Shawarma Palace

I’m from out of town and I’ve had the opportunity to try quite a few Lebanese restaurants. If you’re after quantity, you’ll get your money’s worth. Quality… Meh. I’ve had better. The chicken lacked flavour, the pitas were cold, the tabbouleh wasn’t bad but a bit more mint wouldn’t go unnoticed. Potatoes were nicely browned and garlic sauce was good. Problem is everything is mass produced and fast, it’s not bad, just definitely not the best.
Anyway, If you’re ever in Edmonton, try Al-​Salam on 34^th ave!

I visited this restaurant with a couple of coworkers over lunch during the week and was surprised at how big the restaurant is. There is lots of seating with comfortable booths and even a fireplace and TV! I ordered the chicken shawarma plate as I had seen multiple people order it and it was huge. They definitely give you a lot of food and a lot of garlic sauce (which I was extremely happy about). There was so much chicken on it and the portion was so huge both myself and my room mate are eating lunch off of it today. In the future I would ask for no oil on my hummus as it was a little much and I don’t love the taste of olive oil. The salad seemed to be more of a green salad than a fatoush but was still tasty. They could barely close my to go container it had that much food in it, which is great but makes it a little hard to get to the rice and potatoes under the chicken, but really that is not even a complaint because the portion size and the price are awesome!

I don’t usually write poor reviews. But sometimes it’s necessary.
My colleagues and I visited this restaurant for lunch today. We both ordered chicken and beef shawarma, but the chef only put chicken in it. After we found out we went up to the counter and asked for beef on the side. My colleague was served first and receive a plate of potatoes in lieu of beef, which he accepted.
However, I was left standing there, and after a while the woman at the cashier simply told me the potatoes was for both me and my colleague. I was dumbfounded. Never was that communicated and never was I asked if that was okay, or if I wanted potatoes at all. Above all, two separate customers are supposed to share one small plate as compensation, is beyond stingy. It was also extremely rude.
The chef did come over and offered to make me a new sandwich, but I settled with just some beef on my plate. The gesture was greatly appreciated. The damage was done, however, and this is really regarding the woman behind the counter: do not be stingy with your customer, especially when it was your oversight. Your customers deserve what they paid for, and compensation and an apology when not delivered. Never ask for two grown men, with no relations, to share a plate of potatoes laced with gulps of garlic cream running all over. It’s unsanitary. It’s disgusting.
We will not return to this restaurant again.

Great atmosphere inside and out. Lots of seating which is great for when you decide you want to dine in. A good selection in which you have a lot of variety when making your platter or sandwich. It’s price pretty well which is an added bonus.

Best Sharwarma in Ottawa! Great and fast service! Dope garlic!

I’m on the road all day so getting fresh fast food is a challenge. I was driving by and hungry so I stopped in. I realized it was same owners of a great shawarma place on Rideau. I got a beef shawarma sandwich to go. It was very very good. I was kind of surprised just how fresh and tasty it was. There is a lot of sub par shawarma out there. This sets the bar! I really liked the way they put it on the grill before they wrap it in wax paper. It gives it a really nice crispy smokey flavor. It was a bit of a wait but I think they will work that out. Really nice restaurant space — clean and comfy a touch fancier than the others. Yum

here is the full letter i dropped off at Shawarma Palace’s Rideau street store yesterday for the owner…
Re: BANK STREET STORE.
I am done with you idiots. I am so goddamn tired of asking for a BEEF shawarma platter and having you dummies putting chicken on it. It happened for the FOURTH time in a row this past thursday night at 545pm. I refused it and walked out.
Thats the last time you see me in any of your restaurants.
The idiot who did it blamed the first guy in the line. The first guy clearly said «beef». To blame YOUR mistake on someone else is a sign of an incompetent and unprofessional employee.
I like your food, but will not put up repeated stupitidity.
Remind those idiots that their paycheques come from customers. Without people like me in line, no one has jobs.
Not only will i never be back, i am now stopping to recommend your establishments to my friends and family and will be informing them of the fact you have such little regard for customers, you cant be bothered to get a customers order correct on multiple occasions.
I am a former subway and harvey manager. I know good service, This isnt it.
I have posted on facebook and Unilocal.
How goddamn hard is it to put the correct meat on a customers plate??? Why cant the guy with the meat take a damn second to ask before he puts the meat on???
When you put the wrong meat repeatedly you are telling the customer «I dont give a f – k what you want, youre getting what i give you».
It’s a complete lack of respect for the customers.
You have one shining star however. One of your cashiers. I do not know how to spell her name (and I apologize for that), but it is pronounced «shaw-​née-​ah». She is smart, efficient, friendly and knows what she is doing. If I was still a restaurant manager, I would try to steal her from you.
I am not giving you any means of contacting me.
There is no fixing this. Like i said, I am NEVER coming back.
I have given you a second, third, and FOURTH chance, and you keep fucking up. I am done with you. Period.
Keep up the stupidity and see how long it takes to go out of business. Good food alone doesnt keep a restaurant profitable. It’s the staff too. Shitty service will put a business under just as fast as shitty food.

This place is a MUST for us every time we go to Ottawa. Good Shawarma is simply unattainable in Toronto, and this place puts shame to all the other Shawarma joints elsewhere.
The restaurant itself has ample seating, and is usually packed with families grabbing a quick bite to eat. It does tend to get really busy, but was only a 5 minute wait when we arrived. We ordered a couple chicken/​mixed Shawarma, as well as a side of potatoes, and a few falafel. The plates are usually the best value, but those things are just plain massive! I didn’t feel like having a heart attack in the middle of the restaurant, and plus, i didn’t wear my stretchy pants.
Falafel was amazing. Nice and crispy, with a good amount of filling but was oddly not greasy like I expected. I asked for the garlic sauce too, which is basically heaven in it’s own right. Pretty sure its terrible calorie-​wise, but it tastes soooo good! Warning though, your breath will clear rooms afterwards.
Shawarma themselves were moist, and stacked with everything. I really like how they put it on the grill before serving. I totally dislike when the pita gets all soggy.
This place is A1 — definitely recommend it!

Best shawarma in town, in my opinion of course! Portion sizes are huge, service is friendly, and food quality is stellar. Accommodation is also comfortable and spacious. I travel a fair way to this joint, but it’s so very worth it.
If you have a chance to drop in for some grub, do it as you won’t regret it!

Came here the other night based on the Unilocal reviews. Yes, the portions are large but the service was not the greatest. It was clear that I was from out of town and it appeared to have annoyed the gentleman behind the counter that I did not know exactly what I wanted. I did ask questions but he walked off. Another gentleman took over and prepared my food. Then I slid down to pay and the woman behind the register was just not customer friendly. They must have been dealing with something else. Regardless, a place of business should always have a smile and be welcoming. The chicken was okay and the salad was just okay as well. I was really excited about his place because of the reviews but am disappointed. The space is great though!

I don’t know if I’ve ever thought to give 5 stars to restaurants before (albeit I’m new to Unilocal).
My boyfriend and I are regulars at this Shawarma Palace. We have been to several others in Ottawa but nothing beats this one. The guys are friendly, the service is quick and the portions are HUGE! You get so much food for your money, it’s unbelievable, no where else have I seen plates with so much food! It’s very very delicious too, no complaints there. It gets very busy, anywhere between 5 and 6h30pm you will have a line up inside. But it’s well worth the wait. You can ask to go, or to eat in. If you eat in, the plates are bigger than the to go containers, so you will get more food for the value. Regardless if take out or eat in, my boyfriend and I cannot finish 1 platter by ourselves, we have to share.

There are a lot of shawarma places in Ottawa, but this one is by far the best! They will go out of their way to make sure you get what you want. They do a great job of recognizing repeat consumers and making them feel welcome!

Simply because we’re in the plaza across the street with Shawarma Station more often, we hadn’t tried Shawarma Palace until recently. We weren’t disappointed that we didn’t cross the street! The portions are incredibly generous — we bought two plate meals and might have had leftovers if we’d only bought one, the falafel and chicken shawarma are both great, along with the garlic sauce and hummus.
They’re obviously used to their regulars, so you may have to speak up a bit to get what you want. When I ordered my falafel plate, he asked me if I wanted ‘everything regular’ and after an unsuccessful attempt to find out what that meant, I said ‘sure’ and ended up with potatoes instead of the rice that I wanted — not that big a deal since there was more than enough food, but I still wish I’d spoken up. Now that I know it shouldn’t be a problem, though.
The only other thing I wish were different is that during busy times the don’t have people clearing tables, and a lot of the patrons just leave their trays and garbage on the table, so you might have to play clean-​up for someone who was there before you.
Otherwise a great option to have in the neigbourhood.

Staying in the hotel across the street and saw this restaurant and decided to give it a try. Never had Lebanese food before and this place made me a fan.
Ordered a beef Shawarma plate and was not expecting the portion size to be so big. The amount of food was enough to feed at least two people, make sure you bring your appetite when you come here. You get a good deal for what you pay.
Like I said at the beginning of the review I have never had Lebanese food before so I don’t know how authentic it is, but it was delicious. The staff was friendly the place was clean. I would recommend this place to all my friends and plan on coming back.

HUGE portions, great taste and fresh toppings. Be hungry when you come, or bring a friend.

Here at Shawarma Palace, one do get a bang for their money with the quantity of food. So do come with a friend or ask for a takeout container to pack some home.
But how was the quality? I found the Chicken Shawarma plate tasted OK and looked quite impressive for photo taking. The Beef Shawarma Wrap was bland and dry and lack of toppings.
The interior though really modern and clean. Service is fast and friendly.
If they would have work on the taste of the food? A little more punch on the garlic/​hot sauce, a little more sourness for the pickled cabbage?

I find the décor really modern and comfortable (I’ve only sat in the booths so not sure about the other seating areas). This is actually the only shawarma place that I will eat in, everywhere else I get take out as they are always too small and hot but this place is really big. The food is average tasting, HUGE portions are given so you usually need to take home leftovers. I personally am not a fan of the staff as they are rarely friendly and are always in a rush. My biggest issue with this place is the pricing, it’s much more expensive than where I usually go and they don’t sell trios here so you have to buy your drink separately and end up paying way too much.

It is the nicest looking restaurant in Ottawa that I have been in.
At first I thought it was expensive, 13 $ for a platter, then I got one and realized there is enough food on that thing for 2 people.
It is absolutely delicious.

J’ai habité Ottawa plusieurs années. C’était mon endroit préféré pour une bonne bouffe réconfortante. Le Shawarma est délicieux, la sauce à l’ail, un incontournable. En entrant dans le restaurant, on est immédiatement accueilli par le parfum de la cuisine. Délicieux. Un de mes meilleurs souvenirs à vie.

Excellent restaurant. The food tastes great, the atmosphere is great, and the service was quick. I ordered a shwarama plate for dine in and wow, for under $ 15 you get a whole lot of food… Tasty food! I love the quality of the meat and the freshness of the rice. The vegetables were alright, and the potatoes could be a little better, but it is still overall a good meal.
Highly recommend this restaurant to anyone who wants to have a great shwarama in Ottawa!

2 stars or three? Hmmm
I was in the area and thought I’d check in to see what the fuss was about. Yaaaaawn. The décor is cafeteria, and a lot of money for meh! If you don’t wrangle a booth you are sitting on pretty but extremely uncomfortable plastic chairs. Chanel Design… don’t be so proud of your accomplishment; it’s not that outstanding.
The food. Well what can one say other than… I’ve had better. Way better. What a disappointment. I guess I was expecting more and got a whole lot of let down.
It’s not that the food was bad, it just wasn’t great. And one size does not fit all. With no platter choices and a huge sandwich and you want to have something other than that, you pay. And pay.
The staff are reasonably efficient but most certainly not pleasant. I got grunts and gestures as if speaking was too much effort and not in their job description. I was very clear as to what I wanted and by the time I got to the cash I was still missing my potatoes. It was practically thrown at the cashier, as if it was her fault. By that point my «usual» at any other place looked like a feed for 2!
What a waste of food as I could not finish it and felt guilty. I do not like ordering more than I can eat and here if you want a little of this and a small that, its not an option.
I wont be going back as Shawarma Station is right across the street and much more friendly, comfortable and the food is better.
Hopefully this establishment won’t last long and something worthwhile reopens in it’s place.