Falafel Hut Village

Avoid this place like a plague — I had the falafel pita as it was the daily special when I went.
At first it tasted fine but then I had food poisoning from it. I eventually had to go to the doctors later that day.
Disgusting place and the people when making the pita sandwiches do not even wear gloves, you can see them wiping and scratching themselves like wild animals then they use those uncleaned hands to make your food! — once they put the food in the pita they just dump it in a microwave and give it to you!

Breakfast special = 4.90 $ for York U campus its the best you can get for the price. Excellent for the york university student or employee who forgot to eat breakfast. Opens at 8:00am most of the time… a bit liberal on their opening hours imo. But aside from the weird opening times, good for york campus

I come here so often. They are open late and the food is consistently good and well priced.
I usually get the souvlaki because its grilled well, and they are very generous with the portions, every time. The staff are so friendly in a natural way, not the corporate smile so don’t expect that. They are also quick and efficient no wonder why they always have customers. There are a variety of condiments: the hot sauce is not the conventional one its spicy and delicuous, tahini and tzikzaki
I’ll keep going

I went yesterday and ordered a vegetarian platter. Unbelievable I was not forewarned that the fried eggplant would not be part of it. This was the one item I was most looking forward to and I would have ordered something else had I known. I shouldn’t have had to discover it for myself, after I picked up my order. Then the falafel turned out to not have been freshly made and hot. I don’t know if Falafel Hut is under a new management, but this isn’t the same place it was when I was a student at York 4 years ago. Then you actually had to wait a few minutes because they had to first fry the falafel. So I gave my plate back, which I have never done before in a restaurant, but like how do you even eat cold falafel? The Cashier was really nice, and I received my money back. I think though I offended the server, but seriously how do even serve cold falafel? Falafel should be always cooked on order, and NEVER premade in bulk and put into a bowl, awaiting a customer to eventually purchase it.

I love the Shawarma, both the Chicken and Beef. It’s cheap and tasty! What more could you ask?
I was just worried about the hygiene. I saw the server assemble my shawarma in a pita… without using gloves. I just wish their hands are clean before touching the customers’ food. Other than that, the service is awesome.
The only reason why I didn’t give full stars is due to the fact that they don’t accept debit/​credit card… Only cash and YorkU card. For those who prefer keeping their wallet light by not carrying cash, they just might walk pass this joint. If only they accept cards, I’m pretty sure more students would stop by for the food.

I enjoy this place. It’s one of the few places on campus you can get something quick for a good price. The owner is also fantastic. I have been coming here for years, and never had a bad experience. Today I purchased chicken in a pita and as I was leaving I dumped it all over the floor. It was entirely my fault and after I cleaned it up I lined up to order another one. The owner saw me dump it on the floor and comped me a new one. I will return for the food, but even more so because of the owner.

Don’t let the renovations fool you — this place is a TOTAL waste of time and money. I’d rate it ⁰⁄₅ stars if possible!
I ordered a chicken shawarma pita wrap and everything about that decision was wrong. Here’s why:
1) It took less than a millisecond after placing my order for the server to have my pita ready with the chicken inside — which means the wraps are prepped and not put together on the spot. No option for white or whole wheat was offered, and the chicken looked stale. But I decided to just go with it.
2) Red flag #2: NO GLOVES. She was putting my wrap together with her bare hands which should seriously be some sort of violation code.
3) The toppings are extremely limited, especially in comparison to other shawarma places. Also, when asking for tzatziki sauce, she loaded extra tahini sauce and insisted they were the same. Like I’m sorry, do I work here or do you?
4) I lost all ability to function for 5 seconds when her less than mediocre wrapping skills were presented with my order and handed to me without being pressed in a grill. I actually began to scope the place to see if there was even a grill but nope!
5) Needless to say, it was cold and it sucked.
You can’t expect much from restaurants on a school campus but there are many other places at York that are worth your dollar. I seriously pity the appetite of those who enjoy eating here.

It’s unfortunate, but this is as good as it gets when it comes to getting Mediterranean food on York’s campus.
My go-​to dish here is the Chicken Souvlaki dinner, which is probably their best-​value meal at $ 6 and change. It comes with a salad, chicken souvlaki, rice, a pita, and a can of pop. The dish isn’t very exciting — the chicken is warm at best, the rice is bland, and the pita is hard and dry. I used to go here often until I realized there were much better options on campus (Islands, for example).
They also offer daily specials which are often a very good value.
Summer ’13: Looks like they just moved to a new location at the front entrance of York Lanes and it definitely looks much nicer. I’ll definitely be giving them another shot in (hopeless) anticipation of the food tasting much better.
CASH ONLY!

I was happy to come back to York University to see that the new Falafel Hut location is open and boy have they done a great job! I used to consider them my favourite dive, but I think I will have to promote them to restaurant status. The new space is both modern and inviting. They now have ample seating and natural light spilling from every direction. Heaven, for this student.
My favourite thing to order on the menu is the chicken shawarma in a pita which is the Wednesday special for $ 3.75 + tax. At regular price, pitas do not top $ 5, and dinner can be had for under $ 10. I like to consider the «health factor» whenever I eat somewhere regularly and Falafel hut passes. Wraps are 60% salad, 40% meat and whole wheat pitas are also available. As for the ingredient quality, Falafel Hut has updated their usual ingredients by adding spices to the onion and cabbage mixtures, and parsley to the lettuce. I can’t say that I notice a huge difference, but the extra colours are appealing to the eye. My only complaint is that lately my shawarma has been overcooked which never happened at the old location. Perhaps they are getting used to the new open spit grill? I don’t know.
Overall, Falafel Hut provides a great range of healthy, FAST food for a great price. Notice the emphasis on the word FAST, as in speed, not «Fast food» as in… McDonald’s. I give Falafel hut a solid ³⁄₅! And while my heart yearns to give them a 4 or higher for all the late nights we have spent together, and the money they have saved me by rounding my change sometimes to the nearest quarter… I know most people will not appreciate the special relationship I have with my little university restaurant. ;”) I give Falafel hut fair marks for their simple, tasty fare and great value!

What you need (cheap, reasonably good food– fast) when you need it (open all week & late)
Not gunna lie, I love the chicken dinners– balanced meal for a cheap price with a pop included ($ 6) — hits the spot but it’s not gourmet

People need to quit freaking out. It’s York U. Not the classiest place in the world, just your average grimy underfunded University.
I enjoy this place (in relative York U terms).
The veggies are fresh. The service is friendly and quick. The food is fairly delicious. I recommend everything on the menu. It’s a good deal. Décor sucks (2 tables, a few chairs, a TV from back when my dad was in his 20s). And their hours are awesome. When everything else is closed at York (which is surprisingly often), these people are still up and serving yummyness. Unfortunately, they only accept cash or YorkU Meal Plan.
But yeah, hungry? Stoned? Need food at odd hours? Arabic?
You hath come to the right place.

Nope. The lettuce was stale when I had mine.
Do not get duped with the «daily deals» or Falafel deal. You end up having to pay extra for pickles and basically the essentials that you would get included at any other shwarma place on the planet.

I usually enjoy going here. Your experience of course depends on what you’re getting and when you go. I almost always order the same thing (a chicken dinner, which I find cheap and tasty) so my opinion on the actual food is pretty narrow.
It definitely sucks when the line gets long. I’ve waited 15 – 20 mins. for my order before (that’s after a 5 – 10 min. wait in line), but with limited staff and, at times, a seemingly unlimited number of people in line, it can get hectic.
Nevertheless, it’s still my number one choice for dinner food at York.

OKAY! Why isn’t there an option for NO STARS?
I’m typically a nice girl, very appreciative, positive, chilled: I’m happy and optimistic 80% of the time. However, I’m also very honest and won’t hold back comments if something is bothering me or just sucks.
Today my choir, the University of Toronto Gospel Choir (UTGC) was participating in a gospel choir workshop hosted at York University by the York University Gospel Choir. There were 4 gospel choirs in attendance: York, Humber, McMaster and UT. We started singing at 1PM and didn’t break for dinner until 5PM. We were given about 1 hour to eat and get ready for the 6:30PM concert. All 4 choirs were to sing 2 pieces each and then we would combine as 1 mass choir to sing the 3 songs taught at the workshop. After sound check, my choir and I went to York Lanes to look for a quick, yet proper meal before the evening concert. After looking quickly at the food options available, most of us settled for the Falafel Hut Village –an awful mistake, well at least for me.
I ordered the Falafel Pita. I LOVE falafels, but I love hummus even more. At typical falafel places, my 2 loves come together. But this was NOT the case at the Falafel Hut Village, which made me very upset. The pita came with tomatoes, a very dry spring mix and 2 crushed falafel balls. The tomatoes and spring mix were the only condiments available and they were very poor in quality and not tasty at all. They had pickles, picked radish and cucumbers were available, but they were an extra 75 cents each. What a rip off! Other falafel places would offer them free of charge. The sauces available for free, like the hot sauce and tahini sauce, failed to make the pita taste good. The only thing that could have saved this disappointing mess was hummus, but hummus was an extra 75 cents, which the cashier failed to tell me about. To top off this tragedy, the pita was hard and stale, the «cook» did a poor job of wrapping my pita and couldn’t even toast it for me –not like it would make this disappointment taste better.
I can honestly say I’ll NEVER go back to this horrible falafel hut. I actually have never found a good falafel place in the city. I need to find one with an abundance of vegetable condiments and great tasting hummus that they won’t charge extra for, and with friendly cooks who are generous with the veggies and hummus and skillful in making a pita –so it won’t break apart after 1 bite.
Despite this food setback, my choir had an amazing time at the concert tonight. It was definitely a blessed and privileged evening and so glad I didn’t let the pita ruin my night and performance. My choir, the University of Toronto Gospel Choir (UTGC) as been around for 16 years and we sing the gospel all over Toronto and the GTA. We have recorded a multiple-​award winning album in 2007, and have also toured central and eastern Canada, Barbados, Europe, Japan, and parts of the USA. Our annual Christmas concerts are on December 4^th and 5^th this year, they’re free, so come out and share the Christmas joy with us! You won’t regret it, I promise. For more concert info, check our website:
(FYI, «go to a concert by the U of T Gospel Choir» was listed as one of the things U of T students should do before graduation. To your luck, we will be singing at the Hart House in December.
)

I am writing this in the heat of the moment, having just left the Falafel Hut premesis. I couldn’t bring myself to write this review while still in there.
These days I’m in Parkdale pretty often. I can discourse on the different virtues of the Pizza Memo shawarma and the Ali Baba’s shawarma. What’s a Unilocaler to do when she wants to get her shawarma on at Keele campus, York U? Go to Falafel Hut Village, apparently. Apparently.
I will confine myself to one cheap joke about the name (it’s a hut *and* a village!) and get on with it. It seemed like a good bet because there’s always a big line at lunch; oh, York students, you can do better.
My first clue was trying to order the baba ghanouj («eggplant dip»); apparently, they don’t have any today. Oh, well, the Greek salad (lucious with feta in the posted photo), then, and a chicken shawarma.
My second clue was seeing all the stickers on the glass at the prep counter. Baba ghanouj, extra: okay, I can see that. Tzatziki, extra: on a shawarma? Really? Pink pickled turnip, 75 cents extra: are you kidding me? You are charging me $ 0.75 extra for pickled turnip? $ 4 is cheap for a shawarma, but for god’s sake, raise your prices and give me the pickle.
Yes, the Falafel Hut Village shawarma comes with a big helping of lettuce, two limp, soggy, sorry-​looking tomato slices, a squeeze of tahina, hot sauce, and some sizzling chicken… oh, wait. It’s not sizzling. He just pulled it out of a plastic tub in the serving area. OK, well, he has the donair spit behind him, and I can see some food on the grill, so presumably it was sizzling at some point, right?
I can see my Greek salad being prepared — a big mound of the rusty-​looking iceberg lettuce, some of those same tomato wedges, some of the cucumber chunks from the serving area ($ 0.75 extra on your shawarma), a pinch of herbs, and a couple of squeezes of watery oil and vinegar. No feta. No olives.
After a few plastic forkfuls of my defeated-​looking salad (it looks like it’s apologising to me — well, someone should), I switch to the shawarma. After a few lettuce-​y bites, I chomp on a big, big hunk of cartilage. That’s it. Game over. I’m hungry enough to nibble through the rest of the bland thing, poking at odd-​looking bits of chicken distrustfully, but abandon the mournful salad.
I’ve learned my lesson. I will go back to Parkdale, where pickles are included, and the two-​for-​one specials at Ali Baba’s are divine. Where I get a smile from the server and my chicken shawarma has chicken shawarma in it.