We’re still looking for the best shawarma in Lagos. Nosa & Folly gave up on their journey five years ago, but Denise and I have picked it up. Last week, we checked out Rich Shawarma and 01 Shawarma. This week, we take our adventures to Victoria Island.

Shawarma Express

Adeola Hopewell, Victoria Island

DENISE: Tobi and I had a very hard time locating Shawarma Express. We went in a circle from Adeola Hopewell to Sanusi Fafunwa maybe three times before we finally found it - it’s in Law School.

TOBI: It is literally a small kiosk beside a giant tree just inside the law school gate. The seating area was not very nice either. It was smelly and the generator was right beside us which also made it noisy. 

DENISE: I really did not expect Shawarma Express to be right inside Law School. I wish they had some signage or anything that indicated it because that would’ve saved Tobi and I a couple of roundtrips.

Anyway, we decided to have vegetarian shawarma but something on the menu struck me; they had vegetarian shawarma with sausages. Now I know that there are types of vegetarianism but I don’t think that sausages are part of the meal options for any kind of vegetarians. This was a pretty good laugh for Tobi and I.

TOBI: It was entertaining. Vegetarian Shawarma with sausages? They should have just sat there and eaten their food, to be honest. Denise and I decided to have the vegetarian option (without the sausages, mind you) because it’s probably the only place with that kind of option. 

It was a mistake. 

DENISE: I didn’t enjoy this. First of all, the wrap overdosed on the pepper. Usually, I don’t mind but this was a bit too much for me to handle. Genuinely felt like I was eating a pepper salad and not a vegetarian shawarma.

I could’ve sworn I tasted Ugwu a couple of times too. I couldn’t finish this one. Vegetarian shawarma does not work in my opinion.

TOBI: She’s absolutely correct. It was too spicy, there was no thought put into it. There could have been some vegetarian alternative to meat in the wrap, and not just coleslaw with pepper as dressing. But, maybe I am asking for too much from people who use sausage in a vegetarian option. The only good thing about this shawarma was the pita, which was well toasted and crisp.

Damage

Vegetarian Shawarma - N1200

Verdict

⭐️

Murphis Place

Sanusi Fafunwa, Victoria Island

DENISE: The weather had picked up by the time we got some Murphis! At the stand, they had a comfortable seating area — which was also air-conditioned. Yay!

Murphis tagline is ‘the best shawarma on the island’. When Tobi and I saw that, we smirked a little. We’ll see.

TOBI: Yeah, it wasn’t the best Shawarma I’ve ever had, but it wasn’t like the vegetarian one from Shawarma Express either. It was pretty forgettable, I’d say. 

[Ed Note: Folly once called this the best shawarma in Lagos]

Or maybe I was just really full at that point. It was wrapped in glossy paper, which smelt weird because they had printed their name all over it. The pita was a little burnt as well. I do like the fact that they asked us what level of spice we wanted, which was good. 

DENISE: My favourite thing about the shawarma was how neatly packaged it was. It did have a weird smell which I guess was from printing but it didn’t get soggy like the others we’d witnessed earlier on. No drip, no soil. 

On the shawarma, I kept getting hints of pepper soup in it like they used pepper soup spice in it or something.  I mean, it worked for me but I’m still wondering why it even happened in the first place.

Unlike Tobi, I thought the shawarma was pretty great and I may consider coming back for seconds.

Damage

Chicken Shawarma - N1800

Verdict

⭐️⭐️⭐️

If you have any shawarma spots that we MUST check out, drop a line in the comments