Sunrise Deli

Lamb Shawarma: meat was dry and unseasoned.
Cucumber Yogurt: this must be prepared by the barrels, and unfortunately I got what was on the bottom.
Oh well, after walking by for 2 years and wondering at least now I know.

Great Falafel. Other items very tasty too.
But the Lady/​Owner at the cash register who takes your order is so unpleasant I can not go back.
Very sad for the other owners.

Staff are very unenthusiastic. Ordered Kofta Wraps which they insisted on calling ‘sandwiches’. Just two pieces of kofta in the wrap and not much else. Stick to Oasis Grill or Pharaohs Mediterranean Sandwiches for much more fulfilling food for the same price.

It’s time for an upgrade/​update!
REVIEW IS *STILL* FOR FALAFELS ONLY… muh faaav. IMO even better than Oasis Grill. YES, I said it.
After comparing w/​other falafel places in the area, THIS really is the best I’ve date to date. Always crisp on the outside and softer on the inside. FLAVORFULLLL. I don’t doubt that this is the best falafel in the city as their logo implies.
Service will depend on who you get. However, trust that you will always get your food with no mess-​ups. If you order in person during lunch rush, expect to wait ~10 minutes. They had a situation where they ran out of falafel and I waited 20 – 25 minutes for a new batch @_@ — at least you know it’s fresh. I’ve started ordering online from Grubhub/​Seamless to avoid the wait (this way, you can also avoid brusque boss lady if you are scared of her, but still get your yummy falafel! There IS a new younger male cashier that’s much nicer though)
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MY FAVs
(descriptions and names taken from site) I basically rotate between these two items.
Super Falafel Sandwich with hummus, eggplant, potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, tahini sauce. Served in a lavish bread.
Basically this is the falafel wrap. $ 7+ tax (I think it’s a tad cheaper, or the same as Oasis. BUT SO GOOD and no crazy line.) It’s huge and will definitely keep you full. EVERY bite has falafel in it /​drools. The potatoes are perfectly fried and EVERY ingredient goes so well together. THIS wrap is not too messy. Get hot sauce to top it off.
Regular Falafel Sandwich with hummus, lettuce, tomatoes, tahini sauce. Served in a pita bread. (Option w/​Avocado as well)
This comes in a $ 6+ tax — extra $ 0.50 if you get the avocado. Same thing but in a pita. IT’S SO MESSY TO EAT THOUGH because it’s not wrapped — things fall out. And the pita gets soggy soooo much faster than the lavish wrap. Still really good.
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BACK in my lunch rotation. I forgot how yummy you were.

— My Big Fat BAD Greek Salad —
Slow, Poor Quality, & Overpriced.
Perhaps the service staff was having an «off» day, but I won’t be going back.
After waiting 20 minutes for a simple Greek Salad with chicken I was hopefully that it would be worth the wait.
Nope
The olives in the Greek salad were starting to go bad and the tomatoes and cucumbers were several days old and almost mealy. The chicken shawarma was the only good part of the meal, and after picking that out I threw the rest of the salad away. Not worth the $ 11 I paid when I can get better quality for less money nearby.
Oddly the staff had run out of chicken kebab and were freaking out. So clearly there are some poor management issues.

Absolutely terrible.
I ordered the Lamb Shawarma Plate, and for $ 11 I got «lamb in hummus stew’.
First of all when they handed me the box, the metal bottom was cold. As if they had refrigerated the food before giving it to me. I let that slip thinking that maybe it was so fresh off the stove that the metal bottom hasn’t even convected heat.
NOPE. I brought it back, opened it up, faced that mushy lamb/​hummus mud, dug my fork in, pulled out a piece of stiff cold (questionable) lamb meat. I can’t be sure that it was lamb and not just tough beef, because it lacked all the aromatic flavors of lamb. Well, provided that it probably didn’t have flavor because it was most likely old and previously refrigerated.
I was also given a sorry packet of pita bread. It contained a couple triangles of pita bread. The bread was just as cold as the mush. At least they keep their food consistent. Would it have really been difficult to keep the pita in a warmer or maybe toast them?
The lamb/​hummus mush was interspersed with strips of onion. The «food» was far too sour. I’ve eaten my fair share of Mediterranean food and lamb plates, nothing should have this sort of a flavor profile. By flavor profile I mean straight up sour. Again, the solidarity of tartness was probably caused by the cold food.
Never again.

Slow service and the food was kinda cardboard-​y.

Disorganized and slow during lunch. Rather than making food for the 8+ waiting customers, the manager stands still munching a pita! then pounds counter at the one harried employee. The dolmas were so cold they were nearly frozen. The falafel were delicious! Yuck on the service and the vibe.

Food: 2
Décor: 2
Service: 4
Came here for lunch with some coworkers.
1. Chicken shawarma sandwich
~Mediocre. As others have said, it was a bit sloppy, and the ingredient choice and quality could have been better.
Service was reasonably fast, and I was given a falafel to sample. Falafel itself was pretty good with a beat of heat to it.

Since my initial review, their service has gotten slower. Down to 4 stars now.

Hummus was watery and so-​so. Kind of expensive. Not very efficient or friendly service.

Get here a bit early as it gets really busy slightly after noon. I love the Chicken Shawarma as well as anything with a Falafel in it. A great cheap option for lunch, as pretty much everything is under $ 7.

My co-​workers and I walked over to this place in FiDi for lunch. Definitely a take-​out place since they don’t have any seats. I saw that they have «the best falafel in town» so I got the falafels. Comes in a pita pocket with tomato, avocado (a lot of avocado!), and pink cabbage. Nice flavors, good lunch!

The eastern Mediterranean cuisine is known for its mix of both subtle and strong flavours, ranging from the subtle sweet character of the yoghurt and hummus to the strong spicy taste of Kufta. Pita breads with a moist soft interior and a lightly toasted exterior and of course the most intriguing combinations of different spice such as parsley, cardamom, cumin, rosemary, thyme, peppers, … The aroma is supposed to blow your mind and make you think you’re somewhere under an olive tree, with the Mediterranean sea stretching in front of your eyes…
However, all I has today was a sloppy salad, liquid hummus imitation and tasteless dry grilled ground meat over-​saturated with parsley and a couple of dried-​out pita buns… not very Mediterranean and also not delicious at all

I ordered the chicken kebob sandwich and I agree with most other postes here, IT WAS COLD. The place was nearly empty, the guy reheats the chicken and then puts it into a wrap straight from the refrigerator. Really? You can’t take a second to heat the wrap? By the time I walked a block back to my office even the chicken was cold. All 4 small pieces of chicken. Kind of a waste of money/​lunch I’ll never get back.
There are way too many quality Mediterranean places in the area to choose from and I picked a dud.
I guess I know what food truck to avoid…

It’s always been my understanding that a falafel in a pita should be served hot. This one was served COLD. Not room-​temperature — COLD. While the falafel itself was tasty, it was COLD.
No thanks.

I once randomly had a bite of Sunrise Deli’s falafel and sincerely felt it was the best falafel in town.
I found some time to actually visit Sunrise Deli and order the falafel for myself. It was just good, not the best this time. I ordered the avocado falafel sandwich which was satisfying but wasn’t what I hoped it would be. I just felt that the falafel wasn’t as fresh, crunchy and hot from the first time I tried it especially considering when I ordered my food, no one else was ahead of or behind me in line. I suspect the cook used already made falafel which was a bit of a letdown. The food came out pretty fast and I honestly would not have minded a longer wait to get some freshly prepared falafel.
I did try the chicken shawarma which was tasty. It was flavorful and the chicken was moist. The dolmas were too acidic/​sour for me.
If you’re thinking about paying a visit and plan to eat there, you can sit at one of the several tables outside lined against the deli windows along Pine St. outside of Belden alley.
I’m not sure when I’ll be returning but if I order the falafel again, I hope it’ll be the best (and fresh) version.

Sunrise Deli claims to have the best falafel in town and after grabbing lunch there recently, I think they just might.
I ordered the vegetarian combo plate and it was a hefty thing to carry back to the office but what a visually stunning plate of food! (
) It’s a generous serving of hummus, tabouli, babaganoush, tahini, tomato/​cucumber Salad, 2 falafels, 2 dolmas, and pita bread on the side. Yes it’s quite the variety plate. I really loved all the flavors from the various components but the falafels are truly special — nice crispy fried on the outside but delectably moist on the inside.
For a takeout Mediterranean lunch in the Fidi, Sunrise Deli fits the bill really well. The folks here are friendly and the free samples of falafel while you wait is a nice touch. Needless to say, they truly believe they have the best falafel in the city.

Moussaka from this local chain is still pretty unique and delicious.
Service = friendly enough.
This place is definitely a take-​out lunch place. There isn’t any seating (just as its predecessor, Best-​O-​Burger didn’t either) available, so bring it back to the office or head for the urban parks, on a nice day.
Prices = moderate.

Really like their falafels here.
The falafels are slightly crispy and taste fresh; if you get them in a pita, the pita will be fresh and stuffed with a couple phat falafels, hummos, fresh crisp lettuce, fresh chopped tomatoes and topped with some pickled cabbage. Really deelish. $ 5.95
The falafel with avocado sounded terrific but the avo put a dent in the middle-​Eastern experience. Maybe you will like it; price is only a bit more $ 6.49
Service: fine and quick.
Décor: no place to eat! stand in line buy, pickup and eat on the run back to work or to Union Square for lunch time shopping!