I love a good kebab.  Granted, you’ll usually find me ordering one after a skinful of gin whilst propped up against the counter of the local takeaway, counting out enough £1 coins for the kebab and can of Rio, begging the guy on kebab duty for extra onion (that I’ll regret the morning after).

BAB in Manchester is revolutionising the way we eat kebabs with the tagline “kebabs worth sitting down for”.  You can still drink your beer and they’re still exactly what your taste buds want, but these aren’t your usual dirty Saturday night kebabs containing quite questionable meat content and sad shredded iceberg lettuce.  They’re actually far from it.

Kebabs worth sitting down for.

BAB are doing away with the dirty greasy kebab and introducing a grown up version worth sitting down for in the newly opened restaurant tucked away on Little Lever Street in the Northern Quarter (where else?).Keeping that minimalistic NQ chic with whitewashed brick, wooden tables, theatre style kitchen and relaxed vibe, BAB is open 7 days a week, 12-10pm and despite being newly opened, it’s pulling in that lunchtime crowd.

& rightly so.

The menu is simple but flavourful and combines meat and veggie options with locally sourced ingredients and homemade marinades.  There’s a mezze selection including Octopus, Radicchio and Honey Roast Fig Salad, which can be ordered as starters or sharers for the table and a selection of flatbread kebabs packed with flavour and guys, these are fresh, colourful and tasty.

I ordered the Pork Souvlaki from the 6 meat options (which includes Chicken, Hanger Steak, Beef Cheek and Monkfish) because it came highly recommended by our server.  After a few summers sipping cocktails and eating souvlaki on beaches in Greece, Tzatziki was an expected accompaniment alongside freshly shredded veg and juicy cuts pork, but the tanginess of the pickled onions cutting through the richness or the pork and the extra salty crunch from the pork scratchings?  It just married together so deliciously.

My friend ordered the Lamb Adana.  Succulent pieces of perfectly cooked lamb with creamy tase of feta, bitter radicchio and sweet pomegranate, all contrasting flavours that just work so well together.

We didn’t delve too far into the mezze selection because an afternoon on the beer meant we didn’t want to overfill ourselves too early on (I know, a kebab BEFORE beer – when does that happen?) but we did order the too-good-to-turn-down Greek Fries.  A serving of Paprika dusted fries served with that oh so delightful feta, olives and chilli sauce for a bit of heat.  Now, I’m not really one for heat (hence why that giant chilli on the kebab was not consumed) but the creaminess of the feta worked so well with the chilli sauce that even I couldn’t get enough.

Yep, they were washed down with a pint of Moretti, but these definitely aren’t your usual kebabs.  In fact, I’m planning on heading back to try out the Beef Cheek in a couple of weeks and dragging my veggie friend along for the ride so she can give me the lowdown on the Halloumi offering.