2 Darn Good Places to Eat Falafel in Minneapolis

I spent the fall of 2025 in my little Subaru Outback bopping around the Twin Cities asking restaurants a slightly insane question, “Can I get one, single falafel?” The response always came back with, “Just one?” It had been asked so often that I just started nodding as soon as the person started talking. “Just one,” I said. I stood outside on sidewalks with one falafel ball wrapped in a napkin, eating them from dawn to dusk. I analyzed the heft, color, balance of flavors, fry, shape, and sometimes I wondered aloud why the chickpeas weren’t fully ground up.

One falafel isn’t enough to judge what the best falafel is, but it sure is a great way to get a sense of where to try again. Some were fine, some were bordering on inedible, and some were great. But there was one I kept coming back to over and over again–and they’re one of the few local places that make their own pita in-house! In total, I tried 34 falafel balls, but I contacted more spots than where I ate (look, sometimes you can just tell by the way it looks that it’s not the best).

I called all 58 spots that I found were serving falafel on a hunch that if someone made their own pita in-house, they might also make excellent falafel. Of the 58 falafel spots I called, only seven make their own pita, likely due to the dominance of local bakery Holy Land’s fresh pita, so getting house-made pita is a rare treat.

Below, I tell you my favorite falafel and give a nod to my runner-up, both of which make their own pita.

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