Holy Land Grocery & Bakery

Best Shawarma in Milwaukee!!! Enough said!!! Falafel is great, too!!! Worth a drive from anywhere! Plus, you can head over to the store part and pick up a few extras (stuffed vine leaves/​diwali!)

This place has the best chicken Shawarma sandwiches in Milwaukee. I have been to the Shawarma house on Oakland Av a few times but Holyland Deli are much better. Prices are cheap. The only complaint that I have is they do not serve fries with their sandwiches as other places do. Great place, everyone should visit at least one time.

This is a nice little spot to get your falafel and chicken shawarma fix.

Holy shawarma!
My fellow Unilocalers know I’m partial to Persian cuisine, but Milwaukee is seriously lacking quality Persian places. Instead, I track down Arab and other middle eastern restaurants, and luckily I found Holy Land.
Holy Land is an awesome grocery with fresh halal meat, all sorts of goodies for preparing middle eastern food, and even fresh bread and pastries. They even sell Quality Street chocolates, one of my favorite British imports! The café area of Holy Land prepares delicious kabobs, shawarma, and falafel. I ordered a chicken shawarma sandwich and a shish tawok plate. I still can’t get over how delicious and MASSIVE the portions are for the cost. I regret not taking photos of my beautiful shawarma sandwich (hot and stained pink by pickled veggies) but I inhaled it before my brain could start working. Everything was amazing. The hummus was creamy and fresh, and the pita was fresh out of the oven. The gentleman preparing the food was apologetic that it took a few minutes to prepare, but I know good food takes time, and I enjoyed seeing him dart around the grocery section to select ripe tomatoes and onions to grill (grilled tomatoes & onions are my favorite and it should be illegal to consume rice without them!).
Holy Land, I will be visiting you very frequently. Your food and service are too amazing to pass up when I have cravings. We are going to become good friends.

All I have to say is yum! I order very frequently from here and it’s so fresh and authentic. The flavors are amazing. Prices are fair and portions are huge! The smell outside is enough to lure you right in.

OMG what a great find. I was doing a specific Unilocal search for something else and I got one of those ridiculous lists with nothing close to what I was looking for. Holyland caught my eye because of the name so I checked it out and they have middle eastern food. The reviews and pictures intrigued and the next day I was there. I will post pictures.
This is a small grocery store with lots of stuff I don’t recognize with a small kitchen on the left. The menu is small but it covers most of the middle eastern food. I have been wanting a kifta kabob for some time now and didn’t know where to get one so I ordered the plate. A man was making the falafel as I was waiting for my order and gave me a sample. This is cary out only even though some pictures show seating, no seating at all. There was a restaurant on the end but it was dark inside and the seating pictures must be from there.
OMG the falafel was amazing just out of the oil. I have had falafel and hummos in the past and nothing memorable so I never order it. The kifta plate to my surprise had a nice helping of hummos and I thought what a waste because hummos never did any thing for me. OMG the hummos was absolutely amazing and my favorite item in the lunch, have I just been to the wrong places in the past because these two items have never wowed me. The kifta kabob was was char grilled which added flavor but a little dry. The plate is a lot of food and I will get three meals out of it. The little salad was ok. The rice is very good and at first before I tasted it I thought I would throw it away but no way. By the way the kifta plate smelled amazing. Middle eastern food was so bland and boring and I stopped getting it from past places but Holyland was flavorful and I’m no expert but this is what I imagined what real middle eastern food to taste like. Number two stab at the plate reaffirmed how amazing it is. I don’t know how such great place exists and it’s so under the radar.
Over all the food was really good and the hummos and falafel bumped it to five stars. I will be back if just for the hummos and falafel for sure. This place gives me new interest in middle eastern food that has been gone for a long time. What a great find and I’m so glad I found it by accident because I never would have looked for it. Holyland has put middle eastern food back on my menu and thank you. This was such a great find and I’m glad I fond it.

The food was adequate, kind of like the Middle Eastern equivalent of Subway. I tried this place because of some coupons, but it’s quite a long drive and not worth going back. Not bad by any means, just too far.

There are a huge amount of products packed into a pretty tiny store. This is the place to come to help create your Middle Eastern masterpieces at home. If you don’t feel like cooking stop at the lunch counter. I had the falafel sandwich on my first visit. It’s great and a huge deal. The hummus is fantastic. I also enjoy the chicken Shawarma. Go give it a try!!!

I’ve been here a few times and I love the lamb and beef shawarma! I’ve had the chicken once, and thought it was a bit dry, but other reviewers on here swear by it, so it must have been an off day when I was there. Other than the shawarma, I’ve only had their falafel, and it’s also great!
I’d love to try more, but frankly, the menu intimidates me since I don’t speak a lick of Arabic! They have a wide selection of sweets right at the lunch counter which I’ve tried a few times as well. While they’re not good for my diet, they are really REALLY good… very sweet!
My recommendation; The beef/​lamb shawarma sandwich rocks, but it’s pretty sloppy, and I usually end up needing a fork and knife to finish it off. Today, for the first time, I tried the shawarma plate, which is essentially the same as the sandwich with the exception it comes in an aluminum container. The plate also comes with a lot more beef/​lamb!!! Also, get all the toppings… There’s a wide assortment of pickled veggies, onions, tahini sauce, and a spice Arabic sauce… It all rocks!
Lastly, even if you’re not Muslim/​Arabic (neither am I), make sure to check this place out just to try something a little bit different. The people are always very friendly, and the food is damn good.
Note; I’ve found that most of the employees do speak English, but even the one or two I’ve dealt with in the past who don’t, at least understand enough to help out the non-​Arabic crowd!

This is a good choice for inexpensive Semetic food and groceries. I had a very tasty and messy shawarma sandwich that was more than generous enough for dinner. One of the best lunch counters on the far south side.

I tend to seek out flavors that push my pallet, and for a white midwesterner, some of the rich middle-​eastern flavors that explode from Holy Land’s authentic lunch counter are just enough to satisfy that need for something unique.
With any food, a key component is passion, and while it’s not served on hand made earthenware, a single bite will transport your inner foodie across the Red Sea and into the desert dunes and arabic gypsum planes… If my review seems a bit much, it’s because it is. This is one of my favorite foodie hidden gems, and the flavors of their simple menu are deserving of nothing more than an over the top review.
Now. back to the cliché’s.
A single bite of the fragrant, hot, kebab offset by the amazing white sauce (I won’t even pretend to know what it’s made of), the warming hot pepper paste, and the slightly acidic pickle-​ee flavor of the pickled beats will make you swear that you’re standing at an authentic food cart, outside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul.
I can almost hear the Call to Prayer in my head!
Salam! Peace! and Enjoy.

Shawarma made while you wait!
There a lots of middle eastern choices for grocery. That way you can make your garbanzo bean salad or other yummy salads you can’t get enough of. The people working there don’t make you feel stupid when you ask questions either.
The Shawarma was fabulous! We tried both the chicken and the beef. While we didn’t get the hummus (which I was craving) — it was left out on accident — it was great food.

Without a question the best falafel sandwich I have ever had. Lots of really top notch touches. I’d comment on the rest of their selection for food… but its the only vegetarian thing on the menu. That said, I still travel the 10+ miles to eat there.
Employees are all really friends cool social people, good for a quick chat while you’re in there.
Groceries are my secondary reason for going, but definitely try out some Ziyad canned (!) hummus while you’re there.