King of Falafel

We at King of Falafel in San Francisco want to thank you all for your patronage. It is with mixed emotions that we will be closing for good on December 24, 2015. A combination of end of lease and a decision to retire led to this situation. My family has enjoyed serving this community for the last 47 years. At the current moment there are no plans to open another location. Thank you again for all your reviews. The 1 star reviews allowed us to improve while the 5 star reviews let us know to continue to do what we do best. Thank you all again and we wish you all a happy holiday season & a prosperous 2016 and beyond!

Absolutely loved the food! I moved away from this area a few years ago and I still trek across town to get these falafels.

One of my favorite spots in the entire city. This place is just perfect. It makes you feel like you’ve stepped out of the city for a while. The people are considerate, the pace is a little slower. The food is amazing, and watching the foot traffic on Divis is a relaxing way to spend a Saturday at lunchtime.
It’s a shame they’re closing at the end of the year. Does anyone know a similar restaurant they’d recommend?

I went here about a month ago for lunch and was not impressed. We walked in a little late for the lunch rush, around 1:30, and the place was deserted. The owners were entertaining some family in the back of the restaurant, and seemed a little annoyed to be bothered with our order. My husband and I each ordered a sandwich and got a drink and our total was way more than I was expecting to pay. When we went to find a table to sit at, all the tables were filthy! And the floors were just as gross. When the food arrived I was extremely unimpressed with the quality and flavor of the sandwiches. I do not plan on returning.

First time in and I ordered the lamb shawarma in the wrap. I was expecting something more like a gyro, but it came out more like a greek burrito. The meat consistency is chopped up slow cooked meat with a bit of a sour taste (could be the yogurt). It had lettuce, tomatoes and onions. Over all the shawarma was alright. Not bad but definitely not worth $ 10.
The service was very friendly. They had a decent selection and lots of drinks to choose from in the fridge.

I’ve been meaning to check this place out for years, and finally had the chance to a few months back. While the falafel isn’t my favorite SF variety (that award goes to Sunrise), it was still quite good and the staff was incredibly friendly.

Friendly people work here. I went around 1:30 on a Friday and it was mostly full in the seating areas, and one person ahead of me in line. I ordered a combo plate (chicken and falafel) which came with Humus, Tabouli and pita bread. It’s delicious, and the size large is enough for two people for a meal or one very hungry person.

Went here for lunch as the place was close to work. I would have thought that the food would have been a lot better than the dry cold pita bread and the flavorless meat filling I ate. It was filling, but not tasty at all.

In a nutshell:
+ Family run. Service is good/​friendly most of the times.
+ Falafel’s are damn good. Food is homely (in a good way).
~ Hummus, Tabouleh are okay (could be better).
~ Compare this to a deli (vs a sit-​down restaurant).
Disclaimer: I’m a sucker for Mediterranean food so this may be a bit partial.
Now that we got that out of the way, let’s dig in. As the name of the place suggests, this place is indeed the «King» when it comes to Falafels. They’re warm, crisp (but not hard) and soft on the inside. Every single one. Every single time. I don’t know how they manage to do it but hopefully it continues.
I usually go here on the weekends or occasionally on weekdays when I end up working from home. I order the «Vegetarian platter» which comes with falafels, dolma, tabouleh, hummus, baba ghanoush, pita and is garnished with a few pickled pink turnips. They are not picky about substitutions, so you can get those dolmas subbed for more falafels (which I always do, duh!). Rest of the items — the hummus, tabouleh, etc — are pre-​made for the whole day so depending on when it gets refilled, it’s either okay or sometimes great. I think Palmyra (my other love) wins in these hands down! Their drink selection is mostly off-​the-​shelf (Tazo, Snapple, etc) variety and nothing particularly worth talking about.
It’s family run, more like a deli than a full-​fledged sit-​down restaurant. They do have a few tables where you can sit down and do some prime time Divis people-​watching. You order at the counter and either get it immediately (after which you find a table) or they bring it to your table (I’m still confused on what’s the right protocol here). Either way, I’ve only had comfy service.
In spite of being nestled in the Divis corridor, this place has surprisingly reasonable prices — $ 8 for the small platter I mentioned above. Beat that!

Stopped by here a few times for lunch. Even if I order the same thing, the food is different depending on the who is behind the counter. My favorite vegetarian option is the eggplant dish (fried egg plant slices served with the salad, hummus, and pita… sometimes pasta sauce with makes it really tasty) recommended to me by a coworker. The chicken shwarma and chicken kekabs are both good but not enough flavor for my (indian) tastebuds but the falafels are the best (also the baklava is yummy). Overall, this a nice place but the wonderful lady at the register makes it even better. :)

This place was great.
The staff was playful and friendly and the wraps were great.
I loved the vibe. While I am not averse to hipster/​trendy places, this seems very throw-​back to a time where you came in, ordered your food, bantered with the staff, and then chowed down at some plastic covered table.
We’ll definately be back.

I’ve driven by this place a million times. I almost always turn to my girlfriend and exclaim, «The KING of Fallafel?! We’ll see…» She ignores me and we never stop. But, this week we were hankering for some Middle Eastern grub and thought we would give it a shot.
We had the chicken schwarm sando. And it was really tasty. Moist and flavorful.
We also had a plate of veggie delights (hummus, baba ganoosh, Fallafel and tabbouleh salad). All were good. The fallafels were perfect… crispy and moist. I’ll grant them the title. Some of the yummiest I’ve ever had.
Two people fed for 22 $. Pretty darn reasonable. I will certainly return.

One of my favorite neighborhood spots! Falafel so authentic, delicious and crispy! Fresh ingredients, friendly staff! I usually order the lamb shawarma in pita, and I love the babaganough! The owner sometimes switches up the salads in the case, and I highly recommend this cabbage slaw type one that she makes! Also highly recommend the mezza plate! You won’t be disappointed!

Hot sauce is bomb ! This is hands down my fav Mediterranean hot sauce I ve ever had. I ordered the large chicken shawarma plate which can easily be shared by 2 people. It has shawarma, 2 pieces of falafel tabbouleh and also yummy yummy hummus with some onion garnish on top. Must have if you are here !

Love. Love. LOVE! King of Falafel has set my standards of Middle Eastern foods and falafel to an all-​time high. You won’t regret trying the KING of Falafel. Unilocal definitely got this one right :]
Food Quality, Service, Location 5 BIG FAT STARS *****
Ambiance, Prices 4 Stars ****
Previously in 2014, my research team wanted to order catering from King of Falafel. We ordered large plates of falafel, salad, pita breads, hummus, tabouleh, etc. Ordering was quick and efficient! Call ahead and during pick up, they were willing to provide extra plates and utensils as well. There was so much food in their catering platters that our team had to take leftovers home. The falafels were mind blowing! My first interaction with Middle Eastern/​Mediterranean foods was superb and heavenly. I am in love with the FALAFEL!
+ VEGETARIAN PLATTER: hummus, babaghanouge, falafel, dolmas, rice & lentils, tabulli, cucumber & tomato, pita bread 10 – 12 persons $ 85.00
FRESH hummus and tabulli! The falafels were piping hot and perfectly crispy. The rich infusion of spices and flavors were strongly evident in all the foods.
Fast forward to January 2015, my PI wants to eat lunch here and we walk there from the office. During lunch time, it can be a hit or miss if there’s a rush with lots of people. Inside the restaurant, there’s about 10 tables which fills up quickly with health professionals and yuppies around. We managed to grab a table in the back where it was away from the main dining area (score)!
I ordered the BEEF & LAMB SHAWARMA, thin sliced mixture of marinated beef and lamb $ 7.39. My shawarma was wrapped in Lavash for an extra $.50 but it was totally worth it! The beef and lamb were MOIST, TENDER, and JUICY! They definitely didn’t skimp out on the portions; I was satisfied and full after devouring the whole wrap. The shawarma also consisted of hummus, tahini, lettuce and tomatoes. The hummus was savory yet tart which complimented the meat and veggies well. DEFINITELY Recommend the Shawarma!
My mentor and PI got the Vegetable Plates, falafel, hummus, babaghanouge, dolma, tahini sauce, tabulli $ 7.49. Their plates look mighty tasty as well. Portions were slightly small but it’s a healthy dish. I didn’t get to eat the falafel this time and I definitely missed it but I will be BACK!
++ FAST, FRIENDLY SERVICE? Check!
++ DELICIOUS, HIGH QUALITY FOODS? Check!
++ REASONABLE PRICES? Check!
Yum Yum King of Falafel! Oh worthy is THY NAME!

This is a great spot for a quick lunch. I wanted a light meal during the work day. I was craving something light, but also starving and I found the right balance at King of Falafel. I ordered the vegetarian platter — a medley of Mujaddara (delicious Lebanese rice and lentils), a tomato salad, 2 amazing Falafels (why hasn’t Windows OS added this word to its dictionary, it’s not spelled wrong!?) and grilled eggplant. I wasn’t enthused about the eggplant. While the tomato sauce was tasty tasty, the eggplant itself was a little undercooked and not salted. I suppose it didn’t have a chance to absorb any flavor. But it didn’t ruin my meal. I was full without having to touch the complimentary pita bread.
The prices are not exorbitant either, so I walked out pretty happy! I will probably end up coming here again. It’s quite popular and it’s got all your other middle eastern favorites with the option for getting a good ol’ Ameican cheese burg, too.

A friend was craving shawarma, and as soon as he put the idea into my head, I was totally on-​board. Though I always think of the Avengers talking about it at the end of the movie, and looking to beat to enjoy it; so THAT association is forever burned into my head.
It was tasty. Hole-​in-​the-​wall status for sure. The employees were friendly-​enough. Spacious. A little toasty inside on a warm fall day, but not overwhelmingly so.
I enjoyed it. But not more-​so than other places with Mediterranean food. So the search for exceptional cuisine continues.

Ive been here twice and ordered the veggie sampler plate both times. It was delicious! The small plate was enough to fill me up and I couldnt finish it even though it was so good I wanted to keep eating. I like that all the food is displayed in the deli case. So colorful and appetizing!
The ladies behind the counter are very nice and today when I came the lady let me try some of the mojadara because I heard it was good and man was it! I like it so much I looked up recipes so I can make it myself.
The only negative thing I could say is that I was a little unsure where to put my dishes when I was done. But all in all very good and I hope the rumor that they are closing is just a rumor.

Saturday, 3:00PM.
Claiming royalty in the land of chickpeas? You better represent.
Quickie:
+ Interesting take on falafel
— Dishes building up, dirty tables
*Narrow work hours
And then???
KOF is fluent in Cicer arietinum.
**********
Stuffed my face in:
1. Half dozen falafels
+Moist middle, herb aroma is subtle
2. Falafel sandwich
+Salsa fresca version = zesty

My new favorite shawarma spot!
We didn’t have high expectations for this place, but my bf and I ended up loving it! Staff was super friendly and all ingredients were tasty and fresh. You order at the front of the deli-​like display of ingredients and seat yourself. They have shawarma sandwiches and (small or large) shawarma plates! I originally wanted a basic shawarma sandwich, but I was intrigued by the plate so I chose that. On the small plate was perfectly seasoned chicken, hummus, tabbouleh, and a warm, crispy falafel with pita bread on the side. My bf ordered the large plate with beef and lamb and he really liked his too. I’ll definitely be back the next time I’m craving a shawarma!