New Falafel Place in Millburn Mall?

I noticed a sign posted under the Staples and 5 Guys signs that said something about Falafel.  Anyone know details?

Wow, just found it.  Has anyone tried it?

http://portofalafel.com/

I have not, but someone told me yesterday that it was terrific. Live music on Friday nights too!

Tried it, loved it.  Really yummy, attentive service, highly recommend

I heard it was owned by the same guy who owns King Falafel in Milburn.

Went there once for dinner. Was good, but nothing crazy. They admittedly had just opened. From the discussions on Facebook about the place the feedback there was sort of the norm for places around here, where some loved it, some hated it and some thought it was meh. I've only lived here a year, but it's long enough that I've worked out that places can be very variable in quality.

I'll definitely go back.

is it a sit down place or more of a takeout place with tables?

Pictures look like sit down place but their website has an online menu for take-out.

I also read it's the same owners as king felafel, which I believe closed. I only had their stuff once or twice but much prefer it to Falafelly yours, which I wasn't crazy about after several visits. 

King Falafel closed and the same owners have opened Porto Falafel.  They have a nice sit down area and also do a lot of takeout.  I ate there before Christmas.  I thought their falafel was pretty good.  Will definitely go back. 

i tried it, and thought it was terrible! Sorry to be negative here, we had high expectations. My wife went to pick up the food and was horrified at how dirty the place was and said the cook came out to ring up the order and had dirty/filthy hands and fingers. 

ncoutroulis said:

i tried it, and thought it was terrible! Sorry to be negative here, we had high expectations. My wife went to pick up the food and was horrified at how dirty the place was and said the cook came out to ring up the order and had dirty/filthy hands and fingers. 

And first-time posts to bash a new restaurant are always suspect.

ncoutroulis said:

i tried it, and thought it was terrible! Sorry to be negative here, we had high expectations. My wife went to pick up the food and was horrified at how dirty the place was and said the cook came out to ring up the order and had dirty/filthy hands and fingers. 

This is a lie. The place is very nice and totally clean. The people who run it are also very nice, and the food is quite good. Have been several times since they opened the new spot and am definitely a fan. The cook does not come out to ring up the order--there is a front-of-house staff. Whoever posted this is somebody with an axe to grind. Don't fall for it. 

I think this looks like it has potential to be a new dinner option. 

...and there's live music tonight! I'm on one of the artists' mailing lists. He writes --

Get ahead of the snowstorm with us Friday night, before you hunker down at home, with some delicious middle eastern cuisine.  The Friday Night Falafel Music Series resumes with the debut of the Martin Leys / Brian Halpin Duo.  As always, Hany and Fady will be cooking up a storm!  We hope to see many of you there. 

Porto Falafel restaurant is conveniently located in the Millburn Mall, at 2933 Vauxhall Rd, Vauxhall NJ.  They are also close to several grocery stores, if you need to stock up on bread, milk, or shovels.  Visit Hany and Fady at http://portofalafel.com/ for more information.

Falafal is bustng out everywhere. There is another place just about to open on Essex in Millburn.

I like it. I've had the Shakshuka and the Karnabeat, cauliflower with tomato sauce. Both dishes came with a loooot of sauce. So maybe ask them to go easy on the oil (if there is any), if you're trying to be healthy.

definitely disagree that the place is dirty. 

food wise it wasn't the best middle eastern food we've ever eaten but it was pretty good.  we'd definitely order again.  

We tried this place after we attempted to order from Falafel-ly Yours via GrubHub and discovered that they no longer deliver to the Maplewood zip code (or at least they were not when we attempted to place our order last weekend).  

My husband and I were impressed and think Falafel-ly Yours did us a favor by not delivering to our area -  we'll definitely be ordering from them again. 

I was sad to see King Falafel close, but am happy to hear that they have a new place. I'm sure that being in the center of town will be better for business. I have not been to the new place, but at King Falafel we always enjoyed the food, the people were always nice, and I never saw any issues with cleanliness. 

I just wish that they would bring back the potato jab as a regular menu item.  

I much preferred King Falafel's falafel seasoning combination over Falafel-ly-Yours.  (I do not doubt both are authentic but must be a regional thing.)

Looking forward to trying this!!

check out the belly dancer.  yowza.

For food comparisons between Porto and Falafelly Yours I found that I liked the falafel better at Porto although both are generally decent, but FY has really good foul mudammas and Porto's wasn't great. The humus at both isn't quite my style so I'll call that a draw.

FY's worst thing is their bread, so I've stopped bothering to get sandwiches and just get the falafel appetizer.

That's all when FY is up to snuff, which is only about 60% of the time unfortunately. I like falafel too much to say I won't eat there again, but if falafel wasn't one of my favorite things the inconsistency would do it to me.

(For me FY is much closer than Porto, so it's a quick close thing.)

We got delivery in Maplewood from the new place on Springfield - Moroccan Kebab & Falafel, and it was really very good. I liked the  Baba Ghanoush at the Millburn Mall place better, but hands down the falafel, kebabs, rice and salad were better at the Springfield place. 

mantram said:

We got delivery in Maplewood from the new place on Springfield - Moroccan Kebab & Falafel, and it was really very good. I liked the  Baba Ghanoush at the Millburn Mall place better, but hands down the falafel, kebabs, rice and salad were better at the Springfield place. 

Where on Springfield? I haven't heard of it.

Did take out from Porto and we all thought it was meh. Will see if they work out some kinks and try again.

shh said:

mantram said:

We got delivery in Maplewood from the new place on Springfield - Moroccan Kebab & Falafel, and it was really very good. I liked the  Baba Ghanoush at the Millburn Mall place better, but hands down the falafel, kebabs, rice and salad were better at the Springfield place. 

Where on Springfield? I haven't heard of it.

Sorry, meant the town of Springfield. Close to the dmv.  

Here's the yelp link:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/moroccan-kebab-and-falafel-springfield-township

imonlysleeping said:

ncoutroulis said:

i tried it, and thought it was terrible! Sorry to be negative here, we had high expectations. My wife went to pick up the food and was horrified at how dirty the place was and said the cook came out to ring up the order and had dirty/filthy hands and fingers. 

This is a lie. The place is very nice and totally clean. The people who run it are also very nice, and the food is quite good. Have been several times since they opened the new spot and am definitely a fan. The cook does not come out to ring up the order--there is a front-of-house staff. Whoever posted this is somebody with an axe to grind. Don't fall for it. 

All I can tell you is the truth. The food wasn't good, and I trust my wife, who picked up the food herself. NO axe to grind here, just an honest opinion, but go see for yourself. Everyone has different tastes, right?

I have been three times. Your wife was never "horrified" by how "dirty" the place was. Either she's lying about this or you are. Why? That I don't know. But I do know that the place is totally clean. 

ncoutroulis said:

imonlysleeping said:

ncoutroulis said:

i tried it, and thought it was terrible! Sorry to be negative here, we had high expectations. My wife went to pick up the food and was horrified at how dirty the place was and said the cook came out to ring up the order and had dirty/filthy hands and fingers. 

This is a lie. The place is very nice and totally clean. The people who run it are also very nice, and the food is quite good. Have been several times since they opened the new spot and am definitely a fan. The cook does not come out to ring up the order--there is a front-of-house staff. Whoever posted this is somebody with an axe to grind. Don't fall for it. 

All I can tell you is the truth. The food wasn't good, and I trust my wife, who picked up the food herself. NO axe to grind here, just an honest opinion, but go see for yourself. Everyone has different tastes, right?

The falafel IMO, was just okay, nothing special.  I've definately had better.   I did like their babaganush tho.  Very tasty!    Service was very slow, because there was only one person taking orders/serving, etc....Asked for water before we ordered and didn't get it until 15 minutes AFTER our meals were served.