Let me take my shoes off before i start (arabic habits) :…read more
Apparently this place is TikTok famous. I wouldn't know, I remain a proud TikTok virgin. But I have dated enough white school teachers who "love ethnic food" to hear about this place roughly 86 times, so eventually I had to pull up and investigate. And of course i had to trust the gals the eat taco bell at 2 am post 12 shots.
Let's start with the "chicken shawarma," which is ,with respect: about five miles away from an actual shawarma. This is not a shawarma. This is a chicken sandwich that identifies as shawarma. The chicken is okay but a little dry, the flavor is playing hide and seek, and by the time you get home the sandwich has the structural stability of wet cardboard. Also, the vegetables are cut like someone lost a bet and had to chop them blindfolded. Overall? Fine. Would I order it again? Probably not. But given Nashville's current shawarma economy, I understand why some folks are acting like they discovered Atlantis. Personally, I daydream about real shawarma the way people daydream about winning the lottery, or the way poets dream about lost love (in my case that one girl in 8th grade)
I also tried the mixed plate (rice, lentil soup, and three meats: kabab, chicken, and beef tikka):
Rice: solid. Honest work.
Lentil soup: extremely shy. Needs seasoning, confidence, and maybe therapy. Also a bit oily.
Chicken: dry enough to file paper work with.
Beef tikka: actually pretty good, respect where respect is due.
Kabab: could use more garlic, onion, and emotional support.
Didn't see a health inspection score posted, and the place could definitely level up on the cleanliness side, nothing terrifying, just not sparkling either.
The bald uncle behind the counter is a little dismissive and chaotic, but the man looks like he has personally witnessed several historical events, so I'm choosing compassion.
They do carry a wide variety of Arabic groceries and halal raw meats (which I personally can't buy because I'm allergic, tragic and traumatic storyline), and honestly they should give discounts to school teachers because those are the main people marketing this place harder than the actual owners.
Not terrible, not life changing. If this is your first shawarma, you'll be impressed. If you grew up eating shawarma, you'll drive home in silence thinking, "we as a society can do better." And also need to be more politically correct naming foods but alas.