Shawarma Near Me on Haight Street in the Lower Haight: Palmyra

Palmyra, at 700 Haight Street, is a Syrian counter in the Lower Haight where a chicken shawarma wrap costs $15 and a lamb shawarma platter costs $18.50. Its own ordering site lists the kitchen at 10:30 am to 9 pm every day of the week, so it works for an early lunch as easily as dinner. For anyone searching shawarma near me around Alamo Square or Duboce Triangle, this is the neighborhood's sit-down answer.

The Infatuation sums up Palmyra as a casual, counter-service Syrian spot specializing in large, well-seasoned platters, and gave it a 7.8 with tags for walk-ins, cheap eats and casual dinners. The platters are the heart of the menu. Each shawarma platter comes with hummus, a cucumber and tomato salad, pita, garlic sauce and hot sauce, so one plate covers a full meal without ordering sides.

Prices step up by meat: the chicken shawarma platter is $16.50, beef is $17.50 and lamb is $18.50. The reviewers singled out the charred shawarma and the crispy fries, and a Google reviewer this autumn praised the warm homemade pita that comes with the platters as some of the best he had tasted. If you are choosing one meat, take the lamb, since the char on the edges is where Palmyra is strongest.

For a meal you can carry, the shawarma wrap is filled with marinated meat, lettuce, tomato, pickles and tahini inside pita, at $15 for chicken and $16 for beef or lamb. The Infatuation called it big and bulky and full of tender meat, with a punch that outweighs the price. It is easily the best value on the board if you are eating alone.

The order to try at least once is the Syrian Style wrap, also $15. It is chicken shawarma rolled with pickles, fries, tahini and garlic sauce, and the fries inside make it denser and saltier than the standard wrap. One honest note: it is heavy, so pair it with a salad rather than another side of fries.

Palmyra is worth a second visit for the rest of the menu. The Kibbi Platter is $18.50 and was the dish a recent Google reviewer called absolutely delicious, especially with a side of the homemade falafel. The Mezza Platter at $17 is the smart choice for two people sharing, and the Falafel Platter at $16 suits a vegetarian at the table. Rotisserie chicken is sold too, $13 for a half and $19 for a whole bird.

Save room for kanafeh. Palmyra makes it in house and sells it for $7: soft cheese under shredded phyllo, topped with pistachio and soaked in syrup. It arrives warm and stretchy, and it is large enough to split after a platter. If the table can only manage one sweet thing, this is the one to choose, since few Lower Haight restaurants make it from scratch.

Palmyra keeps the same hours all week, 10:30 am to 9 pm, according to its official ordering site. That makes it one of the earlier-opening kitchens on this stretch of Haight Street. Weekday lunch is the quietest time, while early evening on Fridays and weekends brings groups who come for platters and stay a while.

The Infatuation suggests pulling up around a round table with friends and watching life pass by, and that captures the room. Seating is casual and first come, first served, and you order and pay at the counter before sitting down. A recent Google reviewer described the owner as very nice. If every table is taken, order a wrap to go and carry it a few blocks to Alamo Square.

Plan around the 9 pm close. The kitchen stops earlier than the bars around it, so a late craving after a night on Haight Street needs a different plan. The closest late shawarma counter is Truly Mediterranean on 16th Street in the Mission, which the 22 Fillmore reaches from the corner of Fillmore and Haight. Before 9 pm, though, Palmyra is the more comfortable place to sit with a full platter and a group.

The restaurant runs its own online ordering through EatStreet, listing the same 10:30 am to 9 pm window for delivery and takeout. Ordering ahead is useful on weekend evenings, when platters take longer because each one is assembled with salad, hummus and bread.

Platters travel better than you might expect, because the hummus, salad and pita come in separate sections. The fries are the one thing that suffers on a long trip home, so eat those first or order the Syrian Style wrap, where the fries are already tucked inside. Bring your own appetite for leftovers, since most diners do not finish a lamb platter in one sitting.

Palmyra sits on Haight Street at the corner of Pierce Street in the Lower Haight. The 6 and 7 Muni buses run along Haight Street and stop nearby, and the 22 Fillmore stops one block east at Fillmore and Haight. Street parking exists but is scarce on weekend evenings.

After eating, walk north on Pierce Street for about four blocks to Alamo Square, where the Painted Ladies Victorian houses line the east side of the park facing the downtown skyline. Back on Haight Street, the Toronado beer bar is two blocks east and is a Lower Haight institution for anyone who wants a pint after dinner, while Duboce Park is a short walk southeast for a quieter evening stroll.

Address: Palmyra, at 700 Haight Street, San Francisco, CA 94117. Hours: daily 10:30 am to 9 pm. A chicken shawarma wrap costs $15, the lamb shawarma platter $18.50, and the house kanafeh $7. Service is counter style with casual seating, and online ordering runs through the restaurant's own site.