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Shawarma’s House first came on my radar while driving back to Detroit after a long hike west of Ann Arbor. Famished after 10-miles in the woods, I craved protein, wanted it in chicken shawarma form, and it had to be from a shop close to Interstate 96.
The option with the best Google reviews in the neighborhood was Shawarma’s House, in Westland, with a 4.9 rating on over 1,000 votes. “They must’ve hired bots, but whatever, it’s close, I’ll try it,” I thought to myself.
Turns out it probably wasn’t bots. There’s no shortage of shawarmas in metro Detroit — even good or excellent shawarma abounds, because the universe has smiled upon us. But finding a spot that does a common dish like shawarma better than everyone else is a rarity and a joy in life, and that’s what Shawarma’s House has on offer.
As with any simple dish of this caliber, it’s the details that make all the difference. Shawarma’s House cuts its bird from a massive inverted cone of chicken on a spit to produce small shavings. They’re intensely aromatic, moist, bright, and lemony pieces of bird that are wrapped in pita with better-than-most pickles and solid garlic sauce. Guessing on the spice combo here, but I suspect it’s driven by coriander, paprika, clove, nutmeg, cumin, and more. The aroma-generating combo and the perfect texture are what put the package in its own class.
Shawarma’s House should not be confused with Shawarma House in Oxford, which I haven’t tried and can’t opine on. I was unable to reach the owner so I can’t give any details on its backstory, but the menu is what you’ll find at most Lebanese restaurants in the region. Though I wouldn’t pass up the chicken shawarma, the meat shawarma — or, lamb — is also super fragrant from what I’m again guessing is some combo with a heavy dose of any combo of cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon. And the sensation from that cinnamon is practically psychedelic. Awesome.
Shawarma’s House hummus is also excellent — creamy, a bit rich, lemony — while the kofta is a solid version, with similar spice profiles in sausage form as the meat shawarma, but in a package that’s lightly charred on the outside and tender on the interior.
The cucumber yogurt salad came with a very thin sauce, but it was a bright dish and had depth. The batatas harra, or spicy potatoes, were a bit undercooked and not particularly spicy, but still lemony and tasty, though probably would pass on the next run. On the side, each dinner comes with lentil soup, almond rice, fries, or salad, and there were no misses among them.
Shawarma’s House is in Westland, which is a little out of orbit from where I live in Hamtramck, but this is the type of shawarma that motivates one to travel. It’s also more evidence that the Lebanese-American population that started in east Dearborn and Detroit continues pushing west, deeper into the suburbs. (When I mentioned to friends that some of the region’s finest shawarma can be found in Westland, they told me about another place in the neighborhood that allegedly has some of the best Lebanese fare.) The restaurant is mostly carryout, there are a few small tables, and the staff is friendly.
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Tom Perkins
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