King of Donair

I’ve been to King of Donair at least six times now while visiting Halifax, and somehow this last visit managed to be the best one yet. At this point, it feels less like trying a local spot and more like a ritual every time I’m in the city. You don’t come here expecting something fancy—you come because you know it’s going to hit the spot, and it always does. The donair was loaded, messy, and unapologetic in the best way possible. Yes, there were way too many onions… and honestly? I didn’t even care. That’s part of the charm. It’s bold, over-the-top, and exactly what you want when you’re craving something hearty and satisfying. The flavors all came together perfectly—savory meat, sweet sauce, soft pita, and that classic Halifax donair vibe that just feels right. What really stood out this time was how consistently good everything was. After multiple visits, it’s impressive that the quality hasn’t dropped at all—in fact, this visit somehow topped the rest. The place has an easygoing, no-frills atmosphere that makes you feel comfortable whether you’re popping in late at night or grabbing a bite during a busy day of exploring the city. Every time I come here, it’s always a good time. There’s something comforting about knowing exactly what you’re going to get—and then still being pleasantly surprised by how good it is. King of Donair is one of those Halifax staples that lives up to the hype, and if this last visit is any indication, I’ll absolutely be back again (and probably won’t ask for fewer onions).

Donair wrap was great, very saucy, should eats with lots of napkins nearby. i was not a fan of the donair poutine. Feel that the fries needed more sauce, and the cheese was not a substitute. Great garlic bread as well. Huge portions.

Heard lots of good things about this place. And honestly it was a pretty good donair. I enjoyed the poutine way more as it had more of a savory sauce as the OG item is more of a sweet sauce. I think that’s what makes it a donair over a donor😆. I’m not really sure. Either way I was not unhappy I made the trek on my quick cruise stop. I would defenitly love to have that poutine again if was in the area!

My boyfriend brought me here as he grown up here. I tasted a Donair for the first time and I must say it was exceptional. The sauce was very great. Also, I strongly recommend this place and my boyfriend was in heaven.

This is a great little gem not fancy, but to Donair was delicious and loaded with meat. Highly recommend this place. It's it fancy. Take it for what it is.

Boyfriend has always wanted to try this place since watching Trailer park boys. While you wait for your food theirs lots of photos of famous people who have visited King or Donair. The place is super hot you sweat while ordering and waiting for your food. We ordered two Donairs no tomato or onion , extra sauce . The lady who took our order repeated it back correctly , however the younger lady helping her piled a crap tun of them on and I seen the other lady waving at her and speaking in their language. The lady who took our order then used tongs to take them off and I still ended up with two pieces of raw onion. You don’t need to ask for extra sauce because they put a lot on. Boyfriend loved the sauce i however found it a bit too sweet and it kind do threw me off . Meat was tasty and they put a lot on.

I drove 1500 km to Halifax for the much storied King of Donair and was not disappointed! I give the donair of my dreams a good, solid three thumbs-up!

The Original is the best! I tried other east coast donairs, to compare. This is the perfect donair. Right size. Amazing taste. Not messy. Just yum!

- Nova Scotian special - the sauce is sweeter and more liquid than usual shawarma sauce

I ordered a Donair from king of Donair. There was very little meat on it.it was cold and the meat had very little taste to it.paid $30.00 For it. I was not very impressed with it. I don't think I'll be buying Donair again. I'll just sum it up to experience.

I'd say the Donairs live up to the hype. Loved the original Donair and hopefully will be back before I leave Halifax to try the spicy Donair. I've had Donair in Germany and kebabs also, but there was something just a little different about the Halifax version so I'm glad I tried it out! I also had the Donair egg rolls with the Donair dipping sauce and they were ok.

This was my first time having an 'authentic' Halifax Donair. What makes it different from a Shawarma wrap (middle eastern, garlic & hummusy) or Gyro (Greek, with tzatziki) ? The sauce. It's got a sweet liquidy sauce (tastes like condensed milk) all throughout the dark thick slices of salty Donair meat with just some tomatoes & onions. Overall, super messy eat..leaving you with sticky fingers but satisfying any savoury fast-food cravings you might have!

My niece wanted donairs. She called Randy's they don't start delivery until 3 pm. She said what about Tony's? I said, I don't like any donairs except Randy's but ok. I said what KOD, they're supposed to be so good, however the last time I tried to order, they said they deliver to Gottingen, so to hell with them. She places an order over the phone and I thought she had called Tony's. I was very surprised when she set the bag on the table and it had a King of Donair receipt on the front. I looked at the bag and said, how the hell are there 2 large donairs in that little bag? Man, I wish Randy's delivered earlier!! There was no sauce on the donair! What was there was thin and tasteless. The meat was salty as hell, I'll probably be bloated beyond recognition tomorrow. Any seasoned donair eater knows, the fun is in licking the sauce off of the tin foil. I've included a pic of my foil. Can't lick what isn't there. It's been about 20 years since I've had KOD and it will be another 20 before I do again. Extremely disgusted.

A trip to Halifax is never complete without a visit to the world famous King of Donair! Be prepared to get messy but also totally satisfied with this royal treat . Many a famous celebrity have stopped by for a regal treat by the friendly staff that is ready to treat you like a king or queen . Until we meet again your majesty!

So the donair was definitely unique to Halifax, and apparently London, Ontario... And Anthony Bourdain came here... But overall I would say it was satisfyingly meaty, over the top filling (especially the supreme donair) and would be amazing drunk/hangover food. For about $12, the supreme donair is massive. Eating it out of the foil will leave meat spilling out everywhere (not that that's a bad thing) and will leave you more than satisfied. To describe the donair, it's sort of like a gyro except inside the pita is the meat, tomatoes, and onions, with a sweet garlic sauce However, if I compare this donair to others, I would say the sauce was on the thin & sweet side. Would have preferred a more garlicky, less-sweet, thicker sauce so as you eat the donair, the sauce doesn't spill everywhere. Lastly, some more onions and tomatoes would have been good. Even some lettuce and/or some sort of pickled veggies. Probably not traditional, but would have added a hint of crunch or acidity to it. Overall, it was okay, but probably won't be back.

I tried the location in Alberta, so I decided to go outta my way to find the original location in Halifax to see if it was any different. Let me start by saying, I like how the service front is longer with a little bit more seating & lots of standing room. They offer the same fare as the other location and I appreciate how they are open late too. Unfortunately, by the time I came, they were sold out of garlic poppers, they recommended to come in earlier in the day since that's a hot ticket item...which means I'm probably going to do that when I come back to Edmonton because now I'm wondering what the hype is about that. We ordered regular donairs which we were told is cheaper if you buy with a drink. Donairs still come wrapped in plain tin foil, with chunky tomatoes & raw onions. I still like the meat & the donair was enough to satisfy; a little bit skimpy on the sauce here though, which means less mess, but I'm a saucy sorta gal. Overall, it holds its own, but doesn't stand out in my opinion. I do give the place props for being the original donair place in Canada but that's really it when it comes to donairs.

Not the best time to be judging but our takeout was disappointing. Our delivery came really fast, like in 10 minutes., but the donair meet was really dry and topped with very little topping. The sauce was tasty but it looked like too much starch was added.

Always greeted with a smile and the food is always good! Was surprised at the taste of Donair sauce (European ones are very different) but not disappointed, I really enjoyed it. The portions are very generous and will definitely get you full. They can get messy though lol! Definitely one of my favorite places in Halifax.

Visited Halifax for a week in July, stopped in at King of Donair on the evening of the 15th. This visit was such a bad experience for us. Check my other reviews, I am silver lining kind of guy finding something good in almost any situation. Being from Edmonton, we know our Donairs, in fact we came to K.O.D specifically to pay homage to the first donair store in Canada. I has hyping up this visit before we left our hometown. The experience started with an enthusiastic young staff member taking our order while his older (25ish) workmate made no attempt to help instead opting to recount to all in the shop that at this stage of his career he is sick of working nights and he had better things to do... Nice touch, I hope your future career does not rely on tips. In Edmonton they steam the pita and cheese while they prepare the meat... Not here. Cold pita, meat, onion and tomato, no lettuce at all, lots cold shredded mozza then ice cold sweet sauce out of a fridge. My wife and the couple I were looked their Donairs then at me and said "this has to be a joke". They pulled most of the cold cheese out of the roll and left it on the tray. Halifax may have invented the donair, but Edmonton elevated the idea significantly. Pro: The meat was very good - on par with Donair Express in Edmonton Cons: sour staff member, cold pita and cold cheese topped with refrigerator temperature sweet sauce that cooled the entire contents. It was the biggest letdown of our trip food wise. I wasted a meal here in a town known for its seafood... Sad

I live right down the road so have been coming here for a while. The workers are quite rude. I will walk the extra mile to not go here for now on. The last order I picked up which they said would be ready in 15, they had not started when I got there 15 minutes later despite not doing anything or working on other orders. I ended up waiting in the store for another 15 minutes. Real Haligonians know triple a, Jubilee, (or any other local non-chain) is where it's at!

Stopped in to grab a couple slices... Very old and super dry. Order something in advance I guess

Simply the best Donair! The King was the first in Canada in 1973 and remains as great today as always.

Visited Halifax in June, spent a little under a week in the city, in that time I purchased a donair from King Of Donair probably 3 or 4 times. Big portion, great sauce, significantly better Donair than we have here in the prairies.

I've been a customer for more years than most employees have been alive . In the past two years KOD has been hit and miss. Donair should be cooked with a skin from the spit but it seems like they'd rather cut meat and fry...and it doesn't taste near as well as it should. Tonight the straw broke and I'm not going back. I order three supremes and they are not only poorly cooked, there isn't any sauce. I drove twenty minutes for them so not going back. Ate what I could and the rest is going in the green bin. My advice...you have one of the best donair recipes...hire staff who give a damn.

While honeymooning in Halifax we knew we had to try donair and we were not disappointed. They delivered to our hotel (so we could recover from the day of traveling on an airplane) and we dug in. Supreme donair gave my new husband such delight. And for me the donair poutine was to die for. We also got an assortment of appetizers and drinks and it was all perfect. Tip: get extra donair sauce. It's so worth it.

I do not recommend the clayton park location i received a donair that was stopped toughter the garlic fingers were tasteless and dry dont waste your money

First time having Donair so no experience to compare to. Chose it because I read Anthony Bourdaine went there. Food was good but again, unable to comment on how it compares to other places. No bathroom.

That Pic of the sauce on that donair, false advertising. I had ordered 7 times in 3 months from the lace wood location and they put no sauce on it, zero such a bad company too stingy.

Ordered Donair pizza and BBQ chicken pizza to feed a hungry crowd while we were moving a few weeks ago. It really hit the spot. The pizza dough was nice and soft, not chewy, but I liked the texture. I was also pleasantly surprised with the amount of toppings they had on the pizza. Loved the donair sauce on the side, of course. It is a different approach to the traditional donairs.

Land mark on Quinpool road and has been for many years. Remembering my days at St Pat's going there for a slice at lunch time. Not much has changed in the decor but the food stayed the same. King's has lunch time specials for you on the go people that would like a BIG piece of pizza and pop for $5 bucks. Many nights on the way home from DT Kings was another hot spot to hit before you retired off to bed. King's Donairs were always tasty and the meat had great flavour and always a fresh rack of meat on the stick that was very important as something it is burnt or hard at other locations. King's as well always gave you a nice size for the $$$.

My faith in democracy has faded after deciding to order from The. "Best of Halifax" Donair Winner From The Coast. Very disappointing experience service wise and mediocre donair. Bait and Switch website coupled with a delivery person who doesn't care if you get what you ordered! Decor: (N/A) Service: (1/5) There really is two parts to any delivery order. THE CALL: When I called the woman who took my order informed me that their website has been out of date for a month now which really screwed up my ordering as I had no idea the cost or the specials which had changed. I must say as a value oriented yelp'er I find this frustrating and it is simple bait and switch. There was no help from the caller on what specials were available until I asked for a medium pizza and she said that a larger one would be better deal. Ill take your word for it. She also left to take another call and it took her about 2 minutes to understand that she never left my call! Not a big issue but not helpful. I ended up getting a large pizza with three toppings and 3 Donair special with 2l Pepsi. THE DOOR: After receiving the order I noticed the 2l Pepsi was missing. I ran to the door and the guy came back up and asked to see the order which indicated 2l Pepsi. He said that he didn't bring the pepsi and then tried to walk away! I wouldn't have any of that so I told him I wanted a replacement. The guy caved in and offered $4 dollars which would cover the cost of a 2l at the corner store. Food: (3/5) After all this excitement, we had donairs and pizza. Donairs were good but not better than some other places I have been too like Tony's Donair. The pizza was better and had a heavy amount of cheese and meatyness. I have had a few pizza slices and I have always perfered KOD Pizza (when at Pizza Corner). Value: (2/5) $35 with tip, after pop refund for 3 regular (small) donairs, large 3 topping pizza. Compared to Jessy's Pizza (North St) which has more engaged staff I'd say its not worth the pain of dealing with these clowns.

Despite its name, King of Donair does sell other food items like pizza, fries, etc. However I can't review them because I, like I'm sure so many others, only go there for one reason, the donair. In this case KoD definitely lives up to their name. I consider myself something of a donair connoisseur, always willing to try one out from somewhere new, and I while I believe there is not such thing as a bad donair, there is definitely a best, and this is where you'll find it. There's just something in the way they prepare their meat that makes it so good; it's perfectly tender and seasoned so that it's got just the right amount of kick without it being spicy. It's a flavour that I've yet to discover anyone else is able to emulate. KoD is always a stop I make during my trips to Halifax and if you haven't been there yet it should be one of yours too (if you have been there before I'm assuming it already is).

I have long been a fan of donairs, and KOD has long been one of my top pics. Recently I've purchased donairs from a few near by pizza joints and it's made me realize just how good KOD's donairs really are. The meat is well cooked and well seasoned, the pita is grilled and they have just the right amount of donair sauce. They have achieved the perfect ratio of pita to meat to toppings. I also got a pizza which arrived hot and wasn't greasy, and had fairly standard toppings/sauce. Certainly tasty but nothing I would write home over. We also ordered the onion rings which arrived hot and crispy! Not always an easy task. Even the seasoning in the batter was great. Over all KOD has been a great place for delivery, it's quick, tasty and arrives hot. It's no gourmet pizzeria but for a casual supper or a late night snack it's perfect and would certainly be one of my top picks!

dirty, dirty, dirty, filthy and dirty. My boyfriend had gone in before me and ordered, had he not I probably wouldn't have had their food. The place was filthy, aside from everything needing a really good scrub down the place was dated. Paint chipping off walks and posts, floor starting to chip away and crack. Aside from all of this, the seasoning on the meat was good. This all being said, I would never eat here again. EVER.

You have to go to the original. It wasn't outstanding but I like a thicker bread. Bought sauce to take home and afterwards they told us it was only good for a week. I would have preferred to know that before I bought it. Still happy we went.

So I'm just some jabroni from Philly. I decided to visit Halifax, NS not knowing anything about the city, hell, without a clue about anything in the Maritimes. I especially didn't know why a sauce would differentiate a donair from your typical schwarma. Then I got one. I was hungry and after a bite, I didn't really want it. The sauce is saccharine sweet. It wasn't easy trying to eat meat laced with was is essentially watery sweetened condensed milk (and from the ingredients that create the sauce, I'm not too far off). The location is your typical take out joint, no problems there. The sauce, well, sorry Haligonians. It's dreadful. Sorry KOD dudes, you're taking this bullet.

Good service by the lady who worked there, she was quite nice. Unfortunately, the pizza we ordered wasn't great, and it was priced relatively high.

Truthfully I'm not a Donair fan. Apparently, this very Nova Scotian treat - I use the term loosely, because in my world, meat needs a savory sauce and donairs come complete with the sweetest white sauce ever. My daughter's first apartment while going to Dalhousie was over King of Donair and perhaps the smell continually wafting through the floorboards did it, or perhaps working there part time. I'm not sure, but whatever it is, it's still her favorite Donair shop in town. I stick to a small order of fries, just to keep her company.

We ordered donairs from here a couple days ago, they were hot and the meat was very tender. The sauce was perfect (it's supposed to be sweet). Also ordered the BBQ chicken pizza which is good. Great donair spot!

Good Pizza..I think. And great Donairs! King of Donairs or "KOD" as we call it is a pretty good pizza and Donairs shop. The reason I am not too sure about their pizza is that the last time I went there I could have sworn I tasted some dish detergent in the bread part of the pizza. I can't say for certain but it was enough for me to put the pizza down and never finish it. This was the first time I have ever had this experience so I will simply say it was a freaky situation. In general their pizza is really good. Their bread is not too thick or thin and they have a very nice sauce for their pizza. Is it the best in the city? No. Not at all. But its decent enough for sure. Their Donairs are very good. Don't expect to lose weight off of them but if you ever were, I think you've missed the point of Donairs in general. Their customer service is friendly enough and work fast but one part of this store that has definitely caused the rating to go down to three stars is the environment. I don't think I have been in a King of Donairs that didn't make me feel dirty in some way, shape or form. The King of Donairs at the infamous, "Pizza Corner" downtown, simply looks sketchy and doesn't make me feel like I can trust the cleanliness of the pizza. However the KOD on Quinpool here, is quite clean. But they have Jerry Springer on the television. When it comes to pizza, I want a fun, relaxing environment, not hearing people on television chanting, "Bring her out, bring her out." However the KOD on Quinpool is far cleaner than other ones throughout the city. King Of Donairs claim to fame are their Donairs which are good and very filling. That's why I would go. Not for the ambiance or their pizza. But if you have a craving to get your Donair fix, I would head to KOD. For everything else, there are other options in the same neighborhood.

Fact - I have never had a Donair. I like Donair sauce, but as far as I know there is no animal called a donair...which means the idea of Donair meat leaves me feeling a little strange. Lucky for me this place also serves regular old pizza by the slice (and what a slice!). The pizza slices are huge and very filling. Depending on when you get there the pizza is either really fresh or incredibly old, I never seem to get there in the middle. The King Of Donair has a small amount of seating. It's not the nicest place, but you're not going here for the ambiance, so it's fine. The King Of Donair is open late, which is nice. If ever there is a social gathering on my street it almost always ends up in the King of Donair in the wee morning hours. It's convenient location and late hours make it ideal for a night hawk like myself. Also my room mate claims the don airs are fantastic. You'll have to take his word for it...

I have always been very happy with the quality of the food at the King of Donair. Today however, I was not impressed with the cleanliness of the grill, the weighing bowl or the apron worn by the prep guy, that he constantly wiped his hands on. The donair most likely would have been as good as usual, but I could not get past the visual of the prep area. Sorry, but you let me down, this time. Will be back.

KOD is what it is know as to us. This was another late night stomp, it was on the drive home and usually a gang of us. You get a great Donair, good staff, I would suggest to grab and go. Late night here can get pretty packed and loud. It seems a lot of people have this on their GPS driving home. I love Donairs, so this was one of the first places we had tried.

Not a bad pizza place. Not my top one, but I do enjoy going there for a slice or a Donair. Staff we're friendly and do a good job. It's a nice convenient location to being on Quinpool Road.

Probably the best place to get donairs in all of the world.

You'd think a place called king of donair would at least no that donair sauce goes on it, twice in a row the charge us extra for extra sauce and there none, mezzas for now on it seems.

Must go here for the most delishious, tender, juicy donairs, subs and pizza! This is THE original donair in the maritimes, and it was in this old spot they were first sold. Building is run down, but service was friendly (he gave us a slice from his lunch donair pizza) the meat hot off the Turner, Crispy and juicy, omg to die for!

Came here once with a group and will be last time. Grubby eating area and rude cook. I asked for extra sauce on donair as I ordered . After a few bites I asked for more sauce and he said that would cost extra. For a shot of sauce? Donair was 5/10.....

The only place for a donair, the cook behind the counter should be considered a land mark(he's been there 30 years!). Really friendly and had no problem dishing up a tasty donair 1030 in the morning

Ordered some delivery on our recent Nova Scotia trip. Two large donairs with extra sauce right to our door. The food came quick, tasted great and were very filling. You must try one if you're in the area.

For over 20 years Ive been in search the best donair, it blows my mind that it is in Nova Scotia. Great sauce, amazing onion, perfectly fresh and moist pita, the Cheese is out of I this world delicious, and above all the meat is cooked through perfectly, spiced and each slice gives you a thin and thinner bite. It was worth the flight from Edmonton to settle the big question. What is a donair meant to be? For all you locals who havent eaten 100s of bad donair combinations. You couldnt possibly know how bad the average Canadian Donair has become and may you never. Enjoy.

Barely acceptable, and I say that because the pita was soft and springy just the way I like it, and the sweet sauce was exactly to my taste, too. Onions were in chunks nearly as big as my thumb, and the presentation was very poor with nearly a metre of foil and sauce leaking out everywhere. C'mon guys, you claim to have invented the thing, but that should mean you have had plenty of time to get it right.

I'm not one to write reviews but I had to get on here and share my experience of this shit donair I had last night. It was easily one of the worst i had had in years. The meat was the fakest, grossest meat I've ever had, I couldn't finish it. The sauce was watery and had no flavor, they topped it with HUGE strips of onion and about half a tomato they they just chopped in half (are you topping a fucking salad?? Dice that shit up). Lastly I paid 11.50 for a large!! I just checked around and nobody else charges over 10 for a large, most places 7 or 8. Any other donair place in Halifax will make you a better one than these guys I can tell you from experience. Never again