Overall was a good falafel but wasn't the best. But provided extra toppings so that good.
Christal P.
Amsterdam Falafelshop has some of the best fries I've had in a long while. It's not easy finding perfectly crispy thick fries. I ordered small fries that were more than enough for one person. The fries are served hot with a side of garlic cream and curry ketchup. Both condiments are delicious. The curry ketchup should be sold everywhere. It's so much better than regular ketchup.If you are in Adams Morgan, Amsterdam Falafelshop is open until 2:00 am on Friday and Saturday. This is one of the best cheap late-night eats in DC. Not many other places serve filling food for under $5 in DC anymore.
Alek Z.
It's totally decent but I've never had falafel drowning in gravy like theirs was. Too much hummus, I think. Not bad, but I'm sure there's better middle eastern food on the block.
Aaron S.
Yes, the falafel is awesome, ok, we got that part. But having one great product doesn't mean the rest of your lineup can lean on the success of that one item. I had such high hopes for the chicken Shawarma sandwich based on its appearance and size. However, this did not taste like chicken Shawarma at all. In fact, it tasted more like a chopped up chicken cheesesteak with Shawarma toppings. The fries were just ok. Not sure what the big deal is. Seriously, nothing special. Sauces were good! Service was ok but I wondered why they bothered asking if the order was to take out or eat in if they were just going to put it in a to-go bag anyway. We ate inside at the only table available. Not the best ambiance in the world, but not terrible. Might go back for falafel if nearby and craving it. Otherwise, we'll try somewhere else.
Brian F.
There was a lot of hype in the reviews here, so due to the difficulty in finding a place to park, I dropped off my wife to grab us some to-go goodness, while I was busy circling the active and well-trafficked street where this shop is situated on. By the way, I don't remember if it was Google or Apple maps, but something was off with the pin drop of this establishment (don't worry, I sent a notification to whichever map service it was).So on to the food... it was decent, average, standard. The falafel itself was at the right moisture and not too dry, which is my standard gauge for a decent falafel. The fries were really good and almost outshined the high expectations I had for the falafel.So listen, I'm not a local so having only had one experience here, I don't know that it would be fair of me to argue for or against it being the best falafel in DC, but I do know that when I come back to town, I'm not sure that this will be a must-stop for me.
Jewel C.
Heard this was the best falafel in town. I usually go to Falafel Inc but wanted to give this a try since I was near. Saucy and filling! Would come again. The variety of toppings and sauces to choose from stood out to me (beets, cucumber dill onion, tzatziki, pickled turnips to say the least). Recommend for those who prefer adjusting what goes in your sandwich/bowl or want it ALL ;-) The portions are great -- regular fries is more than enough for one person. Had limited seating inside but have options to sit outside. Still people come and go -- ambiance seems good for a pick me up meal or a casual meal.Four stars bc the toppings/ ingredients weren't evenly distributed so had to eat through picked radish until half left was the falafels.
Tawnie G.
I've been waiting a year and half to come here, and I'm I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty disappointed. Maybe I had too high of expectations, thinking I was finally finding my US version of Paris's best "L'as du Falafel." I was wrongggggg I will start with the fact though that the fries were BOMB! I loved the sauces, especially the vegan garlic sauce. It almost pushes me to a 4, but this is a falafel shop, so that gets the rating. The problem was, all the toppings were loaded just on the top. You finish the toppings and all I had was a bunch of falafel. At the bottom was finally the hummus. Nothing was spread out or layered. So, I just kept getting a bunch of bites of falafel annnnnd it was dry. I needed sauce and toppings throughout. I won't get the beats again, they're too soft. It needs a crunchy texture, which I thought I'd get from the cabbage, but it's over cooked. I ordered eggplant but didn't get it. I guess they were out and just didn't tell me, but it REALLLLLY needed that flavor! It was bland, soggy, and dry. I didn't finish... threw it away, which for me never happens when it comes to falafel. So, yea, pretty disappointed in this one.
Carin Y.
I wanted to get takeout somewhere in AdMo and stumbled upon this falafel shop. I will start off with saying I probably should have gotten the falafel bowl/sandwich, but I tried out the chicken shawarma platter instead. Which was not a good choice in my opinion. For $14, the chicken shawarma platter was 70% couscous. I was expecting something a little bit nicer for $14. The tahini that it comes with was very flavorful though! Ask for an extra side of sauce if you get the bowl. I also didn't have enough. I thought the platter would be hot, but it was cold...don't understand why it took 10 minutes to make then. For fast food, the wait time was long. Like I said before, my COLD platter took 10 minutes to make. Makes me wonder what was taking so long...I was the only person at the store at the time. The service was not that great in my opinion. I made a mistake while glancing at the menu and the cashier started talking to me in a condescending tone. After purchasing, he implied that I needed to give him a 15, 18, or 20% tip for a takeout meal which made me uncomfortable.
Monideepa Chandra
When I was in town and looking for sone quick lunch options and wanted to have veg thus when found this place. Got to see many accolades from different journals saying this is one of the best falafel place.. I took falafel sandwich and my friend took falafel bowl. The pita bread was soft , falafel was flavorful and their tahini tastes so yumm .. I would definitely recommend this place though inside theres not much place to sit however they’ve outside sitting area as well
Dave N.
It's the model we all know and love so much, now with chicken! Really damn good falafel, with a wide variety of sides you can turn into a bowl or a sandwich. It was already the king of good eats in AdMo, and adding something for meat lovers only makes it better.Really reminds me of my favorite shawarma from the bay, but you get plenty of meat and it's well spiced.I would say the only downside is compared to years past, you now order at a kiosk and pick your toppings based on a menu/poster. If you know what everything is it's totally fine, but I do kind of miss the down-the-line experience of pointing at what toppings I want through the window. Think it's likely a remnant from COVID that's here to stay, but that's not enough to stop me from coming back.Damn now I want another bowl from just writing this, ugh.
A good vegetarian/vegan place and must visit when in DC. Loved the authentic taste of Falafels here ?
Rohit G.
What a hidden gem. We stumbled on this place while looking for somewhere to eat lunch. ATMOSPHERE: The restaurant is clean on the inside. There is no indoor seating, but a good amount of covered outdoor seating. For a laugh read the signs on the walls!FOOD: Amazing falafel sandwiches. The falafels were plentiful and crunchy and flavorful. They had tons of options for additions to the sandwich and I particularly liked the tahini and their red cabbage. SERVICE: The staff member taking our order was really nice and patient with us even when we took a good amount of time to decide on additions to our sandwiches. Food came out quick!PRICE/VALUE: Each sandwich was about $10, and they were huge. Such a great value. Overall, I loved the experience, service, and food here. Honestly I wish I had also bought a bunch of falafels to eat back in Houston lol. I will be back the next time I visit DC!
Saminda Wijegunawardena
It was fine, but just fine. Falafel Inc is way better in terms of overall flavor, and the sauces they provide are way better, but this shop excels in all the free toppings so it's a good go to for quantity, but not quality.I got the regular falafel sandwich loaded with hummus, baba ganoush, pickled cauliflower, pickled cabbage, tahini, and the red pepper sauce. It was a formidable creation but just lacking any standout flavor.Their fries were just fries, and I didn't find the curry ketchup anything to write home about.Friendly service, and great decor. Love the Amsterdam style, including all the old school music call outs including the Fugazi poster.Oh, and they really want you to mask here, and have lots of funny signs to remind you.
Z1765FYscotts
They've lost the plot. I remember coming here pre-pandemic. Now it is just sad. Not just no seating, nothing at all in the "waiting room" for your food. I came on a Sunday night looking for some quality Dutch frites. No one was there, but there were many, many warning signs about COVID (in September 2022). Eventually, someone showed up to take my order (after about three minutes of solitude). I ordered the regular frites, which came to $5.64. About two minutes after I ordered them, they came out. They were hot and fresh, but other than that, a complete disappointment. Not correctly salted, and the "Dutch mayo" **certainly was not Dutch mayo.** It was flavorless. McDonalds, I am sad to say, is a far better experience. As I said at the beginning, this place has lost the plot. I don't know why anyone would come here. I can't imagine why anyone would order falafel. I guess it's going to be pandemic forever for them. They'll go out of business soon unless they change their attitude toward the customer experience. Ongelooflijk en verdrietig.
abien
Yes, they really do have good falafel and their prices are extremely reasonable. Only downside is if you're trying to park in the neighborhood. They've blocked off the entire east side of the street for outdoor dining.
Overall was a good falafel but wasn't the best. But provided extra toppings so that good.
Amsterdam Falafelshop has some of the best fries I've had in a long while. It's not easy finding perfectly crispy thick fries. I ordered small fries that were more than enough for one person. The fries are served hot with a side of garlic cream and curry ketchup. Both condiments are delicious. The curry ketchup should be sold everywhere. It's so much better than regular ketchup.If you are in Adams Morgan, Amsterdam Falafelshop is open until 2:00 am on Friday and Saturday. This is one of the best cheap late-night eats in DC. Not many other places serve filling food for under $5 in DC anymore.
It's totally decent but I've never had falafel drowning in gravy like theirs was. Too much hummus, I think. Not bad, but I'm sure there's better middle eastern food on the block.
Yes, the falafel is awesome, ok, we got that part. But having one great product doesn't mean the rest of your lineup can lean on the success of that one item. I had such high hopes for the chicken Shawarma sandwich based on its appearance and size. However, this did not taste like chicken Shawarma at all. In fact, it tasted more like a chopped up chicken cheesesteak with Shawarma toppings. The fries were just ok. Not sure what the big deal is. Seriously, nothing special. Sauces were good! Service was ok but I wondered why they bothered asking if the order was to take out or eat in if they were just going to put it in a to-go bag anyway. We ate inside at the only table available. Not the best ambiance in the world, but not terrible. Might go back for falafel if nearby and craving it. Otherwise, we'll try somewhere else.
There was a lot of hype in the reviews here, so due to the difficulty in finding a place to park, I dropped off my wife to grab us some to-go goodness, while I was busy circling the active and well-trafficked street where this shop is situated on. By the way, I don't remember if it was Google or Apple maps, but something was off with the pin drop of this establishment (don't worry, I sent a notification to whichever map service it was).So on to the food... it was decent, average, standard. The falafel itself was at the right moisture and not too dry, which is my standard gauge for a decent falafel. The fries were really good and almost outshined the high expectations I had for the falafel.So listen, I'm not a local so having only had one experience here, I don't know that it would be fair of me to argue for or against it being the best falafel in DC, but I do know that when I come back to town, I'm not sure that this will be a must-stop for me.
Heard this was the best falafel in town. I usually go to Falafel Inc but wanted to give this a try since I was near. Saucy and filling! Would come again. The variety of toppings and sauces to choose from stood out to me (beets, cucumber dill onion, tzatziki, pickled turnips to say the least). Recommend for those who prefer adjusting what goes in your sandwich/bowl or want it ALL ;-) The portions are great -- regular fries is more than enough for one person. Had limited seating inside but have options to sit outside. Still people come and go -- ambiance seems good for a pick me up meal or a casual meal.Four stars bc the toppings/ ingredients weren't evenly distributed so had to eat through picked radish until half left was the falafels.
I've been waiting a year and half to come here, and I'm I'm not gonna lie, I'm pretty disappointed. Maybe I had too high of expectations, thinking I was finally finding my US version of Paris's best "L'as du Falafel." I was wrongggggg I will start with the fact though that the fries were BOMB! I loved the sauces, especially the vegan garlic sauce. It almost pushes me to a 4, but this is a falafel shop, so that gets the rating. The problem was, all the toppings were loaded just on the top. You finish the toppings and all I had was a bunch of falafel. At the bottom was finally the hummus. Nothing was spread out or layered. So, I just kept getting a bunch of bites of falafel annnnnd it was dry. I needed sauce and toppings throughout. I won't get the beats again, they're too soft. It needs a crunchy texture, which I thought I'd get from the cabbage, but it's over cooked. I ordered eggplant but didn't get it. I guess they were out and just didn't tell me, but it REALLLLLY needed that flavor! It was bland, soggy, and dry. I didn't finish... threw it away, which for me never happens when it comes to falafel. So, yea, pretty disappointed in this one.
I wanted to get takeout somewhere in AdMo and stumbled upon this falafel shop. I will start off with saying I probably should have gotten the falafel bowl/sandwich, but I tried out the chicken shawarma platter instead. Which was not a good choice in my opinion. For $14, the chicken shawarma platter was 70% couscous. I was expecting something a little bit nicer for $14. The tahini that it comes with was very flavorful though! Ask for an extra side of sauce if you get the bowl. I also didn't have enough. I thought the platter would be hot, but it was cold...don't understand why it took 10 minutes to make then. For fast food, the wait time was long. Like I said before, my COLD platter took 10 minutes to make. Makes me wonder what was taking so long...I was the only person at the store at the time. The service was not that great in my opinion. I made a mistake while glancing at the menu and the cashier started talking to me in a condescending tone. After purchasing, he implied that I needed to give him a 15, 18, or 20% tip for a takeout meal which made me uncomfortable.
When I was in town and looking for sone quick lunch options and wanted to have veg thus when found this place. Got to see many accolades from different journals saying this is one of the best falafel place.. I took falafel sandwich and my friend took falafel bowl. The pita bread was soft , falafel was flavorful and their tahini tastes so yumm .. I would definitely recommend this place though inside theres not much place to sit however they’ve outside sitting area as well
It's the model we all know and love so much, now with chicken! Really damn good falafel, with a wide variety of sides you can turn into a bowl or a sandwich. It was already the king of good eats in AdMo, and adding something for meat lovers only makes it better.Really reminds me of my favorite shawarma from the bay, but you get plenty of meat and it's well spiced.I would say the only downside is compared to years past, you now order at a kiosk and pick your toppings based on a menu/poster. If you know what everything is it's totally fine, but I do kind of miss the down-the-line experience of pointing at what toppings I want through the window. Think it's likely a remnant from COVID that's here to stay, but that's not enough to stop me from coming back.Damn now I want another bowl from just writing this, ugh.
Restaurantji Recommends
A good vegetarian/vegan place and must visit when in DC. Loved the authentic taste of Falafels here ?
What a hidden gem. We stumbled on this place while looking for somewhere to eat lunch. ATMOSPHERE: The restaurant is clean on the inside. There is no indoor seating, but a good amount of covered outdoor seating. For a laugh read the signs on the walls!FOOD: Amazing falafel sandwiches. The falafels were plentiful and crunchy and flavorful. They had tons of options for additions to the sandwich and I particularly liked the tahini and their red cabbage. SERVICE: The staff member taking our order was really nice and patient with us even when we took a good amount of time to decide on additions to our sandwiches. Food came out quick!PRICE/VALUE: Each sandwich was about $10, and they were huge. Such a great value. Overall, I loved the experience, service, and food here. Honestly I wish I had also bought a bunch of falafels to eat back in Houston lol. I will be back the next time I visit DC!
It was fine, but just fine. Falafel Inc is way better in terms of overall flavor, and the sauces they provide are way better, but this shop excels in all the free toppings so it's a good go to for quantity, but not quality.I got the regular falafel sandwich loaded with hummus, baba ganoush, pickled cauliflower, pickled cabbage, tahini, and the red pepper sauce. It was a formidable creation but just lacking any standout flavor.Their fries were just fries, and I didn't find the curry ketchup anything to write home about.Friendly service, and great decor. Love the Amsterdam style, including all the old school music call outs including the Fugazi poster.Oh, and they really want you to mask here, and have lots of funny signs to remind you.
They've lost the plot. I remember coming here pre-pandemic. Now it is just sad. Not just no seating, nothing at all in the "waiting room" for your food. I came on a Sunday night looking for some quality Dutch frites. No one was there, but there were many, many warning signs about COVID (in September 2022). Eventually, someone showed up to take my order (after about three minutes of solitude). I ordered the regular frites, which came to $5.64. About two minutes after I ordered them, they came out. They were hot and fresh, but other than that, a complete disappointment. Not correctly salted, and the "Dutch mayo" **certainly was not Dutch mayo.** It was flavorless. McDonalds, I am sad to say, is a far better experience. As I said at the beginning, this place has lost the plot. I don't know why anyone would come here. I can't imagine why anyone would order falafel. I guess it's going to be pandemic forever for them. They'll go out of business soon unless they change their attitude toward the customer experience. Ongelooflijk en verdrietig.
Yes, they really do have good falafel and their prices are extremely reasonable. Only downside is if you're trying to park in the neighborhood. They've blocked off the entire east side of the street for outdoor dining.