Pilpel

My most trusted friend for restaurant recommendations advised me to try Pilpel at St. Paul’s where she gets her very favourite falafel. As I go crazy for falafel wraps and have them all the time, I was positively excited to try this Pilpel falafel which they serve either in a salad bowl or in pita with tahini and/​or chili sauce. I was more in the mood for the sandwiched kind and let them fill it with all the salads and sauces. It’s a cute gesture that they hand you a fresh falafel ball to snack on while they prepare your order. I walked to Paternoster square and sat down on the steps with my take-​away. I opened the little bag and immediately noticed that the bread was too soft to withstand the crunchy falafel. As I was biting into it the whole thing kinda fell apart. But on top of everything, I didn’t even really like the flavours! I’ve had by far more delicious falafel wraps in some cheap Lebanese grills in the uglier parts of West London.
I was hungry anyway, so I dropped into Pret and sneaked away with a fork to eat up the mess in my falafel bag.
Pilpel — not again. I hope this will remain the only time that my dear friend and I disagree so much.

This review is unusual for me because the restaurant involved doesn’t serve meat. I’m a big falafel fan, though, so I’m compelled to share the details of where my fellow Unilocalers can enjoy the best ones.
You will probably encounter big queue at whichever branch of Pilpel you’re lucky enough to visit, but fear not: there’s a very efficient service system that means you won’t be in line for very long. Your wait will probably also be shortened by the presence of a member of staff handing out tasters.
If you choose the salad box, make sure you’re hungry :-)

Best falafel in London! Fresh ingredients and staff always friendly and willing to accommodate my need for lots of extra chillies and chili sauce.

They say ‘made with love’. It tasted great and was served with a smile and a free sample first. A slice middle eastern food in this friendly eateries. Packed full of flavours. It was eaten with love too

Best falafel in London (in my extremely limited experience of like 5 places), but Israeli falafel is the best so???
Owner is a sweet bro!

The 4^th star is for the founder and for spending the money to print his story and reason for opening Pilpel on the menus. I love family and I love stories. AND for the gentleman passing out falafel to those of us waiting in line. I also love freebies!!!
For £5.65, I was given a significant portion of food. I went with the falafel platter for my 1^st visit today. Honestly, i could not finish it. (which is very unusual for me) A+ on portion and value for the £.
Taste.the falafel is good. And the platters comes with 6 pieces! I tried a litte of every salad. While my food was good, it wasn’t great. And when I reflected on what was left in my dish, i realized it was more than half the items (maybe a lot of pickling and mint overload? carrots, red cabbage, white vegetable, tabouleh, and the wheat bread).
As for the line, don’t be scared it’s out the door. it moves very fast.
Would I go back? Yes. Is it a ton of food for the value — Absolutely. Was it super awesome to me that I’m still thinking about my meal — not so much.

ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! Walked out of a final exam today and was starving! Walked around the Bank area, passing so many places a long the way, none of them catching my interest. It was when i decided to turn down a small alley off of the piazza, I smelled an old familiar smell.
My experience at Pilpel was just amazing. I haven’t had such an amazing falafel pita since being in Israel… ok, that one place in Istanbul was also friggin amazing.
Anyway, I was blown away by how cheap it was for such a central area in London. The line was out the door (took that as a good sign) but it went by quickly and an employee was going down the line giving out sample falafels for all those waiting. He ran out a couple of people before me but I wasn’t too upset, the smell kept me motivated. The staff was friendly and even at such a busy lunch time rush (13:30 on a Tuesday), the woman making my sandwich stopped to answer questions.
I got the Mediterranean pita (comes with aubergine) and then loaded it will ALL the salads. Thats right, ALL of the salads are included! Amazing. Almost 5 hours later and I’m still thinking about it.
GO GO GO GO! I’ll be back for sure.

OMG! My workmate have just brought me one medium pita falafel and I am so full that I think I am going to explode. So good you can’t stop eating, but I will leave a few weeks before trying it again.
4.25£? Really?

I don’t like falafel. Or so I thought! I’ve always found it far too dry and tasteless. Then I found Pilpel.
I wasn’t convinced at first. I popped in for dinner before beers at The Dovetail to see off a departing colleague. This was one of his favourite lunch stops during his time in London so it seemed a fitting stop for a quick bite.
I wasn’t too hungry but figured eating before The Dovetail was a good idea so I shared a salad with JB. While we were waiting the kind gent behind the counter gave us each a small, warm, freshly made falafel. One bite and I was sold. It was moist and bursting with flavour. These were some sexy chickpeas!
Amongst the usual suspects the salad also included loads of both red and white cabbage, whole green pickled chillis (I LOVE these!), tahini and chilli sauce. And 6 delicious fresh falafel.
Your man behind the counter even came over and gave us some complimentary baklava (he must have sensed it was an important occasion with Guenther leaving us).
If, like me, you don’t like falafel and think it’s dry, bland rabbit food, just give Pilpel a go, they might just change your mind — they’ve changed mine!

It’s midday, my caffeine breakfast has speed up my metabolism and left me hank marvin (rhyming slang, say it again, get it now? No? Never mind.) The caffeine left me starving, so we heading in the St Paul’s direction down a small side road to be met at the door of Pilel by a tray of falafel being handed out. A sneaky way to wet out appetites — cleaver!
Thankfully my lunch buddy had been before as I had no idea how it would but I knew I wanted the salad option rather than the stuffed pitta. It’s not that it’s complicated to order, I was simply overwhelmed by the spread of leaves, vegetables, condiments and breads. The colours were glorious and everything looked very fresh.
The portions are so generous that I could finish mine, but I wasn’t about to waste it so I asked one of the very friendly members of staff for a take-​away bag, and he was more than happy to help.
We all left feeling rather sleeping having consumed our own weights in falafel. Great discover and very reasonable at under £5.00 for a large lunchtime meal. Just don’t expect to get any work done in the afternoon as you too may go into nap mode.

«At the age of 29 years old I had a vision, maybe the only thing that will give gramps peace of mind, is that I keep the falafel coming… Pilpel was born.» I like this quote and to me it really encompasses what this place is all about: a great falafel experience! In fact, Israeli store owner Uri Dinay, who opened the store in honor of his grand father, has done a fantastic job with this (second) store in London.
I have been here now twice and both times I really loved it. First time around I had the pita bread stuffed to the brim with delicious falafels, tabouleh, chickpeas and other goodies. The second time around I went for the salad box filled with all the same stuff, just with the pita bread on the side. Both were delicious: I’d recommend the former one for the smaller appetite and the latter one for the bigger appetite.
In any case, try to come early, as the lunch crowd can be quite ferocious!

A bright, sunny summer day in London means we have to get outside for lunch. My dining companion had a hot tip on newly opened Pilpel and toward St Paul’s we headed. Inside we were greeted by friendly staffers and loads of chick pea options (plus free falafel samples!) I got a houmous & falafel and added guacamole and hot sauce.
I was particularly impressed with the assembly of this sandwich. Its preparer took great care to ensure even distribution of veggies, falafel, humous, guacamole and tahini.
We took our stuffed pitas to a nearby park bench and dove in (note to self: next time bring a handful of napkins.) They were hugely satisfying and great value at about £5.