Porto Falafel

We had heard such raves about this place, and couldn’t wait to try it. And I was so excited when we opened our menus and saw a ton of Egyptian specialties in particular. (I have family from there and have traveled quite a bit across the Middle East & North Africa, so I was really amped to eat at Porto Falafel!) Too bad it really wasn’t good — at all.
We started with dolmas (eh, but with delicious labneh on the side) and cheese bourekas (also pretty good, but what can go terribly wrong with little fried cheese bits?). So we thought that the apps boded well for our main courses. And that’s where things really started to go downhill…
My husband had a lamb shawarma platter; the meat was dried out and underseasoned; he was pretty sure that the meat wasn’t freshly carved, and had been sitting out for a while. I had a good, not great, kofta platter. Both platters came with unremarkable chopped salad and really, really, REALLY undercooked — crunchy, even — rice. My kid had an (also very underseasoned) falafel «burrito» (in truth, a falafel sandwich wrapped in lavash flatbread instead of pita.)
We always try restaurants twice before giving up on them, and I hope that we have a better experience in a few months or so. But we’re still looking for good Middle Eastern food around here!

Delicious food and nice ambience. We went on a Friday night and they had live jazz music. Great food at a great price.

Good food but the delivery took forever (almost 2 hours) the two times I’ve ordered.
I’d give them 4 or 5 stars if we weren’t waiting so long.

Wanted a quick lunch in the Millburn area and asked Siri for nearby places. Really surprised, the place is tiny and I never would have known it was there. But it is soooooo good. My son is a zaatar bread fanatic and we usually only find it in NYC so we were thrilled to get it here. It was great! The falafel sandwiches were wonderful, both the standard one and the «veggie» which came with fried eggplant, fava beans and pickled vegetables. Really some of the best I’ve had. Considering them for catering. The place is very very casual but clean and nice and the food is wonderful and really affordable. I can’t wait to go back!

So their food is great I will give them that, but the delivery drivers are rude. I ordered ONE Greek salad WITHOUT feta and falafels added (+$ 3.00). The delivery got here within an hour but my order was wrong my salad had feta (which I’m allergic to). I called back and the guy on the phone was aware of his mistake and assured me that the driver would bring the correct salad and that I could keep the incorrect one (ended up giving it to my friend). Upon arrival of the correct salad the driver insisted that I bring him the old salad, the salad I was told to keep. He then turned around with frustration and told me he’s going to be in trouble by his manager love the food but I wouldn’t have it delivered again!

Authentic fare at reasonable prices. A varied menu and a great website. We had takeout but will try dining in they have live entertainment on weekends. A welcome addition to the community.

I rarely write reviews but the food at this place was so good I had to comment. I ordered chicken shawarma and their rice pudding dish through grubhub.
Very very flavorful food. Possibly one of the best things I’ve tasted this year.
Portion size was just alright. It would have been nice to have a little bit more, but it wasn’t too small either.
My one qualm is that the prices are slightly high for my liking (although I am a student). The chicken shawarma was $ 12.50 and the rice pudding was $ 4… Grubhub charges a $ 2 delivery fee and then tip and taxes on top of that came to $ 24… A little much for a quick bite to eat, but then I guess this is mostly because of grubhub… picking up a $ 12.50 shawarma plate would be somewhat reasonable for a quick meal. If it were $ 10 I’d say this place would be MONEY.
Do give it a shot though, you’ll be glad you did!

This review is based on my most DELICIOUS, SCRUMPTIOUS, FANTASTIC falafel sandwich, eaten in my car in the rain.
Nice guy greeted me… I was craving falafel, and I had heard good things about Porto… it’s a tiny hole in the wall, not much for ambience… but wow, what a great falafel sandwich, and for 5 bucks!
I can’t wait to try it for dinner with my husband.
Thanks to the guy in Trader Joe’s in Millburn for recommending it to me! :)

So this review is only for the falafel, which was fresh and moist and in a fine pita with nice pickles, and the fantastic home fries. I’ve been stopping by for a $ 5 special of this before 4PM. A nice midday meal. It’s prepared fresh so give them 10 minutes.

The prices are more than reasonable and the food was out of this world good. Ordered from here recently as part of a group, and even the office «picky eaters» were blown away by how good the food was. One even declared their take on Greek classic dishes as better than another local business known for the same cuisine! I cannot wait to eat here again.

Ordered vegetable pie, beef stew, and Egyptian street food. Very unique food, definitely not your normal halal restaurant. Not an expert on their food but it seems Very traditional. Great food but unfortunately everything we ordered was sour.

Porto is without a doubt the finest middle-​eastern restaurant in Essex County. I have traveled throughout the Middle East and was astonished to find a restaurant that was this authentic in our area. I was literally blown away. Everything was made from scratch and was absolutely delicious. I have been here twice and will continue to come again and again. DON’T MISS THIS!
It’s wonderful
PS: The prices are more than reasonable

I went there for a falafel sand and it took 20 minutes, but it was not even worth it, to smal and the pita was old, I will not be going there again!

This place is amazing! So happy it opened! Their lamb and chicken shawarma is like being in the Middle East really I haven’t had so close to authentic anywhere in America, even in Brooklyn and I have been to almost every middle eastern restaurant there. The meat is literally flavored to perfection, when I ate it yesterday for the first time I thought I was in the Armenian souk. Outstanding! The pizza wasn’t bad, not like real middle eastern Pizza but spiced nicely and you can taste the Egyptian influence. The falafel was good I don’t like favva bean falafel in comparison to chickpea but it was still nice. But the sandwich and platter was so good it overshadowed all of this and I am a middle eastern food snob, having spent a long time there. If you like shawarma this is the place to go, I cannot wait to eat it again

After commuting in and out of NY for close to 4 hours today for work I was really looking forward to grabbing a quick good meal here today. This is my 5^th or so visit to Porto. There was no denying that the quality of food on the first few visits were nothing short or stellar. However it is tough to find a restaurant these days that stays consistent. Porto follows suit today.
I ordered the lamb shawarma sandwich which probably would have been inedible for most people. Let’s start with the wrap which was cold and tough making it difficult to chew through. The meat was the biggest disappointment. This should be the highlight of the sandwich and sadly it was god awful. It was extremely dry, flavorless, and had the texture of tree bark
Good service is rare these days and Porto definitely does not escape this stigma. One of my biggest pet peeves when getting take out is when the establishment doesn’t provide you with utensils or napkins. On each occasion they did not provide either and the majority of my visits I was in route somewhere with no easy access to utensils.
Note the manager made a comment as I was waiting for my food reminding me that I didn’t leave a review after I used the 15% off promo on my last visit. You would think they would make the effort and provide me with a good experience to ensure a positive review.
It is rather unfortunate because I was looking forward to sharing this place with other people but now it is nothing more than an insignificant afterthought.

Wonderfully tasty and well prepared. A group of four, we ordered the Porto Family Mazza Platter and the Family Mixed Grill. More than enough for all of us. Succulent chicken and beef, and beautiful baba ganoush and hummus, and great yogurt sauce. Next time, I want to eat in the cute restaurant.

Incredible. Really. Truth be told, we might never have stumbled in here had we not been in the shopping center the restaurant is located in. It’s tucked a bit out of view of passing traffic. That’s why reviews like this one will hopefully buoy this place to the top of the go-​to list.
The missus got the Shawafel sandwich: lamb, falafel, Arabic salad and tahini on a pita. She said it was the best she’s had in forever. The bread was soft and delicious and the sandwich meat was moist, where so often the shawarma is dry. The tahini was excellent. «I’m sad this sandwich is over after this bite» was her summation.
I asked what was recommended and was told to order the Porto Burrito. I was dubious of this at first, focusing on the word «burrito», hoping for something a bit more traditional. What it is: grilled chicken, grilled beef, grilled lamb cubes, fava beans, rice, peppers, salad, tahini and garlic sauce. What it wasn’t? Disappointing. Amazing combo of flavors, textures and aromas. I, too, was sad to see mine gone. As I write this I’m savoring the lingering flavors in my mouth. Dayum!
We’ll definitely be ordering again, though next time I’d like to sit in their quaint dining room and try something more traditional. Please, do yourself a favor and go. Better than anything else around, and there are a few other Middle Eastern style places in the area.

Friendly, fresh and fantastic. I want to come back for Saturday night belly dancing.

Fresh & delicious. They used to be King Falafel on Willow St. Same good food but better. Soups are excellent (esp. the Freekah soup). Grilled meats have a slight BBQ tinge but juicy on the inside. Falafels are tasty & not dry. Deserts like Baklava are good too w/​o being too sweet.
Restaurant is tastefully decorated & bathroom is clean (w/​a additional standalone wash basin outside).

I was about to go to ‘Five Guys’ located in the ‘mall’, however, decided to switch it up and try Porto Falafel after seeing an advertisement sign and it’s not often you see Middle Eastern spots around that way.
Porto Falafel, take my money. The food is amazing — I had the mixed lamb/​chicken pita topped with the delicious Hummus. It’s not right, without the Hummus ($ 1 extra). You just have to get the Hummus!
Since they’re fairly new, you get 25% off your order by liking their facebook page. If you’re contemplating to try it out — go now. You will not be disappointed.