Souk Shawarma

When I think of Mediterranean food, I will always compare it to Souk. It’s fresh, and hearty. But mostly it’s unique. The taste is like nothing I’ve had, seems very authentic.
The staff and super friendly and professional and they become your friends.
Everything is made to order.
The attached sweet shop is high quality.
I have become a regular.

Fantastic food — love the vegan shwarma wraps.
The staff are also fantastic. friendly, always pleased to see you. What a great place to grab lunch or dinner.

Thin hot crispy fragrant fries that were free because Unilocal,juicy mix of dark and white meat chicken in a warm pita, various flavors of greens and sauces in it, it’s a great place, I spent like 8.50 and everything way exceeded expectations, watched a dude do a really sick 2fast2furious U-​turn-​to-​parallel-​park job out the big glass windows.

Great fast service
Clean small place for a
Quick and affordable bite!
Water filled with cantaloupe was also very refreshing! Ordered beef and chicken shawarma, both were juicy tender and delicious!
Oh and dont forget the little sweet shop, Sucre right next door!

Seriously?! I men’s seriously??? What is this magic happening in my mouth right now. The vegan shwarma is one of the most delicious vegan dishes I’ve ever tasted. The fries are crispy and flavorful and the dipping sauce makes it incredible. Yes yes yes to this place that I stopped in on a whim. Service was fast, friendly and made me feel awesome.

What happened???
I was truly recommend you to all my friends. As today I referred my friend to buy for us Two Shawarma plates. I got mix chicken & beef. My food wasn’t fresh at all. I’m sorry to say, but meat was horrible. Feels like hard rubber. Over cooked, over grilled, maybe even from yesterday or day before. My dinner was ruined. I don’t think so I’m coming back again.

The Za’atar fries!!! Sooooo good. Lots of garlic in the sauce though so not recommended before a date, or lunch during work! You could just skip the sauce and eat the fries because it’s season with herbs!
The chicken wrap is very good too. I’ve only been here once, but I’ll have to try the other meat!

This place is a little mediterranean gem right next to where i live. I almost always go at night when I’m hungry partly because not a lot of places are open near me in downtown. The vegan option, hummus, yogurt dip, and fries are particularly delicious, and the night shift, particularly Heather is really cool. I like coming in at night because its more chill and the staff is pretty friendly. Would highly recommend.

This was my first time here and I definitely ordered enough food for two. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it as I do plan to return now that I see the difference between what can be ordered. My first rodeo:
Lamb shawarma wrap– first, I had asked if I could do a Greek salad with lamb and I was redirected by the cashier to the wrap. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best choice for me; the harissa sauce was a little too messy for my liking and I was very concerned about getting a drop on my crème-​colored skirt. If I order it again it will probably be dry. Secondly, after perusing the menu more, the PLATE would’ve been a better option considering it was the veggies in which I was interested. Lastly, the lamb was unusually fatty. I prefer a leaner meat so I’ll try the beef or chicken next time.
Greek Salad– bomb salad. Really great, exactly what you would expect with great big beautiful chunks of feta cheese. Um, yes!
Za’atar fries– I checked in and got the free order of fries which were really one of my favorite parts of the meal. I used the «garlic sauce» sparingly because it looks like butter though not really sure; it was very tasty. I am a huge fan of garlic fries and the Rosemary on these added an unexpected and pleasant flavor.
The staff were incredibly nice, especially the young tiny woman on the lunch rush. I’m looking forward to the next visit.

I tried the chicken shawarma and it was delicious. The meats are wood fired and you can taste the smokiness. They are good but I do wish it had a little more veggies in it.

**3.5 stars — great local Shawarma place and a nice Mediterranean alternative in the area to George’s Grill. I feel the quality of meat is a lot better to George’s — I like the entrée plate for lunch as you get a healthy portion of hummus, a small side of pickled carrots, green salad, and your meat + rice and pita. The prices for the plates are a bit expensive but I feel the quality is better. Beef is tender and a bit charred — mixed together with the rice, hummus, and optional spicy chili paste makes for a great combo.

Solid shawarma joint on the outskirts of DTLA. The place smelled so delicious upon entering thanks to the atypical horizontal spits rotating with various meats right behind the counter. This being my first visit, I asked for a recommendation of what I should order. I was informed that I should definitely go with the duck shawarma wrap (you can turn your wrap of choice into a plate for an additional $ 2) and I’m grateful for the suggestion because it was really tasty. The duck was tender and juicy which was obviously a plus since duck, if cooked incorrectly, can be pretty tough to chew, but not the case here! The duck shawarma is also complimented with a unique fig spread that gives the wrap a sweet complexity that only enhances the flavor
Definitely a fan and will be coming back. Couple of notes, with your first Unilocal check-​in, you get a complimentary order of fries… only a handful of tables, so seating may be hard to come by depending on when you go. I went during the lunchtime rush, so ended up having to stand by the counter to eat… also, depending on what time you go, street parking (no parking lot) may be limited… finally, they share their space with a sweets shop so you can get your sugar fix afterwards if you’re in need.

I really wanted to love this place but it’s always so underwhelming. I’ve been here probably a dozen times and have concluded that the food is just average.
The best kind of shawarma is when it’s a bit charred but still remains juicy and flavorful. Unfortunately, most of the time the beef and chicken at Souk is either just pretty badly burnt and/​or way too salty. This is probably because they put the meat under a broiler again after its cooked before sending it out. The chefs here seem to really love salt because the eggplant dip is always on the salty side too.
At $ 12 a plate, the food here is overpriced considering how stingy they are with the meat.
On the positive side, the salads are always fresh and the flame grilled tomatoes that come with the plates are amazing. Online orders are always ready on time and the staff is kind!

I got the chicken swarma wrap which was below $ 10. You can make it into a plate to get it with rice and hummus for an additional $ 2 to $ 4.
It comes in wrap with pita, chicken, lettuce, cucumber and sauce.
I really liked the tender and flavorful chicken! The portion was perfect for me as well.
My boyfriend got the lamb and the sauce it came with was really good.
This place is a very small café with a bakery next to it.
I recommend this place for a fast Mediterranean option.

I was excited when I heard this place was opening so close to my office, so we finally made it over there. Service was really nice, very friendly. The food was just sort of meh and expensive for what it is.
Because I don’t eat carbs and try to eat on the low-​fat side, there weren’t a lot of options. I got a salad from the case and asked them to add protein to it. So $ 12 later I had a giant bowl of lettuce and kale, with a few dates and orange slices and maybe 3oz of chicken.
Maybe if I wasn’t counting calories and could throw caution to the wind, I would have enjoyed it more. In my case, I didn’t feel like it was worth the investment.

I really don’t know how this place have such great reviews. I’m all for supporting local businesses and new businesses and came here before they were even officially open. But it was a disappointment.
The beef was overly salty. The chicken was dry. The serving sizes were tiny in comparison to the price. My plate didn’t come with pita, really? Even with the small serving I couldn’t even eat my entire plate. Maybe whoever was cooking that day didn’t know how much salt to put in?
The hummus and other dips were so salty. I think my fellow Unilocal reviewers have said the same thing below.
For the same price, head over next door to Plan Check and get yourself the best burger of your life.

I had extremely high expectations… Essentially running into this place thinking I was going to ADORE IT… The meat rotating on the rotisserie was turning my taste buds on hotter than… You fill in the blank. AND I was lucky enough to try a sampling of everything!
I have to say though, while EXTREMELY ACCOMMODATING (they wrapped all of my «pitas» in lettuce), I was QUITE UNDERWHELMED with the food at Souk and in fact, some of the food offered to me, was gag worthy after trying!
The Good:
— The Chicken Wings: I could have eaten two to three dozen without blinking an eye
— The Avocado Hummus: I about grabbed a spoon and just dug in… Even though it was a bit salty
— The Duck Shawarma: this was pretty tasty and different. If you wind up going, you should try this offering as well.
The Average:
— The Chicken Shawarma: it was edible, and tasted like chicken, but it totally lacked any flavor.
— The Beef Shawarma: meh, again, edible (sort of), albeit a bit chewy and not all that flavorful.
— The Pastries Next Door: these were nothing to ride home about. My friend told me they were MEH, and I brought some home for fiancé and he took one tiny bite of each and threw them all away. I guess they’re NOT worth the calories of the sugar– ha!
The Flat Out Gag Worthy:
— The Other Hummus Offerings: WAYYYYY TOO SALTY! For someone who ABSOLUTELY ADORES SALT and dumps it in her mouth at times, these dips were just GAH!
— THE LAMB SHAWARMA: I have to capitalize this because holy moly it was DISGUSTING. Flat out terrible. I feel badly saying this because the staff are so nice but GAH! When it arrived in front of me, it smelled a bit off but I just figured it was the herbs and spices they used… But then I took a bite and I could TELL something wasn’t right. Initially I just thought that, again, maybe it was the seasonings but my friend, a lamb aficionado, spit her lamb out in her napkin and proceeded to gag, so I wasn’t the only one thinking this! I honestly believe the meat was rancid! Eek!
With all that being said, it’s SAFE TO SAY… I won’t be coming back to Souk. It makes me really sad to admit that because I was REALLY excited about it. It’s also sad to admit that I don’t think I ever want to eat lamb ever again.

This is a really solid little shawarma place, located right next to Plan Check, in the 1111 building. The décor is neat, it’s clean, the staff is friendly, but what most impressed me was the extensive menu.
There’s a fair variety of shawarma meats as well as falafel and vegetarian options. You can get a wrap, a plate, a bowl, and more! I had the falafel plate, which included four falafel balls, Greek salad, rice, pickled vegetables, two kinds of hummus, and pita — all for right around $ 10! Wow awesome! Now granted I was starving when I ate, but everything was delicious and I wolfed it right down! My favorites were the perfectly cooked falafel and the avocado hummus — yum! My friends got a mix of chicken, beef, and lamb shawarma and were all delighted.
There are also many grab-​and-​go items, including salads, hummus, trail mix, cookies, chips, drinks, etc. for those who need to pick up a quick lunch. I live across the street, so I’ll definitely be back! So glad places like this are moving to my area (:
P. S. There’s a cute French ice cream/​dessert shop next door (they’re actually connected) for anyone who has a sweet tooth on the way out!

I hit the Unilocal «Hot and New» filter, and up came Souk Shawarma. It’s a cute little fast casual place that somewhat shares its space with Sucre, a bakery. It’s not fancy, but it’s certainly pleasant enough inside. After consultation with the very friendly young woman at the counter, I went for the chicken shawarma (everybody spells that word a bit differently) plate, which came with a small salad, pickled carrots, hummus, pita and rice (and garlic sauce!). At first I didn’t actually realize the rice was there, as it was hiding under the salad, which made the first few bites of the chicken a little less satisfying. Once I discovered it, all was well in that regard, as rice gives those little shards of chicken a bit of body. The chicken itself was tasty – I believe the owner is Syrian (at least that’s what the young woman at the counter told me after I asked if the Aleppo pepper on the menu meant the owner was Syrian), which means the flavor is slightly different from the more common Lebanese style. Their garlic sauce was solid, but I’m more of a fan of the more potent variety you find at Hayat’s Kitchen. I especially liked the pickled carrots, which gave the dish some pop, particularly because the salad dressing could have used a little more flavor. Hummus felt very fresh and home-​style, and once you dug into it, it was flavorful and substantive.
All in all, everything was very good. And while I’m still a fan, one thing that did concern me: when sliding my water cup toward me (it was sitting on the register and initially I didn’t see it), the young woman at the counter accidentally stuck her fingers into it. Apparently she didn’t notice, and I didn’t make a thing about it, but I felt a bit strange about drinking from it afterward and only filled it to slightly below where I’d seen her fingers touch. In observing after, she was grabbing pita with her bare hands and handling money as well, and maybe she took a hand-​washing break every time before she handled food and I simply missed it, but it seemed like the hand-​washing happened more before she went back to the register. Again, maybe I missed it, and I didn’t have any food-​related issues at all, but it just stuck in my mind a little bit.
I don’t spend much time in this part of town, but if I were (though parking is tough around there), I’d try again. The food is quite tasty, and I’m hoping in reading this that they’ll just keep an eye out to make sure they are in fact being rigorous about food safety. Maybe other than the fingers in the cup incident, they were.

This was the best beef shawarma I’ve ever had in my life.
The beef was more like magic than it was meat because it was really tender, flavorful and didn’t have any of the bad parts that make you grimace. The veggies were fresh and crisp. They throw in some small cherry tomatoes that fit well with the wrap.
Souk is where gourmet meets traditional Middle-​Eastern cuisine. The pricing is right on with the quality and doesn’t bend your pocket compared to other gourmet eateries in DTLA. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

I work close by and we had an office lunch catered by Souk Shawarma, which meant I got to try two types of wraps, the salad, and some of the sides. Souk Shawarma has it a bit easier since there’s not a ton of Middle Eastern spots around. The closest I can think of are some the place inside Grand Central, one in the fashion district, and maybe one or two in downtown proper.
Vegan shawarma wrap– this is really good. The fake chicken is well flavored with a good texture, and the wrap comes with lettuce, tomato, and a sauce if I remember correctly. I would definitely go back to order this, or at least get my boss to get us another work lunch.
Falafel wrap– I liked the vegan shawarma better as i felt that the falafel were too small with a disappointing soft texture throughout. The exterior wasn’t crispy at all. I like crispy falafel.
Pickled vegetables– these were really good, and the mix had cauliflower, carrots, and turnips.
Mediterranean salad– this was a better-​than-​average Mediterranean salad with large chunks of feta cheese, olives, red onion, and lettuce, and tomato.
Hummus-​good flavor and a satisfying texture that was ever-​so-​slightly chunky.
There was also a really tasty container of something – I think it was feta cheese mixed with something else.
The prices on the plates do seem a bit high but the wraps are definitely enough to fill you up and are about $ 8-​$ 9, which isn’t too bad. I would definitely consider this a good lunch option.