O’Falafel — Restaurant in Nanaimo

This might be my favorite place to eat in Nanaimo. My first time coming here was 4 days ago and since then I came here every day but one. This is authentic middle eastern (Syrian) food and it’s delicious and healthy. I should know I was born in and spent my childhood in the Middle East. So far I tried the chicken shawarma, donair meat wrap, hummus and baklava. All delicious. I’d highly recommend getting the made in Lebanon mango juice (nectar) from the fridge as it’s soooo gooood. Now I will say if you’re expecting the speed of fast food this isn’t the place. It’s similar but isn’t a late night donair shop you’d find in downtown Vancouver. A good shawarma isn’t prepared in a few minutes like a burger or subway it takes time and effort. So come here if you got 10-15 minutes to wait or order on door dash and come when it’s ready. For those it matters to i assume this place is halal. Last but not least this is a small family run business and the service is to match. The one man in the one man operation is so nice friendly generous and warm hearted I always like chatting with him in the 10-15 minutes until my food is ready. He will insist on not getting a tip, I always ignore that 😉 There’s also a middle eastern grocery section in the store so if you want to cook that kind of food you can find ingredients here that you might not see in grocery stores. There are also snacks and sweets and ready to eat items like olives. I got the Turkish delight from here and it is...

Really delicious food. Great to order and take on a picnic. The falafel is amazing with a fresh mint sauce, a little bit tangy from the pickled veg, with crisp lettuce and tomatoes. Everything is seasoned nicely and the flavors are well balanced. You can ask for more or less spicy. It's up to you. The chicken shawarma is super delicious too and has a very flavorful red sauce and it's tender and perfect. Everything is warm and filling. The baklava is yummy and filled with walnuts and it has lots of cinnamon. It's hard to pick a favorite dish because everything I've eaten here has been really good. That said, the falafel which the restaurant is named for is literally the best falafel I ever had! If I had 4 extra stomachs like a cow I would try to eat lots of them. But one falafel is enough to satisfy you, trust me. So good! It's comfort food that is healthy. Definitely choose this restaurant if you are wondering if it's a nice place to go, because it is. Everyone there is really friendly and you won't be disappointed with the menu because all the food tastes home cooked and...

The falafel was dry and cold in the sandwich and pretty flavorless, despite having a lot of sauce on it, which I couldn't understand and couldn't quite make out. Isn't it just supposed to be tahini anyways? I had my hopes up to find an awesome place somewhere on the island other than Campbell River but nothing has come close yet to Baba Ganouj in CR. If you have ever lived in Ontario or somewhere where there is a large population of Lebanese people you know what im talking about. Here, mediocrity rules, maybe because so many BCians just don't know the difference due to lack of exposure, and actually think its good food. The chicken shawarma wasn't much better, and definitely not what I'd ever seen as "chicken shawarma", drowned in a tomato-y sauce and rubbery. The meat is supposed to come off a spit, not the fridge and then microwaved in heavy sauce. Why would you not do it proper? I couldn't even taste the chicken which is usually the star of the sandwich. Too bad. Thank God there's Baba Ganouj. Can't wait to be able to go visit Campbell...