Shawarmas… You like them, I like them, everybody likes them. More importantly, everybody has an opinion on which vendors sells the best shawarma in town, and rightfully so. Knowing that this will likely be one of my most controversial pieces up to date, I nonetheless decided that it was high time to write about the shawarmas of Nizhny Novgorod. I will not be ranking these spots in any way, nor will I “grade” them. Instead, I will simply list them randomly and share my honest opinions about each of them. Though I will not be crowning a victor (after all that is in fact an extremely moot point), my avid readers can likely figure out which spot I value a bit more over the rest.
Kavkazskaya – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CCUrYQhi0D
“Gets the job done” is what I could say about the shawarma Kavkazskaya offers to its patrons. It is full of salad and sauce, which is how some like their shawarmas to be, and size wise it is quite decent as well. That being said, the actual meat quality and for some reason the overall taste leaves a lot to be desired. This is a joint that works around the clock though, so do keep it in mind for those long nights wandering around the city or visiting one of its many clubs. Moreover, I have been told by a friend whose taste bud I actually trust that we just had a bad batch that time, and that the overall quality of their products are much higher in a normal day. That just goes to show that when we are dealing with shawarmas, it is often best to eat them before it is too late in the day, when the meat gets dry and the veggies go soggy.
Chafran – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CCUrYUeXlA
The love-hate relationship I have with Chafran is quite hard to put into words. When these shawarma “sushi” plates are done right (full of garlic sauce, some of which is served alongside it, and topped with fresh fries) it is a heavenly delicacy. However, sometimes the fries are cold, and some other times the sauce is lacking, and there are even times when there are less pieces on the plate, also at certain times the pickles are different and so on… Going to Chafran for a meal is like playing a round of Russian roulette, hoping that you are not going to get the bullet. One word of advice would be to say that the later you come in the day the worse off it will get, so try to enjoy this place early on, preferably for lunch.
Plates and wraps full of shawarma are just a start for Chafran as they offer a few other delicacies as well. Falafel is one of them, and various Syrian dishes topping up rice is another. The rice is the key here, since it is quite aromatic but of course the topping makes it easier for the flavour to “pop” a bit more. Their sauces seem to be homemade, and the garlic mayonnaise is hitting quite hard with the “hot sauce” (unfortunately) failing to be hot, as is usual of pretty much anything labelled as spicy in Russia.
Ta Samaya Shaurma Na Srednom – https://tasamaya-shaurma.ru
Being likely the most famous shawarma brand in the city, it is kind of pointless to write about Shaurma na Srednom. They have a lot of joints all around the city, and millions of reviews that recommend eating there. Regardless of what I say, you will end up tasting their shawarma if you stay in town for more than a few days. None of this is to say that it is bad mind you, but it certainly is not the best shawarma I had in Nizhny. They have a rather extensive menu, and their VIP shawarmas are comically big, so it certainly does have a lot going for it for bigger groups and/or extremely hungry patrons.
AZ Bufe Doner – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CCUrYUcDHB
If it was priced a few roubles lower, AZ Bufe’s Turkish doner would have a very special place in my heart, alas, at its current price point it is basically the most expensive shawarma-like item on the list, all the while being one of the smallest. It is quite Turkish in the sense that it comes in the form of a bread rather than a wrap, coupled with a decent salad and some not so traditional but also not very alien ketchup. However, it still has some “greens” that are not quite Turkish in it, bringing in some Slavic flavour that we are used to from other shawarmas in this list. Nevertheless, it is the closest you will come to testing Turkish doner in Nizhny.
AZ Bufe also offers a few other Turkish delicacies, like this lahmacun. It was quite a sad lahmacun to be honest with you all, not because it tasted bad but because it could have been perfect had they at least tried to make it a bit crispy. Though the minced meat mix was hitting all the right notes, that soft dough action got my stomach unhappier than ever quite quickly. Keeping this in mind, I should also add that there is unlimited free tea at the premises, so that may be the cause of inflated prices, and perhaps make it up for some people who are very much into tea.
Shaurma Po-Turetski – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CCUrBKWM2D
Avtozavodskaya is full to the brim with shawarma vendors, and many say that it has some of the finest if not the best shawarma the city has to offer as well. Unfortunately, it is far away from the city centre, and even further away from where I live. That means that I could only taste a few of its local flavours. Shaurma Po-Turetski, unlike its name, was not Turkish at all but it most certainly was quite delicious. Crispy and succulent meat in an even crispier lavash, so nothing to criticise there. Their garlic sauce sure was almost a bit too garlicky as well, just the way I like it. If it was a bit bigger, this could easily be one of the highest value shawarmas in the city.
Turetskaya Shaurma – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CCUrYUgd2A
Continuing with the trend of calling non-Turkish shawarmas as Turkish shawarma, Turetskaya Shaurma offers an extremely tasty and refreshing alternative to many other options with an emphasis on fresh veggies and an even fresher yoghurt-based sauce. This was one of the lighter shawarmas I had in town. Perhaps more importantly to some, including myself, this lovely place also sells some Turkish ayran (a type of yoghurt drink) which goes perfectly with all wraps and sandwiches.
NON Bakery – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CCUrYUwI0B
This unassuming little bakery sells one of the cheapest and tastiest shawarma in the city. In fact, you can get an extremely cheap (125 roubles at the time of writing) vegetarian shawarma weighing almost half a kilo in this establishment, or just pay a bit more to add some chicken to it. Now, truth be told, it is difficult to compare this wrap with the others on this list given the fact that this one does not use any actual shawarma meat in it. It seems to be grilled chicken instead, diced into small cubes, waiting to be used in a wrap as they are ordered. These are not necessarily juicy pieces of chicken, but they are quite tasty, nonetheless. Everything in the wrap is balanced perfectly, and thus this becomes great value for money.