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    Shawarmaji

    4.2 (751 reviews)
    Open • 11:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)
    Updated 1 month ago

    Order Shawarmaji Takeout or Delivery

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    SHAWARMAJI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Trendy
    Outdoor seating

    Recommended Reviews - Shawarmaji

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    Paweena L.

    My son loves his Chicken shawarma. I have a bite and it is so yummy. I love my falafel a lot. Fries is good and crispy outside. I love their hot sauce as well. We ordered at the cashier then wait for our ticket to be called.

    Lamb we
    Alex S.

    At 12 inches in length, the lamb wrap is plenty of food to satiate your desire for some shawarma. The lamb was juicy and full of flavor, perfectly complemented by the garlic sauce and chili paste they provide on the side. My only two knocks are that I would have liked to see more veggies on the wrap itself. The wrap had a sprinkling of diced tomatoes, but no leafy greens or onions. The price of $18 was also on the pricier end. Overall, a really great shawarma place in Oakland!

    Cin-Yee S.

    With my Chicago bestie Sarj in town, we were on the hunt for *standout eats* only during his visit. Heard many good things about this spot, for which he received two separate recommendations from locals (and I had coincidentally bookmarked to try my location in Santa Clara). We ordered a mini lamb wrap, mini chicken wrap, rose tamarind drink and mint lemonade. The lamb was gristly and dry, so I preferred the chicken wrap, but was disappointed to find that it featured only chicken (well-seasoned and juicy) and did not have any tomatoes, cucumbers, or other vegetables like the lamb wrap did. The chicken wrap was only chicken and lavash. Perhaps it was an oversight on the staff's part, even though the restaurant was not busy during a Friday lunch. And it also still took some time to get our orders out even though we were the only ones in line and there were only two other parties eating there. Maybe there were tons of to-go orders they had to fulfill? I'll be sure to check out the Santa Clara location as well in the future, but for this luncheon, we had to temper our disappointment by going around the corner to get some Gregory's.

    chicken wrap
    Priyanka M.

    Stopped by Shawarmaji when I was in Oakland. I went pretty early in the morning, so the place wasn't busy or crowded at all. The staff were kind and friendly. In terms of the food itself, I think it's ok and worth a try. I wouldn't say it blew my mind like people claim online. The flavor and taste is definitely really good. The only issue for me was that it was a little dry over all. I do want to try again, maybe change my order this time... Again, definitely worth a try.

    Alejandra C.

    You want actually GOOD food, for a very good price and to feel extremely satisfied and happy with what you ate? THIS IS THE PLACE!!! I can't believe i've lived here for a year and barely tried this place out. Our neighbor recommended it to us and boyyyy were they on the spot. Literally everything in the menu was great! We had: -Chicken Wrap (5/5) + Hot sauce, onion, tomato (Free of charge) -Lamb/Beef Shawarma fries-mini (5/5) I've never had an issue (if you want to call it that) with not enough fries lol this was staaacked with meat! SOOO good! It was the perfect size for me -Assorted Pickles (5/5) Perfect addition to everything! -Chipotle Toum, Shatta (Hot sauce), Garlic sauce (5/5) Looove me some sauces and loved the variety and flavors of all of them. They sell them all in glass jars and also their seasonings which I will for sure be getting next time. I ordered through their website (Highly recommend instead of doordash- Avoid extra fees!) Service was fast and my order was ready on time. Plenty of seating inside and outside in their patio as well.

    Mini lamb/beef wrap
    Everett L.

    Wraps are amazing. House salad with chicken is amazing. The spicy sauce and yogurt sauce is so good. Lots of flavor

    chicken shawarma
    Josh A.

    My 2nd time at Shawarmaji & I think the food is pretty good. Enjoyed the chicken shawarma and fries, and got a side of chipotle toum which is delicious. You can also buy their dips and sauces by the jar in store. I will definitely be getting a jar of toum at my next visit!

    Dianna H.

    Been meaning to check out Shawarmaji for ages and finally got the chance to do so recently. My advice is to get their addicting toum sauce with everything! My friend and I stopped by for a casual dinner Friday night around 6 pm and it wasn't too crowded. The menu is pretty straightforward with just one page, which made it easier to decide what we wanted. I asked what the difference is between a pita and the arabi plate, was told that the pita is smaller and doesn't come with any sides, whereas the arabi plate is a much bigger wrap and served with a side of your choice. I got a beef lamb pita ($10) with toum substituted in for tahini sauce and shared some of the chicken arabi plate + seasoned fries ($20.50) with my friend. To be honest, I wasn't a huge fan of the pita... the beef and lamb were kinda bland and honestly tasted a little dry. Maybe I came on an off day, but I was disappointed by the beef and lamb. However, the chicken more than made up for it. Plus I was obsessed with their seasoned fries. Also make sure you get extra toum sauce because you'll want to dip everything in it!

    Beef shawarma

    Excellent food, good ambiance and Queenly was very hospitable and the best manager. Good middle eastern vibes

    Lamb/beef Shawarma Wrap. $10 for the "mini." Meat was dry. Needed sauces (tahini, toom, etc) to make it palatable.
    John N.

    I wanted to like this place, and I even gave it separate two chances before writing this review. Alas, it wasn't meant to be... I tried two of their supposed signature dishes--shawarma fries (chicken) and lamb/beef wrap. The good? Portions were decent and right at the cusp of what I'd expect to pay ($17.50 and $18, respectively). Now for the not so good. On my last go-around, the fries (and various accoutrements) were served to me ice cold. Like they had been sitting out for what seemed like no less than 30-45 minutes. This was a to-go order, so I suspect they simply had these plates ready to go ahead of busy night on DoorDash. I confirmed my suspicions because the box literally had a sticker reading "chicken" which meant they were grabbing these on the fly, not made fresh to order. I get that you have to do some prep ahead on busy nights (which mine was actually not), but where is the quality control? Compounding the issue, the entire dish was extremely salty. The meat itself was fine, but the combination of the pickled veg and overly-seasoned fries literally felt like I was eating a tablespoon of salt. Not well balanced. Poorly executed. Like they had just chucked a bunch of ingredients together without thinking how they would mesh. The lamb wrap was another let-down; the meat was dry, and honestly needed to slather on a combination of toom, tahini, and their house-made hot sauce (which was great!) in order to make it palatable. It also wasn't hot, not ice cold like the fries, but it tasted like the meat had been sitting. I also gave their falafel a try, and these were fine, nothing extraordinary. $0.50 ea seems cheap, until you realize they are quite literally the size of a quarter. Maybe this place was once great and their QC has slipped. Maybe we are simply lacking other high-quality Middle Eastern food in the area to compare. Maybe I came on two off nights. In any case, I won't be running back, and I don't suggest you do, either.

    Natasha S.

    We have been going to Shawarmaji since they opened their first restaurant during Covid and then moved a few years later to their now location. It's located in downtown Oakland so street parking is limited, especially during the weekday. The restaurant itself is large and an open space with lots of indoor seating. The menu is limited but lots of good options! I ended up going with the chicken shawarma on fries and it was delicious! Lots of chicken and toppings and the garlic and hot sauces were the perfect add on. I do wish they had plates (ex. shawarma with rice, etc) for those who aren't in the mood for salads or wraps. Will definitely be back!

    Abida H.

    Delicious! The chicken shawarma wrap hit the spot. It came with a side of garlic toum, olive toum, and a red sauce. Both toum were so good with this! Not pictured but also got a few falafel on the side and they were fantastic, perfectly crispy outside and soft inside Vibes were Arabic music playing, menus in both English & Arabic, lots of pictures depicting Jordanian culture. Loved Bummer they don't have one in SF because it would definitely be part of my rotation for casual eats

    Arabi plate (lamb). Comes with side and pickles.

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    Shawarmaji Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Shawarmaji

    How big or long is the Mini chicken wrap? Is it enough food for one adult woman?

    Yes! Very delicious too :)

    The chicken shawarma wrap is gone from caviar/DoorDash again. When that happens, does that mean you ran out for the day? Or is it an app glitch? Thanks!

    Typically means we are out of chicken, I would always check our site, which you have an option for delivery also.

    Is chicken shawarma dairy free? Thank you!

    sorry, our chicken is actually marinated in plain yogurt to keep the chicken moist.

    Do you have outdoor seating with heaters (in winter)?

    Hi Saud, Yes, we have outdoor seating but no, we do not have outdoor heaters.

    Do they have halal options?

    from what I understand, and the owner can correct me, all their meat options are halal

    Do they still make chicken shawarma? I noticed all the chicken options are gone from Caviar...hoping it's a mistake but it's been like that for weeks!

    Gluten free options?

    You can get our meat by it self with sauce and pickles, or our shawarma fries

    Any plans for vegan shawarma? (Pretty please with date sugar on top)

    Yes we want to make a vegan shawarma special, but most likely not til 2022, we are working on a bunch of specials and collabs for the rest of this year, but we will definitely do a vegan shawarma special next year

    Are your falafels fried or baked?

    Fried! :)

    Do they have salad?

    They just have a tahini salad - tomatoes, cucumber, and parsley in tahini sauce

    Is the falafel gluten free?

    Yes it is! :)

    Is the meat hand slaughtered(zabiha)? I had called to ask and was told no.

    Our chicken is halal machine slaughtered Our lamb is halal hand slaughtered

    Do they serve Halal meat?

    Yes we do!

    Do you offer any gluten-free options?

    You can get the shawarma fries( our slow roasted meats on fries, topped with sauce and pickles) Or you can just get the meat by it self :)

    Can you get the fries or the sandwich plate in chicken instead of lamb?

    We offer both lamb and chicken :) you can pick whatever meat you like

    Do any of your meals contain peanuts?

    No peanuts in any of our dishes! :)

    I heard you closed! Are you opening your own location? PLEASE!

    Hey there! yes, we are! our new location on Franklin Street will be open at the end of October/November. you can help us fundraise and get cool Shawarmaji merch by supporting… 

    Who is your meat supplier for chicken and lamb? Thank you!

    We get our chicken from Wayne farms The lamb is from an Australian company I'm not sure what it's called but its Halal

    Do you use tortilla bread or Arabic bread?

    Tortilla

    Is your meat halal?

    Yes it is!

    View All 21 Questions

    Persian Nights Restaurant

    Persian Nights Restaurant

    4.4(187 reviews)
    0.4 mi
    •$$

    The chicken and rice are awesome. Chicken was juicy and so flavorful…read more Yogurt and chive appetizer was great. The waitress recommended it and it was way better than I was anticipating. Tachin was something completely different. So many different flavors and textures. Great change up. Wouldn't be my go to. But once in a while I could enjoy it.

    The food was overall was really good! The eggplant and…read morebread dip was delish. The cucumber salad was uninspired, not particularly fresh...and quite bland. The standout was the lamb shank, and the herbed rice with the crunchy bread bottom. These easily redeemed the other items. I also ordered the pistachio lemonade...it was just okay - it looked NOTHING like the image on the photos - which was really too bad. I would NOT recommend it. It was more like a lemonade cream. Luckily the main dish elevated what would have been a 3-star review. The overall ambiance was cute, the outdoors was nice but it was also street front on a corner, so if you don't like road noise, the inside is a nice, well-decorated option. Also, of note, the woman I was with was Persian, and the (older male) person I assumed was the owner, was quite rude with his comments, so much so she refused to tell me what he said. She did enjoy the lamb and the dip and said both were quite authentic and well done....but alas, we probably won't be returning unless for take out.

    Photos
    Persian Nights Restaurant - Outdoor seating

    Outdoor seating

    Persian Nights Restaurant - Dessert saffron rice pudding & rosewater

    Dessert saffron rice pudding & rosewater

    Persian Nights Restaurant

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    Maya Halal Taqueria - Super Fish Taco

    Maya Halal Taqueria

    4.3(640 reviews)
    0.5 mi
    •$$

    YUM. Ordered:…read moreShrimp taco, fish taco, chicken quesadilla, chips Highlights: honestly everything. The seasoning on both were great, the tortilla was a bit on the crunchy or thick side but I liked it bc it didn't get soggy while I was eating. Their salsas were all delish (the hot is spicy but also flavorful). Fish was a little crispy and tacos were pretty full. Notes: we came on a Monday at 7 but they ran at of tortas. Will be back to try though. Parking was pretty easy and there are two small tables under their awning. We were able to sit and eat while it was drizzling out.

    Maya Halal is located around in the Oakland Downtown/Lake Merritt area. I went on a Sunday so there…read morewas a lot of street parking available which is probably different from any other day of the week. The process is easy, customers order at the window, pay, and wait outside where there are a couple tables to sit at while waiting for their orders. The main problem I found was the time it took to make a couple burritos. There were no customers in front of me and it took nearly thirty minutes to make two burritos. The other thing I noticed is the add ons really raised the price. The guacamole, etc are all extra charges on the the super burrito which in my eye makes no sense. Either it's a super or regular. Not super needing to have a ton of add ons to make it a super. But how was the burrito? Overall I thought the taste was good. Burrito was on the small side. But the ingredients seemed to be solid, and blended together nicely. Decent quality but for the price and wait time, I won't be rushing back.

    Photos
    Maya Halal Taqueria
    Maya Halal Taqueria
    Maya Halal Taqueria

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    Enssaro Ethiopian Restaurant - Ethiopian Nacho ( vegan )

    Enssaro Ethiopian Restaurant

    4.2(1.7k reviews)
    2.7 mi•Rockridge, North Oakland
    •$$

    Spectacular food - we ordered a veggie sampler, and got spiced ginger tea made in house also, with…read morelots of refills. Followed up with the world's best homemade pecan pie (with whipped cream). Lovely ambience in the outdoor courtyard, with soothing instrumental background music, under a heat lamp - very comfortable. Great, friendly personal service. Family-run restaurant that moved from near downtown Oakland to this new location less than two months ago.

    TL; DR food and drinks were good but DO NOT sit at the bar…read more I wish I could have given them five stars. I have been to Enssaro when it was along the lake several times and was glad to see a lively restaurant take over the old sushi boat place. The food was good, especially the meatballs. I ordered an NA cocktail and it was excellent. We sat at the bar and unfortunately, the service at the was not only terrible, it was openly hostile. They never took our food order, the busboy took our food order because the waiter saw us waiting for more than 20 minutes. When they finally took our drink order they didn't even look at us. We were going to order another drink, but they stood at the far corner looking away from us with their arms crossed. We wondered if we did something wrong. It almost seemed like they were avoiding our gaze on purpose. The new bartender who was learning the ropes looked at us sheepishly and apologetically, but didn't take our order. We closed out as soon as we could and left. It's too bad because the ambiance in the rest of the restaurant seemed fun.

    Photos
    Enssaro Ethiopian Restaurant - Menu

    Menu

    Enssaro Ethiopian Restaurant - Meat and Veggie Sampler for Four

    Meat and Veggie Sampler for Four

    Enssaro Ethiopian Restaurant - Amazing Cocktails: Espresso Martini, Honey Wine Pineapple Cider, Honey wine, Campari

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    Amazing Cocktails: Espresso Martini, Honey Wine Pineapple Cider, Honey wine, Campari

    Xingones at Fort Green

    Xingones at Fort Green

    4.3(386 reviews)
    1.0 mi
    •$$
    Minority-owned & operated
    Speaks Spanish

    Xingones is exactly what the neighborhood needed. There's ample seating and good bartenders if you…read morewant to dine in, though I usually end up getting their food to go. My go-tos are the Cali-style burrito with asada and the Xingones nachos (with extra cheese). Good quality ingredients and portions that are generous enough that I almost always have leftovers. Plus, the prices are fair for what you get.

    Xingones at Fort Green is a cool spot! The space is open, colorful, and vibrant. It has that casual…read morebar/cantina feel without feeling divey, and everything was clean. Our food came out pretty fast. Before our drinks did, surprisingly. :) The food was good. Nothing extraordinary, but honestly, about what you'd expect from a bar/cantina, maybe even a little above average. Solid food to have while you're hanging out and having drinks. The drinks were the highlight for us. Plenty of choices and a great variety on the menu. I ordered the Paloma, which was good! Refreshing, not overly sweet, and a solid drink overall. I'd recommend Xingones as a cool hangout spot. It's a solid place to go for a good happy hour after a regular day of work, grabbing drinks and food with friends, or hanging out with coworkers. The open space and atmosphere make it easy to sit around and hangout for a while. Plus, there's plenty of parking, which is always a win! Would come back, especially for drinks and happy hour.

    Photos
    Xingones at Fort Green
    Xingones at Fort Green
    Xingones at Fort Green

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    Taava Kitchen - Aloo Gobi

    Taava Kitchen

    4.5(87 reviews)
    0.2 mi
    •$$

    I was looking for somewhere to eat with a friend who was visiting out of town and came across this…read moreplace on Yelp. We were in the mood for Indian food. When we arrived, we noticed the sign outside above the door said "Lumpia Factory", but another sign on the ground outside said the actual name of the place, so it was a little hard to find. Unexpectedly, when we walked in, we noticed it was just their kitchen and not actually a restaurant. They have some tables and chairs for you to eat at, but they are not serviced. The food they were making smelled too good, so we decided to just stay and order some food. We got the stuffed onion naan, stuffed cheese naan, samosa chaat potato vindaloo, baingan bharta (eggplant), and bhindi masala (okra). My favorite dish was the potato vindaloo as it had the perfect flavor and the samosa chaat. The stuffed naan isn't really anything by special, but the naan itself was good. Next time, I would just get garlic naan or plain naan. Overall, the food was great and very flavorful and tasty. Would definitely come here again!

    They have a great lunch special--$16 base price for two dishes with rice and a bread. Everything…read morewas fragrant, flavorful, and hot! Especially the veggie samosa. Really nice staff. Love that they partner with a program that donates a meal to the local food bank with proof of purchase! I can tell they are very intentional in their practices Also smells amazing inside!! Highly recommend.

    Photos
    Taava Kitchen - Taava sign outside their new 24th St location.

    Taava sign outside their new 24th St location.

    Taava Kitchen - Vegetable Pakora

    Vegetable Pakora

    Taava Kitchen - Kheer

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    Kheer

    Jaji - Chicken skewers

    Jaji

    4.4(153 reviews)
    0.3 mi
    •$$$

    We had such a fabulous evening at Jaji! We started with the beet hummus and the hummus on pita and…read moreseeded crackers. Devine. We also tried the trout crudo which was delicious. We had also had several of the chicken and lamb kebabs. I had a filet of trout with crispy chili sauce which was amazing! The atmosphere was exciting! They had a belly dancer who did three different performances in 3 different outfits while we were there. There was another lady who did henna designs ( it was free but you needed to tip her) and in the back of the restaurant, they were having a paint and sip ($20.00). The place filled up quickly and everyone was having a blast. Fun night!

    Having tried their sister restaurant Parche, my husband and I wanted to check out Jaji for an…read moreafter-work date-night. The interior is beautiful and welcoming, the staff were also helpful with recommendations from the menu. Jaji has a similar layout to Parche with everything meant to be shared. I felt the portion sizes were more aligned with their price tag versus my experience at Parche. Now lets get to the food! We started with the Bahar Crudo, a refreshing beet-marinated ocean trout, as well as the Salata, a surprisingly large bowl of fresh salad with plenty of veggies, tzatziki and a delightful herb vinaigrette. For warm plates, we split the Bonjon Borani, beef cheek Mantu dumplings, and the Chapi Kabob with a side of saffron rice. I loved the addition of the orange peel in the rice. But I think my favorite of all was the Bonjon Borani, I couldnt't get enough of the delicious sauces over the perfectly cooked eggplant.

    Photos
    Jaji - Interior

    Interior

    Jaji - Trout (@_emwong_ on IG)

    Trout (@_emwong_ on IG)

    Jaji - Dark chocolate cake

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    Dark chocolate cake

    Shawarmaji - mideastern - Updated October 2026

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