Gaby's Deli, Charring Cross Rd, London. Falafel fest

Gaby's Deli is found adjacent to the horrid, culture-void, baudrillardian tourist hell-hole that is London's Leicester Square. It is the shimming needle in the face-less chain infested haystack, the dazzling diamond in the bland tasteless tacky rough, and so on. Gaby's has been around for almost 50 years, serving some of the best falafel and salt beef to be found anywhere in London. In fact the owner, Baghdad born Gaby Elyahou claims to have been the first to serve falafel in the UK, making him in my book, one of the best people to have ever lived, ever.

The first thing you notice when approaching Gaby's is the window. Like Sirens pressed up against the glass, an array of delactable deep fried, crispy little treats draw you in. Some recognisable and some a little more alien. But we weren't there for the window treats, we were there for the main event, we were there for the falafel.

Unsurprisingly it did not disappoint. Like most human people I've enjoyed my fair share of delicious deep fried chickpea balls wrapped in a flat bread or stuffed in a pitta. But this wasn't delicious, no no, this kind of enjoyment deserves a new word, or at least a combo word to express the taste sensation that is Gaby's falafel. This falafel was super-amazing-incredelicious.

I'm not going to go into the intricacies of the arrangement, we all know what goes into a falafel, all I'll say is this. If you have any respect for your taste buds you will eat this falafel, you will do anything to get your filthy little mitts on this golden, crunchy, buttery amazing falafel. Do it. Do it now.


N.B. I had the falafel in a pitta with all the trimmings, I picked this photo to show off the how amazing the falafel themselves are. The pitta, hummus, salad and sauces were all great and for £4 it's an absolute steal. Go!

(Photo from http://www.flickr.com/photos/bellaphon/6847892873/)