Falafel Freiha

The falafel are amazing here. I heard from some people that the owners were acting like the soup place in a Seinfeld episode but in my experience the lady was fine. What’s important in these kinds of places is the food and the falafel are very very good there. Try it.

I’ve actually known this place since childhood!
I’ve tasted a lot of falafels and to me Freiha is the absolute, authentic place! I mean, yeah the décor is very minimal, and the window was all cracked for a while, but the falafels… Crispy on the outside, tender inside… With lots of marinated turnips and spicy peppers on the side. This place is a gem! But one thing: dont wait too long till you eat them!!! Bread will get soggy. You can also ask them to pack ingredients separately (like a dozen falafels, some bread etc.), and then when you get home, you make your own sandwich!
And… the couple is actually really kind when you thank them after your meal! Learning a few arabic words is definitly worth the smile on their faces! I mean, they even asked me and my boyfriend what we did for living and when we’d get married! (talk about kind people…)
I didnt even know they were on Unilocal!They deserve more ratings and definetly a 5 star!!! Trust me, the food is AMAZING and the owners need a little time to know you!

Yum I forgot to review Freiha and I’m so excited! I biked out here at the end of the summer with a food nerd friend who has loved this place for a long time. He warned me about the stern older couple that run this bare bones joint but he and I are both of a shared mind that customer service and ambience don’t matter much (barring anything really offensive, of course.) if the food is great. And oh, it truly is. The falafel is made fresh, no sitting in oil, no drying out on the counter, and the veggies are fresh and the garlic sauce is dreamy and homemade. After we had paid and sat outside and finished eating I stuck my head back in to say thank you and to see if I could wring a smile out of them, and I did get a quarter grin, which felt like a win.

Good falafel… very very rude owners. this wife and husband team need to take some lessons in customer service and basic human kindness. They treat their customers as if they are doing them a favour. I would recommend this place for the falafel if you live near by and is craving falafel, but I don’t think they’re worth the awful treatment. Go to Abou Hanna instead in DDO! Amazing falafel and super friendly owner!

This is a review of the food, not the service as I understand that it can be an issue at this place.
I was lucky enough to be brought here by a colleague who speaks the language and ordered for our table.
This place makes one thing and one thing only. Falafel in the Lebanese style.
The croquettes were amazing. Great flavour, texture and crunch. They are served with homemade tahini over fresh pickled beets, tomato and a ton of parsley.

It is by far the best place to eat falafel but unless you know the old couple don’t expect to bond with the owners

I’d give this place a zero if I could. Not for the food though. The falafels are quite good. Very good actually… Sadly, all that is 100% completely overshadowed by the [insert expletive here] terrible and extremely unfriendly service. This is not a one-​time occurrence either, as we’ve been there a few times already.
Not anymore though, that’s for sure.
It’s as if our business inconvenienced them when we asked to reduce the amount of extras that came with our 2 dozen falafels. Instead of just listening to what we wanted, we got extremely dirty looks, from the «wife» at the cash. She even went so far as to wave her hand dismissing what my fiancé was trying to tell her. The gentleman doing the cooking wasn’t as bad… but I’m sure he’s clearly aware of her toxic attitude and accepts it.
Every time we’ve been there, we felt incredibly uncomfortable and never got so much as a hello or a thank you… you know, those basic courtesies that people learn when they’re children.
Maybe it’s because we aren’t Lebanese because she’s not at all like that with her compatriots. She’ll randomly start a conversation with them when she hasn’t even finished taking care of your order.
I can understand and accept a business that gives serious service without a smile (a-​la soup nazi from Seinfeld). But they take it to a whole other level of rude here. This is the last time I ever set foot in that place again. It’s really a shame though because with a bit of a friendly smile, and a more inclusive attitude, this place has all of the potential to be something special.

I confirm all previous reviews of this place to be 100% true.
Walked in at 12:30 PM on a Friday with not even one actual client in the joint. How is this possible? The lady who seemed to be «working» here was far more interested in chit-​chatting with some ‘friends’ about their homeland and completely and utterly ignored me and my friend for a solid 5 minutes. The food station didn’t even look prepared and I seriously contemplated how this place EVEN STAYS IN BUSINESS for being this bad service wise.
Maybe it’s good, maybe it’s not but I won’t be back to find out. I have certain expectations to be actually… you know, acknowledged when I walk in your resto.
What the hell?

BY FAR THE BEST TASTING FALAFEL IN MONTREAL!!! -
HOWEVER…, the service experience can be a hit or miss all depending on their mood. Most of the time it’s a miss. I always get nervous when I walk into this place. They never say hello when you walk in, they could be watching their Lebanese soap opera and you might be disturbing them in the process of trying to give them your order. So sometimes you wait, and wait, and wait until they actually look at you. They take your order without any acknowledgement as if they’re doing you a favor. Furthermore, they talk in Arabic among others and make you feel stupid. Over the years I used to laugh and would tolerate their behavior thinking that it was just like in a scene from a Seinfeld episode except this was only darker. After today’s experience I decided to NEVER step foot into this place again. You will notice on their walls they have almost 50 pics (if not more) of the Virgin Mary. this is probably due to their guilt by treating their customers like shit. They can take their falafels and go to hell because I’m not going back.
The FALAFEL NAZI’s are not funny!

Maybe the best falafel in montreal. However, don’t expect friendly environment. The restaurant is ran by a Lebanese man and his wife who both can be rude

This place only serves one dish, falafel sandwiches, and they are delicious! Fast and cheap, don’t expect friendly service from the owner-​operator who’s been there for years. I usually pick up my sandwich to go and start digging in as soon as I’m out the door.