Falafel 54

Great! My wife & I didn’t even know they had a buffet when we got there. My wife and son eat a Vegan diet and they loved the options on the buffet. The prices were reasonable when comparing to other similar places. This place isn’t fine dining, it’s just a nice in & out kind of place. Their website looked great and the food was great as well. The owner/​manager? was very nice and welcoming. The seating layout was great. I truly couldn’t find anything bad! except the location wasn’t the greatest. Over all, It was great! When we are in that area again we will be back.

Highly recommended their buffet. Falafel tastes great, salads are good and the vegetable dishes are fresh and tasty. Kebabs are more or less made to order so you won’t end up eating stale food.

Had the buffet this afternoon, and couldn’t be more pleased! Good variety on the buffet, and everything was top-​notch. Especially liked the curry chicken and the eggplant. In addition to the buffet offerings, they made us fresh falafel that was topped with a really nice sauce. Probably the best falafel I’ve had! The staff was extremely friendly and accommodating as well. We will be back.

We have been big fans of the «urban turban», which is located in the harris teeter shopping center at sr55 and high house. We missed seeing the owner and asked about him. That is how we found out about falafel 54, his newest endeavor.
Our first visit to falafel 54 was today. We were happy to find all of our favorites on the buffet and enjoyed the new additions as well.
We have always enjoyed the spices used to season the various dishes. The salads are always crisp and fresh… the vegetables are delicious… and, the meat dishes are wonderful. Don’t miss the falafels and the various sauces available!
I cannot comment on the desserts. They alway look great. But, even though his desserts are never over-​sweet, we are avoiding sugar lately.
We are looking forward to our next visit!

I got a falafel wrap and a side of grape leaves. The chef /​owner made me fresh falafels instead of grabbing some from the buffet tray. I was impressed. Both him and the cashier /​accountant guy were friendly. The buffet looked great but would cost 12 dollars on weekends (11 during the week). I will definitely come back on a weekday with my husband (he eats so much more than I do so it’s more worth it to bring him to a buffet, lol).

Best middle eastern buffet in Raleigh Durham area! Meats are so succulent and delicious it will blow your mind. The baklava is some of the best I have had and it is included with the buffet. Try it, don’t diet!

Amazing buffet. The food tastes great and they bring fresh grilled chicken out in small batches so it’s always hot and fresh! I eat there about once per week and have always been pleased with the friendliness and service of the staff!

Came by on a Friday evening at dinner time. The service at the register was terrible. The guy obviously doesn’t want to be there. There weren’t many items on the hot bar of the buffet, but there was a sign that said if you wanted something to let them know and they’d cook it. The gyro was decent. For some reason they put French fries inside the chicken shawarma pita.

I’ve only been here for the lunch buffet, which I love. The owner often works the register and he is hilarious. The price is right and the selection is great. Excellent hummus, gyro, stewed chicken, pita — even baklavah for dessert! The cook is constantly making more chicken/​gyro on the grill and placing it in the buffet. The restaurant is large so often feels a bit empty (except at lunch during the weekdays!) but the food is excellent. No pressure to hurry up, so you have time to fill up! We often bring our 1 yr old baby here and he (apparently) eats for free (not very much)! This place is great when you have a hankerin’ for mediterranean food and don’t wait to wait for the lines/​kitchen at Med Deli! We will be back soon!

Yesterday evening, a friend and I came here for the dinner buffet. I was initially worried, as the restaurant was empty — that didn’t end up being a problem, and a good number of other diners filtered in while we were eating.
I was very pleasantly surprised with everything I had here. I tried and enjoyed just about everything on the buffet: warm pita, hummus, baba ghanouj, tzatziki, curry chicken and rice, stuffed grape leaves, lamb, curried chickpeas, sauteed okra and onion, lamb, falafel, and even baklava! The falafel was excellent — it was made fresh and brought to the table for us! Overall, I was very happy with the food.
The owner was incredibly pleasant — very helpful with recommendations and questions we had about the food. On the way out, I asked him what went in to the okra, onion, and tomato dish, and he essentially gave a recipe! I have a feeling I’ll be back here soon.

5 stars all the way across the board! I know first hand how fresh the food is here! I am a picky eater and this is truly authentic Mediterranean/​Indian cuisine. The restaurant is deceiving on the outside but when you walk in you will notice how clean everything is. You will likely be greeted by the owner who dedicates himself to serving an excellent product. You cannot go wrong with the buffet, especially the curry chicken and rice, salads and gyro meat. I don’t get on this very often to write reviews but this is a great lunch spot that I hope will come to Raleigh.

We live 1.5 hrs away, where there is no Mediterranean food. We really wanted to like this place, but looks are deceiving for sure. We went because hubs bought the Groupon for it (his mistake but he learned)
Spend a little extra and go to Sittis in Raleigh. I can see this place busy at lunch hour for near by employees, but the area is a little shady too.
1. Walked in on a Saturday afternoon and no one was there, always a bad sign but again we drove a long way and had the Groupon (not my idea) so we said eff it.
2. The guy had no idea how to ring up the Groupon and tried to charge us full price until I explained it a few times.
3. Went to the «buffet» and it was half full.
Salad wilted and saturated in dressing and only about 1 serving left in the dish. Falafel dry. Bread hard. No chicken except day old curry. Shawarma dry and very oily. No rice.
Pos. hummus and tatiki decent and the garbanzo curry dish and dolmas were ok.
4. I had given the guys a few bucks tip on the bill (you pay first, and it was force of habit) I don’t know if this prompted them to bring a few things out, but they did. We got a few fresh falafels, some new bread, and reheated chicken screws and dried rice.
Bottom line we def won’t return. We take partial responsibility for relying on Groupon for anything, but we did not have a good food experience at all.

The main staple here is the buffet. There are various items to choose from such as seasoned chick-​peas, strips of lamb, curry chicken, balsamic rice, tandoori chicken, tzatiki, hummus and lettuce for salads. They have a complete offering on the buffet and it is the main reason I go. They also have a regular menu but, honestly I have never looked at it.
The usual suspects for beverage selection and Coke is the anchor soft drink.
It’s always crowded during lunch rush and it’s a regular lunch spot for those working at nearby Research Triangle Park. The inside establishment is usually clean although during a heavy rush sometimes the lone garbage can fills up. You won’t find any ambiance here either. It’s strictly functional.
My other issue is with the temperature inside. It can get a little warm and stuffy when packed but, it is still worth it.
When crowded you’ll find that you may need to wait for certain dishes because they are careful about how much they prepare at any one time. I have never had to ask for more because they are always putting fresh food out. This is good because you will always get food that is fresh.
All in all my dining experiences have been good here and I highly recommend this place if in the area.

Went here last week with a coworker for lunch. We were warmly greeted by who I assumed was the owner. We both ordered the lunch buffet.
I started off in the salad section and their Tabouli was very fresh. Then moved onto the classic hummus with pita bread. Their hummus has a hint of sourness which could have been from lemon juice but I wasn’t really used to.
For meat, I tried the seasoned chicken and the slices of beef/​lamb. Both were also included on the buffet menu from Baba Ghanouj (which was the previous restaurant). The chicken was really well seasoned and had a lot of flavor. The beef/​lamb was tender and delicious!
My coworker got this rice dessert which looked pretty good but I didn’t get it since I’m not a dessert person.
I think we’ll definitely come back in the future.