22 Bites halal Mediterranean Cuisine — Restaurant in North Plainfield

My falafel platter could probably be submitted for entry to MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) as the first thing I noticed was how perfectly plated my meal was with a creative drizzle of tahini across the falafel as a final touch. Nothing I would have expected at this nondescript Mediterranean Hala kitchen restaurant in a small strip mall but which now has me wanting to come back to try their other home made mediterranean dishes.

Everything was delicious and made from scratch as the owner provided more details about the preparation of the various sauces and condiments that made up this dish. Interesting was a pickled eggplant which I had never had, it was quite spicy but I like exploring the flavors it added to my falafel plate. The falafels themselves were quite dark brown in color with a contrasting bright green and soft inside, the combination of crunch and fresh soft chickpeas and spices I really enjoyed.

The inside of 22 Bites Halal feels new with a huge chalkboard of colorful menu items written in chalk by hand behind the counter - a refreshing change from the expected plastic sign. Seating is new, clean with a mix of several tables and one longer table up front in front of the window.

There were a number of really interesting menu items I can't wait to try like the 'Fat 22', 'Fat Buffalo', 'Rocket Platter' and 'Fat Rocket' which is a fried Tilapia sandwich with fries, lettuce, tomato and tartar sauce - yum!!!

There is also a family platter which you can order with chicken or falafel or a mix of both and comes with a salad, fries and some other goodies along with a large soda. It seems to be quite large and would probably feed several people but I didn't enquire as to the exact number of servings

Definitely worth a stop for a delicious dine-in lunch or dinner, takeout or a take-home...

I’m a typical Irish Italian man from New Jersey and a found this great place on my lunch hour. It’s settled in an small unsuspecting strip mall and I saw the name “22 Bites” i was immediately interested! Walking in i was promptly greeted by a friendly woman who asked me about my day and took my order, then I noticed that it was a husband and wife owned and operated Restaurant which always is where I want to spend my money. The husband cooked my souvlaki order and brought it to me himself with a proud smile and a wonderful greeting as if we were family or had met me before. It was a glass plate with actual silverware and he took his time to build a wonderful presentation on the plate Yellow thin grain rice bursting with flavor, chicken breast grilled to perfection with seasonings that blew my mind and an awesome little compliment of perfectly placed triangular pita slices which he placed in an upright position with tzatziki sauce drizzled over everything just perfectly. As if this wasn’t enough especially for the quality and the price he offered me a homemade hot sauce which if you’re into a hot type of sauce it had a wonderful flavor and was a perfect complement to a meal that didn’t need anything at all I really just wanted to try it that way. Please check out this restaurant and I hope you enjoy it the way I did. I can’t...

Today I decided to try out 22 bites since it’s just 5 minutes away from me and I look for halal food often. 22 bites is located in a very good spot, right on highway 22 northbound and beside Costco.

Food: I ordered the chicken and beef mix platter and a buffalo chicken sub sandwich. The platter was not that great. The chicken and beef were missing basic seasoning ingredients like salt pepper maybe some cumin some chili powder. The meat just tasted very bland. The sauce that comes pre poured onto the meat is also not great. The buffalo chicken sandwich was actually very good and I would probably get it again. I don’t think the fries in the sandwich are necessary but they’re not too bad. Maybe a little less fries would help.

Overall: I was a little skeptical at first to try this place out but I always like to give a new halal spot a try. Considering this restaurant is fairly new, there is potential but unless there are basic seasoning changes this restaurant may not do too...