Mashawi Grill

First time trying Mediterranean food and I was pleasantly surprised! I tried the falafel, baklava, and schwarma. All were delicious and well seasoned– however the baklava had gotten pretty mushy by 7pm.
The place was pretty empty, but there is plenty of space and all of the food was reasonably priced.

We were on campus and hungry. I talked my husband and stepson out of BBQ to try this place that had nice reviews on Unilocal.My husband had the hummus/​shawarma plate that he enjoyed. My stepson had the lamb burger with fries. The burger was tiny on the bun and although he didn’t complain, I know he was disappointed. I had the falafel sandwich that was actually a wrap, which was amazing. I would go back just for this (hence the 4 stars). The fries were not fresh cut, which is what I expect from a mediterranean place, and the white sauce I got for the fries was not good.
It is an order-​at-​the-​counter-​come-​back-​for-​pick-​up type of place. The upstairs dining area is roomy, with a tv, and a view of the street. The kid at the counter was nice.

As a lifelong resident of Champaign-​Urbana, I have seen so many levantine restaurants of different varieties come and go. Almost all of them have been plagued with at least two of the following issues: bad service, bad prices, bland food, awkward seating. I’m happy to say that Mashawi has none of these issues. The service is great and the people are friendly, the prices are some of the best on campus, the food almost always excels, and it’s got a good, campus-​casual atmosphere. The portion sizes are huge, too.
Everyone I know seems to love Mashawi, so I imagine it will be the first restaurant in this location to stick around ofr a while.

I will absolutely be back to Mashawi. The place is clean, spacious, and you seriously cannot beat the prices. The upstairs seating is also pretty cool.
The food is tasty and the portion size is good, I definitely got a bang for my buck. I do feel that the flavors are a little watered down, they went for more of a mass appeal than to truly do justice to Middle Eastern food, but seriously, for the price, its worth it.
Great additional to Green St, I’d be happy to go back.

This is the only Mediterranean place on campus I know of and it is delicious. The falafel sandwich which is really a wrap is always my go to. I tend to get either a Jerusalem salad or side of hummus to go with it to put on as an extra topping. I have never had a bad experience coming here

Had the chicken shawerma entrée, $ 7.99 and came with a generous amount of chicken and rice along with pitas. I agree with other person that some sauce on the side would have made it even better. Maybe five stars if I had a sauce. Looks nice inside, food was ready fast. Can’t tell this used to be Qdoba.

There is a lot of competition for mediterranean food in Champaign but Mashawi Grill is definitely a winner.
It is a typical student oriented place with ample seating, self serving with plastic and paper utensils. Cheap options to attract more students on tight budget but all options are great for lunch or dinner. We had a falafel sandwich, yogurt salad and baba ganoush appetizer. All of these were delicious dishes. It was enough for two people. There is ample seating upstairs with a nice view if you find a table near window. The place can use some upgrade but who cares as long as they keep serving delicious food.
Great place for a quick bite which is delicious and inexpensive.

I’ve been here a couple of times for lunch.
First time I got the chicken shwarma plate. It was HUGE. I would not order it again just for myself. The next time, I opted for the chicken shwarma sandwich instead. It was the appropriate size, and tasted pretty good.
I will try the falafel sandwich next time.

Wonderful, inexpensive Middle Eastern food provided by a very nice family.
Mashawi Grill has a relatively simple menu, with sandwiches/​wraps (super cheap!), entrees, and sides. The pita are delicious, the food much higher quality than you’d expect for the price, and the ambiance super casual. You can get two entrees, with drinks, for $ 17.50, or a sandwich for $ 5. Such a good deal!
The shish tawook (grilled spiced chicken with rice, salad and pita) is fantastic, as is the shwarma and hummus platter (served with lots of bread!).
Highly recommended.

This place is great. I had the chicken shawarma wrap. It was delicious and only $ 5. My small order of 6 falafel for $ 2 was perfect to share with my friend. I did wish they gave me more sauce. We sat upstairs. The view is great to people watch while eating. I didn’t have room for the baklava today, but I will be back!

I was so happy to discover that the UIUC campus has a mediterranean restaurant on campus! I have walked by this place countless times and hadn’t ever given it a second look until a friend recommended I try it.
The food comes out quickly and is not very expensive! They give you decent portion sizes and the meat is excellent. The hummus doesn’t have a huge flavor to it, but I really liked that since I was pairing it with the shawarma meat.
The employees are friendly and there is a huge seating area upstairs, looks like it would be great for a big group!
If you haven’t given this place a try, I definitely recommend you stop in. This place is fast casual and will happily make your oder to go if you need. Also, they just started using the Hooked app, so check out their deals on there!

Lives up to the reviews. Excellent chicken shawarma. However, the things keeping this from a 5 star are:
1) no spicy shawarma
2) the veggies in salad weren’t especially flavorful or fresh. I should have gotten the hummus for sure.
If you’re in the mood for Mediterranean food and happen to be on campus, this place can’t be beat. I know I’ll be back to try that hummus.

I came here on a Satuday for lunch. Ideal if you want to grab a quick lunch. Not too much of a wait on Saturdays (or at least on the day I went).
Prices are around $ 10 if you are hungry and want an entrée. However, if you want something small, there are some options for less starting from $ 1.49 for soup, hummus, and etc.
Food
Entrees come with pickles and salad
Salad — sliced tomato & cucumbers in vinegar flavor dressing.
Hummus — the entrée does not come with hummus but you can order it in replace of the salad or pickles. I would recommend ordering hummus in replace of the salad/​pickles. The pita bread/​chicken just tastes better with hummus.
Chicken Shawarma entrée — they are generous with the amount of food that is provided. The chicken was slightly dry, but maybe because I went on a slow day? The food was mediocre, but it’s nice to have the option to eat mediterranean food.
Atmosphere — it’s not a fancy restaurant or anything, just somewhere to go for a quick bite… more than enough seating if you are interested in going with a group of friends.
Customer Service — friendly, no complaints
I would want to check out the other restaurants on the street prior to coming back here.

Best shawarma on campus. Still a three star rating because I grew up in the Middle East and gorged on the best Lebanese shawarmas in Montréal. That said, I love the North American take on shawarmas– the fresh, lightly herb marinade dunked lettuce, tomatoes, purple cabbage, and cucumber. It always comes down to the meat though. And that’s a 3 star one here. Still the best on campus though.

Restaurant review
Finally a restaurant to rave about. It truly is a 5 star based on taste and price. By no means is this the best restaurant, but when you compare around with other choices you can’t go wrong with Mashawi Grill. I somehow missed this new restaurant when it opened a while back, but it was recommended by Israeli friends as the best Mediterranean food in Champaign along with authentic falafel. It was very easy to order off the menu and no line during the weekend lunch hour. The food did not take long to get unlike other similar restaurants and the staff were very friendly. Prices are simply amazing for the type of food you get. I ended up with the 10 dollar mixed grill that had a little bit of everything. Menu to be uploaded soon. The chicken kabobs were moist and very flavorful. They give you two types of seasoned rice and two types of salads as well. The only thing missing was tahini sauce or the yogurt sauce which would go well with this combo. Plus you get a pita that you can put all of your food in! I actually forgot to order the falafel and had to go back a second time. Somehow the freshness and flavor is unbeaten by any other falafel I have ever had. Soft, not too greasy, and well balanced in flavor. I could eat these all day long. Plus for 2 dollars you get 6! I hope this place stays at this level of perfection because I will be back!
Pros: Fresh Mediterranean food, inexpensive, fast service, friendly employees. Best falafel in Illinois!
Cons: No hummus, tahini or yogurt sauce to go with the entrees which makes it a bit dry.
Hidden deals: Sandwich only cost around 5 dollars with 2 dollars more for drinks/​fries
Health code rating: B, looks clean but the one health inspection was so so on food temperature.

Food is decent, hub and I ordered chicken shawarma wrap, and I had the shawarma entrée with rice veggies and fries, we also had a piece of baklava. Chicken shawarma was a bit dry, rice and fries were good. We are from Chicago and used to have the sandwich in a pita, this was a burrito style wrap. I tried the wrap, didn’t like it, hubs says it was okay. I didn’t like the pickles veggies, but just not a fan of pickled veggies in general. Not sure if we’d come back. Here’s some pics!

I have been to Greece, eaten at Mediterranean restaurants all over the state and I have to say… This was the best hummus I have had so far. I had the chicken shawarma and had enough food left over for lunch the next day. That’s a good deal for 7.99!!! The toppings were fresh and full of spices. The pita was warm and fluffy. The rice was aromatic and perfectly cooked. But I would go back any day just for the gummed. It was creamy, balanced and prefect with the olive oil and paprika. Once you have this… Store bought will never satisfy.

I had a shawerma sandwich and it was pretty meh. It would be nice if they listed all the toppings that are in their entrees. There was something in there that I didn’t enjoy so much. It also took an inordinate amount of time for my friend to get his simple burger order.

I had one of my best buds down for the weekend and he loves Mediterranean food almost as much as I do, so naturally I had to suggest the new Mashawi Grill since I had such a good experience there last time.
This time was just as good and my roommate even tagged along to try it for himself!
We got 2 orders of the chicken shawarma, a lamb kabob and some falafel. The flavor of the chicken was spot-​on, the tomato/​cucumber salad was really tasty and the other various pickled items were also very delicious. I particularly like the very liberal use of spices in this cuisine, especially mint!
The portions were huge, one entrée is more than enough for a single person and we found ourselves struggling to finish everything. The falafel is also a really good deal, only about $ 0.50 per piece and not only are they huge, but so very delicious with the dipping sauce.
Can’t really complain about the price, it’s pretty fair.
My only minor gripe would be that the food comes out a little slow, we waited about 10 minutes for our food and my roommate’s lamb kabob took over 15. Perhaps they need some more hands in the kitchen?
Still a really awesome choice on campus for Mediterranean fare, I’ll be back again for sure.

This is one of the best places to eat on a budget in Champaign-​Urbana area.
The food is awesome, service is nice.
They add complementary sides, and sometimes desserts.
I like the Shawarma sandwiches and mix grill plates.
The sandwiches are big enough to fill you up, while a plate is more than enough. The plate can sustain you for a full day.
Prices are relatively cheap, 4.99 for sandwich and 7.99 for plates.
I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to enjoy a great meal on a budget.