Yimee’s

Yimee’s! I’m pretty sure Yimee’s started as a garlic sauce maker before branching out into making foods to put their garlic sauce on. That’s promising! Their sign says they’ve been around since ’99 but I can’t find any evidence of them before 2021, when they opened on Concession, so who knows? It sure is fun to say though. Yimee’s!

Inside is a strong simple design, a short and simple menu, a big white counter, and a giant wordmark. Yimee’s! The gentlewoman came to the counter and quickly took my order, clarifying my sauce preferences, but not the toppings. Of course I want garlic sauce, it’s Yimee’s!

As I waited in the open area by the giant sign (Yimee’s!), I noticed something in the refrigerator:

Yimee’s has their famous garlic sauce for sale, ready for you to take home. They’re all about the sauce. In fact, it’s even listed on Amazon, though currently out of stock. With great anticipation for this garlic sauce, treated with a level of fame and respect I’ve never encountered in my shawarma writing career, I was delighted to be called for my sandwich.

And here we are: the famous shawarma sandwich from, where else, Yimee’s! The sandwich is served not on flatbread, but on bread-bread. It’s great, much better than some of my previous bread-bread experiences. It’s nice and soft, not too tough, and does a good job of neatly soaking up sauce. More on that in a minute.

The veggies turned out to be the classic trio of lettuce, tomato, and onion. I was surprised to see lettuce today, as it costs more than shawarma right now. They do their usual job well, the onion in particular gives a nice little accent. The meat is chopped fine and nice and tasty, seasoned well, but more of a passenger on this ride to the star of the show: the sauces. Yimee’s!

The hot sauce is nice and flavourful, provided some good tastes and just a bit of heat. And what about Yimee’s famous garlic sauce? It’s real good! As garlicy as it gets without being overpowering. Applied liberally to enhance each and every other part of the sandwich. No wonder there’s a 4 foot picture of it in the front window. I’d consider buying a bottle next time. Yimee’s!

Yimee’s makes a great shawarma sandwich. No part is sub par. Very worth your time, I recommend a trip to Yimee’s. I feel a stronger chicken game could put them over the top, but they’re darn close. Yimee’s! 9/10.