Shawarma Review: Shawarma Palace, 464 Rideau St., Ottawa, ON

Tonight, I hit my last stop in my quest to find Ottawa's best Lebanese delicacy, the shawarma, at Shawarma Palace on Rideau Street.

I walked in to see a flyer for half-off driving lessons posted on the door, a box of garlic cloves placed hapharzadly in the middle of the room which I had to trip over, but a number of diners native to Arabic countries sitting enjoying their meals, which is always a good sign, as some folks think that whenever you venture into Chinatown, the number of Asians present in a restaurant is indicative of its authenticity.

I agree.

The lineup was long as the reputation of the Palace precedes it. When I finally approached the counter and ordered a chicken shawarma, I told the guy that I was going to be grading him and that he should make it the way that he thought it should be. The fella in front of me turned and said, "Best shawarma place in town? It's right here." The server proceeded to prepare his creation as he thought he should, with lettuce and tomato but also pickles and turnip doused with a significant amount of garlic sauce. Then, instead of using that broken-down Big Mac bun toaster that most shawarma joints use to heat the sandwich through (very familiar to veterans of McDonald's like myself) he threw the whole thing, wrapper and all, on a charbroiled grill for about 20 seconds. Very impressive.

As for the shawarma itself, it was amazingly fresh, perfectly crisp and very neat as compared to many others I've tested during this little competition. I would recommend Shawarma Palace for the next time you are going to see a flick at the Bytowne Cinema, if you foolishly choose to eat at the Ethopian-themed Horn of Africa down the street and inevitably leave unsatisfied, or are looking to quell your hunger after degrading yourself at a Vanier rub n' tug.

Overall rating: 9/10

The final judgment (you can refer to the Archives for my individual reviews):

Marroush International Shawarma 10/10 (December 2006)
Shawarma Palace: 9/10 (December 2006)
Ashtar: 8.5/10 (November 2006)
Really Lebanese: 8/10 (November 2006)
Sandrella: 6/10 (November 2006)
Shawarma's King: 6/10 (December 2006)