Osmow's Shawarma — Restaurant in Ajax

The other reviews really weren't lying when they said that these guys use mayonnaise instead of the normal tzatziki or tahini that you would expect. I'm not sure why that is, I'm pretty sure it is not like this at the other location I tried. These guys really need to get it together, use real tzatziki, not mayonnaise, don't insult your customers intelligence and taste buds please and thanks. Don't call it tzatziki unless that's what it really is. Get some more training from workers at the other locations or something. This is unacceptable. I'm not gonna lie though, the food didn't taste bad at all, it just tasted incorrect, it was totally not what I expected and it was different than the way it's made in Brampton. To put it in perspective, the food I ate here gave me a bit of stomach pain compared to the Brampton location which is pretty great and goes down perfectly. They also weren't lying about the wait times, we had to wait 20+ minutes to get what should only take 5 minutes. Seriously, hire some more people, you're understaffed. Maybe while you're at it you could hire someone who actually has experience making this style of cuisine so that you can get it right. You should also put a sign up to signal where the line starts because it's not intuitive, you have to walk past someone else's table to get to the till. I saw other people walk in and mistake all of the others waiting around as the line and I had to correct them. I wish you good luck and I'm supportive of the idea of having a Mediterranean restaurant in north Ajax, but at this time the most I could honestly rate is 2 stars, because this place has a long way to improve. If you improve I'll raise the rating in the future. If you're in Ajax and looking for proper Mediterranean food go to Pita Delites in South Ajax in the Harwood plaza on the right just after you cross over the bridge going...

Today was National Shawarma Day, and I placed my order through the Osmow’s app at 12:10 p.m. It said it would be ready by 12:48 p.m., but when I arrived at the Ajax Rossland Road East location, the entire experience was chaotic and disappointing.

I came in with my 1-year-old daughter to pick up her lunch. I’m a loyal customer who eats Osmow’s twice a week with my wife, but what I saw today made me question ever coming back. Inside, kids were fighting and yelling at other customers because one woman and her colleague — who work at the women’s-only gym two doors down — came in and skipped the line of over 30 people waiting for their food. Staff did absolutely nothing to de-escalate the situation. They just stood there laughing and even made that woman’s order before everyone else, while 10–15 customers were still waiting.

When I asked how it was possible for someone who came after everyone to get served first, one employee raised her voice at me. I then asked the manager to address his staff about how she spoke to me — instead, he told me four separate times to “take your food and go.” This was said loudly, in front of everyone, while I was holding my 1-year-old daughter who was already scared by all the yelling and commotion.

I even mentioned that there are cameras in the restaurant so head office can review exactly how this situation was handled. It’s disheartening to see such poor leadership and lack of professionalism from a team representing a brand I’ve supported for years.

The standards and professionalism at this location have gone downhill over the last year and a half, which is why whenever I have the chance, I drive to the Pickering location instead. Osmow’s, please do better — loyal customers deserve respect, and families shouldn’t have to deal with this kind of environment just to...

Been a regular customer since they first came to Ajax, but will no longer frequent this location.

I can look past inconsistent or poor quality food.

Most of the time this location is good, but quality fluctuates based on the time of visit.

Today’s experience, however, was the final straw for me.

When collecting my order, I asked for 1 extra small takeout container.

To which, the manager replied “I would have to charge you for that”.

Normally I would be perfectly fine with this.

I understand businesses have expenses and this business practice would help offset some of those extra expenses. No problem.

HOWEVER, what frustrated me was knowing that this location has always cut corners for many years.

For instance, if you go to any other Osmows and order Chicken on the Rocks, it comes with rice, chicken, garlic sauce, tahini sauce and spices.

This is their brand’s standard.

But of course, at this location they only give rice, chicken and garlic sauce (has been this way since they opened years ago).

So today I decided to bring this up and challenge the manager.

His response “we can give you those other ingredients too, if you request”.

I thought, excuse me?

Since when does the customer have to request each time for ingredients an item should already come with?

Again, just one of many ways this restaurant cuts corners.

And today, the extra charge imposed for a small takeout container (in context of how this location has always done bad business) was the final straw for me.

An example of how the franchise model doesn’t work at times. Owners trying to squeeze an extra buck at the expense of unknowing consumers.

Good luck to this location and hopefully they can turn...