Making a top 3 list of Tel Aviv’s falafel joints is an open invitation to loyalists of other falafel joints to rain down on me. I will do it nonetheless. I will not be apologetic about my falafel likes and dislikes.
Falafel Neto, 21 Ibn Gvirol Street
If someone in Tel Aviv takes you to Falafel Neto, you can trust them with your life. The flavour of the pita falafel at Neto is unlike what you generally find in Tel Aviv. The falafel balls here very different from average Tel Aviv fafafels. The falafel mix here does not contain a lot of parsley. You would think that this makes no sense and essentially strips the falafel of a very important flavour. You will be surprised by what happens when you eat these falafel balls.
Neto uses a tangy garlic and lemon paste in addition to a spicy paste that means business to coat the inside of the pita bread before stuffing it with salad and falafels. And that takes the pita falafel at the Neto to the next level.
Neto is a small roadside shack, you may miss it if you are not looking for it. Stay alert and don’t miss the best pita falafel in town!
Tip: Ask for extra garlic and lemon paste on top of the pita falafel
Falafel Gabai, 25 Bograshov Street
Gabai is a more formal, sit down and eat your falafel kind of place. The flavours here excite me very much, especially the spicy onion slices. Gabai is not just a falafel shack, you can also get a plate of hummus or soup or meat with salad etc. It is truly one of the best falafel and hummus shacks in Tel Aviv.
If you are around Bograshov Beach or King George Street, you must try Gabai’s pita falafel.
Tip: If you like the corn starch pudding, malabi, Gabai serves a mean one.
Hakosem, 1 Shlomo haMelekh Street
If you are in Tel Aviv you actually do not need coordinates to reach Hakosem. Just follow a crowd of falafel craving foodies and you will land up here. It is the most popular falafel stall in Tel Aviv. I may be lynched for calling it my third favourite stall in Tel Aviv. I will take my chances though.
Hakosem’s falafel is the typical Israeli falafel, by which I mean that it is not spicy. I need to feel alive when I eat and for that I demand a spicy falafel. That aside, the falafel here is one of the crispiest you will find in all of Tel Aviv. The outside is crispy enough to cut your tongue, but when you bite in, it is soft and warm. Just how falafel balls should be. I love their fried eggplant in particular. Having grown up on beguni as a partial Bengali, I cannot resist the fried eggplant at Hakosem.
Lines here get long and serpentine during peak hours so the guys pass around bowls of freshly fried falafel balls for hungry customers waiting to be served.
Tip: Try the pomegranate lemonade here.
