What to know
- Little Baba is a new fast-casual Lebanese restaurant from the team behind Michelin-recommended AMAL, now open in Toronto’s King West neighbourhood.
- The restaurant focuses on quick-service, health-forward dishes rooted in Lebanese hospitality, with many menu items priced between $10 and $23.
- About 70 per cent of Little Baba’s menu carries over from AMAL, including favourites like falafel, kefta skewers, and tabbouleh.
- Located at 75 Portland St., Little Baba is open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. for dine-in, takeout, and delivery.
A Michelin-level meal — but make it on-the-go? An exciting new restaurant has opened in Toronto and is redefining the concept of fast food.
Lebanese eatery Little Baba opened its doors on Thursday in the heart of King West. Located at 75 Portland St., it’s a fast-casual extension of Michelin-recommended restaurant AMAL.
@nowtoronto A Michelin-level meal — but make it on-the-go? Lebanese quick-service restaurant Little Baba by AMAL is now open in the heart of King West. For more details, head to nowtoronto.com. 🔗 #Toronto #Food ♬ original sound – Now Toronto
“Baba,” an endearing term used to refer to fathers in Lebanese culture, puts a spotlight on the hospitality received from paternal figures willing to go the extra mile to ensure everyone is satisfied, restaurant founder and CEO of parent company INK Entertainment Charles Khabouth says.
“Our fathers in Lebanon, half the time were doing the cooking, and they’re always very hospitable as well,” Khabouth said to Now Toronto. “Little Baba is that Lebanese hospitality – the happy man to feed people.”
Khabouth describes Lebanese food as “very special,” but not just because he grew up eating it daily. From the health benefits to the range of variety and customization, he assures it’s a concept that will keep Torontonians coming back for more.
“It’s light – you can eat it three, four times a week easily without getting tired,” he explained. “It’s very healthy, very clean, and great value for the money. I think it’s very well priced to allow people to eat it as often as they like.”
With about 70 per cent of the menu carrying over from AMAL, Khabouth says meals at Little Baba range from $10 to $23, with favourites like falafel sandwiches, kefta skewers, and tabbouleh salads available daily. Khabouth’s go-to meal, however, is the chicken tawook Baba Box, served with signature pink beetroot-infused hummus, a fattoush salad, and all the fixings, including house-made pickles, traditional garlic sauce toum, and hummus.
“When I came here exactly 50 years ago, when I said hummus, I was looked at like I just landed from the moon. On Air Canada, today, they serve hummus. So, we’ve become cool,” Khabouth joked. “It’s delicious, and it’s food that people understand… There’s nothing strange about our menus or our food. They’re cooked differently, they’re presented differently. But you can have absolutely anything you can imagine on any menu here.”
The owner also stresses that the food is meant to be quick-service style, with a grab-and-go fridge for quick bites and a fast made-to-order system — serving elevated fast food with a focus on health and hospitality.
“People always think of fast food as not healthy or not great. We’re calling ours premium quick serve,” he said. “It’s fast, and we’re really delivering on the promise of it being of good quality.”
With nearly 20 requests for Little Baba expansions across the country — and even some in the U.S. — Khabouth says the concept is here to stay.
“I’ve been in the hospitality business 43 years. In 36 years, I’ve owned restaurants and built many restaurants. But I think finally we have a concept that really delivers on every single part of hospitality, food, decor, music, pricing.”
Little Baba is now open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. and is available for dine-in, takeout, and delivery.
