Shawarma — country by country
The spinning spit, tamed for the home kitchen — chicken or beef, wrapped and pressed.
Every country brings its own touch. Here's how they differ.
⚔️ Head to head
Pick two kitchens and see exactly where they part ways.
🇸🇾 Syria
✨ Chicken marinated with vinegar, cardamom, and shawarma spice; rolled with toum and pickles, then pressed.
Only in Syria
- chicken thighs, sliced thin
- yogurt
- shawarma spice (cardamom, allspice, cinnamon, pepper)
- garlic
- saj or pita bread
- toum, pickles, and fries to serve
🇱🇧 Lebanon
✨ Beef with seven-spice and mastic notes, always with tahini-based tarator, sumac onions, and tomato.
Only in Lebanon
- beef sirloin, sliced paper thin
- seven-spice
- onion, with sumac
- tahini
- lemon
- markouk bread
- tomatoes
🤝 Both use
- vinegar
🇸🇾 Syria
⏱ 45 minSyria perfected shawarma; Damascus shops marinate overnight in vinegar, spices, and mystery.
✨ What makes it special
Chicken marinated with vinegar, cardamom, and shawarma spice; rolled with toum and pickles, then pressed.
🇱🇧 Lebanon
⏱ 40 minLebanese beef shawarma runs on tarator, onion, parsley, and a squeeze of tomato — no fries inside, fight me.
✨ What makes it special
Beef with seven-spice and mastic notes, always with tahini-based tarator, sumac onions, and tomato.
🇪🇬 Egypt
⏱ 35 minCairo's shawarma comes tucked in fino bread or shami, often with tahina sauce and a side of liver-cart energy.
✨ What makes it special
Served in fino rolls with tahina; the spicing is gentler, the bread is the point.