SoomSoom Vegetarian Bar

A stand up sabich sandwich. All the ingredients are fresh and good quality. You get to top your sandwich yourself. I love pickled cabbage and the Israeli pickles so I went to town on those. They make a lovely homemade lemonade with all natural ingredients. The staff was also friendly and attentive. I’d go back.

Just for some reason decided to stroll in and, I rated this place as a 4-​star due to the cleanliness and hospitality I encountered. The food I wasn’t so crazy about. Not that it was a horrible but it’s not what I am accustomed to. And also if something is written as a vegetarian place it should not have meat products displayed

I saw the name Vegertarian Bar and was hesitant in trying it. But I wanted to try something new so decided to give it a chance. I went around 630pm on a weekday, it was really empty. You have to walk up to the counter to order your food and then find a seat yourself. The guy behind the counter suggested the shawarma meal… wasn’t too sure what it was but ok, let’s try it. It was meat served in pita, soooo good. They have a «veggie bar» where you can add different types of vegetables into your sandwich. It was actually really interesting, I enjoyed my food a lot. Definitely want to go back and try the falafel since everyone recommends it. Give it a try next time you’re around the area!

I have to say the best shawarma I had in this area I work on 82^nd and lex and its worth the walk the place is clean the guy at the counter and staff is super friendly tastey food and fresh and delicious salad s.

I think this is my new favorite place!
I have walked past this place multiple times and was intrigued by the name but never ventured in. Today I decided to check out SoomSoom.
The counterperson recommended the SoomSoom original (falafel) with hummus and assorted salads. He said their falafel is extremely good — and boy was he right! It is crazy delicious and I am not a falafel lover.
The salads were very fresh and the shop looked clean. I will definitely be coming back!

Great falafel. Soft, doughy, delicious hot pita. Excellent shawarma. Good toppings, salads, and sauces to choose from. I like that you can make your own pita sandwiches and platters. A cup of fries is only $ 1. My wife, three kids (ages 3 to 8), and I enjoyed our experience there with other relatives and friends. Only wish there were more tables and chairs. It’s a nice new clean restaurant in the neighborhood to get your falafel & shawarma fix.

Ok, it’s not the cheapest falafel you can get. And it’s probably one of the most expensive ones. But that was one hell of a sandwich. I haven’t had falafel this good on the UES since rectangles closed down. Would have given it 5 stars if it were priced a little better.
All of the salads were fresh, and the pita was very soft. But those are just the basics. The falafel balls were… The balls! Crispy on the outside, fresh and soft on the inside, and had some good flavor
I like the system they have with the open salad bar for your sandwiches. You get to choose and load what ever you want in to your pita. So I guess they can justify an $ 8 falafel with that
I don’t really see how people can compare this to Mamouns though. Yea it’s cheaper, but it’s like food truck food. That’s kinda like comparing Associated and Wholefoods.
Anyway, to summarize this, it’s nice to have a decent falafel in the hood. Worth checking out.

This is no Mamoun’s, but the falafel balls are preeeeetty dece[nt] — crispy exterior, well-​spiced and soft interior. The pita sandwich tends to get a little messy as you eat (and it’s a tight fit for whatever you choose to insert from the salad bar), so I think next time I’ll opt for the platter. That way, I can get some more quinoa, pickled onions, and sauce without fear of dripping it all on my work dress…

Decent falafel and pita with hummus, and the salad/​toppings bar is a nice touch. But $ 8+ for a falafel sandwich is a tough sell. It was decent, but not great. And comparatively, I’ve gotten way better falafel for basically half the price (ie: Mamoun’s). If it was a few dollars cheaper, I’d be here a lot more often. But at that price, I don’t think I’ll be back.

This review is based solely on those little falafel balls.
Before this place I had never had falafel and had no interest in trying it. When I walked past here while going to the bank they were serving samples of falafel balls with that white sauce (I think it’s taziki sauce, I’m not sure)
Holy shit, so good. They taste a little greasy but so worth it. I totally went there for lunch the next day. A side order of falafel is filling enough and there’s a salad bar if you’re interested.
Made me wanna turn vegetarian, but I could never do that.

If you want a healthy and quick vegetarian lunch/​dinner this place is great if you love falafel. So much better than the street corner falafel carts. Pricier, but not too much. They even have a Wednesday special where you buy one get one free falafel pita! The salad bar is the best part. So many veggies to choose from that I cant fit enough in my sides container. So good, I’m going there again tonight!

SoomSoom is very similar to Maoz. I was at a bar next door and was hungry so stopped by here to grab something to eat. I’m actually not a huge fan of falafels so opted to get the egg pita instead. It was delicious! The hummus and the parsley egg combo had great flavor and it was stuffed in a super soft whole wheat pita. Since I got it to go, she gave me a little tray to get stuff from the open salad bar! All that for only $ 7.50. A great healthy alternative for dinner/​lunch!

Delicious! Great quick lunch/​dinner place. Friendly service and always makes my day when they are outside giving out free falafal ball samples! Its a nice protein boost :)

Delicious and friendly.
Ok maybe i’m going to all of the wrong places (suggestions welcome) but I never like falafel– they are greasy and leave a bad after taste in my mouth. However– this place changed my mind. They are amazing! I got the salad bar, loaded up on quinoa, beats, pickled things, it was all delicious. Then the falafel (I didn’t order it, it came with my salad I found out after) and hummus and warm pita made it amazing.
The staff was friendly and helpful (it was my first time there so she helped me pick out some items).
Big fan.

Great find, good for take out or a quick bite. I don’t even really love falafals but I tried it as that’s what they are known for at SoomSoom according to the lady who took my order. And I was glad I took her word. It was the best falafal pita I ever had. They make the pita for you and then you fill it up with whatever toppings and sauces you like from the salad bar. The iced mint tea was really great, unsweetened but very flavorful. I will be back.

I was working late a few blocks away and thought I would grab dinner before I headed home. I have been to a number of falafel/​hummus places before and this is one of the better ones.
By better I mean that the taste and texture of the falafel were excellent. The pita was soft yet thick and really held the sandwich. In many of these places the pitot (plural of pita) were so think any hummus or tachina that was in it soaked through. This pita held the liquids well even though I added a lot of numerous salads.
The price was a little high, I will definitely return soon but because of the price I won’t frequent as often as I would probably like. The only thing I didn’t like was the only seating was high stools and even though I am tall, I can see this being a difficult balancing act while wearing winter coats.

This place is pretty new and easy to walk past due to its small store front.
They have an employee handing out samples and this is how I discovered SoomSoom (marketing at its best, free samples).
Their falafel’s are perfectly cooked and full of flavor, their salad bar is fresh and has some pretty nice options.
Staff are all friendly and the place is immaculate. Check this place out.

The food was delicious — a perfect falafel.
Lots of options to customize it from the condiment bar. — no labels or any indication as to what was in any of the condiments, though — probably ought to skip it if you have any allergies or concerns about inadvertently getting something ‘too ethnic’ for your palate.
But even when there was no rush the cashier was nearly surly — she neither spoke above a whisper or offering any guidance of what to order than what I could read for myself. I genuinely interested in ordering their recommendation — but she was completely uninterested in speaking beyond only the minimum words needed for the transaction.

I’ve walked by SoomSoom a few times, and wasn’t interested, as they describe themselves as vegetarian. I’m sorry, but the first thing that comes to mind when I think vegetarian is lettuce and radishes. But one day I took a closer look, and realized it’s actually a falafel joint. Different story.
SoomSoom is a chain, I think they have two other locations in Manhattan. Pretty standard falafel, and delicious (in my opinion — I know that falafel, like pizza, can start fights — some may not like this falafel, and that’s fine). They let you fill your pita with whatever you want from the salad bar, lots of appetizing options. Just don’t do mushrooms, I did mushrooms, mushrooms do not belong in a falafel pita. Don’t judge me, they were fresh out of the kitchen and looked good.
The mint lemonade is green, it looks like wheatgrass juice. It’s not. The green is the mint that they blend in — there are some perceptible «bits» in the lemonade, but I liked it nonetheless — fresh-​made lemonade, with fresh mint. The homemade Moroccan mint tea is black tea with mint leaves up in it (whole leaves) — I want to try that next.
I’m most definitely not vegetarian, and I’m this way and that about falafel (there has been BAD falafel in my past). But I think I’ll be back here for lunch real soon, my falafel today was the bomb.
Besides, the word «falafel» is fun to say.
(P.S. — Unilocal needed an opening date, I went today, so I put down ⁷⁄₂₉. They have been open for a while, though.)

Fine falafel, but they’re still working out the kinks at this new location.
Supposedly, the falafel come from an old family recipe, and I totally believe this, as the family in question hails from Tiberius. The superb falafel taste authentic, perfectly crisp on the outside and almost creamily delicious on the inside. Just the right proportion of cilantro and other spices. Packed into a sturdy pita, they made a nice base for the tasty salad bar items I stuffed inside.
Also tried a potato boureka – a bit greasy, but they were out of the cheese version.
It’s vegetarian and certified kosher. So far, so good. But there’s only one register. So the slightest problem or slowdown quickly escalates. This problem could be easily fixed with additional help at the counter.
But the real reason for the three stars is that they forgot the hummus – which I paid extra for. I worked my way into this lunch at home, awaiting that beautiful moment when you get a little bite of everything at the same time. But it was not to be. I almost wept into my pita.