Layali El Sham — Restaurant in Lancaster

Visiting Lancaster for a conference and wanting to try some diverse food and support a POC owned business, I decided to purchase my dinner from here. I spent $18 for the ignoble pleasure of waiting about 30 mins for the wrap and drink I paid for. I ultimately had to get up and go to the counter to ask if my food was ready, given that the buzzer they handed me for that purpose never went off, and though I was sitting directly in front of the counter I was never acknowledged or called for. When it started to near the 30 minute mark, and I noticed the person who rang me up was taking several new customers orders (and handing them their receipts! Which he never gave me), I finally went up to ask for the food.

I was told they had been notifying me by buzzer—I told them that was not true and I handed them the buzzer that had not changed in status since it was first given to me. I was given no apology or acknowledgement of this subpar experience.

I was handed a drink that was not cold and included no ice, along with a skinny wrap (pictured) that was just chicken and pickles—and had more pickles than chicken. It was an unpleasant experience to say the least. But perhaps you’ll be treated better than I was, perhaps if you look different...

When I recently hosted dinner for friends, Layali el Sham was recommended and, with their team’s assistance, we created a Middle Eastern feast! Such fun to make this Southern Market discovery. My friends’ reviews:

“The food is delicious. The hummus is rich and creamy with its distinctive flavor. The shawarma, with chicken and the tasty spices, topped with tahini and pickles, is so flavorful. And to finish this meal with the baklawa is just the right thing to do.”

Each dish was freshly prepared, with bright flavors, perfectly crisp falafel accompanied by tahini and set off by the bright flavors of the tabbouleh, and that hummus (can’t wait to try the other flavors!).

“We certainly will order from Layli el...

This is a HALAL place. It serves Syrian Food. We were looking for a local HALAL place to eat in Lancaster and Google search suggested this place. It's located inside of the Southern Market. We ordered Spicy Hummus Bowl with vegetables, Layali El Sham Gyro with salad, and Tamarind Sparkler drink. Everything tasted amazing. The ingredients were very fresh, and all flavors were perfect! Gyro was juicy, but nothing was dripping either. Hummus bowl... I didn't expect it to love that much. We finished everything right away. We don't live nearby, but when we are in the area and have time, we will stop by. Thank you!

Highly recommended to try the food here!

Lancaster,...