tastebudds

Closed on Mondays
358 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy
9416 0091

Getting there: Take any bus from along Lygon Street towards Brunswick Street. Be sure to get a ticket!

A tropical getaway to somewhere near the exotic Madagascar. A coconut hut with hula girls serving you freshly squeezed citrus juice. Ahh.. Well that was my impression when i first heard the name Babka. Boy, was I totally wrong (in a good sense)!

Lavished with mahogany and redwood furnitures, Babka is one of your modest family shops that offers fresh-from-the-oven pastry and bread. They serve a loyal base of customers who are always back for more.

The Beef, Burgundy(wine) and Mushrooms Babka Pie is not to be mistakened for another frozen lump of dough from your local supermarket. To ensure an all-rounded diet, it is served together with generous helpings of salads, tomato relish and bread. An alluring combination of ingredients is wrapped within crispy 'home-made' pastry to bring out the fullest taste of wine-marinated red meat and mushrooms. Do try their Spicy Kasoundi(aka tomato relish) with rocket, served as a sidedish. If you're not a careful/clean eater, be sure to practice your cutlery handling skills(especially while cutting the pie). Another pie to buckle down would be their Lamb and Dried Apricot.

If you're a fan of fresh bread and other similar wheat products, you'll crave after their Rare Roast Beef, Grain Mustard, Salad and Multigrain Sandwich (what a mouthful!). You must eat the bread no matter what diet you're on. Moist, and delicate, not drying the mouth like most bread do, Keegan could very well drink this like water. This made-to-order sandwich has a delectable combination of grain mustard with hints of horseradish(somewhat like wasabi) that lingers for just a moment (an extremely exciting experience for Keegan this one) and tender beef slices that doesn't fall off easily. The flavour isn't Over The Top(OTT) with the addition of staples of lettuce and tomatoes, to round off this sandwich nicely. Cheers to this creation.


Babka is a pleasant and quiet place for a few friends to chill out and catch up. With hospitable service by youthful ladies, every effort to travel to this hang out is worth it. Albeit the gourmet adventure, eating in would be foolish for the tight-budgeted student; taking away is the better option even though they don't give you the greens.