Mediterranean Bowl Guide: Shawarma, Falafel & Sides
A Mediterranean bowl brings your choice of protein together with fresh salads, meze, sides, and sauces, so every forkful has a slightly different mix of flavor and texture. Chicken shawarma and falafel are two classic choices. At Grill Point, a glatt-kosher NYC Mediterranean restaurant with locations on the Upper East Side and in Queens, you can customize your bowl with seven choices from the meze or hot food section.
What Is a Mediterranean Bowl?
A Mediterranean bowl is a customizable meal that combines a main protein with vegetables, salads, spreads, and cooked sides. Unlike a typical grain bowl, it doesn’t have to begin with rice or another grain. The compositions of a Mediterranean bowl depend on the restaurant and, importantly, what you actually feel like eating.
The Base: Rice, Laffa or Pita
Rice is a popular addition to a rice bowl, but it isn’t a mandatory base at Grill Point. When you build your bowl, you choose seven different options from the available meze or hot-food section, which means rice can be one component rather than the foundation of every order.
Laffa and pita are also part of Grill Point’s menu, but they’re separate serving formats rather than the base of its bowls. If you want your shawarma or falafel wrapped in bread, both are available as alternatives to ordering a bowl.
What Goes in a Mediterranean Bowl
Wondering how to build a Mediterranean bowl? Start with the protein you want, then use the remaining choices to create contrast.
At Grill Point, that might mean hot rice or grilled vegetables alongside hummus, tahini, Israeli salad, tabbouleh, pickles, or other available salads and meze. The exact selection varies between the Upper East Side and Queens, so your bowl doesn’t need to look the same every time.
Best Proteins for a Bowl
The protein sets the direction of the bowl. Warm, seasoned shawarma creates a completely different meal from crisp falafel, while kebabs and grilled chicken open up even more combinations.
Chicken Shawarma
A chicken shawarma bowl is built around seasoned chicken cooked shawarma-style and paired with your choice of fresh and cooked accompaniments.
At Grill Point’s Upper East Side location, Chicken Shawarma is specifically listed as a bowl option. Pairing it with fresh salad, hummus, tahini, vegetables, or rice lets you balance the rich, savory meat with cooler and brighter components.
The Queens menu differs slightly, where Baby Chicken Shawarma appears among the entrée and bowl choices, so it’s worth checking the menu for your location before deciding what to order.
Falafel
A falafel bowl swaps shawarma for crisp chickpea-based falafel, making it an easy choice for anyone looking for a vegetarian bowl.
Falafel works especially well with creamy hummus and tahini, chopped salads, pickles, and warm vegetables because you get plenty of contrast between the crisp exterior of the falafel and the softer meze around it. Falafel is available as a bowl option at both Grill Point locations.
Other Protein Options (Ground Beef, Lamb, Grilled Chicken)
Chicken shawarma and falafel aren’t your only routes to a hearty protein bowl.
Depending on the location, Grill Point also offers choices including grilled chicken, lamb, and turkey shawarma; beef and lamb shish kebabs; chicken kebabs; and kufta or kofta. Kufta combines ground lamb and beef, rather than simply being a plain ground beef option. The exact bowl lineup differs between Queens and the Upper East Side.
Shawarma Bowl vs Falafel Bowl
Choosing between a shawarma bowl and a falafel bowl mostly comes down to the kind of flavor and texture you’re craving.
Flavor Differences
Shawarma gives the bowl warm, deeply seasoned slices of meat with the richness of slow cooking on the shawarma spit. Falafel brings a crisp exterior and a softer chickpea center, giving the bowl a lighter, more vegetable-forward character.
Both work beautifully with many of the same sides, salads and meze, which is why the choice of protein can completely change the meal without forcing you to abandon your favorite accompaniments.
Which to Choose (and When)
A shawarma bowl hits the spot when you’re in the mood for a versatile meal; whether you’re after a substantial meat-based dish with plenty of flavor, or a falafel bowl when you want something meat-free and crisp falafel texture.
The best choice is the one you’re actually hungry for.
Sides, Salads & Sauces to Add
This is where the bowl really becomes your own. Grill Point’s format lets you choose seven different items from the meze or hot-food section, so the supporting cast gets far more interesting than a lonely scoop of lettuce beside your protein.
Salads: Israeli Salad, Tabbouleh, Fattoush
Fresh Israeli salad brings crispy vegetable goodness to a bowl, and tabbouleh adds herbs and a different texture.
Fattoush is common in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern dining, but it is not currently listed on the Grill Point menus we checked, so that we wouldn’t describe it as a Grill Point bowl option.
Meze: Hummus, Tahini, Pickled Vegetables
No Mediterranean food is complete without familiar favorite flavors from the likes of Mediterranean sides. Smooth hummus, creamy tahini, and tangy pickled vegetables can soften, sharpen, or freshen each bite.
Grill Point’s current menu includes hummus, tahini, pickles, and a wider selection of salads and spreads, with the exact range depending on location. The Upper East Side menu also includes matbucha, sumac onions, babaganoush and several vegetable salads.
Sauces: Harissa, Garlic Sauce, Tahini
Harissa, garlic sauce and tahini are all familiar flavors in Mediterranean dining, but they shouldn’t automatically be presented as Grill Point offerings. Tahini is clearly listed on Grill Point’s menu, while the Queens Farmers Salad section offers tahini and garlic mayo as dressing choices. Harissa and a specifically named garlic sauce aren’t currently listed on the main menus, so check the current selection rather than assuming they’re available.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Is in a Mediterranean Bowl?
A Mediterranean bowl usually combines a protein, such as shawarma or falafel, with vegetables, salads, meze, hot sides, and sauces or spreads. Ingredients vary, so it doesn’t have to be a grain bowl or automatically start with rice.
Is a Chicken Shawarma Bowl Healthy?
A chicken shawarma bowl can include chicken alongside plenty of vegetables, salads, and plant-based sides, but how it fits into your diet depends on the portion size and what you choose to add. Rather than making blanket nutrition claims, build your bowl around the ingredients that suit your preferences.
What Is the Difference Between Shawarma and Falafel?
Shawarma is a meaty option cooked on a rotating spit and sliced for serving, while falafel is made from chickpeas and provides a plant-based alternative with a crisp exterior and a soft center.
Does Grill Point Serve Mediterranean Bowls?
Yes. Grill Point serves bowls at both its Upper East Side and Queens locations. Customers choose seven different options from the available meze or hot-food section, with protein choices varying by location.
Order a Mediterranean Bowl at Grill Point
If all this talk about shawarma, falafel and hummus has made lunch suddenly feel very far away, it might be time to stop planning the bowl and start eating it.
Browse Grill Point’s Mediterranean bowl options, explore the chicken shawarma bowl and other choices on the Upper East Side menu, or check out the shawarma bowl options available in Queens.
View the full menu, explore the Upper East Side menu, or order from the Queens menu.
As co-owner of Grill Point, Amy Peretz has spent over 10 years managing daily operations and preserving the same shawarma recipes locals have loved for 20+ years.
