LAST UPDATED: SEPTEMBER 2026 | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED DECEMBER 2011
2026 STATUS: UNVERIFIED
After this review, the Ambizza Cafe truck moved from Vanderbilt Ave near Grand Central to the Financial District at Old Slip and Water Street. We haven’t been able to verify that it is still operating in 2026. This 2011 review is kept for the record. The newest public note we found is a September 2022 Yelp review of a $13 kofta platter at that corner.
Verified nearby: Sam’s Falafel Stand at Liberty St and Broadway (Zuccotti Park) for falafel, about a 10-minute walk from Old Slip. For grilled kebab carts, see our NYC Halal Cart Guide.
KEY TAKEAWAY
In 2011, the Ambizza Cafe truck’s $7 kofta kabab platter (tax and a free soda included) came with two kofta kababs just under 8 inches long each, yellow rice, hummus, baba ganoush, pita and a large falafel ball with tahini. The kofta was mildly spiced but great with the salads. The truck later moved to Old Slip in the Financial District; its 2026 status is unverified.
OUR EXPERIENCE (DECEMBER 2011 VISIT)
I was near Grand Central for lunch and stopped at the Ambizza Cafe truck that was parked on Vanderbilt Ave by 46th St. I have seen them once or twice before, but this was the first time I had a chance to stop.
Seeing the truck’s side, it was easy to decide what to get. Their sign says “The Best Kofta Kabab in NYC”. How can you pass up an opportunity like that?
Today’s Lunch is a kofta kabab platter ($7) from the Ambizza Cafe truck. You can see there was a lot more than kofta kabab and rice on the platter, and they give you a free can of soda too.
WHAT IS KOFTA KABAB?
Kofta kabab is ground meat, usually beef, lamb or a mix, kneaded with onion, parsley and spices, pressed around a skewer into long cylinders and grilled. It’s eaten across the Middle East, Turkey and South Asia, typically with rice or pita, hummus and tahini.
The main course consisted of two kofta kababs that were just under 8″ long each. Yes, I measured. That’s well over a foot of kofta kabab. (There are about a million jokes I could make here, but I’ll leave that up to your fevered little imaginations.)
In addition to the kofta kabab, there was a full complement of yellow rice, hummus (top left), babaganoush (top right), pita bread, and as I said, they even tossed in a large falafel ball and tahini sauce (top center).
The salads come with the platter, but I think they threw in the falafel and tahini because they saw me taking pictures around the truck, and thought maybe I was important. Lesson: If you want people to think you’re important, take some pictures.
You could tell the kofta was cooked on a kabab because there was a small hole in the center from being on a skewer. The kofta wasn’t heavily spiced; in fact it could have used a little more in the spice department, but it was good, especially combined with some of the salads and condiments that picked up the flavor.
The best way to eat this was to tear off a piece of warm pita bread, break off a piece of the kofta, and put a little hummus, babaganoush or tahini in the pita with the meat. Adding a dash of hot sauce made it even better. Rotating among the salads and tahini gave me a good variety of flavors to go with the kofta kabab.
The hummus was lemony and tasty, although it wasn’t creamy smooth like the hummus at Taïm. That’s ok, very few are. It was still pretty good.
The babaganoush was even better, with pieces of eggplant and a surfeit of sweet roasted red peppers. My favorite part of lunch was eating bite-sized pieces of kofta, babaganoush and hot sauce in pita.
The yellow rice was fine, with some carrots and peas in the mix.
The last thing I tried was the falafel ball, which was larger than at similar lunch places. It was crispy on the outside and soft, green and herby on the inside. It even gave off a little steam as I bit into it.
The falafel was a tiny bit dry, but dipping the falafel into the tahini sauce solved that problem. The tahini was smooth, and had a great sesame flavor.
Wow, this was a lot of food for $7! And I was just getting back to normal after Thanksgiving.
Today’s Lunch from Ambizza Cafe was good, with a lot of variety. With the meat, salads, bread and rice, if you didn’t care for one thing, there was plenty more to choose from, but I did like everything.
It was also an excellent value, especially with a free soda and tax included in the $7. The only thing I didn’t like was there were no prices on the menu on the side of the truck. They had paper menus with prices, but everything on the menu was well priced, so it wasn’t a big problem. On the Mediterranean menu, platters were either $6 or $7 and sandwiches were $4.
Was it the best kofta kabab in NYC? Probably not, but it was still an enjoyable lunch, made even better by the salads included in the platter.
The menu was large, with all sorts of sandwiches and platters, including hamburgers, roast beef, pastrami, parmigiana and more. They served breakfast too. I’m not sure how everything else was, but Today’s Lunch was good.
The “Best Kofta Kabab in NYC” sign wasn’t true, but the $7 platter with a free soda was one of the best-value lunches near Grand Central.
What People Said After It Moved Downtown
The truck did leave Vanderbilt. By May 2013, Midtown Lunch Downtown had it at Old Slip and Water every day, including after Sandy, when a lot of trucks had given up the parking. The return visit skipped the kofta. Shredded chicken over rice, a couple of dollars more than the carts, with charred peppers, onions, crinkle fries, and a falafel ball that ran dry, same note as this review. The writer liked the chicken more than the first kofta.
It stayed a landmark long enough for other trucks to use it as a pin. In September and November 2018, @PolishCuisine told people to find the pierogi truck on Old Slip between Front and Water, behind the Ambizza Cafe truck. On Yelp, Chris E wrote in July 2019 that the bright yellow truck had been on Old Slip from morning to late afternoon for the last few years. Bryan R, touring trucks that June, came back for the chicken kabab. Robyn H, in June 2017, ordered the lamb gyro and mentioned a friendly woman at the window. The newest note is Becky W, September 15, 2022: a kofta shish kabob platter at $13, cooked to order, about 20 minutes, scored 8 out of 10. Nothing public after that. We have not verified the truck in 2026.
Where Can You Get Falafel and Kebabs in the Financial District Today?
For verified falafel in the Financial District, go to Sam’s Falafel Stand at Liberty Street and Broadway by Zuccotti Park, which makes Egyptian fava bean falafel from scratch daily, cash only. For grilled kebabs, Midtown’s 6th Avenue halal carts are your best bet.
Sam’s is the corner people are still posting about. On September 29, 2026, @mascdonna told anyone who works or lives in FiDi to go to the cart in Zuccotti and called the platter and the sandwich a life-affirming culinary experience. In October 2023, @EsquireWaaa said to find the cart with the line. On r/FoodNYC in September 2024, one poster took the A from Harlem on a Friday just for the sandwich and found the cart gone by 1 p.m. Arrive before noon.
Our NYC Halal Cart Guide maps the kebab and chapli kabob carts, and our field guide explains why some falafel stays moist and some runs dry. Every verified falafel vendor is mapped in the NYC Falafel & Shawarma Guide.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Ambizza Cafe Truck
Is the Ambizza Cafe truck still operating?
The Ambizza Cafe truck moved from Vanderbilt Avenue near Grand Central to Old Slip and Water Street in the Financial District after 2011. NewYorkStreetFood.com could not verify that it is still operating in 2026.
What is kofta kabab?
Kofta kabab is ground beef, lamb or a mix, kneaded with onion, parsley and spices, pressed onto a skewer into long cylinders and grilled. It’s usually served with rice or pita, hummus and tahini.
