Gaby's Deli, Leicester Square, London

Gaby’s has become a West End institution for those in the know. The food is delicious and always arrives promptly, the staff are friendly and helpful, and the prices are amazingly low for central London. For many years it has been the only place my family and I have eaten in town when we have needed a quick snack. But now some developer wants to close it down and replace it with some faceless chain.

Sign the petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-gaby-s-deli-char...

I went to Gaby’s today on the back off this Qype page. As I’m working back in Soho I’m trying to explore rather than going to a rather vanilla shop that begins with M and ends with ’encers. Glad I did – fab choice of wraps and pasta dishes, the falafel has been recommended by many on here plus the staff themselves so I WILL be going back! #winning (see pic of my chicken wrap)

Very tasty and great value! Friendly staff who don't skimp on the portions.

Very reasonably priced delicious food and big portions in the heart of theatreland. Very friendly owner and just the place for a quick meal, much better than the usual fast food chains and overpriced coffee houses. Big vegetarian choice.

I trundle past this place twice a day, and for a long time I never gave it a second glance, assuming it was a fast-food tourist trap like the millions of others around Leicester Square. Then, noseying around on my favourite reviews and recommendations site, I realised what a fool I'd been not to be feasting here all along.

But after heading here with my beloved on my lunch hour yesterday, I can say with complete conviction that Gaby's now has another convert to add to the falafel fanatics among its masses of admirers. The service was speedy and friendly, and the food was delicious. I went for a full-to-bursting pitta stuffed with falafel, hummus and salad for less than a fiver, and it was much more tasty and filling than anything I could have grabbed for the same price in a chain coffee shop.

And I was impressed at how tardis-like this place is inside. While it may look like a hole-in-the-wall takeaway from outside, there's loads of seats inside where you can sit and gorge yourself on falafel. I know where I'm heading to while away the wait next time there's delays at Charing Cross...

As mentioned again and again, the falafels are wonderful and if you need a quick bite to eat they have a good selection of pittas and bagels. I once had a salt beef bagel and it really hit the spot. This is the place to go if you are near Leicester Square, it has been around for ages and you can get some good grub for a reasonable price.

Good grub in a non-pretentious setting with fabulously friendly owner.

Great comfort food in big enough portions to satisfy a rumbling tummy.

I can see why it's been around for ages and is still crowded.

Long live Gaby's deli

How have I not reviewed Gaby’s Deli?! In the dark days of our Leicester Square office this place was an oasis of delicious hot salty beef love at lunchtime. I think I once had a Gaby’s everyday for a week, it’s that nice. Generous portions, decent fresh orange from a hilariously small machine that takes hours to make, and not that pricey.

I love it.

Excellent, very tasty food

This adorabley shabby deli serves up a HUGE array of food but I almost aways have one of their pittas which are bulging with hummus and falafels. Been going to Gaby’s for years and it is cheap, honest good food with friendly, fast service. Incredible for central London, I’m a big fan.

Quite good

Salt beef on rye, falafels til they come out your ears (and land in your lap… I always end up with food down my front when I go to Gaby’s) hungarian goulash, potato salad, chick pea salad and wowzer HOT chilli sauce! Gaby’s is an institution of the finest sort. A Jewish New York style deli slap bang in theatre town, small and oh so shabby but how I love you formica. They’ve been here for years and clearly never thought it necessary to revamp. Sit down and have a great pre theatre or drinks feed for around a fiver. I always go for the falafel, that lands in my lap. The houmous is laced with tahini (hence the slippery falafels) and the falafels are hot, golden, crisp and delicious and the red cabbage salad that helps fill out the already laden pitta is oh so good too. I’ll walk across town for their falafels once I’ve got them in mind. And if you prefer your meat the salt beef is pretty mind blowing too. Soft, salty and hot, it melts in your mouth. Another one that always lands in my lap, these sarnies are three storeys high. We love you Gaby’s…

I’ve gone there around almost once a month for over 10 years to enjoy their tasty inexpensive food. They have a satisfyingly wide menu selection which you can view both from the outside window and the interior counter. Service is courteous and efficient, the waiters friendly but not pushy. What more could you ask?

great little deli which is a couple of doors from one of the leicester square underground exits, long acre side, going down towards trafalgar road.

have a good look at the great selection of fresh, colourful and tasty looking salads, frittata, hummous, falafel. happy mixture of indian, turkish, jewish (does salt beef sarnies) and general Mediterranean fare.

you can eat in or take-out. it’s a bit tight inside though, noisy and bright but this shouldnt distract you from the food.

i had the popular hummous, 3 salads and a couple of falafel last night. it’s been a while since i’d been. pretty much as i had remembered it though the portions might have shrunk - or is that my imagination?

good value though, tasty and an antidote to the stuff pre-wrapped in plastic you can buy anywhere in the city.

Been twice now and I am a resolute fan. God those falafel’s are damn good! Freshly made from scratch they truly are little crispy golden balls sent down from heaven (steady now) but seriously, they are that good. However they go into cyberspace when the tahini and humous is slapped on top! I actually wasn’t a fan of falafel’s before I tried some of these babies..but Gaby’s has changed all that. I must big up the Salt Beef on Rye sandwiches too. They make Selfridges Salt beef sarnies look like cheap nasty copies. The family that own this place are real characters also - it now goes down as my no.1 place to grab lunch from.

Oh these flalfels are good. I’m fussy with falafels. I lived in Berlin for a short time and they’re really amazing there, if you know where to go. I don’t know how Gaby’s do it, the falafels are not even freshly-just-out-of-the-pan fried, but they’re still so good. They make just the right choices for you. Just the right amaount of houmous, just the right amount of chili, lemon, tahini…you name it. The result is absolutely delicious. I used to work nearby and ate them all the time. They’ve got to be the best falafels in London. If you’re ever in Bristol, try The Falafel King. There are many who are devoted to their food. You can also eat in on formica tables, which is nice. And you never know what actor is going to come in and get a falafel!

I’ll happily add my 4 stars to the Gaby collection as I am now a firm fan. I’d agree that from the outside it doesn’t inspire much confidence, but Gaby’s for me was one of those places that rewards you for shunning places like Pret, 'sticking it to the man’, if you will, and shows you there’s some darn good places out there for about the same cost. They’ve got an array of hot and cold salads with options to mix a few for a couple of pounds.

I went for the tasty and filling chicken tikka pitta which was just great. For £4 no it’s not a giveaway, but it certainly is pretty good going for this side of town and guaranteed to hit the spot.

Awesome, although slightly expensive kosher deli which is the best lunch spot in this part of town. On the other hand you can have a huge mound of salad (you select from their lavish deli counter) for £3, so it doesn’t HAVE to be expensive.

Gaby’s is very popular thanks to the superb falafel, authentic kebabs and their friendly staff. Many a happy lunch has been spent gossiping at the formica tables, drinking coke out of cans and munching delicious, spicy meatballs.

On my way to the theatre the other evening with just half an hour to spare and an empty stomach…what to do? Grab a Gaby’s falafel of course.

It woudl be easy to dismiss this place from the outside as jst another dodgy fastfood place catering to the tourists, butGaby’s has been around for donkey’s years and has built itself a reputation for cheap, good, tasty, no nonsense food.

Their falafel is the genuine article, just don’t do what my wife did and pile on the chilli sauce thinking it was tomato relish.

Also, keep an eye out for the celebrity photos donated by past customers. there’s some classics.

In my eternal quest for a non-gross lunch round my work at Leicester Square, Gaby’s Deli seems to be coming up trumps.

A jewish run joint, they proudly display a sign outside telling of their great falafels. And through the window you can see yummy looking laktas (jewish potato things) and a whole host of salads. I’ve only taken out so can’t comment on eating in but both times it’s been really great.

£3.50 gets you a container filled with 3 salads, and falafal; or 5 salads, or a pitta with humus, falafal and a salad which I found particularly good yesterday.

Also a handy tip for you - if you are openly jewish you appear to get extra free food. I’m never taking my magendavid off. Free cakes and more food than I’ve paid for every day. Ace.