Review: German Doner Kebab in Winchester

German Doner Kebab puts itself in a prime high-street spot, in between Rick Stein, a fine dining fish restaurant, and F45, the latest gym to join Winchester’s sporting scene.

German Doner Kebab, better known as GDK, is a chain establishment, with kebab houses worldwide.

The first thing you notice when you enter GDK is the general cleanliness of the establishment. The shiny windows come as no surprise with most branches of this chain boasting a 5-star food hygiene rating, nationwide. 

There were all types of deals displayed across the screen behind the till, including vegetarian options.

I opted for the ‘Boss Box’ – a £12.99 deal which included a main with two sides (from your choice of the selection they had on offer) and a drink. For less than £13 this seemed like a decently priced deal, especially if the food was actually good. I also tried the ‘Doner Box’, which included a doner meat of your choice, with chips and salad, which was a coeliac-friendly option, and at £6.99, it also wasn’t a bad price. 

When ordering, I was given the option of takeaway or eat in, having chosen to sit at the window-seat booth, I paid at the counter and waited no longer than five minutes for my food to arrive. Wooden cutlery was provided and a couple of serviettes too, which wasn’t something I was used to in a kebab house.

READ MORE: German Doner Kebab is open in Winchester

The chicken doner wrap from the Boss Box deal was a good size. It was stuffed with lots of salad, and a decent amount of meat. It wasn’t too chewy or dry but seemed the perfect amount of moist that you would want doner meat to be. The wrap itself was a little on the tough side, but it actually complimented the soft inside quite well.

The chilli cheese bites that came as one of the two sides along with some nice warm, crispy chips were much tastier than similar fast-food cheese bites I’ve had before. It was a nice crispy batter on the outside, almost like what you’d expect from a chippy, with hot soft cheese inside. As someone a bit adverse to spice, I was happy that it was just a little chilli kick. These had to be the highlight of my meal.

The doner box had chips, salad and the mixed doner meat layered on top of each other, rather than all mixed in, which went down a bit better than a big mixture of food. What really made the doner box good, was the three sauces that they provided. They were nice and thick, and it was good to get a bit of a variation of flavour with the meal. I’d never been to a kebab shop before and been offered three pots of sauce, as part of the deal.

So, overall, GDK was undoubtedly the poshest kebab shop I’d been to. It strayed pretty far from the ones I’d been to before, with only similarity really being the actual meat itself, which seemed far better cooked here than elsewhere.

If you’re looking for a slightly classier version of doner meat, then this is easily the best kebab shop in Winchester.