Babylon Rooftop – Sydney

Babylon Rooftop is perched on the top level of Westfield Sydney Shopping Centre and serving up creative Middle Eastern dishes.

Food

Chef Arman Uz has created a distinct menu at Babylon Rooftop that focuses on the bold flavours of Levantine cuisine with modern twists.

For groups of 4 or more, there’s a banquet option which contains the following dishes:

• House made flat bread, Za’atar spiced butter
• Hummus, wattleseed dukkah, olive oil, leblebi
• Saikou salmon ouzo cured, fennel, citrus, caviar
• Traditional lentil kofte, pomegranate, parsley, white cos, lemon
• Smoked eggplant salad, wood fired capsicum, tomato, garlic, parsley
• Spiced fried cauliflower, ras el hanout, lemon, tahini dip, almond, parsley
• Broccolini, muhammara dip, walnut, pomegranate molasses
• Whole chicken, toum, greens, pickles

At the waitress’ recommendation, we ordered bread, two smaller dishes and a main to share between two. The house made bread was served warmed with Za’atar butter and paired perfectly with the smoked eggplant salad.

As my dining guest is a self proclaimed Scotch egg fan, we had to try the Cilbir which featured a Dukkah Crumbed Duck Egg. Cutting into the crunchy crumb revealed a perfectly cooked, oozy yolk.

For our main dish, we opted for the Shish Tawook aka wood fired chicken skewers. Every piece of chicken was juicy and tender, with a smoky char on the outside.

Feeling adventurous, we decided to pick the most unique desserts on the menu – the Kazandibi and the Tahini chocolate. Traditionally, Kazandibi is a simple caramelized milk pudding. At Babylon Rooftop, it’s served as a modern interpretation with thin cinnamon and sour cherry wafers and sour cherry sorbet.

I personally preferred our other dessert option. The Tahini chocolate mousse is served with pieces of date, bits of caramel sponge and a quenelle of Turkish coffee ice cream.

Drinks

The Middle Eastern influence also extends to the beverage menu with unique cocktails including The Levantine (Tanqueray London Dry Gin, Fino Sherry, Spiced Apricot Curd, Lemon, Cream and Soda) and Babylon Kahve (Plantation Original Dark Rum, White Cacao Liqueur, Turkish Coffee and Demerara Sugar). If you’re after something more traditional, there is beer on tap and wine by the glass.

I love the inclusion of non alcoholic drinks such as Hopa city soda (kiwi, mint & cucumber cordial, apple juice) and Fever Tree Tonic water.

Service

I enjoyed the friendly service of the waitstaff, who took the time to explain the menu, refilled out water and cleared plates quickly.

Atmosphere

Babylon Rooftop has made clever use of the enormous space, allowing guests to forget that they are dining at a shopping center. The dining space features a mix of booths and tables, all accented by millennial pink, marble and gold – it’s practically made for Instagram stories and posts.

Head to the buzzing bar area if you’re after views of the city skyline but be warned it can get quite packed.

Verdict

Babylon Rooftop may be located in the Westfield Sydney Shopping Centre but the menu is anything but pedestrian.

This review was based on an independently paid meal.

Babylon
Level 7 Rooftop
Westfield Pitt Street Mall
188 Pitt Street, Sydney
(02) 8014 5663