Shawarma Palace Serves a $5 Lunchtime Pita Sandwich

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The opening of a new shawarma place in L.A. isn’t exactly huge news (there’s plenty to go around), but when Food GPS called relative newcomer Shawarma Palace (on Pico just west of Robertson) the best he’s had in all of Los Angeles I couldn’t help but rush over to check it out. If you couldn’t figure it out from the address, the place is Israeli (and Kosher) and according to the post on Food GPS it was started a few months ago by a guy who used to own a shawarma spot near Tel Aviv. Sounds like the real deal to me…

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I was a little nervous about the prices (the shawarma platter with rice and your choice of two sides is a whopping $12) but was super excited to discover that during lunch they offer a $5 shawarma on pita!

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As promised, the shawarma was super flavorful- and had clearly been marinated in all sorts of great spices. The pita was a fairly standard bagged Israeli pita, but they layered the sandwich perfectly with hummus, Israeli salad and harrisa- so each bite had a little bit of everything. (Very important in my book.) The shawarma wasn’t nearly as crispy as the photo in the Food GPS post, but what it lacked in crunch it made up for in flavor. (Flavor that ended up staining my hands yellow!) In sandwich form, I’m not sure if it’s the best of all time. The grease from the griddled shawarma ends up running down through the sandwich, causing the bottom to break apart by the time you’re down with it- but if you don’t mind a bit of grease (lord knows I don’t), and you’re looking for a giant flavor bomb, this is definitely your spot.

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And it was good enough that I’m super interested in going back and trying their falafel sandwich ($5.99) and sabich (eggplant and egg sandwich, $5.99).

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

  • Man that shawarma is flavorful!
  • I love Israeli style sandwiches. The pita pocket makes for the perfect size lunch.
  • The sandwich layering is perfect, so you get a little bit of everything in every bite

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

  • The shawarma is a bit too greasy… the whole bottom of the sandwich fell apart
  • Shawarma shouldn’t be griddled. Just cut it off the spit and serve it up.
  • The platters are too pricey
  • The ambiance is weird, and all the Hebrew on the walls is really intimidating!

Shawarma Palace, 8879 W. Pico Blvd., 310-777-0402

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3 Comments

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    Sounds good. There seems to be a shwarma revolution happening in NY with street carts and all. But I still can find a better shwarma than the one I had in Hamburg, Germany 17 years ago! I think they call them Doner Kebab over there…

  • Great review — I’ll be checking this place out this weekend.

    Also, GetMeaBucket, a Doner Kebab is a different beast entirely. So delicious, and even harder to find in the U.S. than great Israeli-style shawarma and falafel!

    BTW, don’t be fooled by descriptions of Spitz in Eagle Rock as serving Doners. Their version is nothing like what you get in Germany.

    • Tried Shawarma Palace yesterday, and it was exactly what I craved. Made sure to tell the lady I heard about them through Midtown Lunch!

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