Iraqi restaurant with halal menu opens in Comstock Park

ALPINE TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — A new West Michigan eatery offers Iraqi Mediterranean flavors and a fully halal menu.

Babylon Kitchen opened in September at 4255 Alpine Ave. near 4 Mile Road in Alpine Township, offering shawarma, kabobs and other Iraqi dishes.

It was opened by owner Brandon Koja, alongside his nephew Leo Shmona, who is managing the back of the house, and his family friend Alissa Villarreal, who is managing the front of the house.

“My goal (is to) make people happy. Honestly, food is joy,” Koja said. “If you like the food and the place and you leave with a big smile, that’s a big thing for me.”

Everything is made to order with fresh ingredients, and everything is halal, something the team said is uncommon in West Michigan.

“All of it is fresh, and no frozen. We don’t have something frozen and you put it on the grill. No, everything is fresh and you put on the grill,” Shmona said.

“Everything is 100% fresh, 100% authentic and 100% halal,” Villarreal said.

Koja developed a passion for food while cooking as a hobby. He wanted to open the restaurant to share the cuisine of his home country with the community, he said, adding that it’s “full of flavor and joy.”

Once he got the idea for the restaurant, he called up Villarreal, who agreed to work with him.

“I’m just adopted into the family now. They can’t get rid of me if they wanted to,” she said with a laugh.

Putting the menu together was a team effort and several items are family recipes, like a falafel recipe from Koja’s sister and Shmona’s mom.

The trio said the restaurant offers a way for customers to try food from the Middle East without having to travel. So far, the team says they’ve gotten good reviews.

“A lot of the customers, they haven’t really tried authentic Iraqi food,” Villarreal said. “So for them to try it, it’s like a firework of flavors in their mouth and everything. So a lot of customers are saying that it’s good.”

Other customers who are from the Middle East have told the team the menu tastes like home.

“(They are) surprised, said, ‘Oh my God … it’s taking me back home because that’s the same flavor at home. I never tried it here, no one nailed it like that,'” Koja said.

The restaurant’s décor is also influenced by the Middle East, with the walls made to look like the Ishtar Gate in Babylon , an ancient city in modern-day Iraq. Decorations include three traditional Iraq oud instruments that were made by Shmona.

Catch an Oud demonstration from Babylon Kitchen chef Leo Shmona in the player below:

Babylon Kitchen opened Sept. 1, and the team is preparing for a grand opening celebration soon. On Oct. 15, the restaurant will offer a happy hour from noon to 3 p.m. with free mini beef or chicken shawarma sandwiches.

Koja said the restaurant industry can be difficult, especially in the beginning, as they work to build trust with customers and make food people like. But he hopes to eventually open other locations, like in Kentwood, where there’s an established Middle Eastern community.

“My goal … (is) to have like two, three Babylon Kitchen around the city,” he said.

“Maybe 10,” Shmona said.

“If God bless us good,” Koja said with a laugh. “That’s the goal.”

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