MELBOURNE | I first tried owner/cook Ahmad Al Alaea’s falafel during 2021’s big lockdown, when he was operating out of a small food truck in Preston. Wazzup Falafel immediately moved into my list of top 10 falafel in Melbourne, a place where it’s remained since.
Last month, Ahmad opened a bricks a mortar location for Wazzup Falafel with his friend Bara Sifi. The new space, on High Street in Northcote, allows Ahmad to serve up the same popular dishes that his customers love, plus more, in a sit down space with proper plates and cutlery, and a more homely atmosphere.
There’s bar seating overlooking High Street, a few small and large tables, and Middle-Eastern artworks on the wall. The semi-open kitchen is in full view of the space, with everything cooked from scratch, on site each day. It’s where you’ll find Ahmad cooking up his famed falafel to order, often popping out to give customers a try of one that’s fresh out of the fryer while they wait for their order.
Ahmad hails from Jordan, with Jordanian and Palestinian heritage, and his falafel reflect the style that’s popular in that part of the world. His falafel have an unmistakable lightness and crunch to them, made using chickpeas, parsley, bicarb soda, and a secret spice mix. They’re perfect on their own, with a bit of tahini and chilli sauce, or as part of a wrap or falafel plate.
The falafel box gets you eight falafel, hummus, tahini, pickles, turnips, and sauces. I highly recommend getting both the green and red chilli. If you’re on the move, the special wrap is a great option. It’s a large pita wrap, packed tightly with falafel, hummus, tomatoes, pickles, baby rocket, cucumber, fresh mint, fried eggplant, cauliflower, chips, and spicy sauce. Other items include things like a falafel snack pack, falafel pita pocket, and fatteh.
To drink, there’s black tea with sage, along with juices and sodas in the fridge.
Wazzup Falafel
343 High Street
Northcote
Victoria 3070
Australia
Telephone: (03) 9386 0494
E-mail: [email protected]
Website
Open
Sat – Sun, Wed – Thu: 11:00am to 9:00pm
Fri: 4:00pm to 9:00pm