The kebab is so popular that it is almost taken for granted when it comes to talking about cheap food. How many hangovers have been cured with its almost 1,000 kcal on average per kebab and what is its true origin are questions that unfortunately have no concrete answer.
Although the most widespread format, the doner, was invented in Berlin in the 1970s, thanks to Turkish immigration to the Germanic country, this type of food emerged between the Middle East and the Mediterráneo practically from the moment man began to cook with fire.
That is to say, from what can be deduced from its etymological origin, the kebab has been with us since cooking began, although its name has been adapted to different cultures and over the centuries to end up being the fast food it is today. The restaurants on this list strive to bring back some of its original elaboration and to claim it as a new trendy food, and therein lies their success.
1. From Pita Madre
While supplies last. This phrase, more typical of a retail promotion than of the hospitality industry, can serve as an approximation for De Pita Madre. They open, they have two rolls (one of veal and one of lamb) and when everything is sold out, they close.
This small restaurant in the Chueca neighborhood leads the trend of gourmet shawarma and does so by appealing to a maxim. That kebab can also be Michelin food.
The process is handmade, from the sauces (tahini and spiced tahini) to the pita bread.
📍 Calle de Colmenares, 13 (Chueca)
2. Kebab House
One of the best kebabs in Madrid is also one of the oldest. The fame of this small restaurant, which was established in Moncloa before the Lighthouse every once in a while, he manages to get back in the newspapers with the already repeated headline: the best kebab in Madrid.
The success is due to two cornerstones that are not always taken into account: the quality of the meat they serve – unlike other kebabs, it is not a uniform piece of meat, but steaks stacked as in the original recipe – and the price, which has not varied much in recent years.
The owner, Romel, of Lebanese origin, is an unfriendly gentleman, but with a certain rebellious charm – like his place – who, although he has retired, has left his legacy to a couple of workers. It used to open when it felt right, and when it happened the queue would go out on Menéndez Valdés street – you’ll see this complaint often in Google reviews – but now it seems they’ve reformed, premises included.
📍 Calle de Meléndez Valdés, 67 (Moncloa)
3. Yunie Kebab
Separated by less than 100 m is Yunie, known for being the lebanese restaurant which serves kebabs to the Royal Household.
Again, it owes the fame of its shawarmas – the Arabic name used in Lebanon for kebab – to the meat they use. Georges, the chef at the head of this restaurant, worked at the now defunct De Funy, where he began his contact with the Royal House and Madrid’s diplomacy in general, which continued to be loyal to him in his new project and has given him the recognition his cuisine deserves.
📍 Calle de Meléndez Valdés, 64 (Moncloa)
4. Sumer Kebab
Sumer Kebab brings back the freshness of this classic fast food and street food. Zaza and Ana, the owners of this Turkish restaurant, make the dough for their pitas and select the meat, which they leave to rest overnight before putting it on the skewer on which it is cooked.
This return to traditional Turkish cuisine also includes falafel, their version of pizzas, hummus and izkender – akind of deconstructed kebab without bread. The prices, as in most kebabs, are very tight, even more so when you consider the care they take here for their product.
📍 Calle Bravo Murillo, 19 (Chamberí)
5. La Pescadería
La Pescadería differs from the rest of the restaurants on the list because neither its menu nor its owners – it belongs to the Lamucca group – have anything to do with the Mediterranean countries where kebab is typical. However, none of this prevents them from serving one of the most praised in town.
What makes this kebab special is that it is made the Greek way, with pork, spicy yogurt sauce and Hellenic salad. They only serve it in their restaurant in Malasaña, which is more focused on Mediterráneo dishes.
📍 Calle de la Ballesta, 32 (Malasaña)
6. Aegean
In Greece, kebab takes another name – and has some particularities – but it is essentially the same. The famous souvlakis are, together with gyros, the star dish of Greek street food, and they certainly are in Aegean. This greek restaurant madrid has two locations (one in Malasaña and the other in Lavapiés).
Here pitas can be stuffed with meat skewers, Greek sausage, pumpkin dumplings, mushrooms and many more options at less than 6 euros, most of them.
📍 Calle Barco, 41 (Malasaña) and Calle San Carlos, 17 (Lavapiés)
7. Gyros Gourmet
The need to include Gourmet Gyros is understood when you experience, as happened to the Ratatouille food critic, when you sink your teeth into his shawarmas. Younes, who runs this small restaurant, prepares everything homemade. Its shawarmas, yes, but also if you are lucky and get there you can try some off-menu dishes such as muhammara or Moroccan pastela, a tribute to one of the traditional dishes from the country where the owner of this place comes from, which we have been recommending for years.
📍 Calle Blasco de Garay, 21 (Chamberí)