I’ll be honest, a takeaway in a Post Office with an outside seating area overlooking a busy Chorlton road isn’t the first place I'd think of to stop by for a lunchtime meal.
But having seen regular queues of construction workers and office staff packing out the entrance on multiple walks past the Post Box Shawarma on Wilbraham Road, I knew there must be something special attracting the crowds.
Having first opened three years ago, the café has garnered a bit of a reputation locally. Situated within the same building but next door to the Chorlton Post Office, the unit was previously occupied by the Post Box Café until 2019.
So, whilst technically not a kebab shop in a Post Office, it is essentially as close to that as you can probably get. The venue itself is unpretentious and, besides its quirky counterpart, is somewhat undistinguishable from other kebab takeaways.
Heading into the store on a sunny weekday lunchtime, there are a couple of builders in line in front of me already waiting for their order. Taking the time to peruse the menu, I see it is made up of pizzas, burgers and, of course, plenty of kebabs - ranging from chicken and lamb varieties.
When the server sees me in line and asks me what I want to order, I’m left a little stumped as to what to go for and instead ask what the most popular option is. He tells me with assurance that the Lamb Shawarma Samoon is the customers' favourite, so I go for that.
Once I’ve paid up (for a grand total of £7.70 with a can of Tango Apple), I try to tell the server what sort of salad I want on my kebab before he ushers me to sit down as it is not yet ready. That’s my rookie mistake number one.
With a couple of tables outside and the sun glaring down on me, I see it as an opportunity to catch some rays - even if it does feel a bit random and out of place to be sat down at a table in the middle of the street as multiple people yards away from me continue to pop in and out of the Post Office with parcels and letters.
When my kebab is ready, I am asked what sauce and salad I want on it. Keeping safely away from anything spicy, I opt for garlic mayonnaise with lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber and red cabbage (hold the onions, hold the chillis, thanks).
With a very decent offering of each piled onto my kebab, it’s a loaded sandwich that looks impossible to eat without it all falling apart - and that’s exactly what it was.
Served on Samoon, a type of Iraqi flatbread, the bread is crispy yet pillowy inside. Made with wholegrain and sesame seeds, it was warm, comforting and delightful. I’m reliably told they are made fresh onsite in their stone oven each morning too.
The meat was also brilliant. Served in thin strips, it was tender, flavoursome with a nice array of spices and a smoky grilled after-taste to it. It was a little greasy, but not enough to be a complaint.
Overall, I was surprisingly impressed with the meal on offer. It filled me up with a nice array of flavours and tastes. Mentioning my lunchtime visit to my colleague, she said Post Office cafes are actually having a bit of a thing nationally right now.
A recent article by Hyphen Online highlighted how a number of Post Offices are transforming their spaces to expand on their offerings in order to remain an important part of the high street today. Alongside shining a spotlight on venues in London, the feature also hailed the Chorlton takeaway as one of the ‘best places to eat’ in the area.
With Post Offices in decline across the country - nearly half of all branches fail to make a profit today - the idea of having a café, a takeaway or any sort of expansion on their offering seems to make financial sense.
And, thankfully, the Chorlton Post Office is now not only a place where you can buy stamps or collect parcels, but also somewhere that serves a very impressive and freshly-made lamb shawarma. Who’d have thought it?
The Post Box Shawarma is on 543 Wilbraham Road, Chorlton, M21 9PP.
