This place is awesome because even on a Thursday night they were open past 12am, and I'd imagine they cater well to the drunk crowds nearby at the bars and clubs. I wasn't out and about partying, but just looking for some late night food as I had been driving all day and didn't eat much earlier. The people here didn't go out of their way to be friendly or anything. It's more of a no frills type of place, and the food here is fire! I got a shawarma pita wrap with everything on it and it was bombbbbbb. I haven't had one this good in a while! I'd definitely come back here. read more

Ordered beef shawarma and lamb chops to go. Both meat tasted delicious. I was expecting the veggies that came with it to be the same as the photo in the menu. To my disappointed, I was given a bunch of lettuce with a few pieces of tomatoes and carrots...and a ranch dressing. This is not a Mediterranean salad. I was also expecting rice pilaf. It didn't feel and taste authentic. read more

Stumbled by here on our way back to our bnb, and we were pretty munchy after some drinks in Kensington Market. Looked a little desolate (Thursday and Covid) so we almossst just kept walking. Being from Windsor, shawarma is the go to late night snack, so we doubled back and decided to give it a shot. Super glad we did! Very friendly staff and amazing food and portions. I decided to try the beef gyro, and it was awesome. Really liked the fresh cucumber. Don't usually get that in Windsor with our Greek gyros. Gf got the "city chicken" sandwich. Well yes it was the size of a city block and also delicious! Definitely recommend and would stop back if ever in the area! read more

Istanbul Shawarma - City chicken sandwich - Mediterranean Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

Great services, Great food, Great times. This is my go to spot to eat lunch. 100% recommend. Especially the fries.

At a Glance: A great spot to satisfy Turkish Pide (Turkish Pizza) and Shawarma cravings for a decent price! I went in with a group of friends and ordered 4 different Pide to try: Lahmacun, Spinach and Cheese, Sucuk and Cheese, and Chicken Shawarma. They were all delicious, fresh baked and came with fresh sides (tomato, onion, parsley, hot peppers) as well as homemade sauce, which paired well with the Chicken Shawarma. It was pretty authentic Turkish pide, we all left full and satisfied with some taken to go. The kitchen was pretty quick, we didn't have to wait for long. The sucuk was mild and the Lahmacun paired well with Ayran (a yogurt drink), which was also very good. The tea was nice, especially on the chilly day we had. The service was very friendly and welcoming and overall, we had a great time! Highly recommend a visit. My background is Turkish, so I'm very happy with the authentic and hospitable vibe of the place! read more

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Best shawarma in the city!!! Got the chicken shawarma and they gave me free baklava. Delicious.

Came back to try the street doner (which I heard often gets sold out) and it was just as good as the chicken on fries, but a lighter option (given that there are no fries). It's a messy sandwich but once you work around the chicken kebab bits and can actually pick up the flatbread overstuffed with the pickled vegetables/hummus/other condiments it's very manageable and fun to eat. Again the chicken is great; a mix of crispy bits (almost like crackling/porchetta skin) and tender and juicy bits. Definitely doubling (tripling?) back for the regular shawarma/gyros offerings in the future. read more

Istanbul Shawarma - street doner - Mediterranean Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I love the chicken shawarma plate here. The portion is big, the chicken is not dry, and the hot sauce is on point. We fell in love with this spot right when we ate the food. The price points are very decent here. They even offer student specials. Just wish I was still a student to get the discount ! There's vegetarian options as well here and they serve breakfast too. I can't wait to come back and check out the Turkish breakfast ! It's actually quite busy here at night too read more

Istanbul Shawarma - Mediterranean Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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If you're ever in the area, definitely check out Istanbul Shawarma!! Super friendly & welcoming environment with good food - The chicken on fries is to die for, but they also offer other cool dishes such as Turkish Pide (pizza) & rice dishes (beef kofta = yum!) If you're a student, there's also a student discount! read more

(pub golf 4/7) i was an embarrassing level of drunk and the food still didn't taste good so that was kind of disappointing. beef was a little dry and mj got onions without sauce which was pretty hard to eat. read more

I don't have much to say other than there is quick service and I love the shawarma here!

I ordered off Uber eats. The small shawarma plate came in a styrofoam container that world fit a street hot dog....the other items were good and the taste was there but for what I pard$$$$ the size was pathetic and obviously a bait and switch compared to the menu photos.....I have never had a meal served in such a small container for 12.99$. Sorry Istanbul the taste was there and other items were ok size/portions but you must know you are ripping off people on your delivery plates.......NEVER AGAIN!! read more

The chicken shawarma is amazing and the sauces are great. They also offer two kinds of rice. Would not recommend getting the shredded lettuce as part of the shawarma plate salad though. It tastes like burger king lettuce and ruins the shawarma taste. Ate here dozens of times as a uoft student and only had a bad experience once with undercooked rice. read more

Ordered here for the first time today. Got the chicken shawarma fries, lentil soup, beef shawarma wrap, side of falafel and baklava. The Great: Shawarma fries (with feta) and baklava! These two items carry the whole review for me. I will be going back for these. The fries were delightfully crispy with a nice fried flavour and the sauces were perfect. The baklava was super gooey and sweet (can't speak to its authenticity, only its tastiness). It was lighter on the pistachio and heavier on the honey than others I've tried. The OK: The shawarma wrap and lentil soup were both pretty average. I enjoyed eating them but not sure I'd order them again. The bad: The falafel was really dry and hard, not fresh tasting at all. Not sure why this is even on the menu. read more

I am easy to feed, and difficult to please. This place was fantastic! Everything was perfect. I need to come back and try the rest of the menu. read more

Istanbul Shawarma - It is like a piece of art!-) - Mediterranean Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

First impression was the restaurant is welcoming, spacious, bright and clean! The staff were all so friendly and helpful. Everything I had were fresh and delicious! All the dips are made in house and I really enjoyed all of them. I love the freshness of the veggies that came with the dishes and the seasoning on everything was spot on. I also appreciated that service was quick since I went there super hungry :P read more

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Always fantastic food, the employees are always friendly and make your order quite fast. Def try their sandwiches!

I've ordered from here some times ago and never had a problem, however tonight after returning home I found the chicken to be incredibly dry and hard. I live only 10 minutes away and the chicken was still warm so that shouldn't be the problem. I think probably no one ordered any meals for a while and I got the outer layer of the meat skewer while it dried. Maybe it's because of the pandemic, but if no one is ordering any meals the restaurant could trim off a layer of the outer skewer to ensure the customers have fresh and moist meat when they order. The service is fine and they make an effort to ensure things are hygienic due to the pandemic. I'm open to visiting them again, I wish for their success but I hope they will put some more thought into which cuts they give to their customers. read more

I had a good chicken shawarma after a long time. Quantity of chicken was good and the ratio to veggies was also balanced. Sauces are perfect and not overpowering. Would recommend it to anyone who would like to have a good shawarma. Place is well maintained and staff is polite read more

Even though the area was packed (El Rancho, a few bars) and there was a lot of foot traffic on the street, this restaurant was completely empty. Either way, I didn't think much of it and em decided to give it a try. The one thing I liked was that their menu had prices that were rounded - $8, $10, etc. They strategically priced the items so it came out at an even dollar value. I did find a spelling mistake on their menu, which I thought was fairly amateur... I mean, just take some time to proof read it before you advertise! Anyways, I got the chicken shawarma sandwich, which comes to $8 flat. The service was extremely slow, they take forever to make the sandwich and they are very picky on the toppings too. The meat didn't taste very fresh, and was a bit on the harder side. Overall I didn't really enjoy this sandwich, and I won't be back for seconds. Now I understand why it was so empty on a Saturday night... read more

I will never order from them again. I ordered delivery through Skip the dishes, Delivery was on time on Sunday February 3rd but Istanbul Shawarma messed up with my order. I ordered Chicken on fries and they charged me full amount and delivered only fries. I was very disappointed and called right away and they said they cannot return me my money, I have to go there to collect it. If I could go then why would I pay for delivery? Awful service never ordering from them again. read more

Nom nom nom. More updates! So I have continued to come here, and I am glad I have done so. 9 times out of 10, the food is pretty awesome. I am also ever so glad that I have discovered that I can have a chicken shawarma salad :D Get in mah bellay! read more

Istanbul Shawarma - Chicken Shawarma salad :D - Mediterranean Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

This shawarma place gives you alot of food serving per order. The food is excellent and tasty. Recommend it highly.

Worst shawarma I've had in Toronto, probably the worst of my life anywhere. Terrible food, overpriced, this place is empty for a reason read more

Absolutely AWFUL, I got the Chicken shawerma platter and it smells and tastes rotten... As in expired food.... I am Egyptian i knoooow what shawerma is like and that was compost.... Outrageous. I also got simid which is supposed to be soft and succulent it was stale and rock hard instead... First and last time to get food here read more

Istanbul Shawarma - Simid - Mediterranean Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

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I just had my first shawarma, and I was so disappointed of the food and service. My background is Turkish and I know the real deal. 1.The meat wasn't a fresh cut. The beef oven was turned off and they reheated a piece of meet and cut them into small pieces. 2. The service was friendly but inexperienced and very slow. 3. The shawarma was very cold. 4. I paid for this shawarma $9 and after my second bite I trowed it into the garbage. My suggestion is stay away and find an other place to eat. I'm 100% sure they won't last more than 6 months. read more

Came here with the family and none of us have experiences such a terrible restaurant. I do not recommend it to anyone- they are very inexperienced & food is absolutely tasteless -We asked for a gyro plate and litterly got a plate of gyro strips, no veggies no sauce or anything and just bread to make it a sandwich on our own without anything else. - the hummus was dry and was obviously just taken out of a can and completely flavourless- we even had to ask her to add oil on top of the hummus. - the falafel tasted like it's been out for days and it was hard and tasted terrible. - the soup is terrible as well they destroyed the concept of Mediterranean food completely ... if your in the area just don't eat there & save your money! read more

I ordered Kofta and lentil soup. The kofta was good, but not great. Soup on the hand, was bad, so watery and didnt taste like an authentic Turkiah lentil soup. Generally, I don't recommend it read more

This restaraunt served half raw chicken with bones in a chicken shawarma. I was very unimpressed and the staff were not helpful with taking my order. read more

Had a great experience eating here. Their chicken on fries was delicious. Be sure to ask about their homemade sauces!!

The food was delivered cold and it took 1h40 mins. My wrap was made completely wrong and full of hot peppers to the point where I couldn't even eat it. The ONLY thing that was good was the falafel, but again. Cold falafel can only be so good. read more

Istanbul Shawarma - This is the "plain" gyro wrap I ordered. It arrived cold, with the wrong toppings, and the gyro meat was bland. - Mediterranean Near Me - Toronto, Ontario

I ordered from here on Uber Eats. Worst decision ever! The food is over priced and poor customer service. I called to just get one item removed from a shawarma wrap because the person had a severe allergy to tomatoes but the person who asnwered said that he's not making a new one and just pushed the order through. Most rude person ever! I suggest not ordering from here on uber eats or anything from here at all! read more

I was craving a falafel on my way home and decided to try this place. Located on the north side of College Street, in what is essentially a row of restaurants, it is a typical shawarma place. There a lot of tables facing the street and then the counter in the back corner with the grill and dryer behind that. Had falafel that was overpriced at $ 8.00 and over salted. If you are going to sell food to the public, taste it before you sell it. I threw most of it out because it was inedible. Before you sell something do your market research and find out the prices of your competitors. $ 8.00 is crazy for a falafel sandwich. With food and prices like this they won't be around long. read more

Ordered dinner here Friday night from feedback. The place was empty and I was surprised as it's located in a fairly high traffic area of College St. I ordered two chicken shawarma plates for takeout for a friend and myself. Three stars for the huge portion size as it was enough food to share or split into two meals. Three stars also for the brown rice. It's made with nutmeg and tastes incredible! I'd go back and just order rice. Three stars also for the price as both dinners came in at under $16. Where the food was lacking was the chicken shawarma itself. It was extremely oily and greasy. It otherwise had no real flavour to it. Also about a quarter of the chicken portion received in both meals were pieces of fat. For those reasons I likely won't be back to try anything else. There is way better chicken shawarma out there. read more

Absolutely horrible ,i just ordered a chicken plate with fries ,the chicken was soggy water dripping down the box and so raw ,absolutely horrible never ordering anything from this place . read more

Their shawarma plate is reasonably priced and big enough to share, usually I get it on an empty stomach and it's the last thing I eat for the rest of the day. My first experience here wasn't so great, the rice was hard and the some of the chicken burnt but I gave them another try and they haven't disappointed in the times I've gone since. Their chicken shawarma has a very distinct taste and texture and is more fatty compared to Middle Eastern places. My only gripes are that they have limited free salad options and their hummus isn't very good. You do however get to choose between white and brown rice which I really appreciate. read more

I find it funny how all the reviews are bad. I've been coming here for about a year now. I have ate at many shawarma places all over the gta. With shawarma it's either you have the really strong garlicky type or the Turkish kind, I eat both and when I want the Turkish kind Istanbul is my first choice. Perfect ratio of meat to fat in the chicken and everything is fresh and I always feel good after I eat there. For $10 tax in for a plate you really get what you pay for. read more

I live in the neighborhood and dropped in to try this place out when it opened. Got the beef shawarma plate with rice and veggies and I keep coming back. Inexpensive, nice generous size portion, delicious. Never had any problems. Will return! read more