Osmow’s located at 8630 Woodbine Ave, Unit 5 in Markham

April 13, 2019:  It had been a while since I had been to an Osmow’s for some Mediterranean wraps or platters.  I recall really enjoying their generous platters and shawarmas when I first visited the Richmond Hill Bayview location.

This new Markham location is in a string of new restaurants on Woodbine Avenue north of Highway 7 across from LA Fitness.  Walking in on a Saturday at noon, we were one of two customers there at first.  Their menu displayed numerous types of platters and shawarmas.  Looking at the selection of platters, I vaguely recall the prices being lower in years past.

I knew I wanted the chicken platter, so we decided to get the Combo for 2, which included one regular Chicken Shawarma Wrap, one Chicken Shawarma Platter, and two drinks (cola or water), all for $21.99.  (As one single Chicken Shawarma Platter already cost $14.99, the Combo for 2 seemed like a really great deal.)

Menu – salads, appetizers, platters, specialty dishes

Menu – combos, side orders, wraps

We took a seat at one of the many available tables and shortly, our orders were served to us by one of the staff members with a smile.  The staff here were so friendly and attentive.

View of the interior from our table

Chicken Shawarma Platter
-hummus and Tzatziki sauce (+$0.50 respectively)

The Chicken Shawarma Platter was enormous!  It was a huge Styrofoam box of chicken on top of a bed of rice with a side of hummus and Tzatziki sauce on it (extra $0.50 respectively).  The platter came with a salad; we had chosen the Greek Salad.

The chicken was delicious.  It was tender and moist and went well with spoonfuls of rice.  It definitely hit the spot.  (The style of it reminded us of the delicious Halal Guys platter we had had in New York.)

The Greek Salad was fresh and great — nothing else more to say.  I only wish that none of their containers were of Styrofoam material.  If customers are dining in (like we were), can they start implementing some sort of reusable material?  Or if not, at least invest in paper boxes instead.  Styrofoam is terrible for the environment and usually not recyclable.

Greek Salad as part of the Chicken Shawarma Platter

The Chicken Shawarma Wrap was a good decent size too.  I actually liked the flavours in this a little more than the platter because the wrap contained pickles, olives, and lettuce, which made it a tastier combination.  However, wraps are always a bit messier to eat since there’s so much stuffing in it.

Chicken Shawarma Wrap

You can see the approximate size of each item

We concluded that we could have ordered one platter to share between the two of us and been just as full.  In fact, we couldn’t even finish both the platter and the wrap since the portions were so generous.

We noticed that other customers who came after us as a pair also ordered only one platter to share.  We had forgotten how generous the platters are at Osmow’s but for our future visits, we’ll know that one platter is enough for two to feed on.

Before I left, I also ordered the Saturday Special to go.  It was only $10.99 and consisted of Shish Taouk: curry chicken breast, onions, green peppers, rice, and a garden salad.  It was an amazing deal.  When I later tried the curry chicken breast at home, I appreciated how tender the giant chunks of skewered chicken were.  They weren’t dry at all and very tasty.

As I’m writing this blog post, I realize that a popular item on the Osmow’s menu is actually something called “Chicken on the Rox”, which is actually what I might have been thinking of when remembering the past lower prices of a platter.  A chicken on the rox consists of chicken on rice, which is essentially what our Chicken Shawarma Platter order was except a chicken on the rox doesn’t include salad.  Also, a chicken on the rox is only $8.99, a far cry from the $14.99 for an extra salad.  Next time, I’ll know to order the chicken on the rox instead.