Safin Grill — Restaurant in Hamilton

review date: november 21, 2020 2nd review date: november 13, 2021 photo add-ons: november 13, 2021 customer dates: ongoing since october 2020

safin grill originally was located in downtown hamilton on king street going back over 15 years ago. they moved up the mountain and i kind of forgot about them since they were out of my neighborhood.

it was by chance that i saw their store as i happened to be in the limeridge mall area and decided to go to fortinos to grab some groceries. on several occasions i saw big lineups and decided to drop in one day when it wasn't busy in the morning, i would go in and give them a try. i have now gone here enough times, at varying parts of the day, with different staff, to form an educated opinion.

positives: one bite of their chicken shawarma pita sandwich and it brought back pleasant memories. for what you pay, they def give you a generous serving. i've tried both the chicken and beef and while they're both good, the chicken is def their signature item on the menu.

-the chicken and rice is also very tasty and a good item selection. decent portion serving. -staff are very willing to accommodate your orders regarding ingredient choices. -what makes safin grill distinct is their white garlic sauce, hot sauce and especially the onion sauce.

cons: -this place can get very busy, as it should with their excellent food. safin's food does take time to make, so if it gets busy and/or your time is tight, phone in advance to set up your order. -as an example friday night (nov. 20/20) around 630pm, with 4 people in front of me, it took 27 minutes to get served (from time i waited in line to walking out with food paid up)

2nd review (november 13, 2021): safin grill continues to do all the positives mentioned in the 1st review. 👍

bottom line: i would def continue to return to safin grill and would recommend it to others. again, be mindful of when it gets busy; play it safe and phone in your order if your time is...

Staff rude... small portions that are not good and expensive. I will NEVER go here again. Every single time I came here to pick up food for my husband In the evening I was met with a young guy who was talking on the phone and angry he has to get off to serve me. With his sighing and grumpy attitude he made me feel like I was inconveniencing him by coming in to buy food. I finally hit my breaking point when I came in one night and ask for 3 chicken shawarma to go... he looked him his pot to see if he had enough chicken pre cut and sitting and when he realized he did not he became visibly upset he let out a huge sigh and grumble and stormed off to the back. He has to bring some chicken to heat up on the pan (already cooked and not much extra work) I asked him if that was okay? I would have taken 2 if he was that upset and he screamed at me... " if I didn't want to make it for you I would have told you... You UNDERSTAND.." he screamed this at me a few other times and I just left. This man has no respect for woman, or any customer. He treated me like garbage because he is miserable to be at this job. I can deal with an occasional grumpy mood but this was verbal assault for no reason. Will never set foot in...

Regarding Upper Paradise restaurant. We were driving home to London and passing through Hamilton and came across this Shawarma restaurant and starting craving a Chicken Shawarma wrap/sandwich. As I watched the lady make it I was so confused and wondered if she didn’t understand what I had ordered. Nothing was as it should have been with the many other shawarmas I have had in London. Maybe they are different in Hamilton? The chicken was not shawarma — I should have known when there were no rods with meat rotating. She never shaved meat off it. It was little bits of ground up chicken pieces without the amazing shawarma taste. The vegetables were all wrong. There were no pink pickled turnips. The lettuce was browning. There was no thick garlic sauce but a runny garlic and ranch combo that kind of made me sick to my stomach. The hummus on it was bland. It was all put on quite a small pita kind of folded with an onion mix just placed on to so it was pretty much impossible to eat as it just fell apart. There was no press to flatten it/warm it up like usual. It did not hit the spot by any means. It actually was really gross and so disappointing. The lady working there was...