What could be more delicious right now than wrapping your mouth around a delicious shawarma filled to the brim with succulent strips of lamb and lashings of tzatziki – oh wait, is that a gyro or a shawarma?! Do you know the difference? If like many of us, you don’t know the one from the other, then this is just for you!

To begin with, what do they have in common? Deliciously marinated meat of course, cooked at very high temperatures on a rotisserie and sliced into fine tasty slivers. But it’s often the type of meat that makes the difference. Gyro (which is Greek for turning) is typically made from pork, while shawarma meat can be anything from chicken to lamb to veal or even goat. Another difference is the preparation of the meat, a shawarma tends to focus more on the flavour of the meat – marinades are lengthy and involve heaps of seasoning and spices – whereas a gyro tends to let the toppings do more of the talking.

Having said that, they do share a plethora of toppings – have you ever been asked what you’d like with your meat only to stare in food angst at all the choices? From purple cabbage, aubergine, raw onion, spicy cauliflower and pickled mangoes to huge dollops of hummus and tahini – the colours, smells and tastes are amazing and dazzling. But there’s one topping missing from this list and that’s because it’s another essential difference between the two dishes – tzatziki sauce. Shawarma (which is Middle Eastern by the way) never has tzatziki sauce on it, which can be quite overpowering and as we said earlier, would detract from the flavours of the meat.

So, if you’re ever in any doubt, if there’s tzatziki stuffed inside the flatbread or on the plate next to mountains of delicious meat shavings, then you’re eating gyro and not shawarma. Although, do we really care which one it is? Either way, you’d be sinking your teeth into a soft doughy pita, crispy and tender morsels of meat, and fresh salad toppings!

Are you hungry yet?! I know I am!

Here’s to finding the best gyro and shawarma in town, or if you’re making your own – remember N1 for the best wholesale meat Johannesburg and Cape Town have to offer!

Bon Appetit!