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Shawarma King.

Shawarma · Merchant City · $ · Solid · should-visit · verified

Shawarma King

Must visit. One of the best street food restaurants in the UK. Also now featured on Somebody Feed Phil.

Jeff's note

Shawarma King

The owner gives away exactly one thing about the method: the meat is marinated with the family's own recipes the day before it is sold, so "the meat gets enough flavour" (STV News, 27 February 2025).

Why go

Four years in a row, 2022 through 2025, this counter off Trongate has taken Best Kebab House in Scotland at the British Kebab Awards, a fan-voted category it won in London against nine other Scottish shops including Hajar's Shawarma and BABS (STV News). Majed Baerekhan runs it as a family business and will not say more than that high-quality meat matters and the marinade goes on a day ahead. Then Netflix arrived: Phil Rosenthal filmed here for the Scotland episode of Somebody Feed Phil and called the shawarma the best he had ever had (GlasgowWorld). The queue has behaved accordingly ever since.

Order this / avoid

  • Order: the mixed pita, chicken and lamb together, which is the one Rosenthal ate. Meat comes off the spit and the pitta is baked fresh rather than pulled off a shelf.
  • Avoid: the middle of the lunch or the late rush if you are in a hurry, since GlasgowWorld reports the queue "spilling out of the door" from noon until midnight. Also do not read this row as the Paisley Road shop, which is a different premises with a different inspection record.

What locals & experts say

  • Majed Baerekhan, owner (STV News, 27 February 2025), on winning a fourth time: "amazing", and on his customers, "Without your support we're nothing, we're glad we're in the right place." ref
  • British Kebab Awards 2025, Best Kebab House in Scotland, fan-voted, awarded in London on 26 February 2025, the fourth consecutive year. ref
  • Phil Rosenthal, Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix), Scotland episode, as reported by GlasgowWorld: he "described the Shawarma at Shawarma King on King Street as the best Shawarma he had ever had." ref
  • GlasgowWorld (Liam Smillie, 27 February 2025), on the local standing: Shawarma King "really set the bar for a great kebab here in Glasgow." ref
  • Local rec: Jeff's own note, in his words, "Must visit. One of the best street food restaurants in the UK. Also now featured on Somebody Feed Phil."

Good to know

  • Hygiene, stated plainly: the Food Hygiene Information Scheme rates this premises at 113 King Street as Improvement Required, the failing tier of the Scottish scheme, from an inspection on 25 April 2025 (FHRSID 1220472, Glasgow City Council). It was still the rating in force on 30 July 2026, with no re-rating pending ref. Fifteen months old, so it is neither this week's news nor an abandoned record. It sits alongside four national awards and a Netflix endorsement, and a reader gets to weigh both.
  • Sites: two Shawarma King premises. This row is King Street, the one filmed for Somebody Feed Phil. The other is Shawarma King @ Shisha Lounge, 232 Paisley Road G5 8NG, which holds a Pass dated 11 February 2025 on its own record. King Roj Shawarma on Argyle Street is a different business altogether.
  • Where: 113 King Street, down by King's Court off Trongate, in Merchant City. The master row said Southside, which is the Paisley Road shop's part of town, and has been corrected.
  • Timing: open from noon to midnight, with the queue running the whole way through.
  • Booking: none. Walk up and join the line.

Jeff's take (his words)

  • Note: "Must visit. One of the best street food restaurants in the UK. Also now featured on Somebody Feed Phil."

Verdict (Chef Jeff ladder)

should-visit — Worth the detour for the shawarma itself, not a top-three send. Jeff (first-hand, 2026-07-30): a bit overrated, good but probably not the third place to try in Glasgow. Weighing against a featured slot: the King Street premises carries a Food Hygiene Information Scheme Improvement Required from April 2025 that was still in force in July 2026, which is disclosed rather than disqualifying (ADR-0022) and is a real mark against sending someone here first. The Paisley Road site holds a Pass.

Order

  • The mixed shawarma pita, chicken and lamb together, which is what Phil Rosenthal ate before calling it the best shawarma he had ever had
  • Meat off the spit, marinated the day before service
  • Freshly baked pitta rather than a warmed shelf one

Good to know

  • Booking: walk-in
  • Timing: all-day, open-late
  • Best for: quick, lunch, dinner, solo
  • Avoid: The peak-hour queue if you are in a hurry. GlasgowWorld reports it spilling out of the door from noon until midnight; Assuming the Paisley Road branch is the same shop. Different premises, different hygiene record; Planning a sit-down dinner. This is a counter operation
  • Expert picks: Ron Mackenna
  • Verified 2026-07-30

Where

city map →© OpenStreetMap © CARTO

Shawarma King

Sources & mentions

  1. [1]
    STV News (Beth Franklin & Rahim Cham, 27 February 2025)

    TYPE 1 in effect, the owner speaking. Shawarma King, King Street, named Best Kebab House in Scotland at the British Kebab Awards in London, the fourth consecutive year. Owner Majed Baerekhan said it felt 'amazing', would not give away the family-run business's secret, but said high-quality meat was incredibly important: 'We marinate the meat with out recipes the day before selling, the meat gets enough flavour' (STV's transcription, typo included). The category is fan-voted and the shop beat nine other Scottish restaurants including Hajar's Shawarma and BABS. Memed Barbecue Grill and Meze Bar in Edinburgh were highly commended

  2. [2]
    GlasgowWorld (Liam Smillie, 27 February 2025)

    TYPE 3, local mainstream, and the practical detail: the shop sits 'down by Kings Court off Trongate' and 'from noon until midnight the queue at Shawarma King is spilling out of the door'. Confirms the fourth win at the British Kebab Awards 2025 and quotes the shop's own social post: 'Shawarma King is officially Scotland's Best Kebab House, for the FOURTH time'

  3. [3]
    GlasgowWorld (Somebody Feed Phil round-up)

    TYPE 3. Lists the Scottish stops in Phil Rosenthal's Netflix episode, four of them in Glasgow: 'Phil described the Shawarma at Shawarma King on King Street as the best Shawarma he had ever had.' Note for the record that the same episode's opening scene, at Tantrum Doughnuts, was suggested by Julie Lin, and that Sunny Acre also features. This pins the King Street site as the one on television

  4. [4]
    FSA / Food Hygiene Information Scheme

    TYPE 5, statutory register. THIS PREMISES: FHRSID 1220472, Shawarma King, 113 King Street G1 5RB, Glasgow City Council: Improvement Required, rating date 2025-04-25, NewRatingPending false, re-checked 2026-07-30. SIBLING, SEPARATE RECORD: Shawarma King @ Shisha Lounge Ltd, 232 Paisley Road G5 8NG, FHRSID 1690309: Pass, rating date 2025-02-11. Unrelated business with a similar name: King Roj Shawarma, 1204 Argyle Street, Pass 2025-09-08

  5. [5]
    Jeff (first-hand)

    His own note on the row, verbatim: 'Must visit. One of the best street food restaurants in the UK. Also now featured on Somebody Feed Phil.' His Maps pin resolves to the King Street shop, which is why this row is the King Street premises

Record

slug
shawarma-king
city
Glasgow
group
Restaurants
category
Street food
cuisine
Shawarma
area
Merchant City
price
$
editorial class
Solid
ladder verdict
should-visit
provenance
verified
confidence
high
status
Open
address
Shawarma King
coordinates
55.855076, -4.247069
last verified
2026-07-30
curated page
places/shawarma-king.md
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