Savory Shawarma in Tel Aviv

There are a number of national traditions in Israel, one of which is the consumption of shawarma (preferably in pita bread). In Tel Aviv one of  my favorite fast food spots is on the corner of Dizengoff/Frishman Street. This busy and well known establishment is called Yashka which serves two types of shawarma, turkey and lamb with speed, efficiency and casualness of those with experience. It usually boasts of  a lunchtime queue that could cause a traffic jam on the pavement ( as if they are giving food away for free… ) The simple outside seating in always packed with people stuffing their jaws with finger licking overfull pitot (pita bread in plural) or more demurely scoffing a plate of shawarma slithers and chips. Either way there is always that little side dish of tangy vegetable or hot pepper pickles, carefully selected by each diner in case the taste buds need even more stimulation!

Today I had that fancy whilst walking from Dizengoff  center. I ‘suffered’ hunger pangs which only food that you can bury your face in will satisfy so already imagining what I would feed myself, I upped my pace towards Frishman Street. Due to the fragrant cooking smells in this humid weather, I could almost taste my food before I even got to the actual corner.

My luck was in at this late afternoon hour , the crowd had diminished  and I was able to target the serving counter directly. After paying for a half portion of turkey shawarma (okay I felt a little guilty about the calorie intake) I headed over to the nice smiley guy who asked me what I would like in the fresh pita besides the newly shaved shawarma. Nutty humus, yes. Crunchy cabbage, sure. Deep fried chips, ah may as well go the full ‘hog’! With that taken care of nicely, wrapped up in a don’t get your fingers mucky paper, off I trotted to the pickle ‘take as much as you can’ counter. Being a delicate flower, I opted for a tiny take out plastic box ,which I filled with juicy pickled cucumbers, crispy pickled carrots and white cabbage. It was a  meal for a master with a price tag for a minor. Sweetly Scrummy!

Shawarma is a specialty taken very seriously in this country, so the many outlets in Tel Aviv compete to maintain freshness, tastiness and choice in order to have return customers. They require a good reputation that spreads by word of mouth (excuse the pun) as there is no better recommendation for such an institution here in Israel.  Do enjoy!

♥ Yashka

105 Dizengof St/ corner Frishman St.

Tel: +972 3-505-7632