Beirut Institution · Spit-Roasted Sandwich
Beirut-Style Shawarma
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Beirut's old-school shawarma joints still hand-stack the meat cone from scratch each morning, layering dozens of thin cuts of marinated chicken or lamb onto the spit before the first customer arrives.
Thin-sliced marinated chicken or lamb is stacked onto a vertical spit and slow-roasted, then shaved off in crisp ribbons and rolled into flatbread with garlic toum, pickles, and fries. Beirut's late-night shawarma windows, from Hamra to Gemmayze, keep the spit turning well past midnight.
Why it's made this way: Beirut adapted the Ottoman-era döner technique into its own institution, with landmark spots serving it since the mid-20th century, and the city's shawarma culture is widely credited with popularizing the sandwich across the wider Levant.
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Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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