Shawarma Grill

Love this place! Having spent a lot of time in the Middle East with the military, I have a great love for shawarma and this place is truly authentic! The shawarma are huge and the seasoning is right and they even use the right pickles. It brings back so many memories! The owners are very nice too and it's definitely a family business that I'm proud to support.

I just moved in the area and was very excited to try this place. I was severely disappointed and utterly confused. The food is horrible. I placed an order of almost $50 to try everything and it is such a mistake. The bread is like a chapati/paratha indian style. The food is very bland and there is so much oil in the sandwich it was leaking out. The beef/lamb shawarma was so plain with only one seasoning used, salt and way to much of it. The chicken shawarma was bland. The only thing good about the sandwiches were the pickles. I also got the kabob sandwich. The kabob was well seasoned. that is the only thing we ate. The hummus (how do you mess up hummus of all things!) was so disappointing and ironically tasted old and chunky. Sabra tastes better. The falafel was good. Kabob and falafel were the only edible things. Memphis has several decent middle eastern restaurants, this is not one of them. I really wanted to like this place.

First, to avoid confusion, the actual name of the restaurant is Albaik Grill (Google still shows the results under previous name - Shawarma & Grill Restaurant or both names). They serve al la carte and the buffet style (did not have a chance to try that side of the restaurant). Second, and most important, they offer super delicious Middle Eastern food. Third, the menu is somewhat confusing, as it contains only the names of the dishes in English and Arabic, without full description or very few photos, therefore, if you are not familiar with the names, ask. Also, get familiar with the side items, the list is long, but has all the usual food for this type of restaurants, and more. Obviously, there is no beer, so consider tea or juices. After these initial impressions, and about 15-20 minutes waiting, we got our food served. The portions are of good size and we had some leftovers to take home. Beef kebobs actually contain filet mignon pieces, so it is very soft and delicious, not sure if you can find similar kebobs in the Memphis area. They are not served on a stick, but arranged on a plate in a circle. Tabboul salad contained all freshly cut greens. Hummus comes with warm pita bread wedges. Overall, great food and great taste, and next time will need to plan better and leave some room for baklava or other deserts that they have.