I like Falafel but I don't love it
Mamoun's Falafel
Category:
Middle Eastern
119 MacDougal StNew York, NY 10012
Neighborhood: Greenwich Village
(212) 674-8685
- Nearest Transit Station:
-
W 4 St. (A, B, C, D, E, F, M)Christopher St. - Sheridan Sq (1, 2)Houston St. (1, 2)
- Hours:
- Mon-Sun 10 am - 5 am
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
- $
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Late Night
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Divey, Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
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1439 reviews for Mamoun's Falafel
Review Highlights What's this?
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"I always get the lamb shawarma with extra hot sauce." In 395 reviews
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"By far the best cheap eat in the city: mamoun's shawarma." In 200 reviews
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"head to Washington Square Park and grab a bench." In 52 reviews
Rating Distribution | Trend
- A Yelpy Insight: Vegetarians go nuts for this spot. See more places they like.
1439 reviews in English
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Review from Joe L.
San Juan Capistrano, CAI eat here every time I'm back in NYC. Sometimes I'll take a cab to the Village to just to get my fix.
Really good. -
Review from Lauren S.
Overrated. I got the shawarma platter. I was expecting this to be the best thing I have ever tasted (based on the reviews). Yes it was good, but not fantastic. The lamb was good but not succulent. Was edible but I would not go out of my way to eat here.
On a side note...I ate this in WA Square Park. The squirrels are PSYCHO!!
I set my plate down for a bit to remove my headphones and two squirrels jumped on the bench dangerously close to my food. While I was eating, another squirrel jumped on the tail of my coat. WTF. It was truly frightening. Then I saw a group of women feeding burgers to a horde of squirrels. STOP FEEDING THE SQUIRRELS PEOPLE. -
Review from Mimi K.
Vancouver, CanadaExcellent and beyond. To start service was personable accomodating. We had no reservation and it was busy. Sat us in good section & made sure we were fully happy with seating.
The food, well the food. Beyond flavorful. The fusion of spices, fragrance was mind blowing.
We had a lot of different things, all GREAT.
The owner, personally came over to chat ( always a good sign and important for someone thinking about coming back to a restaurant )
Overall 5 + Food, Service, Ambiance. For sure next trip to Seattle this is on our list for dinner! -
Review from Jeffrey T.
Manhattan, NYQuick service, very vegan-friendly, delicious ethnic food, love their sauce (especially their hot sauce, HOT STUFF be careful) and they open late. Sometimes you have to be ready for a bit of a long line. It's a hole in a wall joint so be polite to people trying to get in and out. And Cash only so be ready (besides vegan sand. 3$, non-vegan sand. 6$) Portions are very fair and inexpensive!
Food:
First time: I ordered Chicken kebob plate, I had to make the sandwich myself and it was just okay. Second time: I ordered the Shwarma sandwich and Falafel Sandwich and it was a different story. Definitely like the way they make the sandwich. Falafel was delicious. Not hard to bite on, soft, and fulfilling. Falafel is definitely something everyone tries here. The Shwarma was *hands down* the best!! The meat was so tender and savory. Lamb is so good!! My eyes open with amazement like I've seen magic! Lettuce so crispy and refreshing. The sauce united the flavor. It was amazing.
Eating inside of this place was quite an experience as well. Only a bench outside and a high table inside to stand and eat, but I'm not complaining when the food is that good. Luckily, there weren't many people ordering and people eating. Listening to the Middle Eastern music as I was eating Middle Eastern food took me to a wonderful journey.
Quite possibly the best thing I've eaten around West/Greenwich Village. Definitely recommend eating here.-
Shwarma!!
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Review from Sarah W.
Lexington, KYEvery time I'm in NYC, I eat here. I used to think this was only for early AM (after bar) bites; however, I went here for a quick lunch while in the area and the food was fantastic! Falafels are delicious! Be aware, just a tad of the hot sauce will leave your mouth on FIRE! Also, cash only.
Must try in NYC! -
Review from What E.
Manhattan, NYConsistent, reliable, good!
I've been coming here for 10 years or so and it's still the best deal in the neighborhood.
I've had pretty much everything on the menu and you really can't go wrong. If you're a newbie GET THE FALAFEL sandwich. Sure they use store bought bagged pita bread, but who cares? It's a quick, cheap, healthful sandwich. Great place for vegetarians too.
Prices have gone up 50% since I first went here but I don't mind. Not yet, anyway. Still a quick and yummy meal at an affordable price. -
Review from Jessica S.
Philadelphia, PAObviously a city staple, and somewhere I'm happy to have in the neighborhood when I come and visit my second home, conveniently 1 block away!
For the convenience and price-you really can't beat this in NYC. $5 for a plate and $3 for the pita sandwich-I am pretty sure NYC does not had cheaper late night eats. And if they do, please alert me! Great portions, too. My falafel plate was definitely enough to feed me and then some. Honestly, if it weren't for my shameless food thief of a boyfriend I wouldn't have finished it myself.
The hot sauce-damn, it was hot. I do love me some hot sauce but I had to go light on this one. I had the falafel, as the namesake goes, it is pretty good. I can't say "the best I've ever had" but honestly not sure I could label the best falafel I've ever had to begin with. The only thing that I would've changed is the white sauce. I can definitively say I've had better white sauce-and well, it's kinda my favorite part of a falafel pita/plate.
I'm reaaaaally looking forward to the day I get to eat this at 3am when I'm at my binge drinking limit and need to binge eat to make up for it. I'm imagining that is when this food is at its finest. -
Review from Juan M.
Deep-fried ground-up chickpeas taste so good when they are so cheap. Add hummus to the mix, and it tastes even better.
Although this place can get crowded, I've never waited more than 7 minutes from the time I stepped on line to the time I had food in my hand. One time I ordered and by the time I took two steps and sat down on one of the (very few) chairs, the food was waiting for me on the counter.
While falafel is the primary food here, don't miss out on the other stuff like hummus, babah ganouj, and tabbouleh. My friend Jesse likes to get the falafel sandwich *with* hummus (it is quite good), and the spinach pies are actually my favorite thing here. -
Review from Lucy H.
New York, NYMamoun's is a NYC institution and is not to be missed when you are in the area. The food comes out fast and fresh, and it always hits the spot when I need a quick, cheap meal on the go. It's a bit of a hole in the wall, with no decor to speak of, but you'll recognize it by the usually long line out the door.
Their prices have gone up in the past few years, but they still make a mean falafel and delicious tabbouleh. I've never waited longer than 5 minutes for my sandwich, and, while Mamoun's itself can get crowded, nearby Washington Square Park is the perfect place to pop a squat and enjoy your fried chick pea deliciousness. But do be aware that this location is frequented by NYU student douche bags, so plan how to maintain your sanity accordingly.
All of that being said, I do think Mamoun's is a little overrated. Though cheap - a falafel sandwich will cost you just $3 - their sandwiches are also significantly smaller than those at many other places in the city, so you're not actually saving much money. I do like that they stuff the sandwiches full of fresh lettuce and veggies; I always end up wearing half of my sandwich by the time I've finished it. I'm not a hot sauce person - I think if you need to put hot sauce on something, then that means whatever you're eating is not very good - and I'm particularly not a fan of Mamoun's hot sauce, as it overpowers the taste of the falafel itself.
Overall, Mamoun's is a good standby when I'm in the area, and a particularly good late-night drunchies spot. It's not amazing, but it's tasty and cheap, which is all you can ask for from this type of place. -
Review from Peter K.
Pretty damn good falafels. These are on par with Murray's falafels but way cheaper. You can even get just a couple balls to snack on while you're roaming the village. The hot sauce is way too hot. Stay away!
I love that they just opened one on St. Mark's, which is much closer to where I live.
I haven't tried any of the meat dishes, but they all looked really good. There is one menu option for an $11 plate of food that comes with three vegetable and one meat. I can only imagine how much food they will give you for $11 if you can get a whole falafel sandwich for just three dollars. I think I will be saving that one for a special night.
In a city where you are constantly surrounded by $20 mediocre lunch options, Mamoun's is an oasis of value. -
Review from Leo K.
Easily my favorite shawarma spot in NYC.
While this spot is a hole in the wall, they are quick and all the options have tons of flavor.
Something about the way they season their shawarma has me coming back every time.
As many have said, this is the closest I also have had to what Shawarma tastes like in Israel.
Its quick, delicious, relatively cheap, and great quality food. -
Review from Stephanie K.
College Station, TX$3 for a tasty falafel sandwich. We ordered it to go (there's really nowhere to sit inside anyway) and feasted at Washington Square Park, which is just across the street. -
Review from Brianna P.
New York, NYMan this place is delicious. The falafel is the perfect mix of crunchy and soft and all of the sides are fantastic as well. I got the lamb shwarma combo with falafel, hummus, and tabouli and added a side of dolmas. The shwarma is delicious, but I think I am going to focus future visit just on falafel because it's just so dang good. The dolmas are a great salty addition as well. -
Review from Mary B.
Lansing, MIA. M. A. Z. I. N. G.
I couldn't believe my first bite of the lamb shawarma. I was totally not into eating some greasy stuff at 2AM but once I started, I couldn't stop - even with the unreal hot sauce.
I hear this place is famous for falafel (it is great, don't get me wrong) but I have yet to eat savory lamb shawarma like this. The spices! The flavors! The fat! MMM.
The only thing that makes me a sad customer is that the MacDougal location does not have the amazing dollar mango juice. Also, the mabroume is ridiculous. Just a bite of it, you have an explosion of pastry, honey and savory morsels of pistachios. OMG I need to get some right now. -
Review from Lindsay T.
SUNNYSIDE, NYUnbelievable. A filling, delicious, quality meal for under $5.
Scored a bench table and tried falafel for the first time.
Having been thinking about it ever since.
Clearly it's good food or I need a life.
Probably both. -
Review from Insaaf M.
Santa Clara, CAGrowing up in Dubai, I was hooked on shawarma sandwiches. However, I've been hard pressed to find anything even remotely close in the US (processed meat, full of MSG, barely any meat).
Mamoun's was love at first bite! An amazing shawarma! Just the right mix of sauce, fresh meat and veggies. Just the way it's sever in Lebanon. Can't wait to go back to NYC.
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