Food: Sababa, Munich's best falafal restaurant

Sababa, Munich’s king of falafel

Sababa, Munich’s king of falafel

What? Falafal and other Middle East food
Where? Viktualienmarkt: Westenriederstr. 9, 80331 München
When? Every day except Sundays

Open for more than a decade, from the outside, Sababa seems an unpropitious place to earn the label as one of the best spots in Munich for Middle Eastern-style food. But don’t be put off by the rudimentary set-up here. The food is simple, and it’s delicious.

 

Located in the city’s Viktualientmarkt, an historic open-air market just off central Marienplatz, it sits in one of the many small series of ‘houses’ that typify this popular shopping area of Munich. Next door on one side is the very good fish restaurant (and ‘wet fish shop’), Fisch Witte; the other side is a typical Turkish-style kebab shop - I’ve never been in, but if it’s tasty falafals you’re after, don’t make the mistake of entering next door (the doors are metres from one another and it might appear to be one shop).

Once inside, staff invariably meet visitors with a warm smile, already a contrast to that found in most Munich restaurants - so often, there is a disarming coolness in cafés and restaurants across the city. (This is not a criticism - Munich in general sets a pretty high bar for cafés and restaurants regarding quality, but there is no point pretending that as a rule service comes with warmth – maybe what you lose in service you gain in quality and professionalism?). And they all originate from various Middle Eastern countries, including Palestine, and most speak German, English and Arabic,

Sababa does pretty much straight up and down Middle Eastern food that nowadays you can find in many cities - they just do it better than most. It’s predominantly meat-free, and the most popular orders are the home-made deep-fried falafal in home-made pitta bread laced with home-made hummus. You can then add lettuce, red onions, red and white cabbage, peppers, a spicy sauce and so on. My children love this, and it’s a healthy, filing and tasty meal.

Alternatively, there’s pitta bread with halloumi, or an assorted selection of plates packed with falafal and/or halloumi, salad, tabula, bulgur, stuffed grape leaves and whatever else you prefer. There is a small seating area under the temporary cover, plus a few tables and seats outside – and all meals can be taken away.

Prices
4 falafals in pitta with salad: €4.90
Halloumi in pitta with salad: €5.50
Falafal plate with salad, tabula, hummus, pitta and so on: €8.60
Halloumi plate with salad, tabula, hummus, pitta and so on: €9.40