SEAL BEACH, CA — The Kebab Shop is a restaurant chain featuring authentic Turkish-based cuisine, including wraps, bowls, and plates with a variety of meat options.

“We’re elevating the kebab experience,” said The Kebab Shop’s official website.

The latest franchise, situated at the Old Ranch Town Center, opened several months ago to add to its more than 30 locations across the United States thus far. Griffin Gazette staff writers Jason Khan and Sean Macdonald decided to give the food a taste test and judge if The Kebab Shop truly lives up to the hype. 

Atmosphere

Boasting a modern ambiance, the Seal Beach branch of The Kebab Shop is a pleasant place to dine. On Sunday evening, we ate dinner there, and the restaurant was consistently clean, including the bathrooms.  The restaurant features two large digital displays attached to the left-hand wall which show off a revolving array of commercials and promotions, adding to the novel atmosphere.

On the right-hand wall at the front of the restaurant is a mural of newspapers praising the restaurant’s food.

Staff

Shift-lead Mike Escobar, who previously worked at a Kebab Shop location in the city of Irvine, provided some comments about his experience thus far.

“When [the customers] eat here and I see that they like the food, I love it,” said Escobar. Escobar noted the welcoming atmosphere from the customers that have visited the new location and how it has improved his enjoyment of the job.

“I’m all about communication,” said Escobar. He believes that, as long as everyone in the kitchen is on the same page and talking through the orders, the service is properly adjusted.

Diego Gonzalez, a line cook, and cashier enjoys every aspect of the experience on the job, from the atmosphere to the customer service. Gonzalez previously worked at the Irvine location alongside Escobar, so they have built up a good rapport with each other. He mentioned that some of the restaurant’s clientele thus far has included entrepreneurs and nurses.

Sean’s perspective

Before our Sunday review, I ate at The Kebab Shop by myself, ordering a falafel wrap with pickled onions. The wrap was a good portion for the price, but it was on the dry side. Additionally, the mixture of the falafel and the vegetables was inconsistent. Sometimes there were large bites of falafel, other times I was only eating vegetables; it was rarely a combination of both. However, giving 

On my second visit to The Kabob Shop, I ordered The Box, the restaurant’s branding for a plate. The menu has the customer choose a base, a protein, and an onion type. Bases include saffron rice, french fries, and greens. Available proteins are falafel, carved chicken, carved lamb, grilled steak, grilled chicken, and grilled meatballs. The restaurant also offers a mixture of carved meat as protein. Finally, The Kebab Shop asks what type of onion the customer wants, ranging from pickled, non-pickled, and no onions at all. I choose a combination of saffron rice, falafel, and pickled onions.

Once I placed my order, the employee at the register gave me a buzzer to alert me when my food was ready. Wait time was short with the buzzer going off within minutes of ordering. I then picked up my food from the serving counter.

After receiving The Box, I noticed that all its contents, the saffron rice, pickled onions, salad, and falafel were neatly arranged. In all, the presentation was nice, especially considering the speed of the service.

Though not the most important part of The Box, the pickled onions were delicious and greatly complemented the saffron rice. I often ate the onions and the rice together. My main protein, the falafel, had an aromatic flavor; however, the sauce elevated the falafel to a new level. Two of the three accompanying sauces, the garlic yogurt, and cilantro jalapeno sauces, were delicious. My favorite was the cilantro jalapeno sauce, which was light with a spicy note. However, the fire chili sauce was unusual, almost reminiscent of Korean gochujang sauce, creating a strange fusion of cultural flavors.

Jason’s perspective

I ordered a plate with carved lamb beef doner kebab as well as fries and saffron rice. I believe the highlight of the meal was the fries. They were decently crunchy and tasted especially good with The Kebab Shop’s garlic yogurt sauce.

The carved lamb beef was also really tasty, albeit a little dry. They should definitely have more of this kind of meat at this and other Kebab Shop locations. The saffron rice, though average, made up the majority of the food that I was given. I would appreciate it more if, rather than decreasing the rice, the portion sizes were altogether smaller, as the plate turned out to be a lot of food to finish.

My immediate family’s general consensus of the food, specifically the kebab, is that it was rather dry, but it was satisfying enough for a fast-food restaurant-like dining experience.

My cousin, however, greatly enjoyed almost every aspect of the restaurant. From the design to convenience to the food to the customer service, she highly recommended the place to others.

Though the restaurant’s cuisine isn’t the finest, the quality of customer service and the décor more than makeup for it.

Conclusion

The Kebab Shop is a nice addition to Seal Beach. From our experience, the service was exceptional, and the restaurant’s interior was modern. Furthermore, the eating quarters and bathrooms were clean. Though, there is some room for improvement with the food. However, if you are looking for something quick, close, and easy, The Kebab Shop is hard to fault.