Hello, Good Evening, Welcome!

In todays episode of everyone’s favourite blog where I go around, eat a kebab, tell people about it and show you photos of it half-eaten, we visit Partick in Glasgow’s “the West End”.

Firstly, a big thank you to reddit user mmmmmmmdanone, who writes:

Now, to put this into some kind of context, this was on the latest of r/Glasgow’s twice yearly threads about where to find the best kebab in Glasgow. The usual suspects pop up in the thread – Shawarma King (yay!), Morello’s (erm.), Döner Haus etc. But this place, the BBQ.Wrap.Salad place… I’d never heard of it. It was time to do me homework!

A cursory google search gave me a TripAdvisor page that filled in the blanks – it’s in Partick where Ali’s was, it appears fairly new (reviews start from October 2019), and curiously all the reviews are 5/5. Without any further hesitation, I was heading north of the river to find out more.

As I sat on the Subway, I paused to reflect on the genius of this name. BBQ.Wrap.Salad! Think about it! It explains what it is they do, in the format of an interwebs address! Maybe this could catch on, I thought. Wouldn’t it be nice if Greggs rebranded as Pastry.Meat.Sugar? Or how about BP changing their name to Petrol.Coffee.FreeAirForTwentyMinutes? I think the marketing guys are on to a winner.

The first thing that struck me was how unlike any other kebab shop this was. It was like being in some kind of trendy juice bar, or, as they’re known in London, a Foxton’s. The place was well lit, very clean, shiny and new. Behind the counter, however, the spit for the shawarma and the clay pit for the cooking of the nan/shish confirmed that I was in fact actually in a kebab shop. With that, I ordered a mixed shawarma.

As you can see, it’s pretty huge – I’d say roughly the same size as say a medium size dog or possibly as big as a whale what’s about to set sail. Who can say? I didn’t have my tape measure on me. I’d say that the length compared with my hand is a good indicator, but I have tiny hands, so probably not.

But what of the food?

Well, the portion size is certainly generous. I only just managed to finish it. The salad was superb – fresh, and they gave me olives which guarantees them a 9 at the very least (note: olives belong in everything). The meat: generous as the serving was, there was something missing from the lamb – and it was this: seasoning. Now, this didn’t make it a bad thing necessarily – it just meant that, for the first time* in my kebab munching career, technically I was eating a Sunday Roast in a wrap. The lamb tasted good, but exactly the same as I’d find at my Mums house. The chicken was good, mind, and the sauce was great, so who’s going to complain? Not me.

So, was mmmmmmmdanone right? Is this a contender to be as good as Shawarma King?

Well, Shawarma King are, on their day, an unstoppable force. However, of late they’ve been fairly inconsistent, and the kebab I had today was certainly better than the stuff they were selling a few months ago. If we’re going to compare with anyone however, I’d say that this was more like Kurdish Street Food on Allison Street. The same good points (massive, garnish with olives if you ask), but yet a little dearer (£4-£5 rather than £3.50-£4) thanks to good old fashioned West End pricing.

It is, however, a welcome addition to the area. I’m prepared to be proven wrong here, but this is the only place that sells shawarma in the west end to my limited knowledge. An incredible achievement, considering you’d have thought Finnieston alone would have half a dozen.

BBQ.Wrap.Salad, Hyndland St, Partick.

Mixed shawarma wrap, £5

9/10