King of Falafel & Shawarma

Dear Freddie,
What can I say? I fell in love with you many years ago, when I was still in my first year of college. I’ve now graduated, transferred, grown older, gone away, graduated again and come home. Through it all, your crispy falafels have stood like a beacon, lighting the path to eternal bliss. When I grew despondent over grades, those purple pickles perked me up. When I felt the distinct lack of inspiration, a falafel gyro kept me company under the Bridge while I listened to Science Friday on NPR (this became my ritual every Friday for a year). Your yogurt sauce often came perilously close to staining my car, your lettuce several times hit me in the face when I became a smidgen too ravenous.
I look back now, and realize I’ve been visiting you since 2011. You went from a cart to a truck, with several locations, and now finally you have a restaurant. Your expansion is sure to be endless so long as your falafels stay as they are. By the way, I am moving to China in September — have you considered going international? Or delivering? Internationally? Otherwise, will you consider adopting me? And moving to China?
The saddest part is you don’t know me! I’m just a stranger’s face, gazing hungrily at your trucks and carts and restaurants from afar. Perhaps this is part of the allure: a love affair between one man and his falafel.

Good service and better prices than the store front on Broadway. The guys are nice and the food is awesome!

The king is truly the king of all the halal carts! I ate at ⁵³⁄₆ today… the halal guys… because of the hype. But sorry… king is definitely a million times better. The Halal Guys think that just pouring a ton of white sauce over bland meat is the answer. but any chef knows that it starts with how you season the meat!!! I love king of falafel and shawarma!

This food truck on Ditmars was simply fantastic! I love falafel and shwarma so I opted to try the shawafel. Which is a mix of both tucked into a pita with lettuce, onion, pickles and garlic sauce. Wonderful! I would have posted a pic but I devoured it before I even thought about it. If u are in the area of Ditmars and 31^st, def check it out. Did I mention this wonderfulness was only $ 6? Yum!

Food is great but here I am and you’re not. So, schedule is iffy. But if you find them the. Be prepared for a good falafel. Kinda frustrated and hungry daydreaming about a falafel I can’t have! Thanks guys!

They say that variety is the spice of life… but that a jack of all trades is a master of none; this begs the question of how to find a balance between these two competing interests. If you would like to see an example as to how one might be able to accomplish such a balance, then perhaps you should treat yourself to a visit to this humble cart on 30 Avenue.
While not the OG King of Falafel cart in Astoria (that honor belongs to the cart just one stop south on Broadway), it is equal as far as living up to its namesake in regards to the production of its eponymous goods. Eager to show their mastery of the falafel, the cart’s helmsmen literally (but graciously) shove falafel in your face upon getting in line. It’s good to see that this signature practice (as seen with the original cart on B’way) has made its way to the frozen north of 30^th Ave.
While I have been to the OG location a number of times during my 5 year tenure as an Astorian, last Thursday marked the first time visit for yours truly to this particular location; Over the past few months, I’d seen the KOF cart here set up shop on sporadic days and at inconsistent hours, sharing sidewalk space with El Rey Del Taco (another superb street meat vendor of the Mexican variety). It now appears as if the falafel cart has now found sure footing, with an established and consistent presence every time I’ve walked by it’s location as of late.
After work hunger pangs were ardent this past Thursday evening, and upon reaching the Queensboro Plaza threshold via the N/​Q (whereby phone calls, texts, snapchatting, IG-​ing, and d*ck pic-​ing, amongst other things, are now made possible despite traversal in a subway carriage), I had planned to make a call to my good old neighborhood standby (Duzan Mediterranean Grill) for a platter o’ food. Before making the call, I remembered the lack of new things I have to review, and quickly scrolled through my bookmarks for comparable local fare. This place stuck out, and I was happy to jump at the opportunity to add another notch to the proverbial belt.
Upon getting off at 30^th (1^st one out and off the platform, amongst the zombie-​like throng of salarymen and women), there was nary a line to the cart; I took my rightful position as the initial customer, to which I was immediately greeted with a piece of falafel and an inquiry as to what I wanted. I could barely generate mouth speak as I shoved the white hot and flavorful fried piece of crunchy chick pea things in muh cram hole; it was tasty, hot, with a well-​fried outside, and a moist fluffy inside; definitive proof that the joint can self proclaim itself as the «King of Falafel.» Soon enough, other subway commuters saw the glorious action that was unfolding before their eyes, and decided to line up behind your’s truly. I even got a second piece of complimentary falafel, as if they were saying «thank you, Josh, for getting in line and showing these fools behind you how it’s done.»
But one cannot live on falafel alone (at least I can’t), and I required some protein and heat. These carts are also contenders for the best meat over rice platters in NYC proper, but they have much more than the chicken over rice (or chicken gyro mix over rice) that you’ve come to be accustomed to (thanks to those «guys» on 53^rd and 6^th). This spot has a number of meat over carb variations, but on that fateful visit, I opted for the Omar plate. They warn that it’s got a kick; it does. And with some onion and tomato added to the meaty mix, this meal option is loaded with some delightful fire roasted flavor.
En sum, this place has mastered the art of the falafel… and they are also doing a fine @ss job of jacking/​serving up a variety of chicken/​gyro/​shawarma/​kafta (and other meats) over rice and salad. All hail the king, for the king rules.

wasn’t going to stop but the smell hit me and bam… i love their food. Got myself the Jayson plate… yeahhhhhhhh baaabbby

Stopped in yesterday and ordered the Freddy Jr and was disappointed. I was hoping it will be a decent size meal since the last time was extremely filling. This time around the quantity wasn’t there and the rice wasn’t fully cooked. I got to the cart after it was setup sometime after 4pm, maybe that’s why the rice was off. But that doesn’t explain why the protein was lacking. The falafel’s were amazing and would rate it 5 stars, but I’m not going to go out of my way for the King anymore.

The BEST falafel I have ever tasted. No weenie little ball sizes, nothing burnt, nothing seemingly too hard or fried. THE BEST.
The falafel itself is the size of a medium red potato, battered crispness outside while the inside was soft and almost pillowy. It is one of the best fritters to enjoy with white sauce and a dash of hot.
The truck seems to have a new location on 31^st and Ditmars– I hope it sticks around, not only because the quality surpasses local competition, but because in the face of trends demanding a bleached wooden farmhouse interior, artisanal comfort food, and elaborate cocktails in order to attract a hipster millennial audience, King of Falafel & Shawarma is that perfect cheap eat poised to endure.

Great spot. They have gotten a new truck. I wish i knew where they relocated because of the construction. The combo platter with a bit of everything is my favorite. The owner is nice but his jokes are awful. Im offended by the lameness, dude needs some new matierial…

Love this place!

I can’t describe how much I love these men and their amazing attitudes and food. And those fantastic print pants they always wore (though I’m not sure if they still always do…) I used to visit their Broadway cart so much when I lived in Queens.
This is the best halal food and I’m so happy the business is doing well. I just hope they don’t tone down the spices or anything as they get bigger to make it more marketable. Please don’t tone down anything, it’s so perfect.

Love the falafel sample every time you order or walk past.
I always order my favorites which are either Freddy’s Junior, $ 8 or Kefta Platter, $ 9. The portion is huge! You can eat half for dinner and save another half for lunch. I always ask for extra turnip and have them douse it with hot sauce with a few squirt of white sauce. Heaven!
The guys are very friendly.

They always give out falafel samples. But their pita is cold and not the best texture.
My beef/​lamb meat combo was cold. Maybe it’s the location because I swear their broadway truck is amazing. If you’re gonna do a truck in NYC you have to come on point. For 6 bucks I guess what was I expecting.

I guess The King wants to move into a food cart war with El Rey. About a year ago the cart just appeared on 30^th Ave. I think it is the cart from their Park Ave location that sets up shop around 4 PM on weekdays.
The food is still very good as the original location on Broadway. Chicken or Lamb Shawarma platters are still packed with delicious food. The platters are well balanced with meat, salad, rice and sauces.
Now, I must say that The King has great days, good days and so so days. Sometimes the flavor is just off or a bit dry. No biggie; it is not the end of the world. Overall, it is still good on so so days, but some days you just go WOW this was AWESOME today.
The King is still the best with customer service. Always, a freebie with a falafel when I walk by or on line. There is not another cart in the city that goes out of it’s way to treat customers right like these guys.
People either love The King or just plain bitch about them. Don’t know what to say. I have had over 100 platters between both locations and only had 3 or 4 so so platters and 1 bad one. Close to a consistent meal as possible I think.
If you don’t want to stuff your face. Order a side of falafel; 4 for $ 2. Great deal and hit’s the hungry pains. Remember to ask for a side of white and red sauce. No charge for this. Nice.
One last thing, this is one of their carts at this location. The truck is at 30^th St and Broadway.

Words can’t express how excited I am about this food truck and soon-​to-​be brick and mortar restaurant. Love that they often give you free and fresh crispy falafel while you wait online, love the «YEAAAH BABY» all over the food truck and on the license plate, and the hilarious menu item write-​ups. The food itself is spectacular; last night my fiancé got the chicken pita sandwich and I got the falafel rice & salad platter (amazing). Both together along with a seltzer ran us only $ 14, and filled us up for a really, really long time. Coming to get food at this truck is a real pleasure, and I feel so lucky to live in the neighborhood.

Whether you get the guys on the truck or the cart, these guys are always friendly, no matter how busy they are. If youre waiting in line or just in front of the menu trying to make a decision, they always offer you falafel. You can tell by the way they carry themselves and treat their customers, they are proud of what they do and the food they serve.
For the quality, quantity and value of the food, it can’t be beat if you’re super hungry. There will most likely be a line for it, but it is well worth it.

After seeing a multitude of reviews and an impressive overall rating for the 30^th Stand Broadway location, which now is marked as closed. I have been wanting to check it out and finally had the opportunity to when I was in Queens by coming to this location.
I was trying to look for a big yellow-​ish truck at first, but this location is the food cart. I’m not entirely sure whether there are imposers, like the Halal Guys. While contemplating on what to order, I was handed a falafel. The falafel was very delicious and huge, compared to other falafel from regular halal carts. It definitely turn my thought about falafels around.
When I received my Shawarma, it smelled really good, as for all halal food. The taste of the food was alright because I felt like there was a lot of sauce and salad. I was not fully able to savor the meat and rice at all because majority of my bites were either all drenched in the white sauce or full of vegetable overpowering the rice and meat.
I want to give this place a try again, but I am hesitate, after coming here with extremely high expectations. If I were to eat halal again from King of Falafel & Shawarma, I would hope another location would be better.

I was waiting in line to see if I can buy some pita bread by itself and the guys handed us a sample of a falafel l, it was unexpected and kind. 2 pieces of falafel was only $ 1!
Thanks!

Omg Effin amazing. I had to go back immediately after last night when they so happily passed my fiancé and me off a delicious falafel! Nomnomnomnomnommmm! I’ve been talking about shawarma for like a month now and wanting to try it thankfully I went to the right place ! Got tha shawarma platter w tha rice and salad, it was SO good. White sauce was bomb… Fianceeee got tha falafel pita sandwich obv was good but I clearly got the win. My platter came with a falafel! Def will recommend this place 100%…
Shawarma platter, falafel pita sandwich and bottled water=14 $… Word.
Kings! You’ll be seeing more of us!