Manama and Adliya have emerged as the most popular shawarma scenes, according to a survey recently conducted of the popular street food.
The ‘Ultimate Shawarma Survey’, by Bahraini Fazila Nasoordeen, is putting numbers behind the kingdom’s favourite street food.
“Honestly, it started out as a fun idea,” the 25-year-old marketing and data ‘wizard’ told the GDN.
“I do freelance data analysis and love exploring things where even ChatGPT might come up short.
“Shawarma felt perfect. Everyone has strong opinions about it, but there’s never been data to back them up.”
More than 130 people responded to the survey, which was conducted between March 29 and April 8, after being shared mainly across Reddit and WhatsApp, reaching a young, food-loving, meme-savvy audience.
Al Shoala emerged as Bahrain’s favourite shawarma outlet, followed closely by Zahlawiya, Al Jabriya and Burgerland.
The survey covered around 70 shawarma outlets in total, with honourable mentions going to Adam Pastries, Looloo Turkish Grills, Al Hantour and Wadi Al Seraj.
“It was the perfect mix of entertaining and insightful,” Ms Nasoordeen noted.
“Some people had deep personal attachments to certain places. One spot was named both best and worst by different people. A few even blamed it for digestive disasters.”
Most of the top picks are clustered around Adliya, with strong showings in Riffa and Busaiteen.
That helped put Manama at the top of the rankings for the best shawarma scene, followed by Adliya and Riffa.
The survey, arguably the first of its kind in Bahrain, also delved into people’s personal preferences for their ideal shawarma.
When asked about her own ideal shawarma, Ms Nasoordeen was quick to respond, “A saj bread chicken shawarma with fries inside. Tahina is also great.
“I didn’t realise how much freshness and sauce mattered to me until I did this survey.”
Amongst the survey respondent, chicken was also the overwhelming favourite protein, selected by 50 per cent of respondents.
Beef came in at just 10pc, while 36pc said they couldn’t possibly choose.
When it came to bread, thin saj came out on top at 41pc, followed by thick Lebanese.
Less than 10 respondents opted for pita, while a quarter of the street food’s fanatics also added that ultimately they trust the ‘shawarma guy’ to decide for them.
As for sides, garlic sauce was the most essential accompaniment according to 26pc, followed by a soft drink at 25pc.
Fries, more shawarma, and pickles rounded out the rest.
One side dish that stirred up strong feelings was ketchup.
“The majority thought it doesn’t go with shawarma,” Ms Nasoordeen explained.
“And honestly, I agree.”
The survey even asked participants about the most ‘unhinged’ number of shawarmas they’ve eaten in one go.
The top responses were three and four, each getting about 25pc of the vote.
When asked what makes a shawarma place instantly trustworthy, ‘a tiny shop with no seats and a long line outside’ emerged as the most important hallmark for 35pc of voters.
“Simplicity and balance were recurring themes – too much sauce or overpowering ingredients were a no-go,” Ms Nasoordeen added.
“A few mentioned the importance of cleanliness, smell and even the overall vibe of a shawarma experience, whether eaten in a car or standing on a sidewalk. And, of course, some responses went off the rails, in the best way possible.”
Ms Nasoordeen shared the results on her Instagram account @data_wizard.bh, where she plans to keep digging into food, culture and data-driven storytelling.
Beyond personal preference, Ms Nasoordeen considers shawarma a cornerstone of Bahraini food culture.
“It’s comfort food, a late-night saviour and a staple for every social occasion,” she added.
“It can be a post-work snack or a 2am emergency meal.”
naman@gdnmedia.bh
&uuid=(email))