v Falafel

I was on a short visit to DC and came across this place. I can say the best Falafel sandwhich I ever had, and a unique idea with all the toppings you can ever imagine as options to add to your Sandwhich. Very innovative and extremely delicious.

I love this spot! As a carpenter, I was working for a few weeks in their area and stumbled over for lunch several times. The owners/​operators seem extra cool and happy to have you in there. I’ve eaten the falafel wrap and the chicken shwarma. You can choose your own toppings if you want, but my ingredients never compared to the delicious combo the professional falafel man prepared! It usually cost me about $ 10 for lunch maybe more if I need soda and fries on side. Definitely check this spot.

We visited vFalafel on a Sunday afternoon for lunch. The place was empty apart from the proprietor which was happy to see us come in. The inside is pretty small and can barely fit 10 diners. We ordered combinations of Falafel and chicken Shawarma (which is their code word for wrap) and sandwich (which is their code word for pita). The wraps were standard burrito wraps and pretty bland. The pita was dry and frail. The chicken was decent, but nothing great. Had a much better chicken from a food truck in the mall. The falafels were not that great. The place has a salad bar, which was tired and not very fresh.
All in all, a sub par experience for middle eastern food. Much better food can be had from the food trucks in the district, for a better price too.
Needless to say — we won’t be back.

I’m staying in a hotel down the street for business and needed to run out and grab something to eat very quickly as I had a lot of work to do in the evening. I found this place on Unilocal and decided to take a chance on it as I was looking for something vegetarian with lots of vegetables. The falafel salad bowl sounded perfect. Many thanks to all the other Unilocalers who helped sway me to try it out!
I found the majority of the other reviews on Unilocal to be spot on. I give this place 5 stars for what it is — an awesome, inexpensive take out place with excellent falafel and a generous salad bar.
Cost: very reasonable, especially considering the volume and quality of food you get
Flavor: loved the falafel — great interior texture, seasoning, taste and crispy fried to perfection
Salad bar: was a little leery of the creamy cucumber sauce so avoided that but the rest of the vegetables and sauces were quite tasty and fresh looking; good flavor, too
Interior: small — seemed clean but was indeed small; if I lived in this area, I’d probably go here for take out quite often
I grabbed a bottle of wine at State Liquor right next door — a great one-​two combination for anyone doing takeout.

This is where it all began: my falafel addiction. Answering to a late nite hunger pang during a visit to DC, I happened to find this place near my hotel. When I first walked in I honestly wasn’t all that impressed based on appearance alone. However, the guy working the counter seemed to be serious business while preparing my food and he seemed very nice. Little did I know that this place would put-​it-​down on the falafels. I didn’t know exactly what they were, but I happened to try them because they serve no meat. I googled it after the fact (so?). Not that it mattered what it was anyway because I was hooked. Now almost 400 miles away and about 3 months later, after having just one taste, I think about this place often. I have yet to find a falafel joint that does it quite as good as they do. I will indeed return, one day…

Delicious and a fantastic value. Check out some of the other reviews so that you know how to fill your cup with veggies for the cook to add into your wrap. My falafel shwarma plate with fries was also served with hummus plus baba ghanoush so there was no reason to include those in my cup of goodies. Rookie mistake. I think the guy thought I knew how to order. You just need to ask for some directions which he’s happy to provide.
Located on a weird stretch of the street (drunk or tweaking dude was literally hanging outside against the small metal fence next to the door) but nonetheless so convenient to Dupont Circle, delicious, and quick.

This place is best used as a take away spot since 1. It’s small and 2. All the tables were dirty and sticky and seemed to have the consistency of the floor in a movie theater.
I wouldn’t really have minded that if it was busy but it was not.
The man working there was nice and polite
Having said all that the actual falafel was very delicious and the fact that you can pick your own fillings from authentic middle eastern trimmings is pretty awesome.
With some more effort it could have been a great dining experience.

Stopped in today (Friday) for lunch. I like that I was able to choose my own veggies to go with the Falafel. Everything was delicious.
Why not 5 stars? Because I got sick later that evening. It’s possible that it is not related to this shop and that perhaps something else upset my stomach… but I will withhold 1 star just in case.

Wow this was an awful experience. First, the service was horrendous. There was one guy working and he was on his iPhone while we were trying to order. Absolutely couldn’t care less about us ordering. Second, the food was inedible. I threw out my falafel sandwich, which I topped with baba ganouch, hummus, lettuce, onion and carrots, after a few bites. The falafel and baba ganouch were overbearingly and wincingly bitter while the hummus was dull and seemingly tasteless. Plus, the fries were mediocre at best when they were hot and plain bad when they were lukewarm. I would give this place zero stars if I could. Easily my worst falafel experience in DC so far and will never try this place again!

There is no vertical spit here which means who knows what is really going into the «shawarma falafel» they insist on selling you. I tried to order just a straight up shawarma sandwich with maybe some tahini sauce on it but he wouldn’t sell it to me.
There was only one person working on a Friday night which means it took forever to get in and out of there between him taking care of customers up front and running to the back to prepare the food. There is no need for a back room, just make everything up front.

I love this place! Loved everything about its authentic Mediterranean atmosphere and Grandpa was so sweet! My husband and I came here for dinner one Friday evening. Plenty of ppl came in to order take out. We got two falafel and one order of fries plus two cups of water. We sat by the window, enjoyed our dinner and people watched.
Can’t wait to come back!
*great selection of falafel toppings!*

This place has amazing potential, but I was disappointed by the food. I love that it’s all falafel and no frills, but I hoped the flavors would be more developed.
The falafel has a texture more along the lines of hummus than a patty. However, I do appreciate that they have the option of many ways to eat your patties– the salad box is the best idea!!! Piling on the fixings is what is most fun.
The pickled veggies are a good assortment, and it is nice that they are split. Having beets that are thin pieces is great for sandwiches. I like the lettuce and fresh carrots to balance the pickled vinegary flavors and deep fried nature of the falafel with something light and fresh. It’s also nice that their food is not overly salted!
Still, for the price, I was expecting more. The folks are nice, the space is cute and clean, and the fixings are a good selection of veggies, so 3 is fair.

Amazing falafel joint.
First day in DC and it was lunch time, so I searched out v Falafel for my lunchtime meal. It’s a tiny shop but there weren’t very many people inside considering it was noon, prime eating time. I ordered the falafel pita sandwich and was super excited when the owner told me that I could add as many items from the salad bar as I wanted into my pita. WHATTT? Unlimited toppings? They had hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh, pickled vegetables, spicy peppers, you name it, they had it! I piled as much as I could into my sandwich because it all looked so fresh and delicious.
And delicious it was. The falafel was nice and crunchy on the outside but soft and yummy on the inside. The pita was thin but tasted awesome with all of the toppings I had added from the salad bar. They give you a lot of food for the price too which was legit, I was definitely satisfied with my falafel =)

This place has a similar concept to Amsterdam Falafel (AF) so I had to check it out. It doesn’t beat AF though and I probably wouldn’t return unless I was in the area already. The owner was friendly but my pita wasn’t heated evenly. Like half of it was refrigerator cold. The pita itself is a bit flimsy too. Also I was told I could only choose 5 items from the toppings bar… Um but that’s not what the menu says.
It’s a smidgen cheaper but they don’t offer a 3 piece option like AF so points off for that. I’m still awarding 4 stars because the self serve topping concept is brilliant and the falafel taste is decent enough if a tad on the dry side. Overall, not quite as good as the one and only AF but I’m glad that v Falafel exists since Adams Morgan sometimes falls out of the way.

Only in town for one night and meeting with an old friend for dinner, I suggested coming here. My friend was scared to try falafel so we went to zorbas, where there’s a greater selection. I got the falafel plate there, but still wasn’t satisfied… With my craving clawing at me internally, I decided I still had to go! I’m glad I did!
From the moment I walked in, I was greeted with smiles from Zafer and his gorgeous niece! Since I had never been to a falafel place where you select your own fillings, Zafer explained the process to me and helped me get started! Hummus, cucumbers, tomato salsa, even some red cabbage… He told me I had missed some of the best things, and giving in to his expertise, I allowed him to add spiced onions and hot chilis… Not more than 5 minutes later, I was sitting and enjoying my meal (as pictured)! Delicious! Even got a small side of hot sauce and a glass of water!
The falafel schwarma reminded me of a Taco Bell grilled burrito, except that it was, of course, filled with all the toppings I had selected and falafel that was just the right mix of herbs, nuts and crunch! Every bite was a slightly different flavor combination (partially also because I added the tzatsiki, baba ganoush and hot sauce in mixed ratios to various bites or not at all. I opted out of the fries, but think next time I’ll try them just to see how good they must be!
After I had finished, I decided to get a small order of the baklava to go, since I wasn’t very hungry at the moment, and they were closing in the next few minutes. Zafer, with his wonderfully characteristic smile and jovial attitude, told me the baklava is Turkish style and prepared fresh, locally, by an old Turkish woman (a witch, I’m sure, who channels the great baklava making spirits to make what was quite simply a symphony in my mouth!). Flaky, sweet, nutty… Perfectly made!
I’m tempted to go back for lunch today, despite the fact that neither Zafer nor his beautiful niece, sadly won’t be there, but he said that there will be a Syrian man that is the nicest man in all of DC… Nicer than Zafer and his niece? That I’ve got to see! And I want to try the falafel sandwich and fries! Maybe get a few more orders of baklava…
The inside is pretty basic, with a cute little village tile awning over the counter where you order, a few pretty wall decorations including a beautiful painting, touched up by Zafer himself, and fun Turkish music playing loud enough to hear, but not too loud to have a conversation, it made a relaxed and authentic atmosphere for enjoying a delicious meal! To top it all off, my entire meal was about $ 10, falafel schwarma, toppings, sides, tap water and baklava! I’d definitely recommend stopping in!

About a 3.5 — a cute litte place off of P St, I came here for a quick dinner before a meeting. I ordered the Falafel Salad Box, which comes with a plastic salad container with 5 crispy falafel patties. The falafels were a nice-​sized, soft in the middle with chunks of parsley, and a crispy exterior — you can tell that they were handmade. You also have unlimited toppings from the ‘salad bar,’ which included things like carrot yogurt mix, cole slaw, tzatziki sauce, lettuce, cucumbers, turnip, red beans, tomato, red cabbage, chickpeas, tabuleh, corn, onions, pickles, hummus, pickled crunchy cauliflower, baba ghanouj, hot red pepper sauce, parsley sauce, tahini, and onions. I really enjoyed the pickles as they were not salty or extremely pickled, but light and fresh; the hummus was okay, but I think I liked the baba ghanouj better. The onions were good as well. The salad bar is kept clean and neat, and I liked the store’s lime green exterior. The owner was really friendly and nice; I was the only one dining in and sat by the window, watching the passerby-​ers. I still have my favorite falafels in the area, but this place is pretty okay, too.
+unlimited toppings bar
+pickles
+baba ghanouj

I was in DC for an interview, desperately looking to experience the vibrant culture of the city in 3 days. I am perfectly fine with fast food but in an attempt to be somewhat more healthy, I sided with trying a vegetarian option. I was staying on embassy row so I checked Unilocal for nearby options. I came to this gem because of the reviews and proximity.
I didn’t really know what to expect. I was surprised that it was a salad bar style, which is awesome. I just asked the nice man for the popular choice and it was the regular falafel s with… I can’t remember so I’ll post the picture of the amazing meal I had! For a meat lover, this place changed my view on vegetarianism. I (poorly) attempted to replicate because it was so good!

Shawarma Falafel ($ 7-​$ 8) — Shawarma & Falafel in Pita + bunch of free toppings & sauces you can put in there (hummus, baba ghanoush, etc). The falafel’s done really nicely, very moist & flavorful! However, the shawarma’s cut too small, I can barely taste anything. By the time the sauce & veggies get in there, you won’t be able to taste the shawarma.
Overall — Easily 1 of the better falafel place around, especially in D.C. There’s only 1 guy working, so he has to cook while taking your order at the same time = The wait can be quite long.

I loved that place. Don’t go for the atmosphere or decoration or service. But do go for the food.
It’s heaven for vegetarians. The salad bar just made me want to have a little of everything. I almost did, and everything I picked was delicious.
Then your second choice is how many and how you want your falafels. I was not very hungry and I had had falafels the night before, so I skipped that part. I regretted that decision very bitterly afterwards.
Thankfully, my wonderful husband let me have a taste of his, and it was the best falafel I’ve had so far.
I can’t wait to go back!

Great food, friendly service, and a huge condiment bar to personalize your creation.
Had the falafel meal with fries and it was a lot of food! I’ll probably try the schwarma next time or else have him mix up his own condiment pick for the falafel as I think I needed a stronger salty flavor that I didn’t get from my picks, but I still loved it.
Crisp large falafel balls. The fries were nothing special, but it’s nice to have something else to dip in all the condiments that will fall out of your sandwich. :)
I’ll be back.