Abdullah Rabeeah’s passion for food began in his Baghdad backyard, where roughly every other day, he’d be fanning the smoke alongside his father.
“I grew up with my dad teaching me how to barbecue,” says Rabeeah, who moved to Ann Arbor, MI, at age 16. “It’s part of our culture … we’d have big family gatherings, and so, we did barbecue all the time. My mom always made good food, my grandma made good food and this is where the love of food started for me.”
I am grateful that at this point in his journey, this love has transcended into the truly exemplary plates at Rawsha Mediterranean Cuisine, where Rabeeah’s story — now studded with lots of travel, two engineering degrees, more — continues. Deliciously so.
Fiercely proud as anyone of his own heritage, he happily bends the shawarma knee to another.
“It’s so important in so many countries,” he chuckles. “Growing up, you don’t go to McDonald’s, you go for shawarma. And when I visited Syria, I realized that this is the best place for shawarma. It’s really amazing.”
The platters, served Arabi-style, reflect this.
“It’s like ‘sushi-style,’” Rabeeah explains. “We cut it in small pieces, like one or two bites, and a pile of shawarma meat on top.”
Chicken shawarma, Arabi-style, in small bites: skin and lamb fat, crisp pickle and killer garlic paste. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
With crisp pickles cutting through the softness and richness of gorgeous meats and garlicky sauces, this Syrian marvel (made here, in fact, by Syrians) is just one of many delights done righter than right in this newish gem, where the shawarma spice blends have literally been passed down through generations.
But different cultures, says Rabeeah, excel at different things.
“And if you want to do grills, like the kebabs,” he says. “You have to go to Iraq.”
I was on the lamb (chop), my friend was behind it. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
Taste the Iraqi kebab, a blend of 80 percent grass-fed lamb and 20 percent high-quality beef — quite possibly the best I’ve ever had — and it’s very difficult to argue.
So often dry, this one, as well as the chicken kofta, served alongside a lamb chop in the Hala grill platter ($27.99), is beyond juicy, a whisper of pink at the center showing the care that goes into its cooking.
“It crumbles,” says Rabeeah. “It has to crumble.”
It does. And it’s a balance that creates such perfection.
Hummus, another option alongside a wide range of sandwiches, wraps and platters at Rawsha Mediterranean Cuisine in Orlando. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
On one end, the lamb fat, used in the prep and cooking of many dishes here. On the other hand, technique — from how the meat is placed on the skewer, to its careful turning, ensuring even heat distribution, cooking on both the outside and within.
Bread beneath soaks up the juices and though a generous basket is delivered on the side for your tear-and-eat pleasure — add a spicy, crunchy hit of grilled pepper, a juicy piece of tomato, a dab of carefully crafted babaganoush, with balanced texture and smoke — and you might consider, as I did, that you could eat this meal every single night and never, ever grow tired.
Arabi beef, delish with a smidge of tahini, or garlic sauce in regular or spicy (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
I had wanted to try the lamb shank on two visits — I’d spied its fall-apart qualities in an Instagram reel — but apparently, so had many.
It remains on my list, but options here are many, even just amid the chicken dishes: that stellar kofta or tender skin-on shawarma, beautiful, whole-grilled birds ($29.99), Baghdadi wings ($19.99), redolent of citrus and garlic, alluring with char. It appeals in every format.
The Arabi beef meal and Iraqi kebabs, says Rabeeah, are bestsellers, and I can see why, but more recently, the Baghdadi burger ($15.99), piled high with shaved shawarma, is proving a hit, as well. Another one for a return visit.
Best Middle Eastern: 2025 Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards
Though only a few months into its tenure in Dr. Phillips, the team behind Rawsha is already flirting with the idea of expansion, though quality control and maintenance, says Rabeeah, whose team went through many chefs, and even more recipes, to land where they have, is the prime directive for now.
I’d have loved lower lighting in this clean, casual space at the dinner hour, a little more intimacy to match my feelings for the foods, which are decidedly romantic, but outside of this, I have zero gripes. Platters lasted me three meals, though on more than one visit, I found myself eating well outside my normal boundaries.
Relaxing tea, sweet and floral with cardamom. (Amy Drew Thompson/Orlando Sentinel)
My best advice if you visit: go hungry, bring friends, try lots, start and end with cardamom tea, and if you have leftovers, and you very well might as portions are generous, be grateful.
Rawsha is an experience you’ll want to stretch out.
Want to reach out? Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more foodie fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.
If you go
Rawsha Mediterranean Cuisine: 8956 Turkey Lake Road in Orlando, 407-725-0062; rawshamediterraneancuisine.com
Dining and Cooking