NOW EXPERIENCING:Baba’s Place
Drinks Directory|Restaurant|Party vibes|Sydney

Baba’s Place

Tuesday: Closed
20 Sloane Street, Marrickville, NSW, 2204
Phone
(02) 9090 2925
Website
babasplace.com.au
Instagram
@babasplace__

Read time 3 Mins

Posted 19 Oct 2022

By
Alexandra Carlton

Inside Baba's Place restaurant in Sydney

A pretension-free mash-up of suburban immigrant food and natural-leaning wines in a raucous, welcoming Marrickville warehouse.

People outside Baba's Place in Marrickville, Sydney
Why you goPaddington has its genteel terraces. Bondi has its ice-cool architectural boxes clad in glass. Marrickville? Marrickville has warehouses. Famously, it fills those warehouses with breweries. You can barely move around the industrial backstreets without running into wafts of hops and yeast (some of the picks include Wildflower, Grifter and Philter). Baba’s Place, meanwhile – run by former Butter chef Jean-Paul “JP” El Tom and business partner Alex Kelly – has finally done what now seems glaringly obvious: cranked open a steel roller-door and whacked a restaurant inside. And once you’re in, the Marrickville-ness – or, more broadly, the inner-western-ness – continues. The idea behind Baba’s Place is that it’s a riotous and welcoming mash-up of Aussie immigrant culture, with Baba as the archetypal grandma, perpetually urging her hordes of grandkids to eat. Some things are a little bit Lebanese, which is JP’s background; others are a little bit Macedonian, via Alex’s heritage. And yet others a little bit of everything else (the wine list darts all over the globe, as does the food), but nothing’s sacred or po-faced. “We had a cocktail on for a while called Lidcombe Calling, sort of like the London Calling, because why not just put our own suburbs on something and make it our own?” says Alex. “It doesn’t really have to mean anything.” What it all definitely means – no question – is a properly good time.
Why you stayBaba – sweet old lady that she is – has done everything to make her grandkids comfy. She’s dusted off her best furniture. There are vintage walnut sideboards collected from all around the area, brightly painted walls, drippy wax candles, lace tablecloths and her very best patterned china (mismatched but she’s picked every piece out specially). Incense is burning, big tubs of herbs and roses flank the entrance and, if you’re lucky, someone will be mixing records. Even if you’ve never had a real baba of your own, you’ll feel like you’ve got the gist after a visit here. There’s no actual Baba on the floor, of course, but it’s hard to think of many other restaurants with a warmth that makes you feel part of the family so quickly. You almost get the sense you should swing by the next day to help with the washing up, or that maybe someone will slip you $20 inside a birthday card if you’ve been good. It’s that kind of place. 
What drink to orderStart with a glass of the Dobra Vinice Mikulasska Milerka bubbles from the Czech Republic – super-fresh and herbal, and light on the fizz. Although, if you’re in a group and have the manpower to warrant a bottle, the Lebanese Mersel Leb Nat Gold natural sparkling is an equally strong bet. From there, just dive into whatever else sounds fun – it’s all lo-fi, lots of skin contact, plenty of funk and small-batch deliciousness. There’s a really nice biodynamic trebbiano from Tuscany, La Ginestra Vi Vini Amphora Bianco, and beer drinkers ought to keep it local with Wildflower’s layered and luscious organic Table Beer. Most of the cocktails have rakija – a traditional spirit of the Balkans, made here at Sydney’s DNA Distillery – at their core, such as the brash takes on a Martini and Negroni, or try a straight-up shot.
A cocktail served at Baba's Place
One of the dishes at Baba's Place
What to pair it withYou should probably hurry if you want to try the kitchen’s most Instagram-famous dish, the paperback-sized slab of Japanese-style milk bread piped with more taramasalata than you’ve ever put on a carb in your life. It’s prettied up with stripes of neon-green pickle, freckles of salty cured fish roe, praline and black and white sesame seeds. JP keeps threatening to take it off the menu, but Alex knows regular customers will riot, so fingers crossed his intervention saves it from extinction. The savoury-sweet half roast chicken, crisp-skinned and fragrant with marjoram, is served alongside a sexy-smooth Lebanese garlic toum sauce, and equally crisp-crunchy baked potatoes. The house yoghurt, topped with almonds, burnt butter and garlic chives, served with fried bread, is creamy happiness. The menu changes all the time, but ask what’s good – the staff are always personally invested in whatever’s on the menu and will steer you well.
Regular’s tipGroups are seated at the big mismatched tables in the middle of the dining room, but couples are always given bar seats, and don’t worry – there’s nothing hard or rickety about them. If you want to shoot the breeze with JP in between his instructions to the kitchen team (he’s good company) then book at the kitchen counter. If you prefer something a little quieter, choose seats at the bar counter where the drinks folk do their work with a little less clamour.
Don’t leave withoutSeeing what’s in stock in their ad hoc Mixed Business line of merch – sometimes there’ll be soccer jerseys, maybe coasters, maybe tote bags. Whatever isn’t in the restaurant can be sourced on the website.
Who to takeFriends, dates, groups – anyone who’s up for a bit of inner-west looseness. Maybe not your actual Baba, though. Or perhaps you should. It’s guaranteed she’ll love the food and everyone will treat her like royalty, but she might ask the DJ to turn the radio down.
A busy scene inside Baba's Place
Authour image
Alexandra CarltonAlexandra Carlton is a freelance writer who contributes to Australia’s leading food, wine and travel publications.
Tags
Drinks DirectoryGreat tunesSydney – Inner WestMeal and a bevRestaurantTop notch wine listParty vibesSydney
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