Hiya buddies,

Today’s post comes to you as a result of a tip-off from a member of the general public. A concerned citizen did the right thing when they saw something was amiss, and gave us a text:

A bold claim INDEED.

Now, before we go much further, it should be pointed out that Shawarma Police is a blog, and not a police force. We are neither regulated nor authorised by the Home Office, and we have no powers to arrest, or indeed do anything. We aren’t even mentioned in the Policing and Crime Act 2017, for crying out loud. This said, I felt a strong sense of moral duty to check these guys out (I hadn’t eaten all day), so off I went.

Located on North Frederick Street, just off George Square and next to The Ark yellow pub, it feels a bit like it’s hiding in plain sight – it’s in a central location, on a fairly busy road, in the middle of a student area, yet until two weeks ago I’d never heard of the place.

I approached this joint with an open mind, and I had one specific question that needed answering – when they say “Home of Shawarma”, what does that even mean? Could it be that this place is where shawarma was invented? I looked on Wikipedia, and apparently it wasn’t, so not that. When they say “home”, do they mean like a retirement home, where shawarma see out their sunset years? If so, a bit grim. No, I think what they are saying here, when they say “home of shawarma”, is, “our food is quite good”.

And it is! Obligatory picture of a wrapped up shawarma:

I’ll promise to stop making a big deal of this, but check out that flat bastard. Toasted in the panini machine within an inch of its life. Lovely.

I must say I was very impressed when I went in – the decor and cleanliness of this place is to be applauded – it looks fresh, clean, brightly decorated with plenty of space and seating – ideally I would have taken a photo to show you, but once inside, Shawarma Police were undercover, and we did not wish to arouse suspicion by taking clandestine snaps. As it turns out, I don’t think it would have bothered then if I had – the staff were

As it turns out, I don’t think it would have bothered then if I had – the staff were incredibly laid back. I ordered a chicken shawarma, and despite the fact it wasn’t all that busy, it still took them about 10 minutes to get it made. Other minor disappointments – they had a tray full of Mediterranean garnishes (olives etc) which ended up nowhere near my wrap, and the bread wasn’t freshly made as it commonly done – instead it was grabbed out of a cellophane wrapper.

This not withstanding, however, it was actually very pleasant. Whilst it’s not the best kebab in town, it’s certainly up there – decent sized portion, freshly shaved meat, and the salad was alright – possibly a bit too much but more or less the correct meat/salad ratio. Also, only £3.50 which is more than reasonable in the city centre – by way of comparison, ‘Babs (reviewed earlier here) is about a five minute walk away, costs twice as much as this place, and isn’t as nice.

All in all then, a solid contender in town, but not the “home of shawarma” by a long stretch.

Pasha, North Frederick Street, Glasgow

7.5/10

OH! Just one more thing, as Columbo would say – whilst I cannot stress enough that we are not a real police force (I really do NOT want to get done for impersonating a police officer – it is the poniest of all the crimes) – if you do see a kebab or shawarma place in Glasgow that you feel would be worth my while reviewing, please do get in touch – especially in places such as the north and east of the City which would otherwise be under-visited by me as I hardly ever pass through there – simply leave a comment or fire a missive at @willmill82 on twitter