Doner vs shawarma vs gyros: what’s the difference?
The short answer to doner vs shawarma is that they are close relatives. Both are meat stacked on a vertical spit, roasted and shaved off in thin slices. Döner is the Turkish version, shawarma is the Levantine (Arab) one, and gyros is the Greek one. The three names even mean the same thing: all refer to turning. As the Wikipedia entry on doner kebab explains, shawarma takes its name from the Turkish çevirme (“turning”), and gyros is a calque of döner.
The differences you can actually taste come down to four things: the meat, the seasoning, the bread and the sauce. Döner is usually lamb, beef or chicken in a flatbread or on a plate. Shawarma leans on warm spices and garlic or tahini sauces. Gyros, in Greece at least, is usually pork with tzatziki and chips tucked inside the pitta.
Doner vs shawarma vs gyros at a glance
Döner (Turkey)
Traditionally döner is lamb or mutton, and beef and chicken versions are common too. In Germany, beef, veal and chicken are widely used instead of the more expensive lamb. The bread varies: pide for a plate of İskender, pitta or a bread roll for a sandwich, and a thin lavash wrap for dürüm. Toppings are usually salad (tomato, lettuce, cabbage, onion dressed with sumac) with a chilli or yoghurt sauce.
Shawarma (Levant)
Lamb or mutton is traditional, but chicken, turkey and beef are all common, and Syrian-style shawarma is typically chicken. The shawarma article says the spices may include cumin, cardamom, cinnamon and turmeric or paprika, with baharat in some areas. It comes in pitta, saj, laffa or lavash. Sauces are garlic- or tahini-led: toum (a garlic sauce) usually comes with chicken, and tarator (tahini, garlic and lemon) is another common choice.
Gyros (Greece and Cyprus)
In Greece and Cyprus, gyros is usually pork, sometimes chicken. The gyros article says the spices may include cumin, oregano and thyme. It is customarily served in an oiled, lightly grilled pitta, typically with tomato, onion, fried potatoes and tzatziki. That is the main practical difference from döner: pork is common in gyros and rare in Turkish kitchens.
A quick comparison
- Meat: döner is lamb, beef or chicken; shawarma is lamb, chicken, beef or turkey; gyros is pork or chicken in Greece.
- Flavour: shawarma is the most obviously spiced (cardamom, cinnamon, turmeric); gyros is herbal (oregano, thyme); döner changes with each maker.
- Bread: döner in pitta, bread or lavash; shawarma in pitta, saj or laffa; gyros in an oiled pitta.
- Sauce: döner with chilli and yoghurt sauces; shawarma with toum or tahini; gyros with tzatziki.
Where did döner come from?
Nobody can say for certain who built the first vertical spit, and the claims are best treated as claims. Before the 19th century, seasoned meat was cooked on a horizontal spit, a method still seen in cağ kebab. The vertical rotisserie was in use in the Ottoman Empire by the mid-19th century.
Bursa is often called the birthplace of the vertical spit. The story goes that İskender Efendi suggested roasting lamb upright at his father’s restaurant in the 1850s, but that account comes from his grandson, Yavuz İskenderoğlu, so it is a family history rather than a documented record. Wikipedia also notes that a cook called Hamdi Usta from Kastamonu may have done it earlier, around 1830.
The sandwich is a separate story. The Association of Turkish Döner Producers in Europe credits Kadir Nurman’s stand at Zoo Station in West Berlin in 1972 with making the döner sandwich a fast food. Others point to Nevzat Salim, who sold İskender kebab in Reutlingen in 1969. Wikipedia’s own conclusion is that who “invented” it is hard to prove. Closer to home, it records London’s first döner shop opening in 1966.
Gyros and shawarma are generally described as descendants of the Ottoman vertical spit, and each has since developed habits of its own. Accounts of how gyros reached Greece differ: Wikipedia says Greeks from Asia Minor brought their version with them after the 1922-23 population exchange, while later arrivals from Anatolia and the Middle East are also credited. They are cousins, not copies.
How to tell them apart in a London kebab shop
- If the sign says döner, expect Turkish-style salad, chilli sauce and a choice of pitta, bread roll or dürüm wrap, often with rice or chips on a plate.
- If the board says shawarma, look for garlic sauce, pickles and a thinner wrap.
- Gyros on a London menu usually points to a Greek or Cypriot kitchen, with tzatziki and pitta.
- Ask whether the meat is lamb, beef or chicken, and whether it is a mixed kebab, because shops vary a lot.
Where to eat döner in London
For a proper döner, browse the döner and kebab places on Turkish Dish. For a sit-down version, try İskender: thin döner on pide with tomato sauce, yoghurt and melted butter (our İskender kebab recipe shows how it goes together). Cooking at home? Our doner kebab recipe works without a spit. For the wider menu, see popular Turkish dishes and our guides to cheap Turkish food and late-night Turkish food in London.
Our pick: Le Bab Carnaby, Soho
A modern kebab restaurant on the top floor of Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street. The kebabs here are a good way to see how far the idea has travelled from the classic döner, with fillings such as tavuk şiş, kuzu kebab and a salt beef kebab on the menu. See Le Bab Carnaby on Turkish Dish.
- Fes Restaurant – Turkish kebab & döner in Elephant & Castle
- Alanya Turkish Fusion – Turkish kebab & döner in Bow & Mile End
- Capital Kebab House – Turkish kebab & döner in Borough & Southwark
- Cengo Ocakbaşı – Turkish kebab & döner in Enfield
- E. Mono – Turkish kebab & döner in Camden & Kentish Town
- Le Bab Covent Garden – Turkish kebab & döner in Soho & West End
See all 81 Kebab & Döner places in London
Döner, shawarma and gyros: common questions
Is doner the same as shawarma?
Not quite. They share the vertical-spit method and a common ancestor, but shawarma uses Levantine spices and garlic or tahini sauces, while döner is Turkish and is usually served with salad, chilli and yoghurt sauces.
Is gyros the same as doner?
They are related, since gyros was modelled on döner, but gyros in Greece is usually pork with tzatziki, while döner is lamb, beef or chicken.
Which came first, doner or shawarma?
The vertical spit developed in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century, and shawarma and gyros are generally described as descended from it. Exactly who did it first is disputed, so treat any single name or date with care.
Is doner kebab Turkish?
Yes, the vertical-spit döner is a Turkish dish, though the sandwich version most people know in Europe was popularised by Turkish immigrants in Germany in the 1970s.
Photo: Anton Porsche, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
