The Brief

Editor's note: This story was first published in early 2020. It has been updated, refreshed and republished to reflect new locations and other details for our fellow falafel lovers. If we missed your favorite place to get falafel in and around L.A., let us know and we may include it.

Tell your friends you're craving falafel and you'll probably get a shrug.

Not that people actively dislike the crusty brown orbs, but they are about as far from a feast for the eyes as you can get, especially lined up next to glistening shish kabobs kissed by flame, crisp bits of shawarma sliced straight from a spit or lule logs oozing with rivulets of rendered fat.

That doesn't mean falafel is bad, just underappreciated. Let's change that.

Originating in the Middle East — probably Egypt although no one knows for sure — "falafel is as contentious as the region itself," History Today says. While multiple cultures claim invention or ownership of the spiced chickpea fritter, falafel's popularity has spread far beyond its likely geographic beginnings.

Crunchy on the outside, moist and fluffy on the inside, it's become a ubiquitous street food throughout the Mediterranean, Europe and North Africa, and a popular snack around the world. And, of course, in L.A.

From Van Nuys to downtown, from Garden Grove to Glendale to Melrose, here are some of our favorite places to find it:

Sababa Falafel Shop

When’s the last time you went into a restaurant and got a free sample? Well, when you make it to the front of the line at Sababa Falafel Shop in Garden Grove — and is there ever not a line? — you’re greeted by an exceptionally friendly server who will dole out samples of fresh, piping hot falafel balls. Prepare to be transported: These morsels are fluffy, pillowy, and almost juicy. (How is that even possible? Well, they are.) And an order of straight up falafel is served in a hand-held paper bag, to make the scarfing down easier. LAist supporter Nancy Serag tipped us off to this place, saying no falafel list is complete unless it includes Sababa. "The taste is just phenomenal," she said, "The best I've ever had." She lives in Irvine and says a drive north to Sababa’s, on the southern edge of Orange County's Little Arabia, is well worth the traffic. You can get the falafel served up many different ways — salad with your choice of an array of toppings, pita sandwich, or a freshly baked-to-order Jerusalem baguette. Yep, the baguettes are finished off while you wait, so it does require a bit more time. Totally worth it.

Dune

Almost no one in recent memory has done as much to elevate the region's falafel consciousness as the folks behind Dune. When they opened in a sunny, stylish shoebox on Glendale Boulevard back in 2015, they flipped falafel from an afterthought to the focus, putting it at the top of the menu. Their falafel is stupendous, craggy and rough on the outside with a bright green interior like Griffith Park on a rainy spring day, moist but not mushy and bursting with herbs. The stretchy, toasted-to-order flatbreads and immaculate renditions of condiments like zhug, a fiery green chile and parsley-based hot sauce, and amba, a salty pickled mango sauce, make an excellent overall meal. They've powered Dune to mini-chain status, with an additional location in downtown L.A. and, if we're lucky, more to come.

Cairo Restaurant & Cafe

You know you're enjoying the falafel at Cairo's in Anaheim when you see the tell-tale sesame seed crust that adorns their chickpea fritters. This Little Arabia eatery is known for its authentic, homemade Egyptian food and their Facebook page is filled with comments from diners expressing their gratitute for it, such as: "Great Authentic Egyptian Food, My only complaint is that i wish it was close by! Highly recommended!" Eating at Cairo is "like you are back home," said another. But the falafals, said a fan, are "best best best. Cooked to perfection. The falafel appetizer plate could easily double as a lunch deal: It serves up fritters with a side of tahini sauce along with cucumbers and tomatoes, $7.99.

Joe's Falafel

Joe's Falafel feels out of the way, hiding in the corner of a strip mall on a flyby section of Cahuenga Boulevard near Universal City. It's not quite Hollywood, not quite the Valley. But the falafel, rounded at the bottom with a protruding tip like a deep-fried muffin, is worth the trip from just about anywhere. It doesn't hurt that they bake fantastic lafa and pita to order, make their own harissa and handle loads of large group pickup orders, to the delight of production assistants on both sides of the hill.

Kareem's Falafel

Kareem's Falafel is one of the OG restaurants in Little Arabia, and now has another South Coast location. The menu proudly plays with flavors — cilantro hummus, chipotle sauce, the Quinoa Reeves (get it?) salad bowl spiked with cranberries and sunflower seeds. But as Eater reported, there is one sacred menu item: The falafel. Kareem Hawari told the outlet that his dad's final words before he died, were: "Don't change my recipe." Hawari is keeping that promise, and then some. There is now a falafal burger on the menu, and Kareem's even sells frozen falafals for those who can never tell when a craving will strike. "Best falafel in California!!" says one fan.

B'ivrit

B'ivrit has excellent pickled veggies, silky hummus and an intriguing meat-free version of arayes, a stuffed-then-griddled pita pocket that's like a crunchwrap. But you're here for the falafel, in all three colors — stained red with paprika and harissa, yellow with turmeric or the classic herbaceous green. Order a falafel sandwich and get two of each kind tucked into two split pieces of pita and topped with tahini, finely chopped Israeli salad and cabbage slaw. A hit of spice here and a snap of turmeric there, the contrasting falafel flavors work together to keep each bite interesting. All together, it makes an excellent foil for whatever alcohol you consume. B'ivrit was a one-woman pop-up operation long enough to generate a devoted following. Amit Sidi has since made a home for her restaurant concept — and headlines — in Cypress Park.

Falafel Arax

Falafel Arax is an East Hollywood institution and a city-wide legend. It's a simple spot, powered by a steady stream of lunchtime takeout orders, the four tables often occupied by people waiting for containers of falafel or tongue sandwiches. Like the restaurant itself, the falafel is no-frills. Their rough-edged saucers are the same brown, inside and out. Don't let their unrefined appearance fool you. They are perfect. Crisp on the outside and impossibly light inside, like a deep-fried dirigible laced with garlic and cumin, they're a textbook example of simple food prepared with exceptional technique.

Ta-eem

The first thing that hits you when you get an order from Ta-eem is the amount of food you receive. Even if you opt for a pita sandwich, the smallest unit of measure, you receive five pieces of falafel stuffed into an oversized pocket of bread. You'll also get a plate heaped with thick-sliced pickles and a saucer split 50/50 between their forest green zhug and bright red harissa, both housemade. But you don't come here to the heart of Melrose for quantity alone. The falafel is bright and punchy, a vivid green inside, denser than some but still moist. When you pile on sauces, pickles and vegetables then wrap it in fresh, fluffy pita, it makes an excellent and filling lunch. (Just fyi, Ta-eem used to be a stand-alone restaurant on Melrose. Ta-eem now serves up its fare through the Kosher Madness "ghost kitchen" on Pico, with a new La Brea location coming soon.)

Open Sesame

Unlike most falafel joints, Open Sesame is a table-service restaurant with a heated patio overlooking busy Beverly Boulevard near the Grove. (At the Long Beach location, that patio looks out onto busy 2nd Street.) Open Sesame is fancier than any other spot on this list, with décor and vibes to match. The falafel is dark, dense and fried hard so its heft runs right up to the border of stodginess, but it is seasoned aggressively enough to make up for the excess weight. These chickpea fritters will crack you across the nose and linger on your palate, in a good way. And the relative poshness of the spot has one crucial advantage — Open Sesame serves beer. Nothing pairs so well with falafel as a happy hour bottle of malty Lebanese lager.

Kobee Factory

The place is named for Kobee, the beef-and-bulgur specialty that comes either fried or grilled, but Kobee Factory also makes a mean falafel. The light brown pucks arrive with a divot in the middle, sprinkled with sesame seeds and lightly fried so the batter forms delicate tendrils around the outside, creating a bird's nest so airy you hardly notice as you inhale a plateful of the toasty brown delicacies. They are earthy and salty, pairing well with the minty tzatziki and smooth hummus.

Hollywood Falafel

When you walk up to the Hollywood Falafel food truck for the first time, owner Yaniv Cohen is ready with his line: "You're so lucky, I would pay a million dollars to taste this falafel for the first time again." His falafel, he'll tell you, is unique in Los Angeles: The balls are smaller, lighter and loosely packed, yellow inside and generously spiced with a lingering smack of heat. It's a treat to encounter a hyper-specific take on a familiar food, particularly from a noteworthy street food city. A million dollars is a lot of money but Cohen makes an argument for it with his fantastic bag of falafel that he serves up in Valley Village.