The best shawarma in Manchester

An old faithful on the edge of the Northern Quarter, Arndale Shawarma is a solid choice for either a budget-friendly lunch or a late evening snack for the more refreshed among us, with very decent spiced lamb and chicken on offer. Don’t ignore the fatayer or the falafel, however, the latter served up with a heap of freshly prepared salad.

A place where all things kebab are roundly celebrated, BAB on Stevenson Square is an excellent choice for a shawarma, or ‘Mediterranean chicken’ as they call it. They serve it with a lemony cous cous, sweet roquito peppers and a chipotle sour cream. It’s one of the more straightforward dishes on a menu of entirely kebabs like chilli steak and salt and pepper tofu. Their £10 lunch offer is well worth considering too.

Cafe Istanbul cliams to be Manchester’s longest-running Turkish restaurant, and we think it makes it a really handy spot for a good value, great quality lunch in the city centre. Think mezze sharing platters, pides and lahmacuns, oven-baked mousakkas and warming stews, as well as perfectly-grilled kebabs of course. One to know about if you ever find yourself in the vicinity of Deansgate in need of lunch

A well-documented favourite of local MP Hannah Spencer, the majestic Sips & Dips is best know for its colourful brunch dishes like shakshuka, as well as their signature breakfast with spicy lamb sausages, crispy potatoes, mushrooms and a sumac-topped fried egg, all best enjoyed with a freshly pressed juice. You can, however, enjoy a delicious shawarma here, if you fancy more of a sit down experience. Enjoy in wrap or salad form, with a fresh juice and some of those eponymous dips on the side.

Shawarma Abo Al Abed on the Curry Mile serves Syrian-style shawarma, with 150 chicken breasts layered onto the spit by hand every day. Run by father and son Nidhal and Osama, the family spot takes things seriously. Chicken or lamb is carved fresh, loaded with homemade garlic sauce, pickles, Arabic salad and chilli, then wrapped, dipped in chicken fat and toasted twice for an extra-crisp finish. There’s also rotisserie chicken, homemade falafel, fatayer and pressure-fried ‘broast’ chicken. Grab a table at the back and get stuck in.

This modern shawarma restaurant – which was crowned Deliveroo’s Best Kebab of 2025 – is located on Deansgate. Their menu is centred around slow-cooked meats, homemade sauces and fresh falafel. They takes inspiration from across the Levant, including Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Palestine, with a menu spanning shawarma, falafel, saj flatbreads and Lebanese rice. Their trophy cabinet also includes Best Lebanese Restaurant/Takeaway in the UK at the British Kebab Awards, and not without reason – this is exceptionally good shawarma.

This one is a bit of a no-brainer. Zaytoni have had a presence on Oxford Road for some time, but it’s when they opened their site on Oldham Street (within mooching distance of the Manchester’s Finest office), they really came to our attention. Serving some of the most tender shawarma and flavoursome falafel around, you simply can’t argue with their £6 chicken samoon. It’s a fluffy flatbread stuffed with meat, salad and loads of hummus and sauce. Perfect post-pub cuisine (they’re open ludicrously late on a weekend), but so good you can have it as a workday lunch too.

The people of Chorlton are lucky to have this place. A tiny, family-run Lebanese restaurant in Chorlton keeps things simple, with an open kitchen, a short menu and generous portions at very reasonable prices. Expect lamb chops straight from the grill, chicken shawarma, falafel and halloumi, alongside fresh za’atar flatbreads and plenty of mezze. It’s unfussy, welcoming and consistently good.