Ode To Babel
After weeks of rain, we’re finally in the midst of a sunny stretch. Don’t let it go to waste! Get your day party on — or enjoy a low-key nighttime hang — at Ode to Babel. Owned by twin sisters Marva (pictured) and Myriam Babel, the Prospect Heights cocktail bar and lounge hosts a regular calendar of themed DJ sets and pop-up kitchens, drawing a creative clientele.
“We get a lot of people who are very free,” says Marva, a Bed-Stuy native. “We get a lot of the LGBTQ POC community, who are wonderfully supportive, and all types of artists across the board. This is the Brooklyn I know and grew up in; it’s always been a cultural hub. For me, owning this business is about holding on to our space.”
An interior designer, Marva Babel based Ode to Babel’s dreamy look and feel on different elements from her personal aesthetic: mid-century modern, clean but warm, natural (healthy green plants abound), with influences from Japanese architecture and African motifs. It also boasts a pretty, sherbet-colored backyard. “We were really purposeful about making sure the space keeps people calm, because bars can get crazy,” Babel says with a smile. “My design approach sought to temper that, so that people respect the space or come to it often enough to feel like they’re home. They can’t really fight because Mommy’s watching.”
“ We get a lot of the LGBTQ POC community, who are wonderfully supportive, and all types of artists across the board. This is the Brooklyn I know and grew up in; it’s always been a cultural hub. For me, owning this business is about holding on to our space.”
Bigger than a bar and lounge, Ode to Babel provides a platform for independent creatives to showcase their art — be it DJs, musicians and chefs for parties, or a wide assortment of makers at occasional weekend marketplaces. Past events have featured Haitian rhythms and Brazilian baile funk, as well as Filipino and Jamaican bites. “We try to be more than a bar,” says Babel. “We’re a community space as well.”
772 Dean Street, 718-484-3847, odetobabel.com
