Food can be a contentious thing. When it comes to ownership, recipes that have travelled through time and generations can be tricky to claim. But we still do it. In Yotam Ottolenghi’s BBC TV programme Jerusalem on a Plate – an accompaniment to his brilliant book Jerusalem – he talks about the claims to hummus made in the Middle East and Mediterranean. “No, we invented hummus!” cry the Greeks, Palestinians, Israelis, Egyptians, among others. The history of falafel is just as debated, with the Egyptians laying claim to its origins while other Middle Eastern countries take credit for its perfection and proliferation.
Right smack bang in the middle of a busy stretch of Dame Street, Umi Falafel is a well-groomed and cleverly branded late night canteen with a hint of casual dining. We spoke to Ahmad, one of the trio of Palestinian friends who are behind Umi Falafel, about their mission to highlight the humble falafel. “We felt there was a need for a falafel restaurant in Dublin. Lots of restaurants have falafel on their menus but no one specialises in them. We felt falafel were underrated and wanted to highlight them.”
They’re not keen on associating themselves with fast food. “Our falafel are special because we make the mix every single day – it’s all fresh,” explains Ahmad. “We’d rather the customers wait a few minutes longer rather than pre-frying our falafel.”
You can get falafel sandwiches – The Palestinian, The Lebanese and an opportunity to tailor your own falafel – or you can order them by the basket full. There are bowls of Middle Eastern and North African salads and sides of favourite staples such as hummus and batata hara.
We sit in the back overlooked by a large graphic print of a very sweet looking older lady on one wall. Presumably this is Umi, which means mother in Arabic. Table service means we’re looked after quickly in the green-hued and dark wood room, carefully decorated to bridge that gap between casual dining and canteen. There is an encouraging wait for our food – there is definitely no pre-frying going on here – and soon we’re served with The Palestinian and The Lebanese falafel and the Tunisian salad on the side.
The Palestinian comes in a round fluffy pocket of Palestinian bread stuffed with dark fried aubergines, hummus, tomato, cucumber pickle and a side of perfectly piquant chilli sauce. The Lebanese is a wrap with tomato, cucumber pickles and flat parsley tucked inside and a sikly tahini sauce on the side. The falafel themselves are gorgeously crispy on the outside with a packed consistency on the inside. There is lots of great flavour in these little chickpea balls and they’re vibrantly fresh. The Palestinian wins this particular falafel race – the bread is fluffier and the pocket pitta effect gives this falafel a sense of occasion.
We’re disappointed by our Tunisian Salad (€5.50) of couscous, chickpeas, tomato, parsley, mint and spring onion. It’s bland and lacking the exciting potential of Middle Eastern salads. There is no zing and we regretted not ordering the tabouleh or the fatoush salad.
Vegetarians must be delighted with Umi Falafel. An entire menu dedicated to them! Falafel are vegan friendly as well and it’s great to add a new spot to the (quite short) list of places that cater well for vegetarians and vegans in the city.
We’re in, fed and out the door with four really good pieces of sticky yet light baklava (€3 for four pieces – the waitress tells me they’re made by the brother of one of the owners) in about 35 minutes and our bill comes to €20.
Umi Falafel opens for lunch at 12pm and serves falafel straight through until 10pm.
Umi Falafel
13 Dame Street
Dublin 2
01-6706866
