Rei do Falafel

R. Julio Ribeiro, 102

Bras

11-2292-0357

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Slotted between wholesale-only clothing stores is a food establishment whose name is translated as King of Falafel, which you'd think demands a palace and definitely not the total dive there instead. A guy stands in the corner in front of a fryer and turns out falafel and schwarma sandwiches like a tennis ball machine, leaving his post only to deliver it to you with a smile full of teeth after you've have cleared off the sticky remnants and crumbs off those tiny tables you'd find at fast-food joints. Men with barrigas (pot bellies) come by, talking to the mild-mannered owner in Arabic, who visibly enjoys a compliment or two. This is a meal so cheap you'll inevitably start a smoking habit when you spend your leftover dough on flavored tobacco and a hookah pipe, in stock. Photos: Phuong-Cac Nguyen