Amsterdam Falafelshop, DC

I got this awesome deal through Scoutmob for a free small falafel sandwich from Amsterdam Falafelshop so, of course, I was all over that!  I hadn't been to Amsterdam since they opened many, many years ago, but from what I remembered, they were pretty good.

When I got there, there was a line of about 10 people out the door. Ordering is about as easy as it gets as their menu is falafel, fries, and brownies. That's it.  I got a small falafel in a wheat pita with a cup of water.  The small size is 3 falafel balls in a small pita. Once you get your food, you are then able to top it with the myriad of toppings showcased on the toppings bar.  However, there is a sign that states the rules -- one of them being that you can not take the falafel balls out of the pita and use the pita as a bowl to put the toppings in. Darn. The sign (below) is quite humorous though.

Most of the toppings are vegan, which makes it pretty easy. I topped mine with a whole bunch of stuff like cucumber and tomato salad, chickpea salad, tahini, hummus, spicy pepper sauce, green sauce, and pickled beets. I couldn't fit much into the tiny little pocket and it began falling apart pretty quickly.

I sat down inside and realized there was no A/C. This is DC in the summer -- no A/C is really sucky.

The falafel balls themselves were pretty tasty, but I couldn't help but think back to my experience with SABABA Market's falafel sandwiches. Had I not had theirs, I might have loved Amsterdam's as Amsterdam has a lot of toppings!  But, in the end, the pita at Amsterdam is flimsy and fell apart instantly and the toppings were tasty, but nothing special.  SABABA Market's, only sold in farmer's markets on Sundays, have these amazing toppings and unique sauces as well as a soft bread that is to die for. And, most importantly SABABA's don't fall apart.

So while I like Amsterdam Falafel's falafels and I love that they have a topping bar with lots of toppings, they just aren't as good as SABABA.  However, SABABA's are only available on Sundays at a farmer's market, whereas, Amsterdam's are available every day in Adams Morgan, for many hours per day into the night. That's right, you can get these at 3:30 a.m. on a Saturday night and that is something special.

Amsterdam Falafelshop
2425 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20009
(202) 234-1969