🥙 Find the Best
Best Shawarma in the GTA
Shawarma might be the single most competitive food category in the GTA. Iraqi, Syrian, Lebanese and Palestinian kitchens all doing it their own way, most of them out of strip malls, most of them cheaper than a downtown sandwich. Here’s where to go.
⭐ Toronto Foodiee Reviewed — 9/10
Sumaq Iraqi Charcoal Grill
Scarborough · Mississauga · Iraqi · Halal
The one that went global. Keith Lee opened his entire Toronto tour here in 2024 and rated the veal 8.4 and chicken 8.2 — their following went from around 6,000 to over 20,000 in days. Run by a family from Baghdad doing classic Iraqi shawarma, spit-roasted and lemon-marinated, served in pita or tanoor bread.
We went to the Eglinton location and ordered off the grill instead — BBQ platter and half chicken dinner — and scored it 9/10. The charcoal grill is arguably better than the shawarma that made them famous. Watch the full review →
📍 3920 Eglinton Ave W #26, Mississauga · 1961 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough · Order: single-meat wrap, not the mix — or skip the wrap entirely and go for the BBQ platter
Shawarma Empire
Strip mall · 40-year-old recipes
A consistent name on every Toronto shawarma ranking, and a genuinely humble strip-mall operation. The draw is recipes the owners have been working from for four decades. The bowl is the move if you want to actually taste the meat rather than fight a wrap.
Shelby’s Legendary Shawarma
Multiple GTA locations · Modern
Started as a single food truck in 2016 and now runs multiple locations across the GTA. This is shawarma taken somewhere else entirely — loaded wraps with fried cauliflower, sumac onion, cashews and tahini. Not traditional, and not trying to be. Worth it for the texture alone.
Shawarma Alzaeem
Mississauga · Eglinton
A Mississauga standby on Eglinton. The platter comes with fries, garlic sauce and extra pickles, and it’s the kind of portion two people can share without anyone going hungry. More Mississauga →
📍 1018 Eglinton Ave, Mississauga
Yaseen’s Shawarma
Mississauga · Syrian
Syrian flavours in Mississauga — a different profile from the Iraqi spots, and a reminder that “shawarma” covers several distinct cooking traditions. If you’ve only had one style, this is the one to try next.
Shawarma Box
Mississauga · No-frills
Made fresh to order, generous portions, and a garlic sauce people say is worth the drive on its own. There’s also a house blend sauce that regulars order by name. Straightforward, unpretentious, consistently good.
Alpha’s Shawarma
Toronto · Newer arrival
Currently sitting at the top of Toronto’s shawarma rankings and one of the most-hyped newer openings in the category. Generous portions of beef and chicken with fries, salad and two dips. More Toronto →
Dr. Laffa
North York · Iraqi-Israeli
A long-running institution built around laffa bread baked in a taboon oven on site. The bread is the reason to go — it changes the whole wrap.
How to order shawarma properly
- Pick one meat. Mixed chicken and beef sounds like more value, but the two cook differently and the flavours tend to muddy each other. Nearly every ranking, Keith Lee’s included, lands on the single-meat wrap.
- Wrap vs plate. The wrap is the truer test of a kitchen — bread, ratio and garlic sauce all have to work together. The plate is better value if you’re sharing.
- Judge the garlic sauce. Toum is where the good spots separate themselves. It should be fluffy and sharp, not thin or mayonnaise-like.
- Go at peak hours. Shawarma comes off a vertical spit — busier means fresher cuts rather than meat sitting under a lamp.
- Check whether they grill. A lot of the best shawarma shops are charcoal grills first. If the sign says grill, the platters are often better than the wraps — that’s exactly what we found at Sumaq.
Keep exploring
Watch all Toronto Foodiee reviews →
Sumaq reviewed by Toronto Foodiee. Remaining spots compiled from blogTO, Yelp, Narcity and Toronto Travel Guide rankings, plus Keith Lee’s 2024 Toronto tour coverage — Toronto Foodiee scores will be added as we review each one. Got a shawarma spot we’ve missed? Get in touch.