Shawarma Palace

I am fan of Shawermas, and this is as close as you get to Middle East but its best made by 1 guy who has arabic accent, not the other person who works there

Shawarma Palace, a Lebanese fast food joint, is one of the rare eateries in Richmond outside of Chinese restaurants and cafes that I find worthy of revisiting. There are numerous restaurants within a 1 km radius of No. 5/​Steveson, enough for a solid 2 week lunch rotation, but none of the places stand out in terms of value or food quality. Considering the miserable alternatives in the area such as Taco Del Mar (microwaved fish taco), Phở 37 (one plate of sprouts given per 4 bowls of phở, no flavor broth), Kisha Poppo (stale sushi), my first visit to Shawarma Palace was by process of elimination but actually turned out to be a fortuitous trip.
Although this eatery obviously specializes in chicken and beef shawarma, which are cooked on vertical broilers, I was craving something else — the shish kufta. At first I was alarmed when the server hesitated at my request and had to go back to the kitchen to ask some questions. Turns out kufta was not a common order, so the chef had to prepare it from scratch.
The food was grilled to order right behind the counter, so it took over 15 minutes for me to receive my lunch. All the vegetarian sides were premade and organized behind a salad bar counter (Subway or Chipotle style). My plate came loaded with 2 kufta skewers each chopped in half, a dollop of hummus, rice pilaf, fattoush, and a generous portion of crispy Lebanese potatoes smothered in thick garlic sauce.
Several items in the plate were exceptionally tasty, particularly the kufta skewer. What made this skewer stand out to me was the balanced flavors of parsley, garlic, and mint blended into the meat. Then, the garlic sauce accentuated the overall taste. My second favorite item was the Lebanese potatoes, it had perfect crispy texture and a little bit of lemon flavor infused into it. The hummus was more spicy than the usual, which I did not mind, but it did have somewhat of a watery consistency. On the other hand, the fattoush with olive dressing was ordinary and the rice pilaf was definitely the most disappointing element in the meal. The pilaf was not moist, unlike other Turkish and Lebanese pilafs I’ve eaten before. I found its flavor to be plain, flat, and boring.
Overall, this stellar street food combo plate was no doubt worth the $ 12 spent. Solid flavors, big portions, reasonable price. I entered with a starving stomach and left with a food coma. The kufta plate can easily be split between two people for lunch. I will be back to try their shawarma the next time I am in town!

I’m updating my review. The place has had time to settle down and they initial hype of the newness has levelled out. When they first opened, the service was great. But as I noticed over time the flexibility went away. This seems like a local franchise and the franchiser wanted to open it with bang. It also seems like they have a new operator and they’re getting stingy on the tabouleh. Because of that they lost a few customers. And now me. I sometimes order a dish be it a wrap or a plate and I don’t want the potatoes or salad and would rather have the tabouleh. But regardless of my omissions they will still charge extra for the tabouleh. Even if I don’t want the side drink from a special, I still get charged for the tabouleh.
The food is good. I like it.
The service is ok, but the change from when they first or penned to now is different.
Inflexibility = bad service.
I hope this can change. Maybe work around something and do a tabouleh special. That might help.
So my rating drops from 5 to 3. Because of this.
So now it’s just average and I’m slightly disappointed.

Shwarma are very good. Had chicken and lamb, both tasted amazing. Very filling. I get full just eating 1 Shwarma, and I eat a lot. Very courteous staff. Will come back again!

Pros:
— its new and clean
Cons:
— plate presentation was poorly done.
— i am a big fan of the garlic cream and this place failed to deliver
— chicken was dry and over seasoned
— and they have kids serving me my food like ages 9 – 13 years old.
Oh and lastly this place is not authentic Lebanese, They are of Indian descent. And i am very disappointed.

Best shawarma place in BC. The Lamb chops are cooked to perfection. Medium for me :) the overall look of the restaurant is nice and cozy. Great atmosphere for a family or even a quick bite to eat. The staff is super friendly and the service is quick. You have to try the garlic sauce for the full experience over everything, especially the shawarma!!!

I’m pretty disappointed given the positive reviews from others here. I was excited to finally have a shawarma place in Richmond, but was so let down by this place. I was almost wondering if I was in the right restaurant, because of those reviews.
I had the chicken shawarma platter, which was $ 12.49. Price is about what I’d expect from other places I’ve been to, if not a little bit higher ($ 10 – 11 is the norm, in my experience). It came with fried potatoes, hummus, rice and choice of salad — except I wasn’t given a choice of salad (the guy gave me regular salad. I actually wanted tabouleh, but wasn’t that picky so I went along with it).
The chicken was DRY with the consistency of cardboard. No amount of sauce would have been enough to rehydrate this chicken. On the bright side, my dog would have thought it was delicious — but he’s been known to eat cat poo so I question his tastes.
Normally, most places give you a pita to dip in your hummus. Not here though, which was strange seeing as pitas are usually the cheapest part of the meal.
I ordered a pop, which was $ 1.50 for a small cup. I wasn’t sure if there were refills, but didn’t bother asking. I probably should have because my mouth was so dry from the almost-​chicken-​jerky.
One last thing — and it may not be important for some, but I definitely take notice. When you’re the only one eating in a restaurant, I notice whether or not the staff thank you for eating there. Sort of an «we appreciate your business» gesture. No luck on this front either, oh well.
I’ll just have to visit Best Falafel (on Commercial) more often for my Shawarma fix.

This place was ok. The food was decent sized. I ordered the Falaffel platter and my partner ordered the Chicken Shwarma Platter. Even though the menu said that all platters come with salad, potatoes and rice, the Falaffel platter didn’t come with rice (I was informed after I ordered). The pictures of the platters also showed a few pieces of items that were missing on our actual dinners.
Staff was friendly enough. When we got home, we were extrememly thirsty from the meal. Perhaps they put a lot of salt in?
Overall, we felt that it wasn’t worth the price, but we might try it again after a couple of more months (hopefully they would work out their kinks by then, since they are still relatively new).

I was a little disappointed to be honest because I read the Unilocal reviews before going in. Maybe I’m biased since I’ve actually eaten Lebanese food in Beirut.
First off, I ordered the small chicken shawarma which was about $ 7. there was barely any chicken or vegetables (literally two tomato slices) so this was not worth the price to me. Second thing I ordered was the chicken shawarma platter, the potatoes were phenomenal as well as the garlic dip. The tabouleh tasted a little bit off I couldn’t quite tell what it was. Hummus was just ok.
Pros: very friendly staff, quality of the food
Cons: pricing is steep
Also they close at 10pm not as advertised on Unilocal

This place is about two months old and that should have nothing to do with quality of their food. Outstanding, delicious Lebanese food. These guys care about their food preparation and the quality. They have three of these meat carousels that are rotating with stacks of delicious meatsicles. Give me these sticks of meat and I’d go to town. I love that they take the time to prepare food so lovingly. It’s all about the Freshness! That’s their motto. I couldn’t agree more. I ordered the large lamb donair and roasted potatoes with this house made garlic cream sauce. OMG I’m gonna stink for hours. I LOVE IT! Come on and ready your appetites. You’ll leave full.

Iron Man once said, «Have you ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I want to try it.» And since I’m a huge fan of Iron Man, I went to try the shawarma joint about two blocks from my work. And it was GOOD! The beef shawarma is so good! Jam packed with meaty goodness it’s for sure to fill your belly up. And the yogurt and hummus, unbelievable. Do you know what’s even better than ‘so good’? The lamb donair. I think I can live with eating this every day. Thank you, Iron Man for the suggestion!

Super friendly staff and great service but unfortunately the food isn’t very good. Everything tastes bland, the chicken is fatty, the sauces are watered down and the garlic sauce had a terrible waxy texture. I wanted to love this place but will probably not be back. Chicago subs for the win.

Have not been this satisfied with a great feast for a while. I ate plenty of homemade Lebanese food in Halifax and since moving to Vancouver have found a few spots that suffice.
Shawarma palace did not disappoint. Hummus so delicious, Kafta was best ever, each bite revealed new flavours, chicken shawarma was divine, garlic sauce for potatoes amazing.
The place was immaculate! I will be ordering weekly for my fix. Despite the large portion, we felt so good after the meal because it was so healthy.
Thank goodness we found this palace! Can’t wait to try everything on the menu!!!

The staff is incredibly friendly and the location was very clean. The food was delicious and very filling we will definitely be going back.

I was looking forward to trying Shawarma Palace after seeing the «opening soon» sign up for several weeks. I finally got to go today and was not disappointed. I had a small chicken shawarma (wrap) to go and it was fantastic. Very flavourful, lots of fillings, not skimping on the chicken. I also tried a sample of their roasted potatoes and will definitely be coming back for an order of those — really great! The staff were very enthusiastic and friendly and I can’t wait for my next shawarma!

Absolutely delicious. Richmond has been missing something like this. Food is excellent. Restaurant is clean, staff is friendly. Parking kind of sucks, though there are at least 3 other restaurants in one small parking lot. Definitely worth fighting with the parking lot. They claim all condiments and meat is made in house, and it’s clear how fresh it all is. Had a chicken shawarma wrap with everything on it meal with garlic roasted potatoes and fountain (free refills!) pop. Make sure to get the garlic sauce with your potatoes!

Super friendly staff serving fresh delicious food in HUGE portions at an amazing price. You won’t leave hungry or dissatisfied. The «all in» chicken shawarma platter is the go to fav with lots of other options. Buy some gum for afterwards as the garlic sauce is amazing but sticks around for a while ;)

Saw their sign several weeks ago, and thought to try it out for lunch. The place is INCREDIBLY CLEAN! I LOVE IT — I dislike going into these places and most are just filthy. Place is nicely laid out with a lot of tables and CLEAN. Owners working in the restaurant and happily take my order. Ordered a large beef donair and it was very well done — the only difference I could tell between small and large is the large is on a larger pita, not more meat or anything else.
Prices are reasonable, you’d be better off buying a platter versus pita sandwich but the food well done.
I will be back.

Tried the beef donair and my spouse had a chicken shawarma platter, both of us thought the food was excellent, full of flavor, and good size portions, would recommend to anyone that is in the area to give this place a try.
Ryan

Thankfully a shawarma spot in the area, great flavors with a clean interior. The amount of meat they put into the wraps could be a bit better but I think everyone is new and trying to find their rhythm so I will upgrade this review to 5 stars after a few more weeks as I’m confident they will improve portions.
Prices are reasonable across the board. The platters is where the value is, you pay a bit more but it’s worth the skewers. Call ahead as it takes 10 – 15 mins for plates like Shish Tawook.