$$ - average
Middle Eastern/Persian
Fast-food style middle eastern food
Many appetizers and a couple sandwiches are vegan.
At the SW corner of Lake and Lyndale
Added by starfive on Mar 17 03 (updated Apr 24 05)
Reviews
Look, it's not the best ever, but come on you guys: vegan baklava! Sometimes with cashews! That's worth an extra star right there.
This good thing about this place is that it's open fairly late. Then again, I don't have a car and it's only a few blocks from my house. When I think about it, I usually end up here when I'm short on time or it's about all that's left. It's kind of like a back-up plan, or a craving quencher. The music is fun, I'll give it that. Oh, don't get anything with eggplant, it's very greasy. Go to Sinbad's instead!
junk. the only reason anyone should eat here is if there are no better options, and it is convenient at the time.
i've never had falafel at Falafel King that was actually fresh and crispy, and not soggy and 're-warmed'. i mean, if Falafel is part of the very name of your restaurant, don't you think you should make an effort do at least that well? everything at this now "mini-chain" restaurant is sub-par.
if you like poor-quality food that's been sitting around in a vat for several hours, this place is for you! on the bright side, i guess it's always a nice fallback at those summer street festivals.
if at all possible, go to holy land deli or jerusalem's, not this place.
The best thing going for this place is that it's located two blocks from my house. The food is fine if you're starving and happen to be in the neighborhood, but I certainly wouldn't go too far out of my way for it.
Joe Vegan recommends: Don't go.
I'm not going back here unless I'm starving and it's the only place open.
Overall the food I have had here has been pretty marginal. Everything was fairly bland and lacked the flavor that one expects in middle eastern food. The hummus needed garlic and lemon. The baba ganouj was hardly recognizable. The tabouli was a boring mixture of bulgar and parsley, completely devoid of any color or flavor.
One would hope with a name like "Falafel King", at least the falafels would be decent. Unfortunately, these too left much to be desired. Oh, and the pita bread was dry and tasted like it had been sitting in the back for far too many days.
On the other hand, if you want middle eastern food made in such a way that even the British would find palatable, you will probably love this place.
Only had the falafel, it was okay, not great...service was slow and the restaurant was extremely hot. The falafel comes with tahini though which is good. I have not tried the vegan baklava that someone mentioned but that does sound pretty good...