Istanbul Shawarma

I usually would give Istanbul 4 stars and the one time I had the lamb I would have given 5 stars. It’s the reason I paid $10 to park and went there today. But the lamb was overcooked and under seasoned this time. Also, they weren’t busy at all and it took much too long to receive my order.

Late-night cravings in downtown Nashville? Assembly Food Hall’s got you. It’s lively, music-filled, and buzzing with energy—even after hours. That’s where we stumbled upon Istanbul Shawarma, a Mediterranean stall nestled among the chaos. I was in the mood for something hearty, so I grabbed a combo bowl with gyro-style meat, roasted eggplant, and hummus—while my husband went for chicken shish kebab with rice. I specifically asked them to skip the feta (not a fan), and… they got it backwards. Feta on mine, none on his. Classic mix-up. It’s a food court setup, so no reserved seating—just grab what you can find and wait for your buzzer to go off. When we finally dug in, the presentation was on point—bright, colorful, definitely Insta-worthy. But the taste? Meh. The chicken was dry, flavor didn’t pop, and the only saving grace was the crisp cucumber-red cabbage mix. Bottom line: vibes were 10/10, food was very average. Would I go again? For the music and the scene—sure. For Istanbul Shawarma? Probably not.

Wow. The beef-lamb shawarma was incredible! Healthy portions and superb taste. Highly recommended!

I grabbed a pita filled with beef and lamb from Istanbul Shawarma at Assembly Food Hall; I was looking forward to it but it fell short. Seemed like the meat was leftover shavings as they were all small and cool in temp. The atmosphere is cool at Assembly Food Hall.

We love the environment of the food hall but the food here was just okay. The service was excellent though.

We got the street fries, lamb pita and the falafel. Evening arrived quickly and we enjoyed the fries, the falafel was okay, and the pita was pretty good. Not a bad meal and the priced pretty fairly for the food hall. I'd definitely return for the fries again!

Tasty food. Quick, friendly service, even during the lunch hour. $20 for a wrap and fries feels expensive.

Istanbul Shawarma never disappoints. I know I’m going to get food that tastes great when I come here. If there’s anything I’d change, I wish they didn’t wait for you to show up to make the to go orders; it’d make more sense and save more time if the food is actually ready when you receive the text saying it’s ready, but it typically just takes a couple extra minutes