“You review kebabs??”
“Yes.”
“What, REALLY???”
This was an actual conversation that I had at work the other day. We were discussing the merits of Shawarma King (very good, recommended was my view), only to be challenged on the legitimacy of this view, because “it sounds like they only sell Shawarma”. I pointed my colleague in the direction of the review what I did before, which handily had a photo of the menu, proving that they did other stuff too.
However, it was a good conversation to have as it turned out, as the girl in question, it turns out, loves Middle Eastern cuisine, and advised me to go and check out a newly opened place in Whiteinch.
So I did.
I’ll not beat about the bush – this place looks severely impressive. Their menu is online for all to see at www.lotusglasgow.com, and the mixed grill I would imagine would be best £20 anyone could possibly ever spend. However, being a creature of habit, I just went for the mixed shawarma wrap.
Not a bad wrap at all this – the chicken was spot on, the lamb, a bit salty but very tender. The guy who made it was new – he didn’t offer any salad or chilli sauce, just went and made it. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but the guy behind me was served by someone else and got offered the works, which was irritating. Still, it wasn’t all bad news on that front – the wrap was toasted, and I do like a toasted wrap. Rather than put it in a panini machine, what the guy did was put it in a wire mesh at the end of a long stick, and then poked it in the barbeque. A nice touch, though perhaps could have been in a bit longer.
Having eaten the wrap, I was still hungry. Now, I’m not usually one for doing a double kebab, but I was quite hungover and needed more food. I also have just about enough shame to not to do a 180 and go back into a kebab shop for seconds. Just. No, the plan was to walk back to the train station, go home and have something out of the freezer, when it occurred to me that 10 minutes away was a place I’ve been meaning to go to for some time, but never have. Sod it, let’s have another.
(Not sure why the photo I took isn’t on my phone any longer, but never mind. Here’s a Google Maps photo. The sign is completely different now, but I’m sure you’d find it)
Located right at the far end of Partick in the bit they call Thornwood is this unassuming, almost missable takeaway. Much like Cafe Sono, it’s not strictly speaking a kebab shop – this place mainly does pasta and pizza, but with a name like “Grillicious”, they’d have to do some form of grilled meat? Well yes, and it was awesome.
So the kebab options are limited here – sorry lamb fans, though I’m told the lamb chops they do are good – kebab wise, it’s chicken only – shish at that, though the options are impressive – either lemon and coriander chicken or chicken tikka. I went for the former and it was pretty damn amazing.
As you can see, it’s a DIY job much like Istanbul, except for here they give you a naan bread large enough that you can actually fit everything in without too much grief.
Well, it just about all fitted in. It was huge, easily enough for two people, and I struggled to finish it. Here’s the thing – the chicken was EXQUISITE. Not a word I like using, mainly because I feel it gets overused but this truly was a joyous thing. The chicken was firm to the bite, well marinaded, lemony throughout, perfectly charcoal grilled… it was probably the best kebab I’ve had in the West End.
Which nicely answers that question.
For now.
Lotus, 1363 Dumbarton Road, Whiteinch.
Mixed Shawarma Wrap, £4. Seating available.
8/10
Grillicious, 643 Dumbarton Road, Partick/Thornwood
Lemon and Coriander Chicken Kebab, £5.95. Seating available.
10/10
Shawarma Police 