Shawarma at Orient House Shawarma
Foods from Orient House Shawarma
Comments



2

2011 Aug 8
I hate being the dissenting voice here, but I didn't have as good as experience as the rest of you seem to have. I grabbed the trio for lunch today. Now, first off, I did like the taste and all that, but in my shawarma sandwhich there was a distinct crunch and a rock hard bit. I don't know what it was since I got chicken, tomato and garlic sauce only on it. That being said, the rest of it was really good. I asked for extra garlic sauce on my potatoes (I really like Garlic Sauce. I blame my girlfriend) and it kinda congealed into a lumpy, yet still delicious mass. So, I'm not sure if I'd go back. I mean, normally I wouldn't, but from the rest of your reviews, it seems like I got a fluke, so maybe giving them a second chance is in order.

2011 Jul 21
Looking for a light lunch today, I picked up a lentil soup and tabouli/fatoush salad.

The first few sips of the soup were very salty. It might have been reducing for a while (or even worse, maybe it wasn't made today). I'm not sure what I was thinking ordering a soup on the hottest day of the year. After a few bites though, the nice onion, light cumin and lentil flavour started coming through. Salty or not, I thought it was pretty good.

The tabouli was fantastic. It was everything a tabouli salad should be. The fatoush (minus the fried pitas - not sure why they don't add these) was pretty good as well. Nice and lemony! I asked for extra pickles and turnips, which were fantastic. The pickle had that super sour Lebanese taste that I love so much.

$7.50 for soup and salad? Bad deal... I should have got the shawarma trio which rounds out to about $8.90 after tax.

Ah well.

In reality, no complaints - this place serves consistently good food, there is always a line up, the spits are always fresh, and the owner runs a very well managed and might I add clean establishment.

Highly recommended

2011 May 17
I second the comment from Adam Bergeron. While I am in the camp that exclaims that Shawarma Palace is the cream of the crop in Ottawa, the Orient House comes close. The portions are large, but not as large as the Palace - that being said, it's quite a bit cheaper too.

For me the big sell at this place is the cleanliness. This is a very, very well managed and clean restaurant - perhaps the cleanest shawarma joint I have ever seen. The service is super friendly and efficient and they don't get caught up charging extra for small requests - like extra tabouli, or substitutions.

The food itself is very good. Nice juicy shawarma chicken. They are only open during week days, thus you can be assured you are not eating old chicken. There is a fresh spit everyday, unlike some sketchy shawarma joints in which the chicken is rock hard from sitting on the spit for a few days, cough "Garlic Corner", "Diamond Shawarma" etc.

The only thing that can be improved upon (IMO) at Orient House is the pickled turnips. They likely make them in-house, and they are not crunchy like they are supposed to be. Not a big deal.

I eat here a couple of times a month, and it is totally worth it.

2011 May 16
I love this place for a work lunch/dinner.

I say work lunch/dinner because i order the chicken shawarma plate, and it comes with so much that you will make two meals out of it. Theres usually a choice of salad to go with, either traditional taboulleh, a regular salad, or a bean salad (on occasion). This place sees quite a few people around lunch time so any time between lunch and dinner is a great time to go. The chicken is usually moist and tender, and their hummus is my favorite hummus. The roasted potatoes could cook a bit longer on some days, and i find the rice rather bland, so i just have them subsitite half the rice with potatoes.

Two meals for $10.72 taxes in. Nothing to complain about, except the garlic breath. lol.

2010 Aug 9
This is where my work buddies and I grab lunch if we're feeling lazy, as it's just a short stumble from the office.
They make a decent chicken shawarma and, despite my dislike for the decor, they've never let me down in the taste category. The $4.50 price tag is a bit much, since the sandwich itself is quite small. By buying it as part of the trio, you get a better deal. Alas -- I'm in a perpetual state of weight watching.
Bottom line: Yummy in a pinch.