Searching For The Best Shawarma in Lagos I
We really don’t talk enough about Shawarma on this website. It is easily one of my favourite street food and I bet it is the same for many (cultured) Lagosians would agree.
Fun Fact: “Shawarma” literally means “turning” in Arabic and “turning” here refers to the method of preparation where stacks of meat - usually chicken- are rotated slowly and shaved off as it cooks. You know those fancy contraptions at shawarma joints? Yup, that thing.
After the “Dolapo Shawarma” incident on Twitter (I know, I know, I live on Twitter okay?), I decided to go on a journey to find obscure shawarma spots in Lagos with the help of my G, Denise.
Rich Shawarma
Agungi, Lekki.
DENISE: Our Shawarma sojourn started out pretty nicely. The ambience and aesthetics weren’t bad at all.
[Ed Note: Is anyone looking for aesthetic at a shawarma spot?]
I am particularly glad they had a seating area because the weather was absurd that day.
TOBI: It was raining cats and dogs, lions and wolves. When we finally ordered, we decided to have the Chicken shawarma with one sausage. It didn’t take long at all, but the waiter mixed up our order, which was really weird to me as we were literally his only customers.
DENISE: We asked for chicken Shawarma but we got beef instead. This alone takes about 1,000 brownie points away from him. On the bright side, the shawarma was actually really good. Flavours and meats were discernible, the dressing was just right and the hotdog didn’t stop halfway through the roll. I’d definitely consider getting shawarma here again.
TOBI: Yes, what she said. I enjoyed this shawarma. It was well favoured, well wrapped, with just the right amount of sauce and spice.
On a very random note, Rich Shawarma wraps their shawarma the only people who used aluminium foil for wrapping.
Damage
Chicken (well, it was actually beef) Shawarma - N1500
Verdict
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
01 Shawarma
Agungi, Lekki
DENISE: There was no seating area!
Usually, I wouldn’t be bothered about sitting areas but now that Lagos belongs to Poseidon, one must be wary of water! We had to stand in the rain to get the shawarma.
TOBI: 01 Shawarma is on the same street as Rich Shawarma, but the food is made in a tiny cubicle off a supermarket. And as Denise said, there was no seating area and we were *almost* standing in the rain.
They offer quite a number of options for shawarma and we decided to have a mixed wrap - chicken, beef and sausage. The flavours were distinct and so were the textures.
DENISE: Well I can’t excuse being kept out in the rain, I must say that this Shawarma was pretty good. We had a mixed wrap and I loved how the flavours didn’t overwhelm each other.
TOBI: I liked that the wrap was a lot more crispy than the first one we had. It tasted familiar, took me back to the first time I had shawarma. It felt like a warm, favourite blanket. It was a little too spicy though, even for a Yoruba girl like me.
DENISE: The meats in it were pretty distinct. You could notice the smokiness of the chicken as well as the chewy texture of the meat.
One thing I didn’t like however was the packaging. The dressing kept on seeping through the packaging and that ended up soiling my trousers.
TOBI: Yes, this part was quite off-putting. The wrap was paper, and the sauce spilled through and it was just a mess. I think foil should be every shawarma guy’s go-to for packaging.
Damage
Mixed Shawarma - N1350
Verdict
⭐️⭐️⭐️
If you have any shawarma spots that we MUST check out, drop a line in the comments