When it comes to late-night or quick food in London, kebabs are hard to beat. Doner is king, but there's a whole world of other styles worth knowing, and shish sits right at the top of that list.

So, what is a doner kebab, what is shish kebab, and what actually separates the two? Both dishes trace back to Turkey and share a lot of the same base ingredients, but the taste, texture and cooking process couldn't be more different. Here's everything you need to know before deciding which is the best kebab in London for you.

What Is a Doner Kebab?

A doner kebab is meat – traditionally lamb, though chicken, beef and turkey are all common today – stacked, compacted and cooked slowly on a vertical rotisserie, then shaved off in thin slices as it turns. It's the dish most people picture when they hear the word "kebab," typically served in a wrap, pitta or on a plate with salad and sauce.

What Is Shish Kebab?

Shish kebab is simpler in construction: cubed meat threaded onto a skewer alongside robust vegetables like peppers, onion and tomato, then grilled directly over high heat. Where doner is built for volume and slicing, shish is built around each skewer being cooked and served on its own.

Appearance and Presentation

Shish Kebab: Skewered Meat and Colourful Vegetables Shish kebab, at its most basic, is skewered meat alongside robust, colourful vegetables that hold up well to high-temperature grilling.

Doner Kebab: Rotisserie-Cooked, Thin Meat Slices Doner kebab tends to be the more substantial offering. The meat is cooked on a large spit before being trimmed into thin slices as it turns.

What Meat Is Doner Kebab Made Of?

Doner meat is traditionally lamb, though today it's just as often chicken, beef or turkey. What all four have in common is fat content: doner needs fattier cuts, since that fat is what keeps the compacted meat block moist as it slowly cooks over several hours on the spit. Shish, by contrast, works best with leaner cuts, since each piece is grilled quickly and doesn't need the extra fat to stay tender.

What Is a Doner Kebab Made Of? (Full Ingredients Breakdown)

Beyond the meat itself, a proper doner kebab is built from:

• Doner meat – lamb, chicken, beef or turkey, compacted and rotisserie-cooked
• A spice blend – see below
• Bread – pitta, wrap or naan
• Salad – lettuce, tomato, onion, cucumber
• Sauce – garlic mayo, chilli sauce, or a yoghurt-based sauce

Doner Meat Spices

The spice base most doner kebabs share includes salt, sugar, paprika, pepper, garlic powder and onion powder. What sets doner meat spices apart from shish is the addition of thyme, oregano and marjoram, which give the meat a warmer, more herbaceous character.

Shish Kebab Seasoning

Shish kebab seasoning shares that same base – salt, sugar, paprika, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder – but swaps in turmeric and cinnamon, which bring a sweeter, slightly bitter edge that suits the quicker, direct-heat cooking style.

Marinating: Key Step for Tender, Flavourful Meat

Marinating is what carries all of the above flavour into the meat itself. Lebanese and Turkish restaurants around Oxford Circus and other hubs of Middle Eastern and Near Eastern community life are known for exactly this – long marination times that build both flavour and texture well before the meat ever touches heat.

Cooking Methods: Grilling for Shish, Rotisserie for Doner

For a restaurant-style shish kebab at home, chop marinated meat and vegetables into bite-sized pieces, thread them onto skewers, then roast on the grill or in the oven – though grilling over an open fire is what gets you closest to the authentic taste. The rule of thumb: marinate for as long as possible, then cook as quickly as possible.

Doner is harder to replicate at home. It calls for a rotisserie grill that slowly rotates a large, tightly compacted block of fatty meat until it's cooked through and ready to shave. If you want to actually learn the technique rather than guess at it, Le Bab's Kebab Queen cooking masterclasses cover exactly this. Otherwise, it's probably best left to your local kebab shop.

Shish kebab and doner kebab share a lot of the same DNA, but the meat, the spices and the cooking method give them genuinely different eating experiences. If you'd rather skip the debate and just try both, Le Bab's menu has options for everyone – order online or find your nearest London location.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the main difference between shish kebab and doner kebab?

Doner is compacted meat cooked slowly on a vertical rotisserie and shaved into thin slices, while shish is cubed meat and vegetables grilled quickly on a skewer. The cooking method is the biggest difference – it's what drives the difference in texture, fat content and seasoning.

What meat is doner kebab traditionally made from?

Traditionally lamb, though chicken, beef and turkey are all common today. Doner meat needs a higher fat content than shish, since the fat keeps the compacted block moist during its long cook on the rotisserie.

Is shish kebab healthier than doner kebab?

Generally, yes. Shish uses leaner cuts of meat and is grilled quickly with minimal added fat, while doner relies on fattier cuts and a longer cooking process, which typically makes it the heavier option of the two.

Can doner kebab be made at home?

It's possible but genuinely difficult without a rotisserie grill, since the slow, even rotation is what gives doner its texture. Shish kebab is far more realistic to recreate at home – a hot grill or oven and skewered, marinated meat gets you most of the way there.

What's the best kebab in London?

That depends on whether you're after doner or shish, but Le Bab serves both styles, alongside vegetarian and vegan options, across its London locations.

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