Damascus Falafel

Don’t wanna say much, just wanted you to know that I purchased a dozen of falafel (12 pieces) and was charged $ 6
12 = 12 Pieces.
DOESN’T = 10 pieces.
USE CALCULATOR NEXT TIME.
If you shorten each customer a $ 1, do the math at the end of the day. Negative (-)

IDK about you but if I spend $ 12 on a dinner I expect my food to be hot when dining in.
I was beyond hungry so I didn’t really take notice until 5 – 6 bites in that the food was just warm. I had a seat facing the counter which is when I noticed that when there were no customers at the counter I noticed a worker shaving decent amounts of meat off of the spinning wheel. This meat that was being PRE-​shaved was just being set into metal containers, not being kept warm and just uncovered. WTH ! Otherwise I’m positive
food and dining experience would be great if it weren’t for that big no… no!

It’s a cafeteria style Middle Eastern restaurant. I’m from the metro Detroit area and we have large Arabic populations and while the café style formula is popular here in Chicago it’s relatively non existent in Detroit. That being said I’m very familiar with middle eastern food… the restaurants are everywhere in Detroit.
Shortly after moving to Chicago… After months of not having middle eastern cuisine and missing home a little, I tried Damascus Falafel and I was surprised that I actually enjoyed it a bit. I got the chicken shwarma plate with baba ghannoush, red cabbage, tabouli and falafel. Did it remind me of the food back home? No… this is as generic to Middle Eastern food as Chipotle is to Mexican.
I clearly must’ve forgotten what middle Eastern food tasted like because more recently I tried a restaurant called Shwarma Express in Lombard and OMG! After eating there several times in the last 2 months I can say that there’s really no way to compare the flavors and menu variety found in an authentic restaurant to what they have at the cafes. For around the same price, I’d happily drive 30 minutes to for some fresh home cooked middle eastern food.
Damascus falafel is ok for what it is, it’s clean and the employees are friendly, but it’s also bland and flavorless compared to a full fledged middle eastern restaurant. Find ANY authentic spot and I guarantee you get better tasting food. If café style middle eastern food is all you know then it’s probably great, but if you’re familiar with the flavors of authentic food you’ll never be satisfied with this again. In my opinion these chain café style restaurants aren’t doing middle eastern food any justice.

We get together with some friends every other week for dinner always trying to find something new & somewhere between. We live in Chicago they live in Plainfield.
We decided on Mediterranean food. I spotted Damascus Falafel in Willowbrook on (where else) Unilocal rated 5 stars. When we got to the restaurant I was a little disappointed by the restaurant as it has a very limited menu. The restaurant is going the route of providing a selection of items similar to chipotle letting you create your own dinner. The choices they have are chicken or steak Shwarma wrap, bowls or plates. With that being said we all got the steak Shwarma wrap.
I was very pleasantly surprised by something as simple as a wrap. Keeping in mind you can choose from a variety of ingredients to go inside. I chose the wrap w/​spicy red pepper humus as a base & added a Mediterranean cucumber, onions & tomato salad, red cabbage salad, pickles, tomatoes & sautéed onions w/​a garlic sauce. (I wasn’t going to be kissing anyone later nor would they want me to with all the onion and garlic in my wrap). The lean steak meat is added & the wrap is pressed & toasted panini style. This beef Shwarma wrap was absolutely delicious. The beef was chopped fine and seasoned very good. Adding the red cabbage salad added a little texture & crunch. The dill pickle slices also added a little crunch & tartness that added to the flavor. The wrap was toasted panini style which added further crunch. Add the garlic sauce and you have a perfect blend of spices, crunch & texture into an absolutely fabulous steak Shwarma wrap.
The prices are very reasonable, but it’s a little too far to frequent unless I’m in the area, but I will absolutely be back again when I am in the area.

I tried this place twice… The food is average… and Tabbouleh salad was not good at all. The chicken was not cooked enough.
On top of all. the staff were not friendly at all…
I read very good reviews before, but I was not impressed at all.
I think other places like Fatthoush is much better.

My all time favorite Mediterranean food ever! Love the beef shwerma. The quality of the steak is really good. Not tough or fatty at all. Delicious. If you don’t live in the immediate area, it’s worth the drive to get some great Mediterranean food.

I love the chicken wraps with their garlic sauce! I’ve heard great things about the steak, I’ll have to try it very soon!

Transition in vegan eating lifestyle I likes their Falafel bowls are very delicious! My husband is on his way to get some right now. I feel like a bad wife for not cooking tonight but NOT really lol he loves eating them as well. You will not be disappointed whatsoever.

It’s honestly one of my favorite resturants, it’s cheap and healthy. What more do you want?

It’s pretty good. I believe the falafel sandwich should not have pickles. The hummus is really good.

AUTHENTIC SYRIAN falafel sandwich
Just perfect I love this place, clean classy and super delicious
Don’t miss the shawerma

Very good. I wish it was closer.

First time there today, ordered a delicious classic falafel dish with a side of fries and a Coke. The grilled wrap is the way to go and is a lot better than a traditional «pocket» falafel dish. Everyone was super helpful for recommendations and had a great smile. My wife went back up for the baklava, which was affordable and they said it was not made at the restaurant, but was made at «a local bakery». It was very good. Would recommend!

Delicious, fresh and fast food… what’s not to like? The chicken shawarma wrap was great. I got the lentil soup and a drink with the combo. The soup was quite nice, but could use a heavier hand with the spices. I stole some fries from my family and was surprised at how tasty they were too! I’ll be back for sure.

We were in the area and had no idea what we wanted for dinner, good ol Unilocal to the rescue! This is an order at the counter and pick a table restaurant. We were given all sorts of choices.
Chicken plate, basmati rice, hummus, pickled onions, tabouleh, yogurt cucumber salad, pita and of course FALAFEL!
We both had similar orders and were not disappointed one bit. The best part of the experience was far and beyond the falafel, it was much thinner than your typical falafel, it resembled a tiny flat donut, good lord it was amazing, I will come back here 100% and the falafel is the main reason for that.

I’m so happy to have this option for fast casual Middle Eastern food a quick drive from home. This kind of place seems to be popping up all over, and I’ve been underwhelmed as often as not. Thankfully, when I tried Damascus Falafel, everything met or exceeded my expectations.
You’re all familiar with the model — pick a protein and format, what toppings and sauces you like (within well defined limits) and pay at the end. On my visit, I found the service to be pleasant and helpful (I did mention that it was my first time there), particularly from the woman staffing the first station – she was fantastic.
I had a good idea of what I wanted prior to entering the restaurant, but it was helpful to be able to see the toppings in person. I opted for the beef shawarma lettuce bowl with regular hummus, Arabic salad and cucumber yogurt, pickles, onions and cucumbers, topped with hot sauce. I got a couple of falafels (discs rather than balls) as well.
Let me tell you, this particular combination was absolutely delicious. The freshness and texture of the produce was fantastic and the meat had a great charred flavor. The only thing I might change next time is to get the purple cabbage as a topping. It looked great.
They smear the hummus (or baba ghanoush) at the bottom of the bowl, so don’t get the idea it would be easy to use as a «dip» for your side order of falafel or pita. That may be true in the platter version — not sure.
It’s not the cheapest meal option around. The parking lot is a wee bit tight (as in you might be backed into or vice versa). But wow, is the food great!
Unreservedly recommended.

The good:
— very clean
— food prep runs smooth and quick
— enough variety of middle eastern choice
— not expensive
The bad:
— no sampler to taste all.

I came to Damascus Falafel after I heard some heartbreaking news, and my experience here did not at all help me feel better in any way.
First of all the service was terrible. The two people who served us were rude and so pushy. I know we were a little indecisive around what toppings to get, but only because there is a limit on the number of toppings you are allowed. Huh? I’m sorry, if you set up your business model to mimic the subway/​chipotle dining experience, I feel like you can’t place a limit on the number of toppings? Am I crazy? IDK. Regardless, I expected the employees to be patient and kind and make my order with a smile and I got none of that.
The food was also below average. I think what I needed in that moment was comfort food. But Damascus Falafel was just on my way home. And I got to say, it did not hit the spot. I think I was so disappointed in what I ordered because I felt like I picked toppings that didn’t go well together (which wouldn’t have been a problem if I was able to select more toppings that would have complemented my order).
Maybe I need to give it another chance when I’m in a better mood, but I dont see that happening any time soon.

What a delightful place to have lunch. Such a nice break from the chains. This was one of the best falafel I can remember. You get your choice of hummus and tehani. This is fast food, and the menu is limited, but it blows Naf Naf Grill out of the water. I will now be able to associate Willowbrook with something other than red light cameras. It’s located in a shopping plaza with a 7 – 11 on the east side of Kingary Highway. This is how I imagine my first meal tasting when I land in Tel Aviv some day.

YES! Finally, a Mediterranean place close to our office!
Damascus Falafel is a great little restaurant that delivers a quality meal. I brought 2 colleagues here from work. 1 being a schwarma fan and the other never having experienced Mediterranean food before. Both were equally impressed and happy with their meals.
I had the chicken schwarma in a pita with a side of brown rice. Who ever commented that Naf naf was better than here is off their rocker. The schwarma here is WAY better. I cant comment in their falafel yet, but I will be back!