Cedar Falafel & Shawarma

Employees are so nice. Food was greast thank you very much.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

review date: december 24, 2024
customer purchase date: december 24, 2024

in my neverending pursuit of discovering the amazing shawarma stores in the city, my travels led me to the cedar falafel & shawarma (CFS) on upper ottawa near stonechurch. CFS is one of 3 shawarma stores competing for your wallet, within less than 2km of each other in the area.

first off, a shout out to store worker fariba who provided a warm and welcoming environment. she explained quite a bit of what CFS is about. ⭐

what i liked about the menu layout is it's really easy to follow. 3 TV screens - appetizers, wraps, and dinner plates.

parking: it's free and there's plenty of it around the plaza.

inside the store: it's clean, very spacious, and can accommodate large crowds. CFS recommends phoning in your orders if you don't want to wait when it's busy.

hours: fantastic hours. fri and sat are extended late night hours till 1am. mon-thur are 11pm closing times. sun closed at 10pm.

doors open everyday at 11am except sun at noon.

food itself: portions are fair relative to price. portions are not as generous as other outfits. that said, the quality and taste at CFS are excellent. be aware if you are super hungry, a shawarma pita on its own won't be enough. either grab a 2nd pita wrap or get a diner plate on its own instead.

i grabbed a beef (kebab) shawarma on a pita. ($11.15; $12.59 all-in) very delicious - almost felt like a steak shawarma. be aware that all shawarma pitas comes standard with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, turnip, plus your sauces. extra toppings range from 25c - $1.

i also grabbed a chicken dinner plate ($16.25; $18.36 all-in). that comes with a small side of salad (veggies were fresh), hummus, a pita bread, and then the chicken with rice, red/white and tahini sauce. portion is not overly huge. food content was excellent, especially the rice which has a flavorful personality.

they don't lather on the sauces too much on the dinner plate. they don't need to, because the rice, potato and chicken are all delicious on their own.

lastly i picked up a chicken shawarma pita. ($10.99; $12.43 all-in) they agreed to swap out the tomato for cucumber at no extra cost. very tasty, delicious when you combine all the ingredients with their sauces.

bottom line: CFS serves up great tasting food. i would return to CFS if i was in the area, as it is a 20-22 minute drive away from where i live. i def want to try out some of their other items.

i would also recommend CFS to others to try out. 👍

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Shawarma Plate, Chicken Shawarma Wrap, Beef Shawarma

Plater of 4.
Too expensive and portion is less

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 4

Nice clean place and the food is tasty

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Finally, a great place that reminds me of the shawarma I ate in Ottawa. Proper Toum here as well. No complaints and I will keep returning

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

The food is always fresh and super delicious. I will visit again!

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

This place isn't really an authentic shawarma/ falafel place. Being Middle Eastern, this place definitely isn't it.

As soon as you walk in, you get hit with strong curry/ Indian spice smell, and it kinda throws you off because this restaurant isn't Indian.

Fatoush salad doesn't taste like fatoush, and neither does their Greek salad taste like a greek salad.

Probably won't be back here again.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 3

Nice shawarma

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Shawerma

Great customer service. Quick takeout, and great tasting meals

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Shawarma Wrap

The hummus is not comparable...it's SO good! The best chicken shawarma wrap I have ever had. Very friendly staff. You should definitely try this place!

Amazingly fresh food

The shawarma was alright not overly great, . I asked for extra sauce and got barely any, after confirming again she was going to put extra sauce. They seemed friendly and welcoming otherwise. I just don't think this is the shawarma place for me

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 3

Service: 4

Order food for our company Christmas party. Food was amazing. The staff was very organized everything was ready to go when I picked up. The staff went above and beyond. Will order again.

Vegetarian options: Felafel

Dietary restrictions: Gluten free

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Mixed Platter for 6 Takeout, Salad

Good and affordable middle eastern cuisine.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Shawarma Wrap

Great food

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Shawarma Plate, Beef Shawarma, Fries