Sultan Shawarma
Category: Middle Eastern [Edit]
Neighborhoods: East Village, Gaslamp543 4th Ave
(between Island Ave & Market St)
San Diego, CA 92101 (619) 231-1824
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Lunch, Late Night
- Alcohol: None
20 Reviews for Sultan Shawarma
I really liked this place. They do have very large portions for a decent price. Staff was friendly.
I had the falafel plate and a side of baba ganouj (excellent). The falafels were great, and the plate came with hummus (very good), pita and salad.
Good solid felafel. probably one of the cheapest places in the gaslight, by a good margin. service was a little slow but spot on otherwise. Nice sidewalk seating. Next time In in San Diego I'll have to remember this place.
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Bf and I were walking along downtown SD trying to look for a hole in the wall/cafe type of place for lunch today. We were tired of walking and very hungry. Stumbled upon this place and decided to give it a shot. I got the chicken shawarma sandwich and he got the beef one. The total was about 14 bucks. My chicken was oh so very tasty bursting with flavor. It was moist and awesome. The beef was good too. I am very happy that we took a chance and gave this place a try. :)
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This place is excellent. High quality good, big portions, and fair prices, especially for downtown SD.
We had the kefta kebab and combo shawarma. Both were terrific. They give you high quality hummus, and have nice staff working there.
We stumbled into this place after walking block after block looking for food. Boy, were we hungry. We were enticed by the plates of meat and different middle eastern delicacies on offer. The best deals were the platters that had three or four items to try accompanied with salad and dip. It's located right in gas lamp and food here work as a great post-binge chaser.
This place is a great alternative to carne asada during the late nights if you are tired of hitting up taco shops after 12am.
Doners, shawarmas, etc.....you can not go wrong if you are looking for a quick, cheap and filling meal!(well not so quick during a Fri. or Sat. night).
Taste here is aight, definitely not like the places overseas.
I enjoy going to The Kebab Shop but this place is open a lot later so that is a PLUS :)
Be prepared to eat standing up or take it to go or in your car while you drive home as this place is limited on seating and the lines are quite long! Service and speed is very effficient though! Ahh, I think I am gonna hit this place up tonight matter of fact :P
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After visiting the Chinese Historical Museum, we decided to do the tour from the brochure from the museum which spans only a few blocks. Of course, we were sidetracked and ended up eating here instead.
It was late morning and we were ready for a snack, although we didn't want to eat too much for fear of food coma. Ended up ordering the combo shawarma plate for a little under 12 bucks.
Geez, when the plate arrived it was HUGE. I couldn't believe how big the portion was. There was beef, chicken, hummus, pita bread, rice and it was all very tasty. Lil guy who at first said he wasn't hungry ended up eating the most. The garlic butter in the little tub was a hit with him. He just wanted that spread onto the pita with some meat and he was good to go.
The hummus was also very flavorful and didn't need anything extra.
Just beware..... portions are huge for the average diner. Of course if you've a big appetite, then it might not be enough for you. That one portion was enough to keep the 3 of us satisfied for 3 hours. That's a pretty damn good deal in my opinion!
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The Mediterranean food here was very flavorful. I liked how the hummus had great flavor and didn't lack anything. I wish they gave us more pita bread with the order though.
At first I thought it was pricey but when I saw the amount of food we got I changed my mind. It was a hell of a lot of food we got!
There isn't much room for sitting inside or outside so maybe it's hard to get a seat during rush hour, however, we were there early, before noon, so it was still easy to get a table.
Nice friendly staff and very tasty food.
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Aiight. That's what this place is. When I heard of this place I was excited cause i've been craving schwarmas for a while. It's no where near what you can get In Europe or the Middle east. They actually use flatbread so that was cool. But as far as the taste...like I said it's aiight. Hummus was disappointing. Kinda bland. The service was good though. I guess they were the owners. Nice people.
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Nothing compares to this late night mediterranean munch after a good night of clubbing and drinking. My wife and stopped by this establishment to pick up something for the hotel, we ooh'ed and awed the rest of the evening as we ate this tasty meal in our room.
The male owner lived up to his promise of their one-of-a-kind Baklava. It was tender and fresh, not too sweet and not too flakey. He bet that we would be back for more and sure enough, we came back the next day for another helping.
The Shish Tawk platter was heavenly. Like Anita L.'s review mentioned, the plates are definitely HUGE. Plenty of everything. Nice chunks of marinated chicken with a succulent grilled-to-perfection finish, tasted delicious with their pita bread and hummus (take note of the garlic mayonnaise accompanying this plate, it is simply divine!). The pickled turnips are a very interesting side as well, we scraped the to-go box clean.
The facility in itself was tiny, everyone seemed to be crammed. I don't blame them, this place has earned a major patron base and a recognition for good food. There are plenty of stool chairs lined against the wall for people to sit, as well as tables in the rear. There is a TV set for your viewing pleasure. Plenty of refreshments, nothing fancy or authentic but at least refreshing.
Definitely worth the price of their meal. Dancing, drinking and Shawarma.
This place has the best pickled turnips in San Diego and probably the best lentil soup as well. Not many if any that make both fresh daily. I grew up in Detroit, home of the biggest middle eastern population outside of the middle east and so know my middle eastern food--Iraqi, Iranian, Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Greek, ect...
The owner is Kurdish. He is extremely kind and willing to please. Unless there's a huge line, it is always fast service. I love that it is open very late. Also, it is incredibly cheap (except drinks).
Baklava is also worth a try.
The only negatives are that:
1-It is in the gaslamp and so one can never find parking and must double park to get some carry-out
2-The short order nature of the place means there is a very limited menu.
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YUMMY!!!!! The garlic stuff was delicious. Mommy made me little sandwiches with the garlic stuff and meat. I ate a lot.
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Wow that onion was poooooooooooootent!
My friends and I met up at Shawarma prior to try to get tickets to see Jabbawockees at Aubergine (aka "the eggplant"). We failed, dang that line was karazy. Nevertheless, to console ourselves:
SS did it's job. While they ate full meals, I ordered a kebab side of kefta (since again, I ate before I went downtown - it's a habit) for about $4. Kefta is ground meat and covered in middle east spices, served in a bed of lettuce and onions and tomatoes.
This is a side dish? It was tasty and satisfying, but I didn't finish those fresh onions -- whew!! - they were potent.
*breathes on you*
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So I just moved downtown and live a block away from the Sultan. I frequent this place all the time. A persian buddy of mine swears by the kebob shop on 9th and Market so I tried it out today. As an arab who has grown up on this food, let me clarify the difference. The kebob shop is okay. It's more of Gyros type food. There was a black, asian and white guy behind the counter. I'm not racist or anything, but this gives you an idea of the authenticity of the food.
The Sultan is owned and operated by Arabs so the food is as authentic as it gets. Also, I think you get more bang for your buck here as the plates are large and plentiful. The one thing I would not recommend is the chicken shawerma. Go for the chicken or beef tekka or the 3 of a kind plate. All plates come with rice, hummus, salad and pita bread. I promise, you will not be dissapointed.
Oh yeah, the only reason the kebob shop has more reviews is because the Sultan just opened about 8 months ago. And for you drunk revelers, this place is opened til 3:00 AM on Thu through Sat.
So I grew up with real authentic Shawarma, Kababs, etc. and wouldn't expect the same kind of food here. That being said it's objectively just good quality food thats open late and tastes like what it's supposed to. They don't have lamb (talked to the owner one night and he said it just doesn't sell that well) which is why some reviewers might rate it lower than the usual, but the sandwiches are great and I'm a sucker for the pickled extras they give ya (olives, hot pepper, turnip, etc.).
Nice crowd and the service good. I've met some interesting characters there from the drunk lawyers at 2am to the failed model/acctress at 10pm having a cheap dinner. Usually good for a story.
All in all a good choice for a quick late night bite, if they had turkish coffee I'd be hooked though.
Cool little hole in the wall.
Outside, three small polished aluminum tables are fenced in by a spare black railing. Try to get one of the these if you can when you arrive, so you can have the sidewalk cafe experience.
The entry is narrow, skirting alongside the open-air kitchen to the right. That's good and bad; you immediately see the how clean their kitchen is (always a good sign), but it's also a bit noisy for the eight or so tables inside.
The owners are warm and friendly. They stay polite even when it's busy.
The food is good, fresh, well-seasoned and reasonably priced... about what I expect from a small place like this. I recommend the Chicken Shwarma Sandwich with hummus.
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I went here because someone told me how good it is. It was ok. I wish I hadn't walked 15 blocks to get there, and walk right by the good kebab place on 9th, it wasn't worth it. OK, I could use the walk.
Unfortunately I think the fries were the best part, and that is not really what I am craving when I go to a place like this. OK, maybe the walk was good for me.
To the girl above me, sorry for writing an honest review. As I said it was ok, but it certainly is not a 5 star.
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Solidly Good Food.
Good Sized Portions.
It's in the heart of Gaslamp, not the East Village as other have said.
The place was neat and clean and they made it very easy to place an order. Staff was friendly enough and quick, too. I had the Three of a Kind Plate that came with two kinds of Beef and one kind of Chicken, Salad, Rice, Humus and lots of pitas. All in all, very tastey.
It cost a few bucks more than I was expecting - just over $16 including my beverage. So much for a cheap lunch but I guess that is what you can expect on 4th Ave in the Gaslamp. To be fair, there were many cheaper options on the menu.
Places like this are definately needed and welcomed here in SD.
I stopped in because I was hungry but too tired to walk to the Kebab Shop on 9th and Market...I should've mustered the energy to walk the extra 5 blocks. I got the chicken shawarma and it was really greasy and dry. What's with the pickle? I've been to Europe and had Shawarma at those stands everywhere and this was nothing in comparison to those or the Kebab Shop.
When I was in Europe it seemed like there were little kabob places everywhere so when we stumbled upon this place we felt ahhhhha nostalgia for Europe. I know the first thing you think of is wait, Europe, kabob, are you sure, ummm where did you go? Well in Italy we actually ate at this kabob place that was really good and it reminded us of it, so a roundabout reminiscence. So where was I, ahhh yes, this little place was cool because it had tables outside on the sidewalk where you can eat, relax and people watch which is always a great form of entertainment. Not to mention it was about 20 degrees hotter in side than outside. We ordered the shawarma plate which comes with fries. It was ok, nothing really exciting, decent flavor, but nothing that made me kick my chair back and slam my fist on the table and say DAAAAAAAMN that is one good shawarma. The fries were pretty good though, crisp but not burnt, and no soggy filling. The staff was friendly and the table on the sidewalk was cool but the food was pretty average hence the three stars.
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