Water Street | Page 18 of 30 | Mass Food & Wine

Chicken Shawarma from Bay Side on Water Street in Worcester, MA

Bay State Shawarma and Grill is not your typical restaurant. This is more like a takeout place where you go up to the counter to order then wait for your number to be called. They do have ample seating though, and it was easy enough to push enough tables together to seat 15 together. The food, however, was not your typical takeout. The menu was fairly large, with a pretty wide selection of middle eastern favorites from Shawarma, to Kibbe, to Hummus.

We started dinner with a plate of Baba ghanoush, which is cooked eggplant mixed with onions, tomatoes, olive oil and various seasonings and served with a fresh pita. As an appetizer, this was more than enough, we actually didn’t finish it, and maybe the best Baba ghanoush I’ve ever had. Nice and Creamy with a stong, but not overpowering, flavor. Perfect with the pita.

For dinner, I had the Chicken Shawarma. This came over rice with a side salad, hummus and labne. The Labne is a yogurt based side with heavy garlic with a fair amount of spice/heat. This was a fantastic addition to the chicken shawarma, providing a nice creamy counterpoint to the well seasoned and quite delicious chicken. The shawarma itself was a decent sized serving, with an almost crunchy coating on shaved chicken pieces. The hummus side was on the small side, but provided a great side to the chicken and the pita that came with the dish was the perfect vehicle for the hummus.

Overall, this was delicious and a very satisfying meal. As good as any sit down middle eastern place I’ve been, but at the cost of takeout.

Beef Shawarma Plate from Bay State Shawarma & Grill resides on Water Street in Worcester

Bay State Shawarma & Grill resides on Water Street in Worcester. The store front is nothing to write home about. A pretty unremarkable looking place but the food here is truly amazing. No alcohol allowed on the premises but well worth the sacrifice in my mind and you can always head next door to the multiple bars and pubs in the area for your choice of drink after a great meal.

As you walk into the place, head to the counter and order your food. They will send you off to sit and wait while they prepare. They will call your number when your order is ready. It was all very well organized and reasonably quick. It felt a little like a fast food place but I can’t say enough about the food; I will be marking this place to return to soon and try a few of their other options.
In the back of the restaurant they have a store which carry’s all types of middle eastern groceries. A cornucopia of amazing food stuffs that you don’t see every day. A must see.

I ordered the beef Shawarma plate which came with tender cooked strips of meat from the spit layered over a bed of rice and then drizzled with a delicious cream sauce. The flavors of the meat after having been roasted on the spit for who knows how long was delicious. With my beef Shawarma plate I also received a side salad, hummus and a labna which is some type of garlicky spread which I used on everything I ate. A nice large flat bread also accompanied my meal which I used to help glop up my food. My husband and I also split an appetizer of the Baba Ganoush which was amazing. This came with more of the delicious flat bread.

I would recommend this place to anyone.