Summary: Absolute disappointment. New ownership/management, prices are up and quality is significantly down.Have been going this location on Carling for the better part of ~15 or so years (including when they were in their older building just one building down the road).Recently, ownership/management of this specific location have changed (likely to align with other Shawarma Palace locations) and the changes are immediately noticeable. Gone are the friendly former staff and in are new staff - who are quite frankly rude and not as welcoming.First thing we noticed entering the restaurant, was that the menu graphics have changed entirely - including price increases all across the board. The fridges no longer contain canned beverages, only bottles - likely to force you to pay more if you want a drink. It seems like almost everything now costs extra.Visually the meats look similar, however they have absolutely gone down in quality significantly. This location was known for the best chicken, both crispy and juicy - of which it is neither anymore. The chicken was dry and lacked flavour, the beef was also similar. Massive decrease in quality and taste, and it is immediately apparent. They also now add a noticeably less amount of meat per sandwich/plate.For the toppings, cost savings are obvious, such as lack of pickled turnips and instead they've brought in pickled cabbage. This made the sandwich exceptionally soggy. Anything extra (like pickled peppers) cost extra. They refused my colleague an addition of tabouleh in his platter (even though he requested no garlic potatoes) and said it costed extra. They also changed the recipe for the garlic sauce, no longer the thicker toum sauce traditionally used but instead a thinner watery garlic sauce.This resulted in a very sub-par shawarma wrap, that tasted worse and costed more. It fell apart very quickly due to how soggy it was, despite dining in and eating a few mins after it was served. One side of the wrap was completely soaked due to the cabbage and dressing/garlic sauced used.Disappointing that a well-loved establishment could fall apart this quickly with new ownership/management, but unfortunately I will no longer be returning to this location, despite going here for well over a decade.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Rick Ramalho
The best shawarma in the city, hands down.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Hesām
The worst beef kebab which I ever tried.The meat was almost burnt it has no flavor and spice.I was terribly disappointed...
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Joes
Not the real shawarma palace go to the other stores this one isn’t the same restaurants food lacks quality!!!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Yusuf Sheikh
This places standards has dropped. They started cheaping out (no canned drinks anymore) on items and it shows. The chicken was not as crispy and was not cooked well. Prices have also increased, very disappointing (largely due to new ownership). Hard pass. Will not be coming back until things change
Food: 2
Ana Araniva
Always fresh and delicious… it's my favorite shawarma place!!!! I think they changed the receipt or it's a new owner but tastes different..Vegetarian options: It's a variety of vegetable options, hummus, salads, pita potatoes, broccoli,
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Beef and Chicken Shawarma Plate
Claude Saumur
We have been eating at this place for approximately 10 years. We used to go there once or twice a week, my son and I, and his girlfriend. All of a sudden, we noticed two weeks ago that the recipe has changed completely, and we do not like it at all. Now, I’m not trying to take away any business, it’s sad that it’s not the same .
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
heena chib
ordered falafel platter ,lacked its usual taste and charm, leaving me disappointed. However, the bright spot was the consistent good service. Yet, I yearn for the return of the old menu, which held the key to the flavors I've been missing. Here's hoping for a return to the quality that once made this place my go-to spot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
K B
Something is going on with the beef. It tastes really bad now and low quality. Also super fatty. Bring back tender beef with that signature lemon taste! I will stick to chicken for now.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Elyas
Ordered a family platter for 4 for pick-up and received a platter for 2.The justification was that they “were busy”.My second time at this restaurant and my last time.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Beef and Chicken Shawarma Plate
Really disappointed. I don't usually write reviews, especially negative ones but I'm so sad! My fiancé and I have been regulars at Ottawa Shawarma Palace for 6 years. Seriously, we are obsessed! We've since moved to Carleton Place and have continued for 2 years to drive all the way to Carling Ave to get shawarma because it's our favourite in the city. No other restaurant compared.We got two shawarma plates today and the quality was the worst we ever received from the Palace. Not sure if the recipes have changed but the food was mediocre. They've replaced the turnips with cabbage like most of the other restaurants have in the city (it's not good), the amount of food has gone done while the price has gone up, and the service we received today was poor. We were missing items we requested or received tiny portions (I got two pickles on my whole order) and the person serving us was not very friendly. We've never had an experience like this here and we're so disappointed. We unfortunately will not be returning unless they go back to their usual standard.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Desi Dude
Significant price bump happend in last couple week. Family plate went from $65 to $90 and food in the plate is also reduced. Family plate is only good for 3 adults although they say it is for 4.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Salha Khalefah
I was there Saturday around 7:30 Iftar. I had the best customer service by your cashier Nour. She was very sweet and helpful. You should give her a raise she handled every customer with respectful attitude and nice smile even though it was crazy busy. Also love the service by Khodor. Was very generous with the food and helped me decide what to try out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yan Luong
Ordered Chicken beef shawarma plate today. Beef was hard, dry, sour. Rice was salty. Have been tried few shawarma restaurants. This one is most bad one. Inside restaurant was hot Won't go back there.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Laila Burns
Change of management, food is not as good anymore. Miss the old recipes as they were incredible. Would hope that they go back to the old recipes!
Summary: Absolute disappointment. New ownership/management, prices are up and quality is significantly down.Have been going this location on Carling for the better part of ~15 or so years (including when they were in their older building just one building down the road).Recently, ownership/management of this specific location have changed (likely to align with other Shawarma Palace locations) and the changes are immediately noticeable. Gone are the friendly former staff and in are new staff - who are quite frankly rude and not as welcoming.First thing we noticed entering the restaurant, was that the menu graphics have changed entirely - including price increases all across the board. The fridges no longer contain canned beverages, only bottles - likely to force you to pay more if you want a drink. It seems like almost everything now costs extra.Visually the meats look similar, however they have absolutely gone down in quality significantly. This location was known for the best chicken, both crispy and juicy - of which it is neither anymore. The chicken was dry and lacked flavour, the beef was also similar. Massive decrease in quality and taste, and it is immediately apparent. They also now add a noticeably less amount of meat per sandwich/plate.For the toppings, cost savings are obvious, such as lack of pickled turnips and instead they've brought in pickled cabbage. This made the sandwich exceptionally soggy. Anything extra (like pickled peppers) cost extra. They refused my colleague an addition of tabouleh in his platter (even though he requested no garlic potatoes) and said it costed extra. They also changed the recipe for the garlic sauce, no longer the thicker toum sauce traditionally used but instead a thinner watery garlic sauce.This resulted in a very sub-par shawarma wrap, that tasted worse and costed more. It fell apart very quickly due to how soggy it was, despite dining in and eating a few mins after it was served. One side of the wrap was completely soaked due to the cabbage and dressing/garlic sauced used.Disappointing that a well-loved establishment could fall apart this quickly with new ownership/management, but unfortunately I will no longer be returning to this location, despite going here for well over a decade.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The best shawarma in the city, hands down.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
The worst beef kebab which I ever tried.The meat was almost burnt it has no flavor and spice.I was terribly disappointed...
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Not the real shawarma palace go to the other stores this one isn’t the same restaurants food lacks quality!!!
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
This places standards has dropped. They started cheaping out (no canned drinks anymore) on items and it shows. The chicken was not as crispy and was not cooked well. Prices have also increased, very disappointing (largely due to new ownership). Hard pass. Will not be coming back until things change
Food: 2
Always fresh and delicious… it's my favorite shawarma place!!!! I think they changed the receipt or it's a new owner but tastes different..Vegetarian options: It's a variety of vegetable options, hummus, salads, pita potatoes, broccoli,
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Beef and Chicken Shawarma Plate
We have been eating at this place for approximately 10 years. We used to go there once or twice a week, my son and I, and his girlfriend. All of a sudden, we noticed two weeks ago that the recipe has changed completely, and we do not like it at all. Now, I’m not trying to take away any business, it’s sad that it’s not the same .
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
ordered falafel platter ,lacked its usual taste and charm, leaving me disappointed. However, the bright spot was the consistent good service. Yet, I yearn for the return of the old menu, which held the key to the flavors I've been missing. Here's hoping for a return to the quality that once made this place my go-to spot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Something is going on with the beef. It tastes really bad now and low quality. Also super fatty. Bring back tender beef with that signature lemon taste! I will stick to chicken for now.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Ordered a family platter for 4 for pick-up and received a platter for 2.The justification was that they “were busy”.My second time at this restaurant and my last time.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Recommended dishes: Beef and Chicken Shawarma Plate
Restaurantji Recommends
Really disappointed. I don't usually write reviews, especially negative ones but I'm so sad! My fiancé and I have been regulars at Ottawa Shawarma Palace for 6 years. Seriously, we are obsessed! We've since moved to Carleton Place and have continued for 2 years to drive all the way to Carling Ave to get shawarma because it's our favourite in the city. No other restaurant compared.We got two shawarma plates today and the quality was the worst we ever received from the Palace. Not sure if the recipes have changed but the food was mediocre. They've replaced the turnips with cabbage like most of the other restaurants have in the city (it's not good), the amount of food has gone done while the price has gone up, and the service we received today was poor. We were missing items we requested or received tiny portions (I got two pickles on my whole order) and the person serving us was not very friendly. We've never had an experience like this here and we're so disappointed. We unfortunately will not be returning unless they go back to their usual standard.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 1
Significant price bump happend in last couple week. Family plate went from $65 to $90 and food in the plate is also reduced. Family plate is only good for 3 adults although they say it is for 4.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
I was there Saturday around 7:30 Iftar. I had the best customer service by your cashier Nour. She was very sweet and helpful. You should give her a raise she handled every customer with respectful attitude and nice smile even though it was crazy busy. Also love the service by Khodor. Was very generous with the food and helped me decide what to try out.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ordered Chicken beef shawarma plate today. Beef was hard, dry, sour. Rice was salty. Have been tried few shawarma restaurants. This one is most bad one. Inside restaurant was hot Won't go back there.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 3
Change of management, food is not as good anymore. Miss the old recipes as they were incredible. Would hope that they go back to the old recipes!