

The Authour
Hey peeps and peepets,
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I'm Harris Beeman and this is my Shawarma Spot. I'm here to look at and review shawarma restaurants from around London, ON. If I know one thing, it's a good shawarma spot.
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In this blog, we're gonna be checking out some of the best shawarma places; Omzzy's, Barakat and Babaz. Then I'll review their beef and chicken shawarma plates and rate them on the essential components that make some good ass shawarma.
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First things first, a little dive into what shawarma is and its history.
History of shawarma
Here is a short video on how to make a traditional shawarma plate.
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Credit: COOK4U
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What is shawarma?
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According to the article The Story of Shawarma: The Globalization & Preparation of this Delicious Middle Eastern Dish, at Medium.com;
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“Defined as 'turning' in Arabic, shawarma is a popular, delicious street food often found across the Middle East. The term shawarma primarily refers to the method that is used to cut pieces of meat — in which the meats are stacked, forming a cone-like shape on a vertical, rotating rotisserie.
It can be served on a plate, in a sandwich, or in a wrap, and is commonly paired with tabbouleh or fattoush (two types of Levantine salads), or dishes such as taboon bread (Levantine flatbread), accompanied by toppings like hummus and other vegetables. Although this delicious food has only been globalized and popularized within the last few decades, its roots go back several centuries.
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Although the actual origin of the shawarma dish itself remains to be unclear, a similar technique was first seen in use by the Ottoman Empire (modern day Turkey) in the 18th century. From there, it has been indoctrinated into many other cultures with minor differences and under alternative names — the Greek gyro and the German doner kebab are both examples of this global adaptation.
The shawarma dish was able to travel throughout the Mediterranean and Europe through immigration, when many Middle Eastern immigrants (particularly Lebanese, Turkish, Iraqi and Armenian populations) traveled to these parts of the world at the beginning of the 20th century and presented their traditional foods. From there, the dish has been altered to the preferences of each country it has ended up in — and has been the origin of several similar, delicious dishes. In Europe today, it is estimated that the kebab industry is actually worth about 3.5 billion euros (as a comparison, the fast food franchise Popeyes is worth about 1.6 billion euros).
A bit later, toward the 1970s, shawarma experienced a rise of popularity in the United States, when it was widely prepared as a street food throughout New York City and Chicago. Since then, it has been a coveted, essential meal to these cities, which consider themselves to be a hub of many cultures.”
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Credit: The Story of Shawarma: The Globalization & Preparation of this Delicious Middle Eastern Dish, at Medium.com
Reviewing Shawarma
Meat: Flavour, Texture and Quantity Rice: Flavour, Texture and Quantity
Garlic: Flavour, Texture and Quantity
Hummus: Flavour, Texture and Quantity
Pickles: Flavour, Texture, Quantity and Variety
Cost: Low vs. High
Omzzy’s Shawarma
Rated 4.2 out of 5 stars on google reviews with 82 reviews. (image of google)
Classified as a Middle Eastern restaurant.
Open from 11a.m. to 3a.m., and 4a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
They offer Dine-in, Takeout and Delivery, no app needed.
You order delivery on their website, pay when delivered.
They're website is online, mobile friendly, slightly limited menu for delivery vs. dine-in.
The shawarma plates are $14.50 for chicken and $15.00 for beef, delivery is $2-4 depending on distance.
They are located on 1129 Richmond St, London, ON.
Omzzy’s Review
For cheap shawarma straight to your door, look no further. This is the cheapest shawarma of all. Omzzy's got the easiest to use online delivery method. Delivery took an hour, even though they were no more than three blocks from my address. Customer service was acceptable but not exceptional.
Their shawarma plates are large. They give about a cup of meat per plate and about two cups of rice. Their pita is good with one piece per plate. Their garlic sauce and hummus share a spot in the Styrofoam container and are creamy with a good flavor. The pickled goods have the other styrofoam pocket and contain various items, including a small salad. Their rice is well cooked, yellow and has a slight chicken stock flavour. The chicken shawarma had a great taste; it's crispy and sliced like a shawarma in thin strips. The beef was well seasoned but slightly tough. For a chicken plate, this place can't be beat.





Rating 1-5
(Info-Graphic)
Chicken: 5
Beef: 3
Rice: 4
Garlic: 4
Hummus: 4
Pickles: 5
Barakat Restaurant
Rated 4.0 out of 5 stars on google reviews with 1,200 reviews.
Classified as a Lebanese restaurant.
Open from 11a.m. to 1a.m. everyday.
They offer Dine-in, Takeout and No-contact Delivery, no app needed.
You order delivery on their website, pay when delivered.
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They're website is online, mobile friendly, very limited menu for delivery vs. dine-in.
The shawarma plates are $17.50 for chicken and beef, delivery is $6-10 depending on distance.
They are located on 1149 Western Rd, London, ON.
Barakat’s Review
If you are looking for good beef, bold flavor and a lot of pita, this is the spot. This place is the most expensive option of the three for plates and delivery. The delivery system is straightforward but has a few more steps than Omzzy’s. The delivery arrived in thirty minutes and I am 1.2km away. Customer service was excellent, the person on the phone was very friendly and asked the manager to confirm delivery eta happily.
Their shawarma plates are on the medium side. They give about a cup of meat per plate and about a cup of rice. Their pita is good, the same brand as Omzzy’s, with about two pieces per plate. Their garlic sauce and hummus had their own spots in the Styrofoam container allowing for a lot of each. Both sauces were creamy with a good strong flavor. The hummus tasted fresh and very chickpea-y. The garlic paste was very garlic-y with a spicy garlic taste. The pickled goods had their own small container, which came with sliced pickles and some tomatoes. Their rice was yellow and well cooked but had little flavour. The chicken shawarma had a soft texture; it tasted more like rotisserie chicken than shawarma. The beef was well seasoned and juicy. For a beef plate with strong flavors and a high-quality experience, this place is where to go.





Rating 1-5
(Info-Graphic):
Chicken: 3
Beef: 5
Rice: 3
Garlic: 4
Hummus: 5
Pickles: 3
Babaz Shawarma, LONDON
Rated 4.3 out of 5 stars on google reviews with 1,000 reviews.
Classified as a Middle Eastern restaurant.
Open from 11a.m. to 12a.m., and 2 a.m. Fridays, 1 a.m. Saturdays.
They offer Dine-in, Curbside Pickup and No-contact delivery, no app needed.
You order delivery on their website, pay before delivered.
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They're website is online, mobile friendly, large menu delivery and dine-in.
The shawarma plates are $15.99 for chicken and 16.99 beef, delivery is $6 depending on distance.
They are located on 243 Wharncliffe Rd N, London, ON.
Babaz Review
If you want variety and customization, monthly deals and great rice, Babaz is for you. This place is in the middle for its prices; even with coupons, it's not as cheap as Omzzy's. Their delivery system is pretty complex, with many food options requiring you to select every ingredient going into your meal. The delivery took an hour which is appropriate for Babaz being the farthest place from my location. Customer service was also excellent; the first operator was confused when checking on my orders eta. However, the second person clarified everything and apologized for a lot, which was nice and unnecessary.
The shawarma plate is on the medium side. You are getting about a cup of meat, possibly less and two or more cups of rice, potatoes, fries or whatever else you selected for the side. They give you one meat option, two sides and three sauces. You can add more of what you want but every additional thing is 50 cents to $1. The pita is 50 cents apiece; Saj bread is $1. The pita was good. The Saj bread is massive and kind of sweet. For sauces, I got hummus, garlic and tahini; this is what all my orders have come with though and other restaurants even included hot sauce too. The hummus was the worst I have had, no flavor, super smooth texture as if no chickpea was in it, just not great. The garlic was good and reminded me of Omzzy's; garlic-y, thick and creamy. They provided no veggies and no pickles. This is very disappointing. They had salad options for a side but no pickled goods, which to me is a staple for good shawarma. The rice has two varieties; house rice and spiced rice. Both were good; the spiced rice is the best rice I have had yet. The chicken shawarma was not good; it was fatty and also tasted more like rotisserie than shawarma. The beef looked good but was under-spiced and dry. Both types of meat were the worst I have had so far. To redeem Babaz, the gyro I also got but am not reviewing was excellent. For a lot of options and deals, come to Babaz; just don't bother with the shawarma.





Rating 1-5
(Info-Graphic):
Chicken: 2
Beef: 2
Rice: 5
Garlic: 4
Hummus: 3
Pickles: 0
WINNER
is Omzzy’s Shawarma
This is my go-to local spot. I have been a regular here many times. I had gone to Bakarat and Babaz several times before this review but Omzzy’s is the closest and cheapest for delivery. That being said, I was happy to realize that it is, in my opinion, also the tastiest! For a low price, a big plate and amazing shawarma, come to Omzzy’s Shawarma.
Final Thoughts
What are we looking for in a Shawarma plate?
Links:
The Story of Shawarma: The Globalization & Preparation of this Delicious Middle Eastern Dish
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Restaurants:
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Thanks to Mark Rayner!
Follow me on Twitter to continue the story!