People in Calgary search for these dishes by name, not by restaurant: lahmacun near me, manakish near me, fatteh near me, iskender kebab near me, shish kebab near me. A map sorted by restaurant is the wrong shape for that question, so this is the other way round — the dish first, then the halal kitchens in Calgary that actually make it, going by their menus and by what their own reviewers say they ordered.

Lahmacun

Turkish flatbread, rolled thin and baked with spiced minced lamb or beef, onion and parsley — eaten folded, usually with lemon squeezed over. It is not the same thing as a Lebanese meat pie, and in Calgary it is a Turkish-kitchen dish.

Turkish Kebab House on 17th Avenue SE, the original, and its newer sibling Turkish Kebab House SW on Macleod Trail both put lahmacun on the same menu as the charcoal-grill kebabs. Both sit at 4.7 on Google, across well over three thousand reviews between them. Pick by which end of the city you are in.

Manakish (manakeesh, manoushe)

The Levantine breakfast flatbread: za’atar and olive oil, cheese, or both, baked to order. Spelled every which way — manakish, manakeesh, manoushe, man’oushe — which is part of why it is hard to search for.

  • Royal Bake Mediterranean Cuisine, 32 St NE — the cheese manakish is the reason to go, baked to order on soft dough, and reviewers single it out by name. 4.9 on Google; newer, so the review count is still small.
  • Well Bake Mediterranean Cuisine, 32 St NE — manakish and fatayer are the point, with an Arabic breakfast that fills the room in the morning.
  • Beirut Bakery & Restaurant, 17th Avenue SW — manakish and fatayer from the oven, beside the shawarma. Alcohol-free.
  • Village Pita Bakery, 28 St SE — a Lebanese bakery since the late 1970s; the za’atar pies are worth the trip on their own.
  • Damas Cafe in Marlborough Mall — manakeesh alongside the shawarma and shish tawook, all halal.

Fatteh

Layers of toasted or fried pita, chickpeas and garlicky yoghurt, finished with pine nuts or butter — a breakfast dish in Lebanon and Syria, and the hardest of these to find on a menu here.

Pita Basket Sunridge is the answer its own reviewers give: the Lebanese breakfast is what that branch does best, and fatteh is the dish named first, with meat pies and za’atar-and-cheese beside it. The same reviews are frank that the shawarma is not that branch’s strength — go for breakfast. Royal Bake also makes it, from the kitchen behind the bakery counter.

Iskender kebab

Thin-sliced döner over torn pide, under tomato sauce and browned butter, with yoghurt on the side — the Bursa classic, and a sit-down dish rather than a wrap.

Again the two Turkish Kebab House kitchens: the 17th Avenue SE original lists Iskender outright, and reviewers at the Macleod Trail branch order it too, next to adana and köfte.

Shish kebab and shish tawook

In Calgary a search for shish kebab mostly lands on shish tawook — marinated chicken on the skewer, the Lebanese and Syrian plate that most shawarma counters here also grill.

  • Baladi Shawarma, Sage Hill — the shish tawook plate is one of the two reliable orders; the beef kebab and shish tawook combo with Greek salad comes in under $20.
  • Sallora, 16th Avenue NW — best known for chicken mandi, with the shish tawook and shawarma plate right behind it.
  • Damas Cafe, Marlborough Mall — shish tawook with the falafel and shawarma poutine its regulars mention.

For grilled lamb and beef skewers in the Turkish style, go back to Turkish Kebab House, or see our guide to halal Turkish food in Calgary.

Before you go

Bakery dishes sell out, and breakfast dishes are often breakfast only — if you are crossing the city for manakish or fatteh, go in the morning, or call ahead. Every place here is on the live map with its hours; our halal bakeries guide covers the rest of the counter.

Know a kitchen that makes one of these and is missing here — or a dish we should add? Use the submit button on the map; this list grows from exactly that.

Common questions

Where can I get lahmacun in Calgary?

Turkish Kebab House on 17th Avenue SE and Turkish Kebab House SW on Macleod Trail both make it, alongside their charcoal-grilled kebabs.

Where is the best manakish in Calgary?

Reviewers name the cheese manakish at Royal Bake in the NE; Well Bake, Beirut Bakery and Village Pita Bakery all bake it too. Go in the morning.

Where can I find fatteh in Calgary?

Pita Basket Sunridge, where it is the dish its Lebanese breakfast is known for, and Royal Bake.

Is shish tawook the same as shish kebab?

Both are grilled on a skewer; shish tawook is specifically marinated chicken, and it is what most Lebanese and Syrian counters in Calgary serve under that name. For lamb and beef skewers, look to the Turkish kitchens.