Mamoun’s (Falafel)
Greenwich Village
119 MacDougal St
New York, NY 10012
(212) 674-8685
22 Saint Marks Place
New York, NY 10003-8022
(212) 387-7747
www.mamounsfalafel.com
If you’re ever walking down the street in the village and you see a long line coming out of a hole in the wall, GET ON IT because most likely its the line for Mamoun’s, the best falafel you may ever have, unless you catch a flight out to Isreal! You really can not beat Mamoun’s falafels. Not only are they good but theyre cheap! $2.50 will take you a long way in that place! If you have 5 dollars you may as well be rich! Dont be intimidated by the line because it moves pretty quickly. They make sandwiches all day so theyre almost like machines. In a pita bread trance just stuffing and wrapping stuffing and wrapping.
If you make special requests, make sure to check your order. Because most people are not annoying like us, and just order standard falafels with all the fixins, so being the machines that they are, it becomes second nature to just throw everything in there without thought. I cant tell you how many times ive gotten extra tomatoes in my “no tomato” falafel. But I dont blame them. Its my fault for being picky. One of my favorite things to do, is go around the corner to Pluck U and get a side of their mild sauce and pour that into my falafel sandwich! Just when you thought a falafel couldnt get any better, the Pluck U sauce mixed with their tahini sauce just sends it through the roof!
The people in Pluck U would look at me sideways when Id go in there and just order sauce and no chicken, so I had to finally confess to them what I was doing with it. They didnt mind though because Im such a regular customer of theirs we’re like family! HAHA
Everytime I’m in the village, I feel the need to drop in and grab a falafel, even if Im not hungry. I know eventually I will be and its an exciting feeling to know that when you get hungry you have a falafel in your bag. I have walked (i like to walk. as much as I eat, its much needed) from 34th street, to 8th street for a Mamoun’s falafel. Some people may find that strange because New York City streets are filled with halal carts and stands that boast to have the best falafels. Yes I can easily stop at one of those and get a falafel, but all falafels are not the same. And once you’ve had Mamoun’s you compare every falafel to theirs, and its not fair to the other falafel stands so I dont even bother.
Mamoun’s is not a sit down restaurant although they do have a couple of benches and tables inside, and I do see people sitting and eating in there. You wont catch ME eating in there! Its too cramped and kinda dark, and damp dark places give me the willies. They keep it as clean as they can but the turnaround in that place is so quick! People are in and out all day so its hard to pick up every piece of lettuce that falls on the floor as soon as it gets there. So I just get in, get my grub and get out. Id rather walk down the street and eat it.
They also have chicken kabob sandwiches, shawarma, full platters, and other dishes and desserts, but I usually stick to the falafels. People tell me that the other food is just as great though. If you plan on getting a platter, bring more than 2 dollars and change though. Platters start at 5 dollars and go up to about 10.
