King of Falafel

Fares “Freddy” Zeideia is a sort of local celebrity in Astoria, Queens, where he’s been doling out Vendy Award–winning falafel, shawarma and kebabs from his King of Falafel & Shawarma truck since the early aughts. His street-food standouts find their first brick-and-mortar home at this 38-seat casual Middle Eastern spot, marked by a black awning that cheekily reads #YEAHHHHHBABY. While the Manhattan cart and Queens truck continue to operate seprately, the restaurant turns out crowd favorites like thinly sliced beef-and-lamb shawarma, as well as an expanded menu of newfangled creations such as daily baked pita bread and a falafel burger with zaatar and tomato. Like the food, decor is inspired by both Zeidaies’s Palestinian heritage and his Astoria roots, with a painted mural of the Manhattan skyline as seen from Queens and a large-scale image of Jerusalem’s Dome of the Rock that Zeidaies took while visiting the Holy City.