Beyond Or Yehuda: How Ashdod's Babi's Became Israel's Premier Grill Destination
Located in Ashdod's industrial zone, Babi's grill restaurant rivals central Israel's legendary eateries with an extensive menu of premium meats, 14 house salads, and charcoal-grilled specialties.
When food lovers discuss the legendary grill spots of central Israel, attention usually turns to the renowned culinary institutions of Or Yehuda. However, tucked away in the industrial zone of Ashdod, a remarkable grill restaurant called Babi's is challenging that supremacy, offering a Southern competitor that just might take the crown.
Every meal at Babi's begins with an extravagant spread of 14 house salads, each outshining the last: matboucha, fried eggplant, purple cabbage in mayonnaise, coleslaw, egg salad, eggplant in mayonnaise, white cabbage in vinegar, Turkish salad, sweet potato tempura with peanut butter, pickles, beets, salsa, tahini, and carrot salad. Alongside this feast comes a basket of fresh lafa flatbread straight from the taboon oven, tended by two artisans whose hands never stop moving.
The meat menu is breathtaking in its scale and variety, featuring specialty cuts and offal dishes rarely seen in standard Israeli steakhouses. Sweetbreads alone appear in seven distinct preparations. Diners can sample handmade duck liver sausage served on spiced lafa with a fresh green salad (99 shekels), stuffed spleen, turkey testicles, and a creation dubbed "butcher's sushi"—medallions of hanger steak wrapped around sweetbreads and brisket fat (129 shekels).
The Art of the Grill in Ashdod
The specials list features magnificent showstoppers, including a 170-gram hanger steak skewer (250 shekels), Wagyu asado bites (169 shekels), lamb chops (250 shekels), and a 500-gram Angus prime rib on the bone (340 shekels). Every item on the menu comes with detailed descriptions of its tenderness and flavor profile. Starters include sweetbread cigars (75 shekels) and "shaytel lollipops"—ground rump steak with onions and parsley wrapped in a tortilla with pistachio crumbs (89 shekels).
"We have no secrets," says co-owner Avi Tabri, a cattle rancher. "The meat we receive is of the highest quality; our only job is to try not to ruin it. Quality meat only needs salt and pepper because what the cattle eat affects the flavor, and living in a calm environment ensures tender meat."
A True Ashdod Institution
Founded in 2009 by Avi Tabri—who raises Hereford, Holstein, and Black Angus cattle in Moshav Sde Uziyahu and adopted a cattle herd from the Gaza envelope after October 7—alongside Pinchas "Babi" Farhan, the restaurant operates out of a massive 180-seat space. Everything is grilled strictly over charcoal, and the shawarma distinguishes itself by using rich brisket fat rather than traditional lamb fat.
Babi's is a culinary powerhouse where people come for one primary reason. As Tabri concludes, "The restaurants opening today put all their emphasis on atmosphere and less on the food. People come to us not for the ambiance, but simply to eat."
