The Best Kebab Shops in Paris
Like buses, banks and bin cleaners, kebab shops are an unglamorous yet vital part of Parisian life. They’re easily sneered at, but you’ll be swimming upstream: the L’Amour du Kebab shop’s website estimates that it has some 466 rivals in France’s capital (most of them halal). These days, doners are as quintessential here as croissants.
Whether you want a staple doner — a word that in Turkey, the kebab’s spiritual homeland, translates merely as “rotating grilled meat”, but now also stipulate the inclusion of pitta or other bread — a vegetable-heavy Berliner, a spicier shawarma, a Levantine-style dürüm (where doner meat usually comes wrapped in a thin lavash flatbread) or a Grec, which is essentially a doner with tzatziki, Paris’s kebab-shop scene has you squarely covered.
But where are the best shops? As with chippies in Britain, this is something that many Parisians have firm opinions on — quelle surprise, right? — and yet many of those suggestions turn out to be merely decent, average, or worse. Running the gamut from cheap to gourmet, and hopefully a godsend for hungry night owls, here are eight establishments that stand out from the kebab-serving crowd.
Kebab at Mehmet. Photo courtesy of Mehmet
For three years running, the Kebab-Frites website — effectively a Michelin guide for doners and shishes — has ranked this stylishly kitted-out Charonne restaurant as the best kebab shop in all of France based on an algorithm aggregating customer reviews. Heady stuff, but easily understood once one tucks into its Berliner-style options. Offered alongside tacos and tenders, these see perfectly crispy breads, homemade sauces and quality fresh veg all accompany succulent, well-grilled meats and moreish matchstick fries.
39 Rue des Pyrénées, 20th; closes 10:30 pm (shut on Sundays)
Photo credit: Nemesis kebabs
Now with three Parisian branches — just off Avenue Niel in the well-to-do 17th; behind the Butte Montmartre, on pretty Rue Caulaincourt; and, newly, close to Jardin du Luxembourg’s northwestern corner in the busy 6th — this artisan Lebanese joint pairs a kebab-shop vibe with a bistro formula. That means mezze and dessert options sandwiching your main: either falafel, garlicky shawarma or spit-roasted veal and turkey doner, all of them accompanied by zingy greens and a choice of homemade sauces piquant or mild. It’s a little pricey, but very reliable.
40 Rue Pierre Demours, 17th; 122 Rue Caulaincourt, 18th; 15 Rue D’Assas, 6th; all branches close at 10:30 pm (and shut on Sundays)
Restaurant Broche’Et Kebab
Approach this Turkish gem, on the busy Boulevard Ornano not far from Clignancourt’s flea market, and a rich aroma will delight your nostrils. That’s the smell of Broche’ET Kebab’s bespoke horizontal spit, which gives its meats a rich smoky flavor and is just one quirk. Others — selected at an automated kiosk — include fries that retain some potato skin, and the chance to have those same frites served inside your sesame-seeded sandwich. Up to six toppings are also available, from cheddar to jalapeños, and the portions are pleasingly generous.
60 Boulevard Ornano, 18th; closes 11 pm (shut on Sundays)
Photo courtesy of Sauce.
Opened in June 2025 close to the Folies Bergère cabaret hall on a multi-ethnic portion Rue du Faubourg Montmartre — the same block also peddles poke, sushi, ramen and dumplings — Sauce. is a bit of a dream: fair prices, liberal portions, high quality and ever-smiling service. It’s all prepared and made in-house as much as possible, from fluffy breads to the delectable harissa-and-garlic sauce — or bechamel, if preferred. Chicken shawarmas are a particular specialty, while halloumi alternatives await vegetarians.
57 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, 9th; takeaway only; closes 2 am Wed-Sat and 11 pm Sun-Tues
Photo courtesy of Sauce.
Several steps from Avenue de Flandre as it approaches Porte de la Villette and the Périphérique, Orient Dürüm is well worth the hike. You won’t pay much more than €10 for a large and delicious charcoal-grilled dürüm wrap made with lavash, or for a skewered Adana kebab. Lamb’s liver is also on the menu, unusually, as are bowls of lentil soup. Staying true to its Middle Eastern origins, the shop — which opened in May 2024 — also lays on honey-soaked knafeh if you’ve any room for dessert.
4 Rue Mathis, 19th; closes 1 am Fri-Sat and 12 pm Sun-Thurs (shut on Mondays)
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What happens if you combine a kebab shop with a cave à vin? Behind and downhill from the Sacré-Cœur, as Montmartre meets Clignancourt, trendy Mehmet supplies the answer. After admiring its artfully distressed walls and tiled counters, you’ll first need to consider whether to try traditional Turkish mezze such as sardines wrapped in sorrel leaves or ground lamb-topped hummus. Either way, don’t stint on the juicy, spit-roasted Normandy chicken kebabs accompanied by pickled white cabbage, red onions, and yogurt, and served inside homemade dürüm spread with bell-pepper puree. Reserving a table is wise.
43 Rue Ramey, 18th; closes 11 pm Mon-Sat and 10:30 pm Sun
Mehmet facade. Photo credit: Mara Grimm
Surpriz has surged in popularity since opening on bar-lined Rue Oberkampf in 2018 — explaining why three sister shops have followed. It’s essentially a worshipful tribute to Berliner kebabs: not only is its chicken sourced from the same butcher as the German capital’s legendary Mustafa’s Gemüse Kebap, but there are blonde-wood, biergarten-style tables, red neon lights and even Augustiner beers to drink. Aim to order a marinated chicken kebab, whose tender, sizzled meat is as yummy as the buttery homemade pittas — also containing crumbly feta and local market-sourced eggplant, zucchini, lettuce and grilled carrots — enveloping it.
110 Rue Oberkampf, 11th, 5 Rue de la Roquette, 11th, 28 Boulevard Saint-Denis, 10th and 28 Rue Pierre Fontaine, 9th; all shops open daily until 11:30pm-2am
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Also near the Folies Bergère, Özlem doesn’t serve fries, isn’t open in the evening, and is prone to surly service and big queues. So why bother going? Well, those long lines are a clue; run by a father-son duo since 1987, this tribute to Anatolian cuisine treats kebabs with deep reverence. Kneaded and baked fresh each morning, each flatbread gets briefly fried, before a spread of spicy harissa precedes hand-cut chunks of turkey and veal breast that have been marinated overnight. Go before 2 pm to be sure of scoring some of these delicious doner concoctions; otherwise you might have to settle for a portion of pide, or Turkish pizza.
57 Rue des Petites Écuries, 10th; closes 4:30pm (shut on Sundays)
Lead photo credit : Özlem. Photo credit: Guillaume Savary
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