Falafel Bistro

I think the two star rating system here says it all… Meh… I’ve experienced better. Don’t get me wrong, the food is good but not great. It’s definitely overpriced. They advertise exotic ice cream, written on their sign outside, and don’t have any, although they claim it’s coming soon. I think Pita Inn is way better and worth the drive to Wheeling.

I think this place might be closed, haven’t driven by there in a while but their online ordering doesn’t work anymore and their phone number has been disconnected.
UPDATE: I drove by here recently, and there were definitely signs in the window that said «For Lease,» so this place is gone.

Well, I have to say that I was pleased with my visit. The cleanliness factor has been kicked up a notch and the food was good. The chickeni had was flavorful, and the rice was decent. I appreciated the real dinnerware. I will definitely make this part of my regular menu if they keep it up.

I never even realized this place was here! I have been to a few places like this in the area, and in comparison, this is not the best. It is a very small place (there are tables/​seats to sit, but it would probably be better for take-​out), and it is decorated with really cute lanterns. Otherwise it is pretty plain. Their menu is very basic and pretty much exactly like the other places I have been to. I ordered the chicken plate. Basically it was two very thinly pounded chicken breasts that were really dry and didn’t have any flavor, some rice that was way too salty, a plain salad, and some pita bread. Meh. It was cheap, but flavorless. It took a while for us to get our food even though there isn’t much to it. Not impressed.

I’ve been here a few times since my last review. Since my prior review, Falafel Bistro has new owners. They’ve fixed the place up quite a bit. There are beautiful Moroccan lamps above the tables, and they expanded their menu.
There were two people behind the counter. One took our order, the other prepared the meals. My son and I both had a combination Shwarma plate, and my wife had the Chicken Shwarma plate. The plates come with rice and salad. They also come with small dishes of tahini sauce and hot sauce. We also had a large order of Hummus.
The food was fantastic. I was happy with the prior owners, but the new owners have taken the food to a completely different level. Absolutely off the charts.

Saturday night I needed a quick bite. I got the Hummous & Falafel combo. Took a few minutes to prepare, but the wait was reasonable. Fresh flavorful & delicious!
I think to myself, falafel patties are a nutritious alternative to the «beef» mystery patties served at much the same price at Burger Queen & McBarf burger. $ 8 and I got a small pinch of salad greens & cool side sauces.
I say,“time to try new things!”.
The ice creams are outstanding too!

I only tried the ice cream late at night, IT’S REALLY GOOD. And they have all super unique flavors like tamarind, date, pistachio, etc.
The owners are pretty nice chill dudes. The interior is very swank, way more upscale than a fast food joint would normally have. This place is far from me but I definitely want to come back and try their food. A friend told me the food is great but I will have to come back and check it out for myself.

I avoided ordering from Falafel Bistro (via GrubHub) for months. The Unilocal reviews were less than stellar, you see. And frankly, there’s enough tasty food for delivery — I wasn’t keen on taking a chance.
But then I read that Falafel Bistro was under new management, and then I saw more three and four star reviews roll in. Last night I gave in to my rumbling tummy and lazy legs and ordered up some Falafel Bistro. I’m happy to report that I chose wisely.
Hummus: ⁴⁄₅: Creamy, tasty and served with a fair amount of pita.
Falafel wrap: ⁴⁄₅: Crispy falafel balls with the right amount of tahini and veggies nestled in a warm wrap. This will be my go to for future orders.
Gelato (fig & marscapone): ³⁄₅: The gelato texture and marscapone flavor were fantastic, but it was too figgy for me. No sweat, though, there are so many other flavors to try.
I’m sure it’ll only be a matter of weeks (nay, days) before I call upon Falafel Bistro again.

Yum!
I was craving falafel and on the way home saw the Falafel Bistro Sign. If Falafel is in the name, it has to be good, right?
IT IS!
Went back for lunch today and had the vegetarian lunch special $ 6.99 and it comes with falafel, rice, salad, hummus and pitas! Overall, filling and delicious. I hope these guys can keep it up!

Not sure why the negative reviews, maybe the old owners.
3^rd trip here and have enjoyed the shawarma, falafel and tabbouleh. Service reasonably quick and food quality high. Hot sauce a favorite. Good lunch spot in an are without much variety.

I understand that this place is under new management. I didn’t want to discourage people from going there based on my experience with old management. I’ll publish an actual review once I get a chance to go there.

Saw the sign saying it’s under new management.
I liked the place before, so i decided to try it again the place again.
I don’t see any difference between the old and new management.
I tried their Chicken Kebab and Beef Swarma combo (#28 on their menu). and I love it.
Price is affordable and the service size was HUGE. I could not finish it all.
As usual i love their exotic ice creams.
The guy working the register was pretty friendly.
Will definitely come back here again.

Since I have only had Pita Inn Falafel, I was never a fan, but on a recent trip home from taking my mom «Miss Daisy» to a doctor appointment, we saw «under new management» and mom loves Falafel! So we approach the counter and my mom says «are you as good as Pita Inn?». Well that really broke the ice. The owner was really nice and politely said «I think you will like ours better.» He was right! the chicken sharma (sp?) was wonderful and for $ 6.99 a great lunch special. It was served with pita and rice and Falafel and hummus. I have never had pickled turnips, but they make them fresh right there and I could make a meal of just that and the Falafel.
Yup you heard me – finally a Falafel that tasted like something and was not dry as dust.
Very clean, friendly and good!

Supposedly they’re under new management. I’ve ordered about 3 – 4 times in the past month and everytime the food was flawless. They are a bit stingy on the pita bread and you have to request extra but their hummus is fantastic and I could spread it on the walls and eat right through them.
Dolmades, good, not slimey and crappy like some places. These are obviously fresh and taste wonderful. Their swarma (both chicken and beef is great). I love their falafels and can actually get my toddler to eat them.
I called them once for delivery and the guy said they were done for the day but Grub Hub said they were still delivering so now I don’t call and just place my order through Grub Hub. It’s nice to have some place local that delivers great food that isn’t just pizza and Chinese. This is awesome Middle Eastern food and their lunch special portions are the most economical around with a good serving of rice, hummus and meat.

First of all this place is under new ownership now and they are very good. I never went there before so I don’t know what it used to be like. Ronnie is the owner I met and he was super nice on the phone and in person. I took a bunch of my friends there and they all liked it. In fact one of my friends got me to go again. I have been there 4 times and had all good experiences. Ronnie and the crew are working hard to offer great, inexpensive food and an excellent customer experience.
One of my friends was inquiring about baba ganoush and hummus but didn’t order it. Ronnie brought over a couple samples for him to try. High Class.
Thanks Guys!

The place is clean and comfortable with plenty of light.
The staff is friendly, courteous, and quick.
I ordered a couple entrees and they were ready before I could take the lid off of my iced tea.
I had the lunch special and it was delicious. The chicken [shwarma?] was so tender and spiced perfectly with a citrusy tang.
The rice was moist and tender and had a wonderful flavor from the saffron.
The hummus was perfect, too. Tangy and creamy.
This food is prepared with love and that is so uncommon at restaurants nowadays. The owner stands over the people in the kitchen with a smile making sure everyone is pleased with the service and the food. The staff is very eager to help at any point during your visit.
The owner was so friendly to my family and he even gave my son some free chocolate gelato… I don’t know how good it tastes because my son wouldn’t let me near it!
The falafel was good, too as you might suspect from the name.
Free pitas and sauces for all dine-​in patrons, too.
The chili paste added a great deal of heat with just a little dab and the sesame sauce had a very nicely toasted character.
I will certainly be back here as much as possible.

I was pretty surprised to see all the bad reviews.
I came here last week with my aunt and cousins for lunch, and we had a great experience.
First of all, the man at the register was extremely helpful. I think it may have been the owner. He was very nice, patient, and even cut us a good deal on our meal combos. He also let us sample some of the «Exotic Icecream» flavors, which was really nice. (As a side note, I noticed one review below that bashed the fact that «exotic icecream» is served here. But let me tell you, the flavors ARE pretty exotic/​unique, and the ones that I tried were PRETTY DARN GOOD [Tahitian vanilla, fig, mango]).
The food was pretty good too. I spent a year in the Middle East, and while this may not be the MOST authentic place (I think Naf Naf is slightly more authentic), it WAS good and I can appreciate it for what it is. Also, I noticed some people complaining about the portion sizes. Our portions were huge… PLENTY. I had enough for an entire second meal, which I took home with me.
It’s a casual sit down. You order at the counter. It was clean. They have a really great lunch special for during the week.
After looking over previous reviews by unhappy customers, it’s obvious this place has made a lot of changes. My experience at the Falafel Bistro was really great, and I hope to be back again.

Move over Pita House!
Falafel Bistro’s $ 6.99 lunch plate was excellent
Chicken & beef shawarma was flavorful.
Best of all, their pitas are made fresh daily inhouse! Not that sand-​paper
pita you buy at the supermarket.

My experience was pretty decent. (Maybe all these other reviews have had some impact.) I had the lunch special with the chicken kabab, chicken shawarma, beef shawarma, falafel, salad, rice and pita.
The kebabs were well spiced, if a bit dry. Falafel seemed of standard quality to me. Wasn’t too impressed with the rice.
At the same time as I got my lunch, I ordered the Chicken Tawook as carry-​out for my dinner later in the day. I liked the spices on the chicken and I’d saved my pita from lunchtime. Even 8 hours later the both pitas were still fresh and tasty!
8÷1÷12 UPDATE: I, like Elizabeth T., am impressed by the owner’s commitment to customer service and improving the restaurant. He invited me to come check out the changes they’d made to the rice since my original review. It has definitely improved.
Also, be aware that even on the specials, if you ASK, you can substitute Jerusalem salad instead of getting the iceberg lettuce that comes standard with the meal.
This time I tried the Chickpea Tagine and it was EXCELLENT. I also tried the (Italian) pistachio gelato and it was very good.
FYI, there’s a lot of food in those Specials, and so I had half of my lunch on the following day. It was very good even when re-​heated.

I really want to give this place 3 stars but just because they are trying hard doesn’t mean the food was good.
I met with the co-​owner/​partner, he was such a nice guy. Neither he nor his partner are middle eastern and that doesn’t mean you can’t make good middle eastern food but the food was just alright.
We came upon this place because we snagged an awesome deal from groupon. Even though we had a very small price to pay, the actual costs for the dishes are pricey for a «fast food» joint.
Let me give you a run down on the dishes we had:
baba ganoush (not the right consistency of eggplant or the right color)
beef shawarma (cut too thick and seasoned too much)
beef kabob (nothing bad to say about this dish because it was good)
rice (basmati rice used — not traditional rice. Not enough saffron. Rice was more sticky than anything)
salad (straight out of the bag)
pita (although made fresh on the premesis was not good at all. It was made with cheap ingredients and did not taste like normal pita bread)
Give this place a chance… you may have a different opinion than I do. I won’t say I won’t go back but it will be a long time before I head back.