The Athenian Cafe

I have been going to the Athenian for many years. I’m not very adventurous, as I almost always get the gyro, which is great. I get it as the special with fries and a drink, or off the menu with a side salad. The gyro and salad are great — very fresh and tasty. I’m not a big fan of the fries, as they are the coated ones, which I don’t really like.

Great food and great service. We took a friend there for the first time and she loved it.

Love it. Fresh, authentic delicious. Everything I’ve tried is good. Greek salad is my go to.

Friendly and fast service. The food was authentic and fresh. Absolutely delicious! Portions are big and prices are reasonably fair. It was a little tricky to find at first because the sign is small. We will definitely come again!

Lamb gyro! Meat is incredibly flavorful! Bread is perfectly warm and soft but chewy and toasted! Mmmmmmm… so good I got one there and almost had to get one to go… great portions and good fries… fast friendly service! What more can u ask… this is my first Unilocal review. I downloaded the app just so i could leave them a nice review. I was very impressed!

Great lunch! My wife and I went for lunch last week and the food was great as was the service!

Stopped here on a road trip. I like trying a local place instead of going for chains. We had the gyros, which was pretty standard, and the hummus appetizer. There was nothing exciting about our meals. The hummus came in a generous portion with only four pita bread triangles, but that wasn’t really the problem. The hummus just wasn’t addictive and it’s supposed to be addictive! I like my hummus with more olive oil flavor. Service was friendly though, food came out quickly enough. Just not excellent enough that we have to go back if we ever drive through again.

The best Gyros anywhere I have been! Excellent service.

We were looking for a casual, kid friendly place to eat while traveling back to the DC metro area from Western NY. After consulting Unilocal reviews for restaurants in Altoona, we settled on this place.
Unilocal got it right!
We walked in with three kids (15,5 and infant) and it was underwhelmed by the décor. It struck me as a take-​out joint, but there were a lot of tables. Not a lot of people, but we had a seat. Very friendly waitress helped us, and rather quickly, the place filled up and was quite busy. Our service was not impacted at all!
Our food came quickly– wrap for my husband, spanikopita for the teen, cheeseburger for the 5 year old, and gyro for me. All was outstanding! Authentic Greek food — delicious!
Both kids asked to come back on our next trip through the area. That’s a great sign there.
The ONLY reason I did not give them five stars was because there was no kids menu. Even if they just offered smaller portions of existing menu items for kids, that would have been helpful. My 5 year old selected the cheeseburger and it was huge!

I tried the felafel pita, spanokopita, and baklava and all were delicious! The felafel pita was stuff with giant size falefels, sauteed onions, and peppers. The tzatziki sauce went wonderfully with the pita.

Don’t be discouraged by the appearance, the food is outstanding. Husband and I tried the gyros, pita, dolmades, and spanokopita – all were outstanding. After gorging on the tasty entrees, we took two orders of baklava to go. So about 8 hours after lunch, we realized that they might have the best baklava in the area. It was truly outstanding. Thick slices with delicious honey and nuts, not entirely dominated by the pastry (I am so tired of baklava that is more pastry than everything else combined). So skip the chains and stop in to the Athenian Café, it is so good!

The Athenian Café is fantastic — we had a group of 20 for a wine dinner one night, which also happened to be the night of the Kentucky Derby. They accommodated by making mint julips for us and we watched, sang and hooted and hollered as the Derby took place. The staff cooked everything to perfection and delivered the meal timely, after our tasting was done.
I like going back there for dinner. Best in Altoona area by far.

Great hidden little Greek joint in Altoona. The Gyro’s are a really decent size, and packed with flavor! You can get a platter that comes with fries, and a Greek salad for about 9 bucks… and trust me it’s well worth the money. They also serve some traditional American meals such as Steak Sandwiches, Chicken Fingers and Breakfast that’s served all day for those in your party who may not like Greek fare. Overall a great place to grab some Greek food!

Really good Greek food in a small café you might miss if you’re not paying attention. Try the lamb gyro. It has tender, perfectly seasoned and cooked lamb with all the fixings. Wonderful service! Best little greek café in Altoona.

Great restaurant! I am a big fan of the spanikopita, it is flaky and filled with spinach and feta cheese. The pita is fresh and the tzatziki sauce is flavored just right. The baklava is without a doubt the best in town! I have gotten it at The Pheonician and there is just no comparing. You can tell it is authentic and homemade at The Athenian Café. Great place for a quick lunch or dinner.

This is the absolute best restaurant I have ever eaten at in Altoona! Everything that you get from here is literally delicious, and it will never disappoint you. As far as seasoning goes, nothing is underseasoned, for everything tastes delectable. My personal favorite is the steak kabob… it doesn’t get much better than that! If you ever have the chance to go here, make sure you do!

Great place. My son LOVES gyro meat. Love it. He joked about ordering 15 side orders of just gyro meat, and really I probably would have let him.
Sides of gyro meat here are a more-​than-​reasonable $ 2.50 and were a nice size plate of the classically seasoned beef and lamb mixture. The meat is really nicely browned, and crisped on the outside. But as it turned out the boy couldn’t even finish one plate of the stuff.
The gyro sandwiches are delicious. The thick pita is well toasted, there is ample meat, the tomato (at the end of July) was delicious, and I love the way the fat and the sauce collect in the folded end of the paper wrapper, making those last couple of bites an even more decadent experience.
Based on some of the other reviews, I tried sides of tzatziki sauce and french fries. But while the sauce worked in the gyro, I wasn’t crazy about it on the battered fries. Too much dill. But that’s a personal preference.
This place was almost empty on a weeknight for dinner. But the service was warm, the food was good, and what we ordered was a decent value. It sure as heck fire beats the chains that seem to rule the main drag of Altoona nearby.
Did I just say heck fire? I’ve been in the country too long.

Love the gyros here! The other food is OK – nothing special, but we usually only ever go here for the gyros. They are super fast, too, and will have your order ready within 10 – 15 minutes of calling if you are ordering out.

My fiancé and I recently discovered Athenian Café, and now I can’t pass through Altoona without stopping here! I love the gyro– and the fries… My aunt is a huge fan of the falafel. When we visit her, we dare not show up without some takeout falafel! My only complaint is how long it takes for takeout. Still, I can’t stay away– it’s worth the wait!

This might seem like a little hole in the wall diner in a kind of odd, out of the way location, but trust me, it is by far the absolute best Greek food you will find anywhere. Go in around lunchtime one day and you’ll see why they don’t need to be in a super visible location, or why they don’t need expensive advertising campaigns. The restaurant will be packed and the phone will be ringing off the hook with take-​out orders. The owners are so nice and really care about their customers. They seem to truly love sharing their authentic Greek food with their customers and take pride in providing a quality product. If you love Greek food you’ll love the Athenian Café. If you don’t think you like Greek food because you’ve had it elsewhere, give the Athenian Café a try, I guarantee you’ll notice a difference!