Tahini's — Restaurant in Calgary

Food

This place was one of the things I was looking forward from my visit to Calgary. I saw a reel on social media, and I wanted to try it. As a Lebanese, I expected much much more from place that heavily advertises the authentic Shawarma.

Gyro Shawarma (3/10): It simply failed the test, we were not eating meat. I neither tasted lamb nor beef in the sandwich, and it is very dry. Even the spices were not as good, they took over the whole taste of everything we ordered with the sandwich. I ordered it with extra Tahini sauce, I did not even taste the Tahini.

Chicken Shawarma (5/10): It's a harsh rating, but it barely passed the taste of an average shawarma wrap. The garlic sauce ("toum") is not great. The chicken spices are nowhere near authentic chicken shawarma taste. Might go well with the common chicken donair other places sell, but it's not a shawarma.

Service

The staff is friendly, genuinely nice and hospitable. I saw 2 locations of the place, and I am not sure if the place started with the idea of turning it into a franchise, and it does seem like that, which will definitely fail every person wanting to try a truly authentic shawarma wrap. I hope the owners would correct me if I'm wrong here, but this is not working if you aim to serve an authentic Lebanese shawarma. This may be a harsh rating, but it's because I've tasted a proper shawarma before and I can tell.

Atmosphere

Cozy place, the only bad thing is that the smell will stick to your clothes if...

It was our first time eating here and it didn’t disappoint. My husband and I were looking for a place to eat that is nearby and told him we should try Tahini’s.

Staff were very helpful and friendly. Since it’s our first, they explained us the menu options. Service is excellent! Thanks, Emi and kuya (didn’t get his name)!

Price is reasonable. Serving portion is amazing! I ordered the shawn bowl (half rice and half veggies) I remember telling my husband while eating that the vegetables were so fresh tasting! Love how delish the chicken tastes! It’s tender and perfectly cooked! My husband ordered the chicken jerk bowl. It was soooo good, has the right amount of spice and it’s a lot! He couldn’t stop eating and was so satisfied after.

We also found out that they are open til 2am everyday and 4am on weekends. We were so happy knowing this, because if ever we’d have late night cravings, this would definitely be our go to place.

Will for sure be a regular customer of this place and will recommend it to my friends and family! So so happy we got to try their food and experience their wonderful service! Kudos and more power...

We went here on a Friday night around 8:30pm and it was packed! The line was huge and it took about half hour just to place the order and another half hour for the food.

We tried the jerk chicken shawarma (large one is huge!!) and the chicken Habibi bowl (regular size is the large size and it's a big portion too). Both were really good, flavorful and fresh. Prices are reasonable for the portions you get. I have to say though...I am a huge fan of traditional Caribbean style jerk chicken and was hesitant ordering it from a Mediterranean place...Their jerk chicken does not taste like authentic jerk chicken to me but it was still flavorful and still tasted good (I didn't find it that spicy either). The fries are just okay, probably wouldn't get them again. The beef samosas were really good but barely had any meat inside them, I like how they use phyllo pastry vs the thick dough.

The atmosphere is basic, nothing fancy or impressive. Basically just a take-out place because they only have 3 little tables that fit 2 people at each, so that is disappointing they didn't have enough space to put...