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    Abdul BBQ & Shawarma

    3.5 (91 reviews)
    InexpensiveMediterranean

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    Chicken and Beef platter
    Amy T.

    Abdul's is a Syrian Shwarma joint, but to be honest, I'm not sure what the difference is. All I know is that the food is delicious! I ordered the Chicken and Beef Platter which came with both types of meat on rice, green salad, tabouleh, hummus, tangy cabbage salad (not exactly sure, but I liked it) and pita bread with their sauce on it. The sauce can be customized for mild, medium or hot. I suggest the medium because it was already quite spicey and had a great kick. I'm afraid to try hot. I'm working through my rotations and bookmarked restaurants, but I can't wait to come back here. Heck, forget the rotation! I'll be back soon. *Cash Only

    shawarma
    PennyandRusty P.

    Occasionally, I get asked how I got involved in writing a food blog. My answer is usually the same... I'm getting old. But more to the point, I like to try different places when I eat out and sometimes I can't remember whether or not I've eaten somewhere before and whether or not the food was good (because I'm getting old). So it's mildly ironic that I wound up at Abdul's BBQ at Crystal Mall. I say that it's ironic because I've been here before back in 2012 (over 5 years ago!) and wrote a blog post about it which almost repeats my recent experience to a T. In my prior review, I wasn't that thrilled with Abdul's for specific reasons. If I had read my prior review, I probably would have went elsewhere... oh well, live and learn. I'm going to cut to the point of this review... Abdul's BBQ is located outside of Crystal Mall (facing Kingsway). The prices are somewhat expensive for this type of establishment. Back in 2012, the prices were around $12+ and I had thought it was expensive then. Skip ahead to 2018 and the items I ordered were around $15+ (again, kind of expensive when compared to other places that serve fast food shawarma). Although they have 3 vertical spits with rotating meats, they don't shave the meat off the spits when you order it. Instead, the meat's already been cut off and placed in separate metal containers (assuming it's because in Canada you have to apply a second cooking method after shaving the meat off the spits). The meat is also shredded up into very small pieces (which I don't particularly like). One thing that I'll say for them is that the platters that we ordered (the chicken shawarma and top round beef shawarma) were extremely heavy. There is a fairly healthy serving of shredded meat and rice in here which should fill up even the hungriest diners. The problem that I have with Abdul's is their meat is so dry and bland. While the tabbouleh and hummus is pretty good, that alone couldn't really save these dry platters. If you look inside the pita bread that comes with your meal, they smear on some sauce which is nice (and a bit messy). Personally, I've had much better shawarma. Hopefully, the next time I feel in the mood to try Abdul's, I'll re-read my blog post and head somewhere else.

    Kit F.

    The shawarma wrap we ordered was the size of my girlfriend's head. Seriously. Oddly situated amidst an array of Chinese computer stores, Abdul BBQ is the most out-of-place restaurant in the infamous Crystal Mall. I've walked past this place millions of times but never bothered until recently. While the volume of my item was huge, it wasn't particularly filling. Stuffed mostly with chopped lettuce, there wasn't a lot of lamb inside the pita. While I don't know if this is how shawarma wraps are, I do know that my stomach was unsatisfied walking out the door. It tasted okay but you don't quite get your money's worth. 2.5 Stars. **1/2

    Barry M.

    Excellent shawerma that's very well spiced (I've tried the chicken lamb and beef and all were great). The platters (see picture) give you a ton of food that can almost feed 2 people as a meal. They have this spread they put on the pita that I THINK is some kind of tahini spread but also spicy. I've never tasted anything like it before. SOOO close to 5 stars. Unfortunately it's cash-only here, and wait times can be a bit long when they have one single employee working.

    Shawarma Parade
    M T.

    Love Love Love ! Everytime when I am in the area, I go to Abdul. I love their Shawama especially the sauce so much.... I get MILD spicy, and it is perfect level for me. I am craving it now because I am thinking of them... mmm...

    Sasha N.

    The best Veggie Falafel in town for sure, always fresh, not from this morning but sit down and wait for 15min. Picture no filter :)

    Jelizatin E.

    When craving shawarma where else are you going to find it? Crystal Mall of course! Abdul's had good reviews so we had to check it out. We ordered the lamb and chicken shawarma wraps. The meat was really dry and the vegetables did not taste fresh at all. We couldn't finish our shawarma, really tough to eat. The wraps are quite big, but not worth your $10 in our opinion. The hot sauce is actually really spicy though, so that's a positive. As others have mentioned the meat doesn't come off the spit; we won't be back.

    Lamb shawarma wrap

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    Very nice shawarma restaurant. Has been there so many times since I moved to Burnaby and studied at BCIT. It's about 15 years ago.

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    Abdul BBQ & Shawarma - mediterranean - Updated May 2026

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