Mamoun's Falafel on MacDougal Street is the go-to spot for late-night, wallet-friendly Middle Eastern bites, serving acclaimed falafel and shawarma in a cozy, no-frills setting.
"Hours: Monday to Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 2 a.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 3 a.m.; Friday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 a.m.; Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Decades after opening in Greenwich Village, Mamoun’s Falafel still serves one of the city’s most popular late-night meals: affordable falafel sandwiches with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tahini. Lamb shawarma and chicken kebab are also available in sandwiches and platters." - Luke Fortney, Robert Sietsema
"Rivals as one of the best Middle Eastern restaurants, with tiny “hole in the wall” charm, and 4 star ratings. Featured in 1000 Places To See Before You Die, this is delicious, cheap, and fast." - 345 Design
"Mamoun's falafel is inexpensive, filling, and delicious. The original Mamoun's on MacDougal introduced the falafel sandwich to the city in 1971, and it became a mega-hit, first with NYU students and hippies, and later with the general public." - Eater Staff
"Mamoun’s may have been the first place to bring the falafel sandwich to New York City in 1977; it gradually became one of the city’s favorite inexpensive meals. Enjoy the café’s quaint premises on MacDougal Street — one of the city’s premiere cheap eats thoroughfares — just south of NYU, and ask that the gritty hot sauce be applied to your sandwich. The shawarma and Middle Eastern pastries are similarly compelling." - Robert Sietsema
"Mamoun’s, a New Haven import that appeared in this location in 1971, helped introduce the city to falafel, which became an immediate hit. NYU students still drop in at all hours (open till 2 a.m.) for a falafel sandwich in a pita bread — a meal that can be eaten on the run. Plenty of other vegetarian and non-vegetarian Middle Eastern fare available." - Robert Sietsema
