The best falafel in London

The source of the massive queue that reliably snakes up Camberwell Church Street every lunchtime, Falafel and Shawarma serves up breezeblock-sized falafel wraps for about a fiver, and trays piled high with moist chicken shawarma for not much more, with a host of additional touches that mark this Lebanese takeaway out as an elite lunch spot. Add soft aubergine in sweet tomato sauce to your wrap, chuck on a side of almost fudgy potatoes, and order your chicken as part of a mezze with stuffed vine leaves, fried shards of flatbread and whatever other good stuff happens to be on the counter. Also: always, always get garlic and chilli sauce. 

With a name like Mr Falafel, you’d expect a pretty decent offering of the stuff, and this Palestinian spot in New Shepherd’s Bush Market doesn’t disappoint. All veggie – and mostly vegan – these falafel wraps come with fried aubergine, hummus, tomatoes, pickled turnips and cucumbers, lettuce, parsley and tahina sauce as standard, with options to add fried cauliflower and potatoes, avocado, halloumi, feta and loads more. 

This former falafel street food stand's first permanent kitchen still brings in the queues for one the best falafel pitta in London. The falafel itself are made with loads of herbs, which helps to keep the falafel fluffy inside. They're then fried at a high heat so that they go crispy without getting oily inside. And with battered fried potatoes, alongside in-house made fresh houmous, tahini, a herby green sauce, red zhug (a spicy chilli sauce) and amba, a pickled mango sauce, the extras here really are extra. 

A bright, colourful restaurant on High Holborn, specialising in traditional Lebanese and Palestinian dishes, where dishes range from hot and cold mezze, grills and shawarma wraps to Palestinian salads, sambousek, various fatayer, marinated cutlets of lamb and mousakaat batinjan - a dish of fried aubergines baked with tomato, onion, chickpeas, green chilli and red peppers. Most importantly though, they serve some of the best falafel in London – verdantly packed with herbs and delicately spiced, with the coating the ideal level of crisp.

Find this excellent falafel stand every weekday lunchtime on Earlham Street in Covent Garden. The long lines prove that Beirut Kitchen know exactly what it’s doing. Falafel mix is scooped up and fried to golden-brown perfection, then stuffed into a soft flatbread with crunchy sour pickles, hummus, buttery tahini, salad and chilli sauce. Got an extra quid? Opt for extra toppings: you can’t go wrong with the grilled cauliflower. 

This family-run spot in Camberwell serves up some of the best Kurdish food in the city, with falafel mezze one of the stars of the show. Run by chef Pary Baban and her sons Rang and Raman, the restaurant is a nourishing whirl of smoke, sumac and sweet, sweet baklava. Don't also miss the the house fries: picture-perfect chips flecked with tamarind-and-pink-yoghurt sauce, spices, sesame and herbs. The Vestry Road location is the original spot, but there's another outlet on Camberwell Church Street, too.

A vegetarian, Middle Eastern restaurant in Spitalfields, Soho and King’s Cross, with chefs from The Palomar and Berber & Q. at Bubula the falafel come with tahini, amba, za’atar and sumac onions. Divine. 

The aesthetic at this South Kensington outpost of Comptoir Libanais - one of many now in London - is as colourful as the Middle Eastern food in which it specialises. The food - much of which is sitting appetisingly behind a glass counter - offers a whistle-stop tour of classic Middle Eastern cuisine, from houmous, labneh, tabbouleh and fattoush to sambousek, wraps, salads, meats cooked on the grill, and, of course, falafel.

As good as ever – this Middle Eastern café continues to satisfy with outstanding food and tip-top service. Long tables dominate the airy dining space, and there are seats where you can eat alfresco while puffing on a hookah pipe. The atmosphere suits the menu: a casual mix of mezze, mains and wraps. Wrap platters are a great option. Served with hummus and Lebanese salad, the falafel platter is £14.75. Then treat yourself to a refreshing bowl of mohalabiya, a milk pudding from Damascus with pomegranate seeds and syrup.

This long-established Westbourne Grove stalwart continues to produce Lebanese cooking of the highest order. Inside the smallish corner premises, a profusion of plants, seating on different levels and professional and friendly staff make for an atmosphere that, while not exactly informal, is comfortable. mezze range from £6-9.50, but three can be ordered for £21.99. Choose from classic options such as hummus, falafel, and tabbouleh, to less familiar dishes like salatate el-rahib (smoked aubergine with peppers, tomatoes, spring onion and garlic) and kalaj, baked bread topped with halloumi.  

An Edgware Road staple, this narrow space has room for a few tables down one side and a couple on the rowdy pavement, but it’s mostly about takeaway – expect boozy queues stretching out of the door at peak evening times. A truly great place to grab a quick falafel or shawarma.

The food at Honey & Smoke is, on the whole, as great as at the first ‘honey’, aka Honey & Co. The ex-Ottolenghi pair deliver the big, bold flavours of the middle east, but this time with more focus on the grill. The falafel are perfectly-textured and are served with lemony cabbage salad and tahini.