Batata — Restaurant in New York

Ah yes! Batata. I've been meaning to write this review for the longest time. Well, ever since I discovered this delicious falafel spot in Kensington.

Whether eating in or taking out, their food is always consistently fresh and tasty. I do notice that they have a high turnover of people running the register. Just a random observation.

We have ordered the falafel platter, tuna sandwich, egg and cheese malawach, schnitzel & shawarma platter, brussel sprouts. The tuna sandwich is seriously something else. It has fresh tuna, with harrisa mayo and arugula in a pita. The entire combination is incredibly good. The schnitzel platter I like because they make the schnitzel crispy but its pretty tasteless. The crumbs don't have that zesty, flavourful taste you find in most schnitzels. Hopefully they'll change it because the dish is quite pleasing otherwise. The shawarma is delicious, mixed with onions, served with rice and salad. You really can't go wrong with it.

I don't usually eat at the restaurant as I'm always rushing to get home but this past weekend my husband and I stopped in on our way home and decided to sit and eat. At the table behind us sat a few families with maybe 4 little very very obnoxious and unmannered children. They were noisy, reckless, running around, screaming. Everything you do not want happening to you while trying to eat they managed to do. And what do the parents do? Nothing!

Please note we weren't the only ones trying to eat in peace. There were at least 3 other tables with couples. I also thought at some point the manager would tell them to leave but she just kept mouthing sorry and not in a comforting way. Finally a person waiting for his order belted out at them to quiet down and for a moment, just a moment there was silence. Moments later they were back to their screaming selves. So instead of finishing our food, we upped and left. I'm really not exaggerating --- it was so loud I started having a migraine!

I was disappointed in management for not doing something about it. We weren't the only ones who chose not to stay. I hope they change their ways because food is...

Came here for a quick lunch on a Saturday afternoon. They had 2 tables available for outdoor dining. The place was shockingly empty for a Saturday afternoon but, I quickly realized that they have a relatively busy takeaway situation. Good for them. I got the falafel plate ($15), which comes with either white or whole wheat pita. My partner got the tuna sandwich ($9) with an added hardboiled egg (+$1). We also got an order of fries ($5) to share. You order/pay at the counter and they bring the food out to your table. All the utensils and water are self service. The cups for water are kind of laughable. They're literally the size of the cups you get at the dentist to rinse your mouth with. I guess that's one way to try to get patrons to buy a drink instead of drinking the free water. The food comes out very quickly. I asked for hot sauce but the green herb container that they claimed was their hot sauce was barely spicy. It had a nice flavor but I doubt I'd ever refer to it as a hot sauce condiment. The falafel was delicious and so was the accompanying hummus. The tahini was watery and seemed out of a jar. The Israeli salad and the cabbage salad it comes with could have used a bit more seasoning but overall, good enough for a healthy side. I'd try this place again. A majority of The people getting takeaway were getting chicken schnitzel and chicken shawarma so those are next on my list to try. If you live in the Kensington/Windsor Terrace area, this is definitely a good place to try for a casual, no...

I live close by and eat the food from Batata frequently. If you’re okay with eating eggs and dairy, the absolute best thing on the menu is the scrambled egg and cheese malawach, with schug and grated tomato on the side. A sweet runner-up would be the coconut milk waffles (the house-made sweet chili butter served on the side is outrageously delicious). The eggplant and labne sandwich is also really good, but I think they only serve it on Wednesdays now. If you’re vegan, I’d recommend the sweet potato felafel sandwich WITHOUT the feta (or with, if you eat dairy), or the lentil soup. (The grain bowl and brussels sprouts used to be really good, but I’m not sure if they’re still on the menu.) I like the mint lemonade, too, and you can never go wrong with hummus (particularly the mushroom hummus) and sweet...