Sultan Shawarma

San Diego, United States

2.8

Open now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards
Free Wi-Fi

Contacts

QR code, vCard

Telephone:
+1 619-231-1824
Website:
www.sultansd.com
Address:
543 4th Ave, San Diego, CA, 92101
b/t Island Ave & Market St
Gaslamp
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
0.2 miConvention Center
0.3 miGaslamp Quarter
0.4 mi5th Avenue
Categories:
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
Yes
Delivery
Yes
Take-out
Yes
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Good For
Late Night
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Casual
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
No
Outdoor Seating
Yes
Wi-Fi
Free
Has TV
Yes
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
Yes

Today

Today 11:00 am – 4:00 am
Open now
Local time (San Diego) 14:29 Friday, 13 June 2025

Business hours

Monday 11:00 am – 3:00 am
Tuesday 11:00 am – 3:00 am
Wednesday 11:00 am – 3:00 am
Thursday 11:00 am – 3:00 am
Friday 11:00 am – 4:00 am
Saturday 11:00 am – 4:00 am
Sunday 11:00 am – 3:00 am

Description

Specialties

At Sultan Shawarma we specialize in a popular Middle Eastern dish called shawarma. Shawarma is a lot like gyro or doner and is thinly sliced cuts of meat of chicken, beef, or lamb. You can enjoy it rolled into a warm large piece of flatbread or pita wrap. The wrap is accommodated with hummus, healthy garlic tahini (sesame syrup), pickles, vegetables, and you can option french fries. Enjoy it a la carte or with our plate combo. Shawarma salad can also be an option with our delicious house dressing made with the finest ingredients.

Ingredients of shawarma include garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, curry, salt, meat of choice, and Mediterranean spice.

We also serve dishes such as shish kebab of meat, beef, chicken, fish, or vegetables roasted on grilled on skewer. And appetizers like hummus, tabbouli, baba ghanoush, greeak salad and more.

Call and us and ask about your next catering event and office lunches. You can enjoy great quality food at great prices!

History

Established in 2005.

We are a family business making shawarma since 1978. Our recipe has been passed on from generation to generation made with the most natural and finest Middle Eastern spices and ingredients. We brought our restaurant to Downtown San Diego in 2005 to share our delicious cuisine with everyone. If you want to enjoy authentic delicious middle eastern food, Sultan Shawarma is the place to be!

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20 reviews of Sultan Shawarma

No registration required
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
Threw 20 bucks of food in trash– the absolute worst plate of Mediterranean food I’ve ever eaten. It was a sat night around 6 and everything tastes dried out or freezer burned. Inedible after a few bites!
Place rating: 1
Manassas, VA
First time I came here a few days ago, their hours said they were open until 3am but when I walked in I was told they were closed and it was only 10pm. This is my second time trying and it’s 9pm now, I’ve been inside for 10 minutes wanting to order food but nobody is even at the counter to take an order. Then once someone finally comes, he’s too busy talking in his language to another coworker for 5 extra minutes. This is absurd if you want to make and keep customers. Many more options in Gaslmap to fulfill your wants, stay away from this horribly serviced spot.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
Tasty lunch special: $ 5 gyro, seasoned fries, with soda. Great for a quick bite that won’t break the bank!
Place rating: 1
Orange, CA
Do yourself a favor. Go home hungry. This place is a disaster. Clearly they don’t even eat the food that they make. It’s bad. There’s no other way to say it.
Place rating: 2
San Diego, CA
All those late nights and sometimes mornings too, I have passed by this restaurant so much meaning to try it, that when i tried it, it just was a disappointment. It might serve the purpose of a late night stop after a drunken outing, if you don’t care what goes into your system — which, in all likelihood, you don’t at that hour with that much alcohol in the system.
My confidence at seeing the Shawarma on the spit soon disappeared when i got the sandwich wrap — it was quite chunky, low on flavor, and quite disappointing.
I walked away disappointed wishing I were more drunk to have not cared!
Place rating: 4
North Bay Terraces, San Diego, CA
Good people but customers service need more experience me and my friends went there and it took so hard time them to get order from us but good food
Place rating: 4
Minneapolis, MN
Nice to have this option for late night grub. Busy around bar close, can be a little hectic. But if you go expecting that it’s not going to be a little bit like a zoo and maybe you’ll wait longer than you’d like, then you’re good — because the food will be worth it. I don’t care if you don’t like dolmas (stuffed grape leaves), order them here. Some of the best I’ve ever had.
Place rating: 1
San Diego, CA
This place was AWFUL. We went for a quick lunch on Saturday and there were not too many people there but the service was indifferent. We ordered 2 beef shawarma sandwiches and paid $ 6 a piece for dry out, cold meat and some ordinary pickled vegetables. After we paid, we saw a big sign advertising a $ 5 special for a shawarma sandwich, fries and a coke but when we asked about it, they told us «that’s for a smaller sandwich». I doubt that since the $ 6 sandwich was not particularly generous. We both felt slightly ill after eating the food so it’s probably of the best that the portions weren’t big.
Place rating: 4
Bryan, TX
My wife and I both had the lamb shawarma sandwich and it was good not dry and it was a good portion for dinner. My only complaint is it was salty. The guy working there was super nice and he was Iraqi as well. The food is halal which is plus. It’s great place if you want to grab a quick bite.
Place rating: 1
San Diego, CA
Dry chicken shawarma, cold, boring, and crispy dry, I was not sure if I was eating charcoals or what. Cant customize what goes on it. Very disappointing. Service is slow and the person behind the counter could care less.
Place rating: 5
Inverness, FL
Had the lamb shawarma oh my goodness soo good, another person had chicken shawarma also super good. Very authentic, like you are in the Middle East!
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
Great for a late midnight stack after getting out of the bars from downtown, can get pretty busy but somehow is still kept pretty clean which is awesome!
Small little business but they do have some tables inside. A great variety of different choices– there’s beef, chicken, and lamb to choose from– schwarma/​gyros, or salads, or sandwiches/​wraps, or just plates! :)
They also have a bathroom too but I can’t say for certain what the state of it was, but if it was anything like the rest of the place, it should be clean. :) Be forewarned though, you WILL be farting up a mean storm. ;)
Place rating: 1
Escondido, CA
I was absolutely disappointed by this place. It was a Saturday night and there were a lot of people but honestly it could have gone a lot better. I ordered a lamb and beef gyro and some of the hummus. The wait took over 20 minutes because my number was skipped for some reason. I got an insanely dry chicken schwarma. I can’t even emphasize how dry it was and the tzatziki sauce was missing so that didn’t help. The hummus wasn’t too bad. It is always concerning that it just sits out and isn’t refrigerated or anything though. The bread they gave with the hummus was also old and dry.
I just had an overall BAD experience here and I definitely won’t be coming back.
Place rating: 5
San Diego, CA
Chicken shawerma in Saaj bread was amazing! Fries were fantastic with the mediterranean spices and the dolma was amazing!
Only comment was that the garlic spread in the shawerma was not much and that’s what really makes the flavor great.
Overall 5 stars! Definitely coming again.
Place rating: 2
El Cajon, CA
I stopped by here with my wife during comic-​con. They had a special of 2 gyros for $ 7.00.
I ordered the 2 gyros, 1 fry and 2 drinks. I received 2 gyros and 1 drink. Fortunately that is all they billed me for. The gyros were small and dry with almost no onion or tomato (and what was there looked like canned diced tomato)
Ok, for 7 bucks it is more expensive than getting 2 burgers or a foot-​long sandwich at a fast food joint, I would expect it to either be out standing taste-​wise or portion-​wise. It was neither.
I’m sure that if I was barhopping and needed food before staggering back home, this would be just the thing. But I was not, and I will not be returning for another meal.
Place rating: 3
Scottsdale, AZ
Stopped in here for a falafel pita after being out drinking with friends in the Gaslamp. A little pricier than some falafel pitas I’ve had in the past, but its a big sandwich and it hit the spot! I would definitely go back any time of day for another one of those pitas. Next time, I’d add pickles!
Place rating: 2
North Park, San Diego, CA
Super salty and super low quality. We came here for a quick bite after we picked up our race bibs for the Rock and Roll 5K. Terrible idea! The food fell way short of mediocre!
It was super cheap, so I guess that’s what we get! Oh well.
Will I come back? Never.
Peace.
Place rating: 4
San Diego, CA
The food is good, service is okay, very loud Arabic music (annoying) takes for ever to give out food, but the food is good and cheap, I don’t mind giving them four stars for that!
Place rating: 3
Riverside, CA
I’m gonna go 3 stars. The hummus looked great with the peppers but was okay. The chicken shawarma was okay as well. Counter guy forgot we ordered fries. I’ll give it another shot then update…
Place rating: 3
Anaheim, CA
I absolutely love this place. I am a huge fan of kofta and kebabs, and this is the best. After traveling to the Middle East, I now have a very high bar for Middle Eastern food, and Sultan’s Shawarma easily met and exceeded my expectations. You get delicious lentil soup FREE with every entrée order. The hummus that comes on the side is fantastic. Don’t forget to order a side of the garlic dip. You won’t regret it.
And if you want dessert, the baklava is to die for! There are a variety of flavors including traditional walnut, pistachio, coconut, and even some with chocolate drizzle. Best baklava I’ve ever had. Period.
Finally, if you want the true-​to-​life ambiance of a little, run-​down, family-​owned restaurant in the Middle East, with Arabic music videos playing in the background, this place definitely won’t disappoint.
Update: Here’s the thing, I really don’t want to dislike this place, but of the 3 times I have been here, the food quality has been completely different every time. So inconsistent. On my following visits, the meat was overcooked, and the service was so slow. They forgot my garlic dip, and they didn’t have the amazing chocolate baklava on either occasion. Because of this, I have found other places with better kabobs, garlic dip and baklava. On a good day, this is still the best kofta in SD, but who wants to take that chance?!