OK, I ordered again from my favorite Kebab place in the whole valley Ara's Shawarma in North Hollywood They have three locations, but this is the closest to my work I got the BEEF shawarma plate with rice, paired with cabbage salad, tomatoes, cilantro and hummus The beef Shawarma, super fresh and juicy as I like it I also ordered a ground lamb Loula wrap: very simple wrap with a lamb Loula and their signature tomato sauce I really love that place and definitely recommended to all of you. You'll fall in love with the freshness and the amount of food they gave us in each portion. read more

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This place is very viral, but not very good. Look at my reviews - I'm a VERY positive yelper. I go low when there is regret. Very over cooked beef. Super soggy fries, no flavor to garlic spread, dry and sad pita with the plate (bordering on stale), no flavor to hummus and cheap oil on top. Hummus mealy and chunky - not smooth and yummy. Way to pronounced lemon flavor in crispy beef shawarma. $20 and super small portion. This place is all hype and clearly paying influencers to post positive stuff. No bathroom to wash your hands in or use bathroom. $40 for a drink, a crispy shawarma, and a pork plate. I would absolutely roast this place but the kid working there seemed exhausted and was trying his best. Good for him. I literally just left. Don't go here for this kind of food. 2 star food. read more

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We came because they were trending on tiktok but unfortunately we had a mundane experience. Cashier didn't seem to want to be there. Food was okay. However, the cook was all smiles and genuine. We bought their green pastry and as we were leaving, cook came and gave us an extra one on the house. read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

Came here after a late night from the airport. Ordered the chicken shawarma.wrap $13.99 they are open pretty late. Wrap was delicious with good dipping sauce. Place is clean and friendly staff. read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

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It was my first time trying Ara's Shawarma, and I was pleasantly surprised. I ordered the chicken shawarma, and it was really good -- flavorful, well‑seasoned, and I loved the crispy texture. For a first visit, it definitely made a great impression. I'd come back to try more of their menu for sure. read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

One guy at counter. They have a falafel option. Menu has a variety of pork chops, chicken thighs and breast, steak, lamb chops, hummus, cabbage and fries. I ordered the beef wrap and the falafel and was very happy with it. The rice was excellent and the roasted jalapeño, tomato and onion were delicious. Definitely will be back. read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Menu - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

Amazing food, interior, and incredible strawberry and chocolate/ pistachio. Loved the chicken crunch wrap. I'll probably put the pickles and sauce on the side next time, but nothing taken away from the meal. Thank you. read more

*Delayed post from April '25 Stopped here for a quick bite and found parking in the small lot in front. The space itself had a local street vibe with graffiti art on the walls and small tables. We ordered at the kiosk at the front and grabbed our order when it was called out. I was surprised at how busy it was both inside and for take out, especially after trying both chicken and pork wraps, since the meat was super dry from overcooking. The pork had a smoky flavor reminiscent of Chinese barbecue from some overlapping spice. The pepperoncinis added delicious spice and the pickled vegetables in sauce were also great, but the pita wasn't able to hold everything together, so be prepared to eat it with a fork and knife. I think it would have been more balanced with additional vegetables like lettuce or cabbage, and perhaps more creamy sauce to add moisture to the meat. It would help give more textural difference in the wrap too. We also ordered a cup of strawberries with chocolate. Sadly not all the strawberries were ripe, giving them little flavor, but the chocolate was very rich and thick, almost like Nutella, but without the hazelnut flavor. The pistachio sauce was very watery, therefore ridding it of flavor since it was so diluted. However, the golden knafeh flakes added a delightful crispy texture that kept every bite interesting. read more

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I'm always up late and tend to get cravings, so after seeing this spot all over Instagram, my boyfriend and I decided to check it out late at night. It's a small place but it was busy, which is usually a good sign. I ordered the chicken and beef shawarma crispy, and honestly--the hype is real. Everything was delicious, flavorful, and satisfying. Portions were generous, prices were very reasonable, and the fact that they're open late is a huge plus. Definitely a great late-night option and worth the stop. read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - CHICKEN Pita Sawarma - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

I finally decided to stop by here for lunch, I tried their Pork Belly plate, it was delicious! I gotta try their other dishes and chocolate desserts. Uniformed firefighter can get a free plate of food. The place is nice and clean. Service is friendly and professional. read more

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Extremely SLOW. much faster better options nearby. Food mediocre. Staff not friendly read more

Parking is provided at this fast casual spot with only indoor seating. Service is limited as there are few employees present that are doing a lot but those that are present are helpful. I got a wrap with mixed shawarma; it was a bit salty and underwhelming but did have a home cooked feel. Portion is as expected but a bit pricey for what it is. read more

Came to eat - nobody was at the counter or any customers. We waited and nobody came out. We saw people in the back and through a window and they didn't come out. We rang the bell and a lady came after 2 minutes and looked at us and went to the back again. We waited then we rang the bell again and nobody came out so we left and went to another restaurant in the same complex where we were immediately helped. read more

If you're looking for flavorful and juicy shawarma, I recommend Ara's. The perfect blend of spices and fresh ingredients made every bite enjoyable. The staff were warm and hospitable. I met Mike who went out of his way to make our first visit a positive experience. He even gave baklava with on the house as a welcome treat. They have lots of options and I appreciate the large menu. Service was quick and the seating area comfortable. Parking gets a little tight during the day. read more

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I love this place! Amazing tasting chicken schwarmas and selection on the menu. Food is great customer service... well I wish she would smile more. But I'm not there for the smiles. I'm there for the food. I'm glad I found this place. read more

Great place for halal chicken and beef shawarmas. Only shawarmas are halal so we couldn't try other options on the menu. But neat, and simple place with flavorful shawarmas. Sweet of them to let me try the meat before placing my order. read more

We decided to check this place out since it recently got a lot of traction for the viral Dubai chocolate. We've only been able to find the chocolate at Island Pacific grocery store in Granada Hills but for the smallest chocolate bar, not really worth the $12.00. We popped over here and drove through traffic after work to spend $30 on their version of the viral Dubai chocolate bar lol. But also to grab dinner which the shawarma was just okay and I tried their falafel which was my first time having it and it was EXTREMELY dry and pretty dense. I basically had one and I was done. They give you hummus but nothing can save it. They also had the strawberry cup with the Dubai chocolate/toppings if you're interested in that. I'm sure the price is also just as expensive. They had a smaller bar for half the price of the bigger one but we refrigerated ours to preserve it longer and it definitely lasted us a while! Very good, especially fresh, but $30 for a chocolate bar is pretty wild. They were busy when we visited so the food and chocolate took a while. Small restaurant with only a handful of seats. Parking is god awful so beware! They might have street parking but I got lucky with someone leaving and me squeezing into the tight parking spot. Probably would only come back to try their strawberry cup which seems to be available everywhere now. IG: @ammysalamii read more

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My friends and I were craving Shawarma and decided to check out a new spot. We ordered delivery and got lamb, chicken, and beef dishes. All the dishes were good. I don't recommend getting the fries unless dining in. If you are a soggy fry lover then maybe that option is for you. Short and sweet review until the next time. Parking: small private lot VERDICT: One and done read more

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Wow, I keep coming out to Ara's Shawarma. My 4th time within a 2 months period since the New Year lol. Maybe I better move here lol. Nah, I love living in my Fountain Valley area. Anyway, I had to take care of some important errands in this area, and I stopped here to get some lunch for me and my girl back home. I ordered 2 Lamb Kebab Wraps and 1 Beef and Chicken Kebab Wraps. The fries are delicious too. Customer service was good here. Anytime I am in the area, I will be stopping by here. read more

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Improvement needed all across the board. Female order taker seems full of herself. She has a sour look and you can barely hear her. Overall she seems bothered with working. The crispy chicken shawarma was well below par. Definitely not crispy and thin as it should be. Garlic paste didn't even taste like garlic or barely a hint of it. I've had all three locations. Hollywood one is the best then Encino. I'd rather go to McDonald's than the one on vanowen. I don't even eat at McDonald's read more

Great food, great atmosphere, and they got holiday spirit too! This place has amazing fresh food, cheap prices and great customer service highly recommend. Make sure you ask for Mike! He's the man read more

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The best shawarma and Dubai strawberries in town . Kids ask for it when we're driving by every time

Saw this small resto in instagram and kinda looks good. What made me more excited is that they have this starwberry chocolate dessert dubai style. Came here 1 day with wifey, ordered their promo beef shawarma combo which includes fries and a drink for a lesser price and 1 chicken wrap same for a lesser price, and they were good. They have a huge menu posted on their wall, we just tried their promo that's all. I liked it more than my wife. Their fries are so crunchy and good that you won't stop munching once you started it. We also ordered their strawberry chocolate dubai style for $17! a little expensive but hey I guess this is the same wherever you go. This one my wife loved it! The place is really small, only few chairs and tables, it's more like a to go places. Service is ok. medium speed. The cleanliness of the place is reasonable, they could have done better. read more

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*Only rating for the Dubai Chocolate Strawberries and Bar* I'm sure that you've been seeing the famous Dubai Chocolate anything and everything on social media, so you can imagine my excitement when I finally got my hands on the strawberry cup of goodness. I've previously had a version of Dubai Chocolate in crepe and it was pretty good. It helped me understand the hype and as a big pistachio lover and all things chocolate, I got it. However, I never imagined how much I would truly enjoy it with strawberries! The worker was very nice and made conversation with us while he was making out delicious treat. We do plan to come back and try their menu, but this trip was purely for desserts. The first bite was a perfect balance of sweet, crunchy, and juicy experience. Was it hard to share this cup, yes it was! Perfectly ripe strawberries, partnered with sweet, melted chocolate and pistachio cream, topped with the crunch of the knafeh. I do think that the pistachio cream from Ara's is a bit runny and diluted and I prefer my pistachio cream thicker, this was a great dessert for the day. They also sold the Dubai Chocolate bars, but I prefer the strawberries over the bar. A must try! read more

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Ara's Shawarma I tried for the first time , I was very impressed, I had the Beef shawarma loaded with tender Beef , I usually eat couple of sandwiches but one was good enough , awesome place everyone should try it out . read more

As a great European vibe to it and the chocolate strawberries are absolutely amazing, but I have to tell you the chicken plate and the beef Shawarma pita were the two hits that I got to sample when I came in tonight. I really enjoy the environment. I like the fact that it's open late on a Saturday night. Everything is made fresh so give yourself a little extra time but you won't regret it. It's a lot of fun come and try everything they have here. You won't regret the BFP I can tell you that. ! read more

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I had seen the crispy chicken shawarma on tik tok and wanted to try it so we drove 40 min or more from Long Beach on a Sunday afternoon. There were two workers there, one cook and one cashier they gave good service so no complaints. We were the only customers someone came in for strawberries but otherwise very dead. The food was not that good my chicken in the shawarma was cold and just kinda mid wasn't anything special like everyone was making it seem. My husband had the beef shawarma which was actually pretty good and maybe if we had tried other stuff I would have had a better experience but overall not that great and wouldn't want it again. read more

Met Mike, He was friendly and kind. The beef shawarma was so flavorful with yummy seasoning. I will definitely be back. I ordered the beef plate, beef' and chicken warp. Thank you Mike read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

I stopped by yesterday for lunch, food was delicious but customer service!? I been reading the reviews on this and im like, why? I wasnt mean to the guy at the register, he wasn't nice at all. That guy looked miserable, like he didn't want to be there. I would come back even after that bad experience with yesterday customer service because food was great! Food was a 10 for me! Everything looks clean and neat. read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - chicken shawarma wrap. Best fries ever - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

My go to place for a quick Shawarma fix. I used to go to halal guys but thank god I live one block away from this Ara's Shawarma location! I love the sauce they provide for the wraps and bowls. The only downside for this location is that service is quite slow and they serve Pepsi products. Everything else is 5 stars to me! Keep it up guys and keep making good food! read more

I like that this place is open late and the staff is friendly. The food was solid, nothing crazy. I also got a dubai chocolate. It was good, not the best I've had but also solid. The price for everything was a bit high in my opinion. read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

I come here a lot. These past few times I have came and ordered a wrap they have been giving it to me cold... the inside worker is too lazy to make fresh food so they give me premade cold wraps that don't taste good. So I will never come back here again due to the workers being lazy and not making fresh hot wraps. read more

Ara's Shawarma! WOW! Great food with Awesome pricing! Strawberries and chocolate to die for!! read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Strawberry with chocolate DUBAI Style! - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

Service was pretty quick and the girl who took my order was friendly. It took about 15 mins for the lamb lula kebab wrap and small fry. The dining area was clean and the wait was pleasant. I will say, I was disappointed by the food. I might've ordered wrong (was hoping to get the crispy wrap I've seen on instagram), but nonetheless, the sandwich was lacking the robust flavor that middle eastern food usually has. I also asked for garlic sauce on the side and didn't receive any, so that made my wrap pretty plain. It's unfortunate because it looked like it would be pretty good. The hunt for the best shawarma/kebab place in LA continues. read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - LAMB Lula Kabob Wrap - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

Ara's is a great choice if you're looking for a flavorful shawarma. I got the chicken shawarma and it was seasoned very well and was complemented by a nice assortment of veggies, pickles, and sauce. The size of the wrap was perfect and filling, especially for lunch. My order came out in under 10 minutes, which was very nice. Overall, this spot is small, but has some seating. Staff were nice as well. read more

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Friendly staff and yummy Dubai chocolate covered strawberries Wish they had a non creamy hot sauce, warm pita wraps like on Instagram, and more seating read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Chicken breast plate - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

I'm Middle Eastern, so I was really looking forward to the shawarma, especially since it's what you claim to specialize in. Unfortunately, the lamb had a very strong, overly gamey taste that almost made me sick. Even though I was extremely hungry, I could only manage to eat half of it. The table I sat at was dirty, and when I looked around to move, most of the other tables were also unclean. On top of that, it was freezing inside. To be fair, when I mentioned the cold to the server, she was understanding and agreed to turn the AC off. Overall, the experience was disappointing, especially given my expectations for authentic shawarma and cleanliness. read more

This is the Crispy Chicken shwarma I see IG! I also happened to be the first person to try it at this location!! It was delicious!! Chicken was crispy yet very juicy with a little of that char from the fire and the pita was had a light crunch from the grill. Super good with the garlic sauce!! The manager Mike was cool, lol read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Crispy Chicken Shwarma - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

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Well that grilled chicken shawarma was just delicious!! Juicy flavorful perfection!!!! read more

Ara's Shawarma - Vanowen - Mediterranean Near Me - North Hollywood, California

Needed something to eat after doing laundry. I didn't want the usual. I'm glad I saw a review of this place recently. I decided to give it a try. I was very pleased. Service was quick and accurate and this location though small was very clean. I was very impressed with the entree prices...they were mostly under $20. The real draw for me if I'm being honest are the fresh chocolate covered strawberries. I had to eat a few before eating my food LOL. MY lamb chop plate was pretty hefty and filling for the price. I'm definitely happy that I decided to give them a try. Will order for the whole family next time. read more

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