“I Will Give You Something Bettar!”
Shelby's Legendary Shawarma
6240 McLeod Rd
Niagara Falls, ON L2G 3E8, Canada
+12262100322
Website | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok | Google Maps
Overall Rating: 4 / 5 Plates of Bacon
A culinary creation that’s not just a viral sensation!
If you watch food videos often on social media, there’s more than a good chance that you’ve seen some highly-entertaining content from a Canadian, fast-casual, shawama chain. In fact, I’ve wanted to go to Shelby’s to try “za best in za west” after watching only a couple of their videos. I was crestfallen when I searched for the closest location to me only to learn that their closest location is on the Canadian side of the Niagara River. Here I am, a native New Yorker, reciting catchphrases from social media videos, from a place that I can’t even dine at!
“I love popping za bubbles...”
Well, after consuming countless hours of videos featuring a charismatic middle-eastern gentleman shouting at me through my phone, over the course of a couple of years, I found myself on the other side of the Niagara River and do you know what? I needed to find out, was this place actually as good at making food as they are at making viral videos?
Now, I had to be strategic about planning my visit to Shelby’s, as we were on a family vacation to Niagara Falls and, generally speaking, my [vanilla] family would never jump at the opportunity to eat Middle Eastern cuisine.
I even recorded a podcast episode ranting about how my son only eats chicken nuggets!
So, I tactically began showing my oldest and middle sons the Shelby’s videos prior to this trip. When a patron would order chicken or beef, and the viral star of these videos would shout “I WILL GIVE YOU ZA…” followed by the opposite protein of what was requested, the boys would erupt with laughter.
That was my way in; I made my children succumb to the same viral marketing campaign that hooked me.
One afternoon with no dinner plans, I made my move and impersonated the social media personality to my boys and they jumped at the chance to be told they’re going to get something “bettar!”
After a quick drive from our hotel to Shelby’s Niagara Falls location, we parked and excitedly ran inside. The incredible aroma hit us and elicited different responses from me and the rest of my [vanilla] family. I was excited. My boys, on the other hand, were just hit with the realization that they weren’t going to see the funny man on daddy’s phone and are about to eat something they’re not used to eating. I promised them that if they tried shawarma that I would order
“za fresh froiz…”
“Shout out to za Belgians!”
We placed a sizable order. Much more food than we should have ordered, both because I finished my kids’ dinner and because my eyes, fueled by my excitement, were significantly larger than my stomach. The menu was pretty substantial. You are able to customize your meal how you want, without the threat of having your protein swapped. You can order regular garlic sauce or spicy garlic sauce, regardless of your chest’s follicular fortitude. While, my children’s expectations were somewhat letdown by this, I was perfectly content to not have cold tomatoes ruin my shawarma wrap against my will.
The wait for our food wasn’t bad at all. It was about what you’d expect from a fast casual restaurant that was making your order fresh.
For the parents out there that tell time like this, it was long enough that the boys were asking where the food was, but not so long that they were complaining about starving.
My order continued my vacation’s poutine marathon, after all, I was in Ontario.
Starting with a base of “fresh fries” (or froiz, as their menu contains all of the accented English in the viral video campaigns), the “shawarma boutine” is then layered with your choice of protein, I went with chicken shawarma,
as I ordered the beef with my shawarma wrap, then some cheese curds, followed by your preferred garlic sauce (I ordered mine with spicy garlic), tahini, a drizzle of pomegranate molasses, and finally some chopped parsley for garnish.
As mentioned above, I also ordered a beef shawarma wrap with fries, sumac onions, pickles, spicy garlic, tahini, and pomegranate molasses—just like I saw in the videos. I, being of Greek decent myself, love the food of the Mediterranean region and when I saw Halloumi Fries on the menu, I knew I had to order it.
The same rationalization was applied to the Lebanese Churros, as my wife and I developed a deep-seated love for the confection after living in San Diego for a few years.
Add to that a few orders of plain fries for the kids, a beef shawarma with nothing on it for them to share, and my wife’s chicken shawarma, our order was complete and we were able to appreciate the atmosphere, which is riddled with Easter eggs for the fans of the social media content.
For example, our receipt also contained a “Ketchup on Shawarma Waiver of Liability” and should you read through it in its entirety, is quite clever; however, had you not seen the series of videos about “protecting za culture” and not putting ketchup on shawarma, this joke would be completely over your head.
(My wife, who is an attorney, did not understand the purpose of this at all)
That being said, in accordance with the footnote below the signature section, I did smile.
As did my boys, after I read it to them and pointed at the cartoon caricature of the Shelby’s Shawarma Man on the wall.
The décor was a simple fast-cas design, orange picnic-like tables of various sizes. My party of five sat around a round table that probably could fit six. The styling kept true to the brand image of orange and black. No frills, but no complaints.
Once I retrieved our order from the kitchen, I greedily began my social media-fueled culinary rampage.
It was good.
It was damn good!
This could have been a situation where the buildup caused a let-down in the payoff; however, that didn’t happen. Listen, I know I was building this up to be huge, but it’s fast-casual food and my expectations were in keeping to the level of epicurean hierarchy—I wasn’t expecting Michelin Star food—but for what it was, it was fantastic.
Everything was cooked fresh. The proteins were well-seasoned and flavorful. The food’s ethnicity was evident in every bite. The novelty of tastes that aren’t in my everyday variety were appreciated. Fried haloumi with pomegranate molasses and sprinkled with sesame seeds, for example. I eat grilled haloumi from time to time, and this twist on preparation of a cheese from my ancestral region was fun, mixing savory-salty with sweet and tangy.
The poutine… it was filling. Again, full of that Lebanese/Middle-Eastern flavor applied with respect to a French-Canadian delicacy.
The shawarma wrap was probably my favorite item of my order. There was beef in every bite; they were not cheap with the portion. All of the flavors in the recipe are complimentary. The varying textures of the grilled and charred wrap, with everything packaged within, elevated each bite.
And, of course, we washed down our meals with Pepsi.
“Don’t forget za Bebsi”
My only regret was that I left too full. Painfully so.
I didn’t get to eat more than a nibble of the churro; though it wasn’t my wife’s favorite—she has certain expectations about her churros.
Shelby’s Legendary Shawarma is a solid 4 plates of bacon out of 5 on my scale. Highly recommended for anyone near any of their locations in Canada. Give them a shout and also give them a follow on your preferred social platform. They’re worth the bite and the follow.
Have you tried Shelby’s? What was your experience like? Let me know in the comment section, below.
If you’re not familiar with their social content, I found a video collection of some of their greats on their YouTube channel and linked it below.
Additionally, if you want to read about a fun and casual spot to eat on Long Island, check out my review of The Gourmet Whaler.
