Shawarma King Buffet

Let me preface this by saying I am 100% Lebanese and know my ancestral cuisine very well. For starters, when I questioned specific items and how they appeared and tasted, I was challenged by the Asian manager, as if I had no idea about the food which really ticked me off greatly. I was there with a friend and she suggested going there. The hummous was the best thing at the buffet. My favorite dish, imjadara, (spellings vary greatly), which is supposed to be lentils and rice, or lentils and wheat with salt, pepper and cumin topped with many onions sautéed in olive oil was NOWHERE to be found. Instead, there was a ton of rice with a handful of lentils slightly warmed, and nothing else. In fact, it was approximately a 10:1 ratio of rice to lentils. It should have been about a 2:1 lentils to rice ratio. The cabbage rolls had completely fallen apart, (although the stuffing was good). The fatoushe was terrible. The bitter end of the romaine lettuce was used and was wilting. The salad dressing was definitely NOT a traditional Lebanese salad dressing, similar to olive oil and lemon juice, and actually was on the sweet side. The falafel was perhaps the absolute worst thing whatsoever, lacking so many of the basic spices like salt, pepper, onion flakes, parsley flakes and other spices that give it a true bite. The shawarma contained NO lamb. No matter how much they call it shawarma, real shawarma contains at least 50% lamb. On top of it, the ice tea was going bad and to make matters worse, they only had saccharin on the table as a sweetener. To a non-​Arab, I understand they might find this acceptable but to a person raised on this cuisine, this was a great disappointment. The other Shawarma King on Drake Road is significantly better.

This buffet is so good. I eat here almost once a week and I have to drive 50 minutes to get there. Their tabouli is very tasty. I’m a big fan of their roasted broccoli especially when they make it spicy. Chicken shawarma sandwhich pretty good. I prefer a bigger pickle though lol. Service is friendly. Needs to be a little more attentive with refills.

The quality of the food could definitely be better. My first time in and i couldn’t find the garlic sauce. The lady working the front counter was very annoyed when i asked for one cup of garlic sauce. then when i couldn’t find it she was extremely rude to me. Just based on service i won’t be back. It’s unfortunate when customer service drives business away.

The buffet is great. Everything is obviously homemade. The lentil soup is delicious. Favorites are falafel, hummus and anything chicken.

Decent Lebanese food in a bit of a divey environment. Great fresh-​made hummus, good schwarma sandwiches and decent stuff grape leaves. The buffet looked good, but lacked several items (like the grape leaves) that I wanted to try. The service is friendly and the food came out promptly. I’d hit the place again for a quick lunch, but probably not for dinner.

Having grown up in new york city surrounded by ethnic restaurants, lebanese was one i had not yet tried. Hungry, me and my wife went for the buffet… While the salad was nice, the sauces were definitely thinned out for profit and the pitas, overly chewy. The hot bar was merely okay with the shawarma though spiced wonderfully, were dry. The falafels though the perfect level of crispiness were devoid of any real spices; my wife’s homemade falafels were spiced better. The highlight of the buffet for me were the collard greens.
Though more expensive, my go to place for middle-​eastern food will be zooroona.

I’m going to be honest, after craving this place for a week straight, I knew only the buffet would do. I took myself on a lunch date here and I have no regrets.
Yum!
It’s rare I find a buffet that’s worth the splurge, but this, my friends, is the exception. Fresh. Quality. Delicious. Along with my favs (broiled chicken & fattoush salad), I got to try new things. All of the things…
Shout out goes to the Molokhia (collard greens). That’s right, I said collard greens. Did they look appetizing? Eh. Do collard greens ever look appetizing? I say not. Were they flavorful and delicious, you betcha!
Also, the beef blew my mind. I’ve opt out for a chicken shwarma here in the past, but after trying their beef, I might have a new champion.
Hummus, baba ganoush, and amazing lentil soup! I could go on for days…

My husband and I have only been in town for 3 weeks. Our anniversary came and we felt like trying a local favorite restaurant instead of a super upscale one. After a lot of research on the places around town, we landed on this one. We had gone to Shawarma King on Drake Rd when we first got into town and loved it so we thought this would be good to.
It was delicious! The buffet may not have as much food out like a «typical» buffet but every item out is great! I did think the falafel wasn’t as good as the Shawarma King on Drake Rd which is why I gave this review 4 stars but I was very happy with our choice to come here.
good student diacount too :)

They must have changed owners because EVERYTHING, well, almost everything except for the pita bread in baggies, has changed.
I can’t believe that this was the same place that I adored while living in Kzoo. Now, everything is just lower quality, and the recipes are all different – even the salad dressing!
My plan was to have lunch there, and to get some takeout for the hubby, but after my meal, I vowed to never go back. The chicken was flavorless, the hummus really watery, and even the rice pudding was a major disappointment. :(

I grew up just outside of Dearborn, MI and have been missing good Lebanese food! I tried the other Shawarma King on Drake about a year ago and was less than impressed. I just thought J had to wait until my visits back to family… I didn’t know until yesterday that these were two different owned restaurants. An Arabic friend told me that this was the place to go, not the other one. So I gave it a shot today for lunch and left happy, full and with 2 baklava in hand. If you’re in the mood for Lebanese food and good food at that, with quick service– and a BUFFET (who doesn’t love Buffets??) this is the place to go.

Hard to argue with this place if you’re looking for good shwarma in town. The buffet is not the snazziest or most extensive one you’ll ever experience but it has a nice variety, is reasonably priced, and you’ll never go hungry.
Ordering off of the menu CAN get a little pricey but the portions are well-​sized and the food travels pretty well.
Amazing garlic sauce, can’t rave enough about it– you’ll just have to try for yourself.
It isn’t the prettiest restaurant in town but you go for the food.

Definitely worth the drive from I-​94. We stopped in for the buffet based on the other Unilocal reviews. The food was fabulous… especially the okra, falafel, lentils and rice. Their customer service is superb! If something isn’t right, the chef fixes it immediately. He made the best chicken shawarma I have had in a long time. Thank you being the highlight of my trip home from Chicago. We will stop back.

This had to be one of the worst Mediterranean meals I ever had. The meat was dry, the rice had hard kernals, the vegetables were overcooked and the falifals were abysmal.

This is my favorite Lebanese restaurant of all time! I drive 25 minutes one way, every chance I get, for this place.
Buffet style dining is the norm but you can order some menu stuff. It’s pretty much the same items on the buffet every week. Beef and chicken Schwarma, salad, rice, lots of veggies, cabbage rolls, soup, kafta, and rice pudding just to give you an idea.
Lunch will run you about $ 10-​$ 12 while dinner after 3:30 is a few dollars more. Walk in, seat yourself, and start filling your plates. Help will stop by for your drink order and check on you periodically. When your done, just walk up to the register and pay.
Take out is available also. Let them know at the register you want takeout. Grab some containers and fill em up.
Don’t forget to pick up some baklava at the register. Hope to see you there!

I used to live right around the corner from this place a few years back and my boyfriend at the time would bring home the buffet to go option for lunch and every time it would it made me incredibly happy. So, when I came in from out of town I had to have it again. I called first and they were set to close in 45 minutes (they offered to stay open later for me which was incredibly kind but I didn’t take them up for it)
For like 5 – 6 $ a pound for whatever you want which includes beef and rice and all kinds of gems you can buffet style it up into styrofoam containers and get what your little heart desires.
IF YOU DECIDE TO COME HERE TRY THE HUMMUS! No joke, this place is solely responsible for me expanding my horizons when it comes to hummus. I used to HATE hummus until I tried it here and i immediately loved it. Now I eat hummus all the time but swarma kings hummus is hands down the best I’ve ever had.
Good food and good memories… I would recommend it to anyone!

First time in tonight, huge fan. A good variety of meats and veggie items, all well seasoned and fresh. The side salad bar was ridiculous, with all your traditional sauces and dips. Cannot wait to go back!

I can’t rate this highly enough!!! We have zero good food like this where we live and if this was anywhere NEAR where we live… we’d be in trouble. The food was constantly being replenished, so fresh, nothing was short of delicious… and the garlic sauce… oh the garlic sauce. I would eat it on EVERYTHING. I took some pita and hummus home too.
Staff seemed really great. You could tell they knew their regulars and I love seeing that. I know a few places we go where we live know us like that and it really makes patrons feel welcome and valued.
If I ever return to Kalamzoo… I’m beelining for this joint!

This place is just «meh». I am pretty sure there are a TON of better places than this. Shawarma was dry and a bit bland. Kinda disappointing. Their lentil soup is actually good.

Wow, what a nightmare, not sure where to start.
Service: No one up front to greet customers. Finally asked if I just sit down, prepay, etc. I guess someone moved the «seat yourself» sign far to the left of the doorway. Sat down, waitress came by, got my drink order and told me help myself to the buffet. Some time later, I noticed that certain diners had ordered sandwiches. Did not know that was an option, as the buffet turned out to be pretty nasty. Shame on me for not just walking out. Should have looked the buffet over before sitting down, but reviews here are pretty positive, so i was not suspicious.
At no point did the used plates get taken off my table, no refills. The place was busy, so its hard to service patrons with one server/​cashier working the entire restaurant and one cook in the back.
Food: Well, again where do I start? Was anything good here? NO!
–Falafel: dry
–Chix Swarma: Dry and no taste
–Meat Swarma; Dry beyond recognition and no taste. I could not even identify or taste if it was beef, lamb, combo? Who knows…
–Kefta: floating in a warm broth. No taste and not sure that is how kefta should be served. Isn’t is supposed to be grilled? Does tossing it in a warm broth to sit on the buffet line improve its taste?
–Hummus/​Baba Gannouj: Watered down to a point that you have no idea what you are eating.
–Pita: Paper thin, cold and presented in a sandwich bag. I also saw a whole bunch of these little baggies in a cardboard box in one of the booths.
The food was cheap, but for $ 12 you should be able to get a decent meal at most Middle East restaurants. Heck a decent combo platter at most fast food M/​E places runs about $ 8 – 9.
I am at a total loss as to how this place can score positive reviews. Are people blinded by price and quantity?

It’s easy for me to forget about the Shawarma King buffet, because it’s such a reliable standby. I’ve been there at least once a month (and usually more often) for years.
This is a great place to feed a hungry crowd a relatively healthy lunch. The buffet has great options for omnivores and vegans alike. The menu is pretty stable, but you’ll see some variety (shish tawook some days, chicken biryani on others).
Everything is good, but particularly spectacular are: chicken and beef shawarma (look for the burnt bits around the edges — so good), mlokiah (these spicy collards are not to be overlooked), lentil soup, hummus, baba ghannouj, and the best of all: the garlic sauce. I put that stuff on everything.
The buffet-​to-​go option is excellent, and dirt freaking cheap at less than $ 5/​lb during lunch.
The fact that it’s a buffet means it’s a great option if you’re in a hurry. Where else can you go from parking to stuffing your face with good food in under 60 seconds?
I don’t think I’ll ever stop loving this place.