Ashkara
Categories: Middle Eastern, Greek and Mediterranean [Edit]
Neighborhood: Manhattan/Lower East Side189 E Houston St
(between 2nd Ave & Chrystie St)
New York, NY 10002 (212) 260-8302
- Nearest Transit:
2nd Ave-Houston St (F, V)
Delancey-Essex Sts (F, J, M, Z)
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: No
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
20 Reviews for Ashkara
yum! This place has some of the best falafel ever,and I love the location cause it is the perfect place to go after spending a while at Bluestockings books. Thier falafel balls are just perfect in texture and taste,and the toppings bar you get to use yourself is a great bonus. Prices are good and the person working there was super nice. They even had a free sample table outside which you don't see very often.Layed back atmosphere.
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The only place that my friends who are musicians play is Rockwood Music Hall, and on Sunday nights at that. It might be time to expand the market.
BUT!
Without the combination of the location and abysmal timing, I would never have found this gem.
I cannot recommend Ashkara enough. Though I am not sure on the cultural tie overs, in addition to some of the best falafel I have had in New York, they also make up some of the best Belgium fries. The rosemary garlic sauce trumps the popular fry favorite on 2nd ave, Pommes Frites.
I love that the guys always make sure to remind me that I can add anything from the bar onto my falafel hummus sandwich. Sa-wheet!
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Mmmm... falafel at 4am. Everything is fresh and warm. To make things even better.. their toppings are super tasty! I only wish there was a better way to put all the extra filling into the pita bread. It's not as fun when you don't get a little bit of everything in every bite. Must go back...
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I was on Ludlow doing some drinking and one of the people I was with was hungry for some food. The great thing about this neighborhood is you have some options. But, the frame of mind for a group of cooks after a night of drinking is somewhere between something good and well, fast food. Fortunately, Ashkara is a lot of both.
I had the falafel and it was fresh and crispy and hot and just moist enough to be one of the best I have had, dare say in a long time. The Chef who brought us here new the neighborhood very well and he had insisted the food here was great.
Ashkara is a good value for your dollar, late night or mid day, whenever a falafel fix is in order.
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I'm addicted. This place, along with the Vietnamese bahn-mi spot, are my go-to places for a delicious cheap lunch in Manhattan.
Ashkara's falafel is perfection. The falafel is fried just to a crisp, but it's still all yummy and herby and moist in the middle. Mmm... and then being able to get it in a whole wheat pita is a bonus. But the best part os the salad bar because...yes, I want eggplant and cucumbers and couscous and olives and spicy saucy stuff.
They're open late, great after a night of drinking and dancing. They're so cheap. The guys that work there are funny and will hook me up with extra falafel for free.
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I am going to turn into a giant falafel if this whole you are what you eat thing holds any truth. At $3.50 for a small pita, this is what I pick up for dinner on my walk home from work. The small pita is really not very small. Or maybe the large pita is not that much larger than the small. Whatever. I don't care bc once I shove all the veggies into the shell, it is a jolly big sammich and me likey. None of this baked falafel bullshit. Deep fried, the way it should be.
I was in Amsterdam with a German friend a few years back. He wanted to eat at Burger King while I, with my weak Yankee Dollar, wanted a falafel. "Like, what is it?" Felix asked. "You get a pita with these balls in it and you cram all this salad bar shit on it." I still don't think he got the concept.
Ashkara does the falaf up right. Fried to order in a freshly cut pita, pre-hummused and ready to rock with standard lettuce, tomato, etc already in it. The free salad bar thing too applies, but I wasn't afforded much space to jam all the tahini, cuke, etc in there without a total pita blow-out. I don't know how chimichurri factors in as a mideast condiment, but hey, it's your pita - top it as you like.
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Ashkara politely re-introduced me to the delicious world of falafel's. They even gave us a free chick-pea ball, whatever you call those, to build our taste bud's trust. Super cheap ($4), super delicious, and a cool clean, open-aired seating scenario.
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Ashkara, yum! This falafel stop is so cheap and good! My honey has become obsessed with Ashkara, and I love it too for the following reasons:
* CHEAP. Great prices!
* Delicious falafel! Crisp on the outside, moist on the inside, flavorful, excellent texture.
* Open late! Excellent for a post-bar bite.
* The toppings bar! You get your falafel sandwich (2 sizes available), then you can pile any of the veggies you want on the sandwich.
* It's vegetarian and healthy. A much less guilt-inducing post-beer choice!
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Friday night (early Sat), 3:30am. Ludlow.
Imagine you are a vegetarian (you are? really? ok) and you are totally drunk. You see the frolicking crowds, exiting Pianos and Libation; some whisked away by a cab to have sex at an undisclosed location, others on hungry after-party stomachs in search of a fix, to appease that overworked slave called the liver. You are one of them.
You see the unrepentant munching of hot-dogs, shish kebabs, gyros, hamburgers... you look at them, green with envy (you are a vegetarian after all), the wee hours are not optimal for veggies, even in New York. You resign yourself to your fate and walk with your buddies to a falafel hole in the wall.
Him: "Greetings my friends, what will you be having?"
Friend: "Uhh, chicken shawarma please"
Him: "Sorry sir, we don't serve meat"
Friend: "Whaat??"
Him: "This is a vegetarian place; but is really good my friend, try it"
After a slight discussion, they decide to try it. Your drunkness is gone, the shock has made you slightly sober, filling your falafel charged gyro bread with the many toppings available "Go on my friend, put as many toppings as you want..." -the nice man tells you. And you do, and it's great; falafel full with flavor, garlic sauce, spicy sauce, and some other stuff you can't remember in the haze of the remaining alcohol. What a great place to exist for a party vegan...
...and even 4 a carnivore like me.
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Not bad, but not brilliant. Pluses for Ashkara include the late hours, the cheap prices, and the heapin' helpin's of veggies that you can stuff in your falafel. I just wish I were more wowed by the falafel itself... the stuff at Mamoun's or Chickpea has a bit more of a punch. The belgian fries (which I have to say is a bizarre combination to go with falafel, but who am I to judge?) are no Pommes Frites, but Pommes Frites doesn't deliver.
The real thing that has me jonesing for Ashkara is their homemade lemonade and limeade. I have, like, a PROBLEM when it comes to lemonade. It's essentially my favorite non-alcoholic liquid on earth. I mix it in with my diet Cokes. Ashkara's stuff is definitely some of the best I have had--a perfect combination of tart and sweet, with the added wonderful bonus of fresh mint! Ohhh god, what have I done to myself, I want some right now... are they still open!?
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I agree that the falafel cannot compare to Mamoun's or Chickpea, but the take-what-you-want salad bar certainly makes up for it! Friendly, fast and cheap.
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I ordered a falafel and hummus sanwich (really crispy and tasty; not greasy or heartburny like most other places) and then had free range at their salad bar that has great options like roasted cauliflower, sauteed carrots, pickled cabbage, eggplant, tomatoes and herbs,etc...
An inexpensive (less than $4) and personally-designed meal that you can grab and go.
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The price is right in this falafel joint. The salad bar allows you to choose your own adventure in terms of toppings - encouraging patrons to up the deliciousity of their meals. This was (gasp!) my first falafel experience... Ever. Much to my BF's dismay. It was a great introduction and I look forward to the time that I can go to Mamouns... mostly because I love to say it.
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Cheap delicious quick amazing sauce good-veggie-stuff but also meat fuck this place is great.
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Great healthy (relatively, for a late night snack) option in the Lower East Side. I really like the salad bar. Being able to fill your falafel with as many different toppings as you want is a major bonus. Good service and a clean place, not much else you can ask for.
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It takes cahones to set up a falafel joint RIGHT next door to Bereket - one of the oldest falafel places in town... Well, the fact of the matter is, Ashkara has the goods to back up their choice of locations.
They are small, but the food is awesome. They have falafel, pomme frittes, and fresh lemonade. (In addition to a number of other middle eastern choices, soups, etc.)
The pomme frittes are MIGHTY tasty - salty and piping hot, just how I like 'em. They are a touch limited on the dipping sauces, but I don't hold it against them.
The REAL draw here though is the falafel toppings/salad bar. They have this salad bar thingy where you can load up your falafel sandwich with all the goodies you can handle... Tahini, hummus, roasted cauliflower, baba ganouch, etc. Its all there. (I would heartily recommend the cauliflower - its got some great spice on it)
Of course, like any good falafel place, they are open crazy late... Picked up some pomme frittes last night at around 3:00am I think...
Definitely a great place to end your night.
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When I first heard that someone was opening a falafel stand right next to the venerable, if sub-par, Bereket, I was a bit taken aback by their chutzpah.
But after eating half dozen Ashkara Delights on my way home from work, I welcome the Israelis with open arms. I haven't had anything except the Ashkara Delight (which is basically a Sabich sandwich), but I whole-heartedly recommend it. They make up the basic components, and then you have free reign of their extensive "salad bar" of toppings. Just add a little extra tahini and some Amba, and you have a delicious Sabich for under $5. They have a great deal on falafel as well: $7.95 for falafel, fries and juice.
The food here is really fresh, the staff is pleasant, the price is low, and the salad bar is a unique bonus.
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This is my new late night falafel source of choice. The falafel itself is tastier than Bereket and the fixings bar is great. There's an interesting hard boiled egg/eggplant/hummus pita to try, too.
For a traditional falafel I still prefer Cafe Rakka's more spicy falafel blend, but I find myself going to Ashkara more lately due to the fixings bar and the very late opening hours (even on weekdays, just like we need in the EV/LES)
well my delivery at lunch time took almost an hour. the falafel was luke warm and the hummus was ok, not as good as chickpeas.
I gave them 3 stars for remembering my diet coke and for the most amazing whole wheat pita I've ever had. I will be ordering again, mainly for the pita and the limeade.
The call themselves healthy but aren't falafel's deep fat fried?
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