Where to eat kebabs in Ottawa: Sizzling lamb, beef, and chicken skewers fresh off the fire

Char, spice, and everything nice. The best kebabs in Ottawa feature lamb marinated in pomegranate juice, metre-long beef platters, and chicken with a perfect smoky edge. The mouthwatering dishes draw from Turkish, Persian, Afghan, and Pakistani influences, pairing seasoned meat with fragrant rice and grilled vegetables.

Ottawa Citizen food critic Peter Hum has done the heavy lifting (and eating) for you. Over the past seven years, he has sampled the city’s top kebabs. Each Ottawa restaurant on this list has a take on the Middle Eastern classic, with meat so tender it falls off the skewer and spice blends that leave a lasting impression.

You’ll find all the details you need with direct links to Peter’s in-depth reviews and publication dates provided to help you zero in on the best spots. When it’s time for kebabs in Ottawa, here’s where to go:

360 Moodie Dr. in Bells Corners; 345 Preston St. in Little Italy; 2288 Tenth Line Rd. in Orléans, 613-824-9978, persisgrill.ca

This Ottawa-based chain has three locations in the city, from Bells Corners to Little Italy to Orléans, from which it sells Persian dishes, including various kebab plates. We found that lunch at the Bells Corners location pleased us best, in particular with some beef and chicken kebabs of exceptional succulence and flavour. There, the torsh kebab — beef tenderloin that was nicely charred and sweet and sour due to its pomegranate marinade — was a standout. A dinner at the Orléans location was a little less strong but still satisfying. The food and service on a busy Saturday night at the Preston Street location, which seems more geared to a younger, cocktail-loving crowd, was markedly more uneven. — Reviewed May 23, 2024

Read the full Persis Grill review

4434 Innes Rd., Orléans, 613-834-0112

Bang for your buck is one reason to make the drive to Orléans when the craving for Turkish food strikes. But Anatolia deserves kudos too for its range of dishes, its commitment to making items in-house, and its pleasant hospitality. The menu will appeal to meat-eaters seeking a break from the usual chicken and beef doners and kebabs of chicken, beef, or lamb, not that these staples should be avoided at Anatolia. The fully loaded mixed grill for two ($59.99, compared to $75 or even $80 elsewhere) included lots of tasty grilled chicken and beef as well as copious shavings of chicken doner, which admittedly were a little dry. — Reviewed Apr. 11, 2024

Read the full Turkish Anatolia Restaurant review

1638 Bank St., 613-731-7171, alhalabi-restaurant.com

Emphasizing spectacle whenever possible, this Syrian restaurant in Ottawa that opened in 2022 serves a metre-long kebab platter that includes 13 char-grilled halal skewers (three each of beef chunks, ground beef, ground chicken and chicken cubes, and one of chicken wings) on a bed of cardamom-studded rice, plus side orders of salad, hummus and garlic sauce. Not only did it serve four of us and generate some leftovers, but it also arrived with a sparkler and pail of dry ice that generated smoke. — Reviewed Nov. 28, 2023

Read the full Al Halabi Restaurant review

471 Terry Fox Dr. Unit 120, Kanata, turkishkebabhouses.com

After opening in the spring of 2023, this no-reservations restaurant that seats about 90 people developed a massive following. A mixed grill for two showed why. Heaped on the platter were chunks of white-meat chicken and beef, a spicy Adana kebab skewer, several kofta patties, several chicken wings, and large, thin shavings of döner kebab — all halal. The meats were mounded on a heap of tomato-tinged bulgur and more bread to sop up meat juices, while grilled tomato, grilled green pepper, and onion salad offered acidic or bracing respites from meat and carbs. Begin with a basket of puffy flatbread and some compelling dips — ezme, a spicy appetizer/dip of finely chopped tomato, peppers, garlic, onions and spices, and/or cacik, a mix of yogurt, cucumbers and herbs not to be confused with tzatziki. — Reviewed June 7, 2023

Read the full Turkish Kebab House review

470 Rideau St., 613-860-8000, cafetehran.ca

Opened in the summer of 2023, The Persian café served us a “trio” sampler of skewered meats. Best were cubes of juicy chicken breast, bolstered by the unmistakable, complex, and earthy flavour of saffron, much loved in Persian cuisine. Chunks of grilled beef (called chenjeh) and skewers of ground beef (koobideh) were almost as good. All of the meats had been expertly grilled, and like other main courses, the dish included a heap of fluffy rice, some of which was saffron-tinged, and a minimum of vegetable accompaniments, either grilled or pickled. Also on that platter was a small serving of tahdig, a darkly crusted, crispy lozenge of saffron-y rice. — Reviewed June 7, 2023

Read the full Cafe Tehran review

1750 Innes Rd., Gloucester, order.online/store/iskender-doner-kebab-house

This no-frills strip mall eatery takes its name from a Turkish specialty of sliced doner kebab meat topped with a rich tomato sauce. In Turkey, this former regional specialty has become a national favourite, and I could taste why. The meat had character, the tomato sauce was rich, and the absorbent pita was something special, while the dollop of yogurt on the side was creamy but refreshing. — Reviewed Nov. 17, 2022

Read the full Iskender Doner Kebab House review

2949 Carling Ave. and 1720 Bank St., Unit 105, saffronkabab.ca

Three simple words — “Saffron Mix 10” — yielded a well-seasoned carnivore’s delight that included four ground beef kebabs, three chicken breast kebabs, and three “filet mignon” kebabs), plus some supplementary cubes of meat in lieu of some chicken drumsticks that were supposed to have been part of the meal. If we had to rank them, we would have given the saffron-tinged chicken chunks top marks, followed by the beef chunks and then the more dry ground beef kebabs. — Reviewed July 13, 2022

Read the full Saffron Kabab review

605 Longfields Dr., Unit 13, Barrhaven, khokhaeatery.com

Thanks to their eye-widening flavours, Chapli kebabs from this Barrhaven strip mall eatery elicited wows and sighs of appreciation. “A lot of people have commented they have not had chapli kebabs like this even in Toronto,” said owner-operator Zermina Siddiqi. “I will not compromise on them. Chapli kebab requires a lot of onions. We get tired chopping those onions.” — Reviewed June 10, 2021

Read the full Khokha Eatery review

3098 Carling Ave., Unit 8, 5160 Innes Rd., mezbaan.restaurant

At a lunch visit to Mezbaan in the west end, while the chicken thigh kebab offered on the menu wasn’t available, the chicken breast kebab was seconds-off-the-grill moist, and blessed with fine tandoori seasoning. — Reviewed Nov. 27, 2019

Read the full Mezbaan review

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