Shawarma Search Continues

Ikram Bakery 

9895 Warner Ave. Ste. F

Fountain Valley, CA 92708

We've been on a real Mediterranean kick lately. Maybe it has been because this kind of food is lighter than others, and with the heat, we have been having lately, the last thing you want is a real heavy meal which can make you feel even more uncomfortable. It might be that, but it's probably just because food from the Mediterranian region tastes so darn good.

I had written down three or four places that were suggested in Orange Coast magazine about two years ago as having some of the best shawarma in our great county. Shawarma is meat cooked on a vertical rotisserie, just like doner kebab from Turkey, gyro meat from Greece, and a little closer to home, pastor tacos which are cooked vertically on a trompo, just like in Mexico. This is the second place on the list we have visited, (the first was Little Arabia Lebanese Bakery and Cuisine), which had some pretty solid shawarma, but we were on a search for the best, hoping we would find it at Ikram Bakery in Fountain Valley.

Fountain Valley has been on a roll recently with some very good restaurants that we have eaten at. My love for Paderia Bakehouse is well documented on this blog and also on my Instagram account with all of my return visits to have some of the best cookies you can get anywhere around these parts. We are also very fond of Tio Flaco's, which grills their meat over wood and make some excellent tacos. Speaking of tacos, Fountain Valley is the city where the rebirth of the beloved fast food restaurant, Naugles has taken place and it's just as good as back in the 70's and 80's. There's also Istanbul Grill, which is Turkish, but if you are familiar with Mediterranian restaurants, you'll definitely see items on their menu that you are familiar with. We were pretty excited to see if Ikram Bakery could keep the streak going of excellent restaurants in Fountain Valley.

Ikram is located pretty close to the corner of Warner and Brookhurst, right by Mile Square Park. They are in a little strip of stores that includes a pizza and chicken restaurant, nail salon, Taco Bell, and Hamle Market, which specializes in European and Mediterranian items.

When you walk inside you'll see the beef and chicken shawarma spinning behind the counter, and the guy shaving bits of it off for the plates, sandwiches, and wraps. There's a counter when you first walk through the door where you order your food and they assemble it just the way you want right in front of you. You have different sauces, vegetables, and condiments to choose from. Prices hover just around the $8 mark for sandwiches, while the plates will set you back about $10 or so. As you turn the corner towards the register, there's also baked goods behind the glass case as well as on top of the counter. No time for baked goods, as I was pretty excited to give the shawarma a try here at Ikram.

Let's start things off with Katie's meal, the Chicken Shawarma ($9.99). This is a lot of food for ten dollars. When they were creating Katie's meal, she went heavy on the veggies here. Pickles, cucumbers, pickled red cabbage, tomatoes, and red onions were placed on top of the shredded chicken shawarma, and the tzatziki sauce and what I assume was a yogurt sauce was placed on top of that. Katie was very jubilant about this plate. She liked the interaction between the sauces, pickles, and the very tender and flavorful chicken. The pita here was not my favorite though, as it was not as soft as I usually like. I did not finish mine, but Katie did and she seemed to like it. The hummus was okay, as it was a little on the gritty side and needed some flavor added to it.

I always like getting a variety when eating in a restaurant, and that meant I got the best of both worlds by ordering this Beef and Chicken Shawarma Plate ($10.99). Again, this portion size was very generous, as I took half of it home for lunch the next day. I think this has taken the crown as best shawarma I have had. The beef and chicken were incredibly flavorful and interacted well with the rest of the plate. The next time I'm here I'm going to try the shawarma in a sandwich, as I think it will highlight the meat way more.

Katie had an impulse buy when she was paying at the register. She wanted to give these Sigara Borek ($1.49) a try. This savory pastry was filled with feta cheese and lightly fried. I'm not really a feta fan, but Katie liked these and would get them again.

For what we came here for, shawarma, Ikram Bakery and Grill exceeded our expectations. Like I said earlier, this was the best shawarma I have had and it made the trip up to Fountain Valley worth it yet again. The streak of great restaurants we have been to in FV keeps on going. Ikram Bakery might be no frills when it comes to ambiance, but it's definitely destination dining if you are looking for great shawarma. Service was warm and friendly while we were up at the counter. So far the list of great shawarma that I jotted down from Orange Coast Magazine two years ago has been right on. Can't wait to try the last one on the list very soon, but this one will be a hard one to top.

Out of five comic books, (because at the end of The Avengers, Iron Man expresses his desire for shawarma and is then seen eating shawarma with other superheroes, many of whom are seen in comic books), five being best to zero being worst, Ikram Bakery and Grill gets 3.5 comic books.

For more information about Ikram Bakery and Grill, head to their website by clicking here: http://www.ikramgrill.com/