Straight Outta Granville (El Jannah)

Drop the name “E J’s” anywhere West of Sydney and you’ll have the people riled up and cluckin’ on about the charcoal chicken. It is the reason people from the Eastern suburbs flocked West, on the weekends before the restaurant started branching to the inner west

El Jannah is an institute that has been kickin’ it apparently since 1998. Although I have only been eating it from Granville since the early 2010s, it has been and, still is, a staple in my repertoire when choosing a last-minute place to eat.

EJ’s is best known for it’s Middle Eastern Charcoal chicken. It is best eaten like a Mezza plate; with Leb bread, a side of chips, tabouli and of course the garlic sauce. The previously complimentary, now optional pickled vegetables are an acquired taste and often seen (for when times of eating-in were a thing) to be left out dry on the plates they came in, untouched.

The charcoal chicken from El Jannah is succulent & tasty. It contains infused notes of lemon, herbs and spices, and the skin is crispy from the charcoal spit. The chicken meat is well seasoned and definitely something I eat clean til’ the bone (cause my mamma raised me right of course)

Now to be honest, whilst the chicken is great, it is not the centre of attention. If El Jannah’s menu items were a catalogue of bona fide classics, then the chicken is Garfunkel, and the garlic sauce is Simon. This sauce is the epitome of crack and why people keep going back to El Jannah, it is why people wait in line at EJ’s, instead of jumping down the road to Hawa’s for the better chicken (Yes, it is better, but like I said, I’m in it for the crack sauce).

When I eat EJ’s, I love dipping every piece served on my plate into the garlic sauce, making mini-pita-pockets with chips and tabouli shoved in. I love sharing this experience with friends. And as I’m seated there, I start watching the EJ’s staff serve the lines of customers, I think about “how many chickens do they go through a day?”, then my inner accountant kicks in and starts to estimate the “Gross revenue within a day”, “What are the overheads?” and I start sharing the thoughts with others on my table to see what they think EJ’s make in a week let alone a year.

Then, the fantasy of opening my own lucrative EJ’s comes crashing to a halt as the local hoons Holden VL does its 5th mainy of South Street, and the standard plate of garlic sauce runs out. Shiieet, I knew I should’ve added the additional large garlic sauce to the order. My garlic sauce soaked hands are too greasy to fumble out and order more but it needs to be done, I’m back in the line, queuing up for what feels like the methadone clinic and I need my quick fix.

Now if you’re at El Jannah’s for anything else than the Charcoal Chicken (or if you’re lazy, the pre-made wrap) then you’re there for the wrong reasons.

Eating at El Jannah’s is always a pleasure and is damn consistent, the food & atmosphere is great.

What should I order? (For 2, ~$50)

• 1 Charcoal Chicken, cut into 1/4s
• Large Garlic Sauce
• Large Chips
• Large Tabouli
• And the standard pickles and leb bread that is combo’d in 99% of the time
• Optional can of Coke is permitted

5/5 pies.

El Jannah can be found at multiple locations throughout the Sydney region of NSW.

Published September 2021