Fatoosh Middle Eastern Pitza & BBQ

The salad platter is awesome! Delicious and authentic. The pita is warm, chewy, and delicious…

When I moved into the ‘hood, I thought this would be my go-​to spot. A few weeks in, and it had become clear that while Fatoosh is decent, it’s hard to get very excited about this place. There is no doubt that the falafel is good — not spectacular — and I haven’t tried much else but the tabouleh at least always looks very fresh.
But there are some serious drawbacks.
For one, I cannot help but notice an intense cleaning-​fluid smell that pervades the restaurant. Every time I’ve been inside, I’ve intended to stay and eat my sandwich, but without fail I’ve been impelled to take out instead, owing to the Windex/​Mr. Clean/​whatever scent. It’s nice to know that the spot is clean, and many of my fellow Unilocalers have commented favorably on that aspect of the joint, but there’s a point at which the smell of ammonia gets in the way of one’s enjoyment of a meal.
The other problem I’ve noticed is somewhat more serious. I’ve been here when there was no other customer in the restaurant, and there must have been three or four guys working behind the counter, and yet my one sandwich somehow took *THIRTY* minutes to prepare. While I understand that much of their business may be deliveries, and so my being the only customer in the store does not necessarily mean that I’m the only one ordering their food at the moment, I still find this to be — how shall I say this? — unreasonable.
These things considered, I’m not so sure it’s worth going out of your way to eat here. If you’re in Park Slope/​Gowanus and you crave falafel, it might even make more sense to check out the halal cart on the corner of 5^th and 9^th. Just saying…

Delish! Affordable! Friendly! Clean! Attractive! Fatoosh is a keeper.

Musts:
— Fatoosh Salad: Ask for extra pita bread on it and you won’t regret it.. We ordered the small plate, for two, and it was a perfect size as an appetizer.
— Hummus and Muhammara (ground red pepper) — In very generous portion, I lathered them onto everything edible.
What else we ordered:
Mixed Grill — Chicken, shish, kafta, and vegetable kebabs laid out on rice, hummus, muhammara. The meat were okay. The chicken was extremely dry; and I tried to put as much hummus and muhammara on it to eat it. Vegetables– Where are they on the plate? We only got two small pieces of veggies. There was a lot of chicken and not too much veggies. I would have traded because the veggies were pretty delicious.
It’s a: «pay up front, take a seat, and they’ll bring the food», type of system.

A-​OK

You really can’t beat the falafel sandwich deal here. You get a gigantic sandwich — chock full of fresh, hot falafels and a drink of your choice for only $ 5. The sides of hummus are extremely generous and tasty and so is their smoked paprika hot sauce.
We’re always joking that it’s unfortunate their name sounds like «Fat Tush» but all the food here is rather healthy.

Fatoosh is one the best Middle-​Eastern restaurants I’ve ever been to, across several states. They have a huge selection of salads and platters at decent prices, whether you want a sandwich or a combo platter. They have warm, fluffy, whole wheat pitas that just can’t be beat anywhere. Excellent falafel, moussaka, a perfectly seasoned lentil salad, and a heavenly cauliflower dish whose name I don’t know. Always just the right blend of spices, chewiness, and crunchiness for everything — and I’ve tried everything.
The service is impeccable and the staff is incredibly friendly and accommodating. They bring your order out to you family-​style, with everything neatly arranged. My friend and I ordered everything off the menu between the two of us, and they came out and pushed two tables together and chuckled at our enormous spread. It really couldn’t have been a better experience. On top of that, they also deliver and is great for take-​out.
The space itself is trendy and clean, with nice tables and tasteful wall décor. I love that it has a huge window front overlooking busy 5^th Avenue; life doesn’t really get much better than people-​watching while enjoying a great meal. Finally, they have canned diet ginger ale and diet Sunkist in the cooler — rare finds these days!

Fatoosh is a great restaurant in the Park Slope area. The food is excellent and the prices are surprisingly low. I mean you get a LOT of food for the money. I ordered the grilled chicken platter, and it came with hummus (amazing), rice, salad and huuuge pieces of pita bread. I only wish I ordered a side of grape leaves.
The restaurant itself is in a good location — easy to find. The staff is very friendly and happy to accommodate. The seats are comfy with pillows that are easy on the bum. The bathroom could have been cleaner, but I didn’t have to eat in there, so no worries.

I’m not even a big fan of falafel, but this place has the best falafel I’ve ever had in my life. It has spoiled me to other falafel in the neighborhood, if not the world. Not dry or greasy, perfect balance crispy exterior/​seasoned chikpea-​riffic interior.
But that’s not even my favorite menu item. I get the grilled shrimp salad and a side of hummus. The salad is fresh, with a generous portion of shrimp and a simple herb-​ish salad dressing that is all kinds of delicious. I mean, salad isn’t something I normally get excited about, but this one is so well-​prepared, with just enough bits of olive and crispy pita to keep it interesting. Pair it with a little of their yummy creamy hummus and some warm pita and it’s one killer dinner.
The atmosphere is pretty bare-​bones if you choose to eat in so I’d suggest take-​out or delivery. But if you’re in the area or their delivery radius, don’t miss it!

Good food, tastes fresh. Quality is average. Prices are decent. Lunch specials are the best deal. It’s what you’d expect, far better than the other place across the street (9^th).

Falafel platter is the way to go, and I think they put crack in the muhammara, cause I’m addicted and the friends I’ve introduced it to are as well.
I’ve strayed from the falafel platter a couple times to try the veggie pitza and veggie kabob sandwich. The pitza was ehhh– loaded full of veggies to the extent it requires a knife and fork to eat. The veggie kabob sandwich had great flavor but was messy with juices spilling out and getting everywhere. Get the falafel platter, it’s always the perfect decision.

I like to think of potatoes as a convenient excuse to eat a lot of butter or ketchup or sour cream. Fatoosh inverts that «condiment first» logic.
Their hummus platter is two pounds of awesome, but really, it’s all just a delicious excuse to eat the house-​fired, toothsomely chewy pita. My wife is one of those no-​carb fanatics and even she can’t hold back on it.

Came here for lunch and actually dined in — the restaurant may not have tons of ambience, but is entirely pleasant, clean and welcoming. The service was fantastic. Everyone who works here is really friendly and efficient.
We had the falafel platter and the lamb sausage platter, and everything was delicious — the falafel was light, slightly crunchy and, oddly, donut-​shaped, and the lamb sausage apparently v. tasty as well. The portions are super-​generous and it’s relatively cheap. We substituted salads for the rice in the platter, and the salad was really a treat — I can recommend the couscous salad particularly.
Can’t really add that much to other reviews — if you want something cheap, quick, easy and delicious, this is a good place to come. Will definitely come back if I’m in the neighbourhood.

OH! OH OH OH! Great!
I love middle eastern food whenever, where ever this is place delivers! (And I do mean both great food and will deliver to your house) Like most of the posts I got a platter of three meats. Grilled Chicken, Kafta (ground lamb and beef with delicious seasoning) and beef, grilled to perfect! I ordered babaganoush on the side as well which pair perfectly with the muhammara which was served with the kebabs.
What a wonderful meal, and there is so much food you can lunch the next day! (So you really get a cluck for your buck!)

I love Fatoosh. The grilled shrimp and shish kebab platters are seriously what’s up. Thee muhammara and hummus are both flavorful and delicious when wrapped up in a pita with some shrimp/​meat. The portion is huge too, enough to share or take for lunch the next day. It’s byob, too, if you feel like walking down there, though the delivery is always on time and they’ve never messed anything up.

Unlike the many 4 star reviews I’ve read, for the time being I’m just giving it 3.
It was most likely because we arrived for a bite to hold us over til dinner — 5pm on a Sunday evening so I’m sure that’s probably because why the lamb in my gyro tasted so dry. My friend’s falafel was actually better than mine and I wasn’t really in a chick pea sort of mood. She actually said she’s had better falafel.
Good part is that it’s got a nice bathroom, the restaurant is fairly clean and the pita bread ($ 0.50 extra for whole wheat) is quite tasty. I’ll give it another shot as I’ve read the «Pitza» is pretty good and I’ll come when its a bit more busy as the ingredients are a bit fresher.

Reading all these glowing reviews, including people who’ve purportedly spent time in the Middle East is truly puzzling and a little disturbing. While some of the items on their menu are entirely acceptable, the food they serve either comes out of a can or is brought to the store ready to serve.
The fact that their version of a lamb sandwich consists of that pre-​formed gyro mush meat automatically relegates this place to pizza-​parlor status. The very close-​by Pita Hut around the corner at least serves real lamb meat, although they only rate one star more than Fatoosh in my opinion.
For the sake of context, a five-​star middle-​eastern restaurant in my opinion is Mamoun’s in Manhattan. There are also some good 4-​star places in Brooklyn on Atlantic Avenue (The Fountain Café for one). No doubt there are some 5-​star worthy places there but I’ve not found one.

Ok so I’ve had their chicken pita 3 times, and one order of hummus over the past month. Today I added the falafel. I’m not well versed in falafel but I did eat the whole chicken pita as well as all of the falafel side I ordered! If i’d shared it with someone i’d still be able to breathe. Lol. I’m a fan.
675 for chicken pita
400 side falafel with salad
150 grape welch’s soda
100 Poland spring water
Small tables r covered in middle eastern tassled fabrics. Chairs have similarly adorned cushions. Well above similarly priced eateries.
The main guy at the counter is super friendly n goes out of his way to explain the dishes even to crabby slopers with arrogant demands. May his patience endure!

I’m a big fan of Fatoosh, though based on other people’s reviews I think it’s been wise that I haven’t ordered the pitzas. I haven’t yet, and now I probably won’t in the future.
Most often, I order the shrimp kebab sandwich because it is f-​ing delicious. My boyfriend love the lamb sausage platter. Their hummus is creamy and not too tahini-​ish (I don’t like my hummus bitter, though I know some have a taste for tahini). The assorted salad platter (you can select 5 salads you want) is also quite tasty and is sizable enough to share. The pitas are warm and tasty.
The folks are friendly and delivery is swift. Thumbs up, Fatoosh!

Good, but not great.
The food is yummy, but here’s my problem… To be a cheap restaurant in New York, it makes a lot of sense to have a great delivery business. Fatoosh doesn’t.
I want to be able to order my sandwich, maybe with a drink or something, put it on my card (that they have saved in their database preferably) and be done with it. But due to their technically illegal credit card policy of ten dollar minimum, this can’t happen. Which makes me sad.
Also, their Pitza doesn’t travel well at all. I tried the delivery version of it once, and it was soggy and kind of cold upon arrival. Sad, because at the restaurant it’s really good. Crispy and delicious.
If they get the delivery up to par, I’d increase my stars to 4, which is where it’d be for eat-​in service, but as it stands, three is my call.