This past October, Mamoun’s Falafel opened its doors on Witherspoon Street. The latest location for the regional chain that started in 1971 in New York’s Greenwich Village, Mamoun’s brings Middle Eastern cuisine to Princeton, nestled in a location between Olives and Subway.
Mamoun’s narrow, rectangular restaurant layout features a kitchen and counter in the back and a seating area that stretches to the front. Modern lighting and brick walls give the restaurant a trendy feel.
Mamoun’s follows a fast-casual model, much like Chipotle, where food is prepared and picked up at a counter to be taken to the restaurant’s seating area or on the go. Most entrees can be ordered as just a pita sandwich or in a platter that includes salad, rice and pita on the side.
Though there are few things in this world that I love more than falafel (in high school, my mother would make me falafel for my birthday), on this occasion I ordered a shawarma sandwich. For the uninitiated, shawarma is lamb roasted on a rotisserie, which is then shaved off as meat shavings and served in a pita. (It’s a dish comparable to the Greek gyro.)
The shawarma pita pocket I received had a layer of lettuce insulating the lamb, tomatoes and onions, all topped with healthy dollop of tahini sauce. The pita itself was thin and not particularly noteworthy — it was what was on the inside that made the difference. The layer of lettuce gave the sandwich a zesty, crunchy texture that reminded me of lettuce wraps. The tomato and onions complemented the lettuce, but were not mixed well enough to be experienced at the same time as the lettuce.
Which leaves the star of the show — the roasted lamb. The lamb was rich, a bit understated in its bitter flavor and cut in manageable shavings, though it was a bit salty and dry. The juxtaposition of the dryness of the meat and the tahini sauce concentrated at the top of the sandwich made this criticism easily resolved, if one has the insight to mix the tahini sauce with the rest of the pita pocket.
To wash it all down I had a cup of Mamoun’s signature spiced iced tea, a flavorful, refreshing take on black iced tea that went well with the shawarma.
Overall, Mamoun’s shawarma game is strong but hindered by an easy fix — mixing the components of the sandwich to a more even consistency. A pleasant dining experience, Mamoun’s Falafel is a satisfying, but not spectacular addition to your Nassau Street lunch rotation.
3 out of 5 Paws
PROS: Satisfying shawarma, plenty of seating.
CONS: Sandwiches can be too saucy or too dry.
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