Balagan Tel Aviv
“Did you hear about the chickpeas who took a tumble?”
I love Middle Eastern cuisine. It’s one of the most vegan friendly ones that gives you this warming and comforting embrace. Hummus, Baba Ganoush, some potatoes and bread and you are in heaven. But, it’s not that easy to make all of these to a high quality, as the details are intricate. Balagan Tel Aviv at Linnégatan looks like they could do it. Do they live up to it?
With it’s location at Linnégatan, Balagan is right across Hagabion and next to the newly established Diné Burgers (I already wrote about their other spot). Generally a good place, but slightly hidden behind stairs. When entering though, a charming vibe greets you, though the staff is not as charming and friendly. But that’s alright, service in Sweden is not something to expect anyways.
When seated, the charm of the interior really comes to shine. Cute little details and just a comfy atmosphere. Only some paintings are chosen questionably, but that might be just a matter of taste.
The menu has two sharing options, one non-veg and one veg. Whatever that means again. Upon ordering, we mentioned fully vegan and the waiting person needed to check with the kitchen. We got green light to go vegan, so all good here. We also ordered Baba Ganoush and Za’atar bread, not included in the sharing meal as an extra.
The food arrived fast, but no Za’atar bread came, as neither the waiting person nor the kitchen (!) knew if it’s fully vegan. Massive red flag here, but glad they were better safe than sorry.
All looks very good and colourful. All but the cauliflower and falafel, that have been bathing too long in the deep-fryer. And how is the taste? Well, the Baba Ganoush is really nice and the pita, though full of flour (why though?) is soft and crispy. The rest…well, mainly bland, I guess. Hummus has no spices, the salad is plain, the falafel is overfried and dry, the cauliflower as well. Why did they hurt it so much? And the potatoes are potato crisps. A weird choice and hence lacking the juicy potato taste.
So, what can I say? I am disappointed. The looks are great, but most of the food is just not having much of a taste. I don’t know if it’s a conscious decision not to overwhelm the Swedish taste buds, but I am not impressed. Easy to make the same food better at home, and that’s always the worst feeling to get when eating out. Go to Silvis instead and get a proper Middle Eastern feast, I guess.
Price:
Sharing menu (vegan): 195 SEK/person
Hummus: 65 SEK
Baba Ganoush: 75 SEK
The Verdict
It could have been so great. The location is good, the atmosphere is good and the menu looks good as well. But, the food is though very good looking, just quite bland and tasteless. The hummus is lacking spices, the cauliflower and falafel are fried beyond death, the potatoes are crisps instead of juicy and comforting and the salad is just a few things without much vibe. Only the baba ganoush and pita make up for it. Another downside is the unclear allergenes/food preferences knowledge base. The staff needs to ask the kitchen whether food can be made vegan, and then the kitchen doesn’t know either if their Za’atar bread is vegan or not. Quite the red flag, but at least they didn’t serve it instead of being unsure and just putting it out.
In the end, Balagan is a let-down. Though the prices are very fair, the food will not make you come back. Go to another Middle Eastern place instead.
3/5 Leaves
Pro
Cute interior and vibe
Generally vegan friendly
Good Baba Ganoush
Con
Food is mainly bland
Staff is uninterested and not knowledgeable
Location
Linnégatan 27
Opening Hours
Mo: closed
Tu-Th: 17:00 - 22:00
Fr: 17:00 - 00:00
Sa: 12:00 - 00:00
Su: 12:00 - 21:00
