September has come, long live the Shawarma.

We are back. Some are excited to start university, others to be reunited with friends. For me, it’s the thought of a trip to Atlas Shawarma that really gets my gears going. This is not to say I don’t look forward to seeing friends, no sir! I just doubt whether any of them would serve me traditional Middle Eastern wraps for under a fiver.

Many times have I made the pilgrimage down the Wilmslow road, passing the plethora of restaurants along the Curry Mile and musing as to whether their caliber has changed. Notably the influx of Asian workers to the area in the 60s and 70s created this stretch of predominantly Pakistani curry houses. With the Mile, often smelling more of shisha smoke than tandoor spices, and with a huge variety of jewelry and desert shops, one could be forgiven for thinking that the heritage of the 70’s had been lost. Yet through the neon signs, strawberry air and ghastly pictures of food—tasty, cheap meals can still be had.

One spot a cut above the rest is Atlas Shawarma. While its sign advertises ‘Fresh Naan’, it specialises in both traditional Middle Eastern wraps known as shawarma, as well as baking their own naan bread on site. At roughly three metres wide, by five metres deep, it must be one of the smallest food spots along the Wilmslow Road, and while the size of the menu matches the size of the interior (small, very small), the food Atlas cooks, it cooks well.

The naan bread is made using a traditional clay tandoor oven, and cooks in a matter of minutes due to the intense heat of the coals, making them simultaneously crispy and chewy. These are then used to wrap your choice of chicken, lamb, or falafel as the vegetarian option, alongside a range of fresh salads and various sauces.

At first glance, the spits of meat and range of salads may bring back memories of a late-night drunken döner experience. However a closer inspection sees the spits created by skewering marinated chunks of chicken and lamb, as opposed to the pulverized and then reconstituted spits one might find in your run-of-the-mill kebab joint. They even have slices of tomato and lemon neatly resting on top, and while I’m told this isn’t for flavouring but aesthetics, you can’t fault their attention to detail.

My first trip to there was directed by a friend, having both been out to see a band in Salford, our odyssey home had made us peckish. Sat on the bus moving up the Mile, he suddenly turned to me with a hungry excitement, and said, ‘Have you been to Atlas?’. It all happened very quickly, and some of the details are hazy, but the next thing I remember was ordering a chicken shawarma (£3.50). Restraining myself from ordering the ‘large’, purely because I wanted to test the waters, I nonetheless went full steam ahead with all of the salads and the garlic and chilli sauces. It was wonderful. The chicken was flavoursome, the naan warming and partly crispy, and the salad worked beautifully to offset what was a reasonably spicy chilli sauce. After the meal I was also very glad to have stuck to the normal size too, for it was truly filling.

A few days later I returned, my first fix having been so successful. This time, feeling like a slightly less substantial meal, I ordered the falafel wrap (£2), once more asking for all of the salads but this time settling on the garlic sauce and what the owner termed the ‘special sauce’. He told me that it was to go especially with the falafel, but I never quite got its name—all I know is, its green and very tasty. After ordering, I was amazed to see one of the workers take out a tupperware from a fridge and scoop the falafel mixture of chickpeas and herbs into balls before placing them into a fryer. In just minutes my wrap was made, the naan once more being made from scratch, and the flavours, portion size and price, made it another hugely successful meal from Atlas.

I have since returned a number of times, it quickly becoming my go-to on the move eat, more often than not choosing the falafel, as well as buying naan bread (4 for £1) on its own to accompany curries I’ve cooked.

September has come, long live the shawarma.