For our third edition, Falafel Friday is back and thriving as we visit Jaffa Mediterranean Restaurant, a firm favourite on the curry mile. Famed for its fatayers, we wanted to see how their falafel wraps fared amongst strong competition. While not as close as previous establishments, Jaffa is only a 5-10 minute walk, depending on how hungry you are.
Joined by a small delegation of friends, we found collective comfort before even ordering with the décor of the restaurant. Other establishments could learn a thing or two from Jaffa’s design and layout which only became more apparent as we ventured upstairs to find a table. While sat down, we appreciated the amount of natural light accompanying our meal with a warm glow. Immaculate vibes.
Right off the bat, Jaffa scored points with their prices, £4.00, marking them out instantly as front runners for value and the staff were accommodating and friendly providing table service which was greatly appreciated. Upon arrival, the wraps were a fairly standard size with four pieces of falafel although, admittedly more toppings would have been appreciated.
And then the big moment – the first bite. The most important part of our entire process and Jaffa did not disappoint. Packed full of flavour while also sitting lightly on our stomachs, this was impressive. It is hard to verbalise the nuance between different restaurants but there was certainly a distinct individual level of quality at Jaffa. Perhaps where the cracks began to show were towards the end of our meal. As with countless other wraps, we were left fighting to keep the wrap cohesive with the final bites. This has led us to introduce a new category for structural integrity, as suggested by our friend Charlotte.
Jaffa is definitely up there. No question about it. We had high expectations going in and it’s safe to say they were met. Good vibes, great service, tasty food all for a reasonable price. It has it all.
FINAL SCORES:
VALUE – 4.5/5
TASTE – 5/5
PORTION SIZE – 4/5
STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY – 4/5
PROXIMITY – 4/5
VIBES – 5/5
OVERALL – 4.5/5
