wait long. The waiting period did not compensate with the expected taste. The food was not soo hot. Mayonise didnt taste as the taste of mayonise.

The food we bought yesterday 15/9/2016 at 5: 30pm was very rich and tasty and the price is reasonable and it was my first experience at hotel Bab Arabia.

An excellent place for Arabic dishes. They have a lot of dishes bit mostly Non-Veg. We had Bukhari Chicken that was a chicken and potion of rice for four. We also had Barbecue which was placed along with a portable mesh with coal to keep it warm.

The dishes were priced not too high but moderate. The Kunafa however was costly for the quantity provided.

They have a limited parking space and the place is like a house converted into hotel. So it's like rooms with tables. Overall a good experience

Food is fine, but had to wait for a 30 mins just to hear the dish you ordered is unavailable and another 20 mins to get the newly ordered items.
Service boys are not getting accurate information from the kitchen they said. Don't know if it is because of the weekend rush.

Good ambience and different taste. Among the dishes ordered, except for Byti kebab, felt quite satisfied with the quantity as well as taste. One time Must visit for Arab cuisine lovers

The food we had was good. We had fatayer, falafel, kabsa and kunafa. Except for the kunafa all tasted well. The kunafa is very disappointing.its more of mozzarella cheese rather than cream cheese. Think before u try the kunafa. It isn't authentic taste.

Their food is awsome. Must try Kapama chicken and Turkish BBQ. Kunafa is superb. However, they don't know how to manage crowd starting from parking area.

Waiting hours are too long.that by the time you get your order you will be out of your hunger.good ambience.good staffs.

Nice ambience, good show interiors and decor. The food is nice and in good portions. Order only if you know Turkish ya Arabic dishes, visit in clusters of three or more to enjoy all the courses as the quantity for appetizers, main courses exceeds expectations for two. Sadly not all staff look professional and the waiting system is medievally lousy.

Food is ok. The usual Arabic altered with Indian spices. Service and customer handling is poor. But being the first few days of operations, it might improve eventually. The service staffs in regular dress affect the ambience, could have been better if all of them where in traditional dress.

Food is OK. Ambience is also kinda ok.
Too crowded. Had to wait for around 45 minutes to get a seat and that too was a shared one.

Food is comparatively costly. Tawook is a must try.

Very poor experience I had at this restaurant. I have been with family and they served some salt along with the platter. Unaware that it is not edible I had it since it was served at my table. When I queried the restaurant guys I experienced the worst attitude and arrogance from the restaurant team. They denied to apologize for not explaining that that salt is not edible. Poor courtesy and hospitality. Food totally sucks.not recommended

Visited the place with family. Quite disappointed. Half of the family was served when the other half finished. Water was served once we finished lunch. Shared the feedback at the counter also. Quantity of food served is not worth the price. Thanks.

Nice ambience. Costly yet tasty. Staffs need to be trained to respond quickly. We had to wait a long time for them to take the order.and also for the final bill. This needs to be considered. Staffs need to work quickly or adequate staffs need to be added. Apart from that Hospitality, Food and Ambience is good.

Loved the place. Has lot of tables. I believe it was a house which was redecorated as a restaurant. So it doesn't have the typical restaurant vibe.

The food is extremely good. We ordered a mix of items as we were a group of 7. All the items were delicious and the staff were friendly.

Since the menu items were named differently, the staff were extra helpful in explaining each item and the ingredients.

Price wise, it's a bit on the high side but the food is worth the price. Parking is kind of hard because you can barely park 2-3 cars on the property. Others will have to find parking on the road side.

Typically there is a wait time but you can get around this by calling ahead and reserving a seat.

Good food. Tastes different than the other Arabic restaurants in the city. Staffs need to get trained. I believe they are just getting everything in order, I felt service as a bit average. The way the food was presented on the table was outstanding.

Good - Turkish cuisine in Trivandrum at reasonable prices.
Bad - Being newly opened, you have to wait especially in peak hours. However, the management has not put enough chairs for waiting. Menu was provided to me after 10 minutes of seating. Order was taken after another 10 minutes. Was wondering is it understaffed? Then I noted while I was waiting majority of the waiters and helpers were coming to cash desk all the time however none of them near the tables especially in the first floor.
For the management attention- it's good that you have come up with a Turkish restaurant to serve the people of Trivandrum. However you may have to still learn a lot in terms of customer service. I don't know how
many negative feedback has been received so far and whether you have looked into these cases for rectification.

Quantity of food is less according to the price and waiting time after food order takes more than one hour. Only thing good is the ambience.

I went to this place with my friends for a special occasion and we were not disappointed. We were greeted warmly through the menu. The food was delicious and the value was excellent compared to other prices we had seen.

Taste of real arabic food. Really tempting. And the ambiance was awesome. Service was lit bit slow but worth for waiting

Great food at great prices
Brilliant ambience does justice to the brand name. Even the waiters are dressed up like Arabs.
Middle eastern rustic walls and color pallets.
Arab music is an add on. Coming to the food, Yea it's so far the best Arabian food in town. There are many choices beyond the typical shawai and kubooz. The rice dishes are rich and flavorful. Not over dozed with Indian spices. Chicken Grills are tender and Juicy. Not over cooked and rubbery. Kebabs are hot from the grill. Kunafa is a great choice. We'll get food 95% the same as arabia. Ofcoz they can't just adapt Arabian cuisine fully since local taste is a business factor.
Parking space is good enough.
Location is good

Horrible and most insulting experience. No one even bothered to acknowledge us for 20 minutes. So we walked out. That was our "experience".

Good option for Arabic food in trivandrum.the restaurent ambience is also fine.staff behavior is also good.there is a bit parkin problem at peak times.the kabsa, mandi dishes are really good.tawook, kebabs were also fine.i strongly recommends anyone to go there for a fine dining.the quality of food is fine but i feel food quantity is a bit less compared to the prices.