Mr. Blou’s star falafel

Since The Guardian tipped his kiosk as Amsterdam’s ultimate go-to falafel spot, Mr. Blou I Love You has become a social media sensation. Faycal Souid, better known as Mr. Blou, has been making and selling falafel wraps there for a few months.

The former chef from Milan, whose mother is Italian and father Tunisian, cooked in the Netherlands for, among others, the Okura hotel**, restaurant Bridges* and the A’dam Tower. Not bad, but he didn’t feel very much at home in the hustle and bustle and anonymity of the established restaurant industry.

Volunteer chef

During a period working as a volunteer chef at a shelter for Syrian refugees in the Bijlmer, the Syrians taught him how to make falafel. Some time later, he opened his own kiosk opposite police headquarters. There, he sells vegan falafel wraps (€6.-) and chicken wraps (€8.-). The latter are made with free-range chicken from near Amsterdam, which he cooks sous-vide for hours in his own professional home kitchen.

‘Big crispy falafel balls made with love’

They come with a whole range of extras: from fragrant hummus, tahini, pomegranate seeds, lime juice, cucumber and tabbouleh, to Cambodian pepper and homemade pickled vegetables and onions. Everything is as organic as possible, just like the rest of the menu: juices (including fresh coconut juice), smoothies, vegan cakes, tea and coffee from local coffee roaster Lot61. You can take all these items with you, or eat them on the spot in the cozy seating area beneath the kiosk’s awning, on beer benches covered with sheepskins.

Long queues

‘Since the article in The Guardian, there are sometimes 45-minute queues here,’ says the chef, who refuses to be rushed and gives every order the same amount of love and attention. ‘My falafel isn’t purely Middle Eastern. I make it the way I like it. I don’t like putting flags on things. What I make isn’t from a particular country; I prefer to call it Amsterdam cuisine. An Amsterdam-based Syrian bakes the wraps for me, using just three ingredients: flour, water and salt.’

Three freshly shaped, large crispy falafel balls go into one of those mega wraps. But if, like me, you’re not much of a fan of wrap bread in general, order them in one of the salads, where they may come into their own even more.

Mr. Blou I Love You
Elandsgracht 150
Open Monday to Saturday; in winter 11 a.m.–8 p.m., in summer 9 a.m.–10 p.m.