If you’ve been reading my scribbles for a while you’ll know that one of my favorite foods is a burger. If I had to pick a second favorite it would be a close wrestling match between pizza and doner kebabs but the pizza would probably come in third…it’d be a narrow victory for the doner kebab, though.

I guess since I’ve both lived and visited Turkey I hold a special affinity for Turkish food (it might be different if I’d spent more time in Italy). But as many döner kebabs as I pounded down in Turkey my personal favorite doners were the ones I would experience passing through Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

It’s believed that this humble sandwich was originally introduced to Europe in Berlin by a Turkish guest worker in the early ’70s. It was very well received. If you’ve ever had one after a few beers it’s easy to imagine why it would be so successful in Germany.

This is why when I learned about Berlin’s Doner Kebab’s (official Facebook page) recent arrival to the Bangkok food scene I was pretty eager to test drive their menu. I was VERY impressed with the experience. These doner kebabs are big in size and flavor…but let me show you.

Gimme, gimme, gimme!

The Original…

If you’re familiar with the German-style doner kebab and have been missing it, then you’re going to be thrilled with “The Original“.  If you’ve never had a doner kebab before, then this is also the one I recommend to try first. I ordered the big-sized “The Original” with the beef and lamb filling (280 baht). Chicken or falafel are also options for fillings.

Doner Kebab “The Original” Beef & Lamb (280 baht/big 190 baht/small)

Some folks may balk at the price. Don’t compare what you see here to what you can get at one of those streetside shawarma vendors. This is not that. The soft, thick bread is loaded with meat, fresh salads, and savory sauces. It’s a lot to eat, too.

Pizza doner?

Doner Lahmacun Chicken (260 baht)

Earlier I’d mentioned that a doner and pizza would be pretty fairly matched vying for my second place favorite food. As lahmacun is basically a Turkish minced meat pizza you can imagine how happy I was to have a doner wrapped in one!

Doner Lahmacun Chicken (260 baht)

I chose to get the big-sized Doner Lahmacun Chicken (260 baht) so that I’d have the opportunity to try their chicken meat and lahmacun. The chicken is very tender and flavorful. I look forward to the day when Bangkok’s nightlife opens up again so that I can test it out in lieu of my usual post-party shawarma!

That cool refreshing drink…

Berlin’s Homemade Lemonade (80 baht)

Any Eddie Murphy fans? Am I showing my age again?

I am not normally a fan of lemonade, but this particular blend was pretty good and went well with the doner kebabs. My gal on the other hand really enjoyed it. You could say she was Delirious…Okay, enough puns.

Something for everyone…

On a keto or low carb diet? Don’t let my bready adventures scare you off. There are bread-free options to be had in their “Doner Box” menu.

Berlin’s Doner Kebab Menu

Have you recently watched Bambi and have decided to swear off meat? You won’t starve here. You can forego meat and choose to have a vegetarian falafel filling in all of their doner kebabs and boxes except the lahmacun one (because lahmacun is coated in minced meat).

Gyro, Shawarma, or Doner Kebab?

If you spot these twin towers of skewered meat rotating on a vertical grill, the odds are good that they’re serving up Greek gyros, Arabic shawarmas, or doner kebabs. There are three key differences that set each sandwich apart from each other: the meat, the bread, and the additional toppings and sauces.

Berlin’s Doner Kebab uses thick slices of Australian beef and lamb, and locally sourced chicken. The meat is marinated for 24 hours and grilled slowly so that it’s both juicy and super flavorful. This deliciousness is enhanced by sandwiching it in fresh bread…

Fresh matters…

Bread made fresh in-house

Berlin’s Doner Kebab makes all of their bread in-house fresh. During my visit, I watched as they made both the thick bread for The Original and the lahmacun wrapped doner kebab.

So dining in is a real treat. Not only are you getting oven-fresh bread for your doner kebab, but you’re also smelling fresh-baked bread during your dine-in experience!

Saucy!

Yogurt Sauce (30 baht)

Berlin’s Special Sauce (30 baht)

Berlin’s Doner Kebab makes all of their sauces in-house. When you order your doner kebab you get a choice of what sauce you’d like on it. The choices are Tzatziki, Yogurt, Berlin’s Special, and Spicy Thai Style. If you want your sandwich to be extra saucy order an extra sauce for 30 baht.

If you enjoy heat I highly recommend the Berlin’s Special Sauce, a rich tomato sauce with a fiery chili kick. If you want to balance the scales the Yogurt Sauce will quell the fire!

A chat with the manager…

A masked chat…

During my visit, I had an opportunity to chat with the manager, Amir, as well as one of the co-owners of Berlin’s Doner Kebab. The restaurant held its grand opening on March 14, 2020. One week later it had to close its doors to diners due to the COVID-19 restrictions and only offer delivery and takeaway services. This would normally be a mortal blow to a restaurant just starting out. But not for them.

Like burgers and pizza, doner kebabs are great for takeaway or delivery!

Having a small location helped to keep rent their costs low and improve their chances of weathering the COVID-19 storm. But their success really came about from having a delicious product that quickly gained a loyal and vocal following. I’m certainly a fan and if you enjoy a good doner kebab I think you will be, too.

Don’t be surprised if you see this brand expanding to other Thailand locations…

I’m hungry. Where is it?

Located on Sukhumvit Soi 22, Berlin’s Doner Kebab is a 10-minute walk from the Phrom Phong BTS station.

Seating inside is very limited. Currently, there are 3 tables which seat 2 guests with plexiglass dividing the table (due to COVID-19 restrictions). It’ll certainly be nice when those rules are lifted. But though you’re semi-segregated from your dining partner you are still fully exposed to the smells of fresh-baked bread emanating from the nearby oven!

I want to hear from you!

Should you decide to visit Berlin’s Doner Kebab I’d love to hear your feedback in the comment section below, directly to me, or via message on either the Chow Traveller Facebook page or Chow Traveller Instagram. However you choose, I’d love to hear from you!