Mirage Kitchen

Had this place 3 months ago… pretty bad… very dry chicken and overcooked rice and soggy salad…

driest falafel ever. Uninspired fillings. Poorly assembled. Just dont.

I wrote a review for this place, what gives Unilocal?
I know I described the food as good but not the best. The works is a solid choice. Pickles are good though the red pepper/​what is essentially muharma needs more of a kick. I know I noted that due to the extras found in the bowl, I have a feeling that the place is either Lebanese or Syrian.
3.7, same as before.

Was walking home from the gym and didn’t feel like cooking, so stopped into Mirage Kitchen to pick up some dinner (as I’ve been meaning to try it anyway).
When you walk in and up the ramp into the restaurant, there’s a very trendy interior, with a wooden wall outlining the side as you walk. Neutral tones highlight the dining area and it has a clean, fresh look. There’s loud top-​40s music playing, which is a bit odd, considering you can barely hear the cashier/​waitress take your order or even have a conversation with the person next to you. Unsure if it felt louder because nobody else was in the restaurant or if it’s just how it is.
They have a limited menu, but I guess if it works for them, why update it. This is a review for takeout order only — I got the spicy falafel bowl with corn. It came out relatively quickly, within a few minutes, and they put one of their homemade magic white sauce and hot sauce. Magic is a theme that is sprinkled throughout the restaurant, in their ambiance/​décor and food.
Their sides sounded pretty good, but figured it would be enough food for just the salad bowl. When I got home and started to eat it, the falafel was still relatively warm and I drizzled the sauces on top. Their white sauce is honestly no different than watered down yogurt and their hot sauce was more tangy than spicy. Perhaps I was expecting a similar experience to the Halal Guys’ sauces, which is my own fault.
The dish itself was very meh. I get that it’s a salad so it’s not going to be the most flavorful thing, and yes, the lettuce and peppers was fresh and crisp, but there was too much bland rice in the bowl. The falafel balls were okay — not the best and definitely not the worst I’ve ever had. They again, didn’t provide much taste or a flavor profile to the dish. It filled me up, so it satisfied that component, but I felt like this is something I could’ve made or ordered from somewhere else.
Overall, it was decent, and maybe I’d swing by there to try something else.

Delicious and healthy Middle Eastern food in the Chipotle model. Wish it were closer to my office!

Would rate 4 stars for lunch, 2 stars for dinner. Come during the day, food is great. Come after the lunch rush and the food is pretty terrible.
Salads are huge and bowls are very good.

Got a Groupon deal and was afraid of how the food would taste after reading the reviews, but the food did not disappoint!
The Works bowl and wrap — wow to the perfectly seasoned rice and combination of veggies, meat and rice.
Chickpea fries — tastes great and doesn’t make you feel guilty haha. Best dipped in white sauce
Falafel balls — Not the biggest fan, but it still wasn’t bad. Hard to go crazy over these when you have an amazing bowl
Spreads — we got the chickpea and yogurt one. Both very good too! Tastes fresh. It would be nice if the pita bread was warm though.
Also, hot sauce is on point! As is the mint lemonade. Wow. I am thoroughly impressed. Not sure if it’s because I came in here thinking it was going to be bad or not. Must try!

Just happen to walk by this place. Never noticed it before but it serves up the same lamb combos you get on the street. Everything is fresh and comes right off the rack, nice!
Definitely get a side of their chic pea fries.

Sorry Mirage Kitchen to take you down two stars, but you just keep messing up over and over again.
The woman at the front who clearly acts like she doesn’t care always seems to forget that I want Garden falafel versus the regular one. And when I tell her «no need for the white sauce» of course she ends up including it.
I wouldn’t care so much except every time I see a charge for $ 10+ for something that I could get at a food cart for like $ 3 cheaper I wince. If you’re going to charge this premium guys, you have to up your game.

As someone who enjoyed the west 4^th location I figured I would get the same tasting food and customer service
Boy was I wrong
First off the customer service was not what I expected. For one this young skinny girl who look like she should eat more then me was very rude and very unmotivated to take my order. Why hire someone who looks like a high school kid if this is type of service I’m going to receive
Second the food was extremely dry. I ordered a works bowl and it tasted uncooked and the person making the bowl didn’t use any gloves. I almost canceled my order but decided to at least try it before i knew it was dry
The overall store looks nice but the atmosphere sucks. It felt like I was going to Mcdonalds. I expected more out of this restaurant as I like the food but after this experience never again. Who ever is running this store should be ashamed for this

I was excited that this place opened near my work. As a lover of Middle Eastern cuisine, it was the perfect mix of casual on-​the-​go food and savory taste. I usually order the rice bowl with falafel. It’s a good portion for the size. I really recommend the chickpea fries for any chickpea lover– SO GOOD.
I must say, I was a little disappointed with my falafel. Though all the ingredients seemed to be fresh, the falafels are aways over-​cooked or burnt. I wish they would improve on this, since I feel a lot of fellow reviewers could agree.

Just picked up lunch for the first time here. The concept is great the food and pricing are not so great.
I got the falafel bowl with a lemonade — $ 15 later I had burnt falafel (challenging to cut or bite into), generic rice, mediocre vegetables. The mint lemonade was good.
Don’t forget to stock up on more tahini and hot sauce on the way out — it will add flavor to this dry dish. They don’t put enough in the to-​go bags!

Awesome food, the rice is very fluffy and the salad is divine. The works meat isn’t the most tender initially, but add a little of the white sauce and wait a minute and it really pops.
I got this meal with a belly redemption and will definitely be coming back from now on. Did I mention how nice the staff are? They’re great

The hours listing is completely wrong on Unilocal and various online ordering websites. Took me 3 attempts and a phone call to confirm that they were actually open during the hours I was planning to visit.
Claimed a free half chicken half work rice bowl thanks to Belly App. They ran out of rice an hr before closing so threw in a few pieces of lettuce to make it a «salad». The staff was in such a hurry that my bowl was placed upside down — before I even stepped a foot out of the store, my paper bag was already soaked and torn. I spent a good 10 mins by the counter cleaning and rebagging the mess they gave. No apology or acknowledgement noted.
Food — there was more than a cup of oil soaking the lettuce by the time I got to it — so much to eating healthy greens. The chicken, lamb, beef combo tasted like jerkies — so so dry, no amount of white or hot sauce can revitalize this dish. After spending 10 minutes picking through what I deemed was edible, I gave up and threw the rest out.
Some time free food is just not worth it. Mirage Kitchen was a classic example.

I work right around the block from this place. The food is good, but very lacking in the cleanliness department. First off, when you enter the joint and slowly turn left, you will see that the entire floor is very slippery/​greasy– probably from previous spilled sauces? Or at least thats what I think its from. I was trying to mimic the moonwalk while waiting for my wrap.
I ordered my chicken wrap, and stood waiting for it. I noticed a spill (hot sauce and white sauce) right below the «Mirage Smoothie» sign next to the bathroom. The African American/​Caribbean? girl 5’2 with long dreads (blue dreads on top) who was tending to the cashier came by with a dirty wet rag, bent down, and cleaned the mess WITH HER HANDS (she didnt get it all off btw), didnt wash her hands, then proceeded to call the next customer for their order. I watched her carefully and she has a habit of was doing this thing where she constantly put her left index finger by her nose, kind of like a «shush» pose, but then proceeded to her duty…
Yuck…
Please clean your floors thoroughly and please, please, PLEASE WASH YOUR HANDS after WIPING THE FLOOR with a dirty rag (with your hands)!!
Thanks.

Holy Shyza. This spot is unbelievable. Imagine a healthier/​less food carty version of halal guys. WELL worth your $ 10. Also, the chick pea fries were amazing– I like any excuse to eat fries in any form.
The quality of the veggies were fresh and crisp. I like the pickles incorporated in the rice bowl. There was an abundance of meat and everything was super filling. The white sauce is GREAT but mixed with their spicy sauce it’s even BETTER.
I haven’t tried anything but «the works» bowl and the chick pea fries– both STELLAR!

I came by for a free dinner with a belly bite and ordered a chicken bowl while my boyfriend got the works bowl. The food came unnervingly quickly, just as other reviewers have mentioned (it was out before I even put my receipt up). The chicken was very dry and the lamb had some hard/​gristle-​y pieces, likely from overcooking or drying out. The white sauce helps a lot though and the rice is actually well seasoned. The red sauce is a lot better than the one that usually comes with halal.
The strangest thing, however, was the absolute lack of air conditioning in the middle of July. Perhaps the owner is trying to really bring the «mirage» to Mirage Kitchen — if so, he was successful because it felt like the Sahara in there.
I would come back for another free meal, but definitely not if I had to pay the full price.

Scored a Works bowl via Belly Bite, and it was served unnervingly quickly… like, almost as soon as I could check in on the tablet. The sleek spot was absolutely dead, sure, but at least create the illusion that there’s some fresh prep occurring.
Pretty tasteless dish… substantial but forgettable… Sietsema praised the place, especially the Unilocal-​popular chickpea fries for $ 3.50, but I won’t be back unless there’s another freebie.
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A huge (FREE) bowl of the works will fill you up for days! It took me 4 sittings to finally finish it! Ingredients are fresh and the portions are huge. I highly recommend getting the lamb meat ’cause c’mon it’s shawarma!
Don’t forget the magic white sauce otherwise it will be a bit dry.
Thanks for feeding me again belly bites.

One of the most delicious middle eastern food in Newyork. The décor is modern and nice, the place is so clean and organized. The employees are so helpful and kind with the customers. I went there Monday during lunch time which is their peak I waited in the line and I took my food not less than 5 minutes. I had couple of different kind of food from them and its all delicious. I had the chickpea fries which is amazing, I think its stuffed with hummus and its a new kind of fries. I also had the work its a wrap made of beef, lamb pita, salad and creamy sauce with it. Its so mellow its only $ 7.95.
I RECOMMEND THIS RESTAURANT FOR LUNCH FOR ANY PERSON THAT LOVES MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD.