Covo Gyro Market

Love the concept but the food was a touch short.
Simple menu was fast & casual but so were the flavors. \
Décor was a definite plus.

— the meat was generally pretty dry on all variations of gyro
— the pricing was a touch steep for the quality/​environment
— when I asked what I should get/what’s the best on the menu, I was told «I dunno. What you want?»
–the «fixins» were pretty good
— the décor was nice (it is a lot like a chipotle, not that that’s a problem)
— but that doesn’t make up for, again, the severely dry and somewhat flavorless meat

My sister took me to this restaurant after browsing the Renegade Craft Fair. She described it to me saying it was like a Chipotle that made gyros and she was right.
They have Lamb/​beef, chicken and pork spits slow roasting in the background of the prep stations which made me drool. The setup is pretty much like a chipotle. They take your order at the front while heating your flatbread, then you walk along as they add meat and filling as you let them know what you want.
I ordered the Lamb/​beef gyro and my sister ordered the lamb/​beef mini. The meat was so good. It wasn’t too fatty where you didn’t have enough meat but it was fatty enough so you had the nice flavor. The veggies were crisp and the sauce was amazing, I don’t see why my sister only ordered a mini.
I also ordered some of their regular fries (although next time I want to try their sweet potato fries or greek fries). It didn’t take long to make them, I think they only took a bit longer because there was someone in front of me who also ordered fries. The fries are big enough to share and even then we had a hard time finishing them up.
I will definitely come here again.

Wow, what a terrible surprise. After checking out Timeout Chicago’s 2013 top restaurant list, I decided to order from this place for lunch. I dont care about service when it comes to delivery but I must mention that we waited for 2+ hours for the food because they couldn’t reach the delivery guy (???) and then didnt comp any of our food… anyways.
This is what i would’ve expected Mcdonalds to produce if I asked for a gyro. The chicken had those dark striations and rubbery texture you find at fast food joints. Everything was DRY and beyond salty. What a mistake to add capers! Lamb was not thin sliced, it was chewy and thick, eww. spicy feta dip was not spicy and the fava bean purée tasted like nothing — literally I have no way to describe this. Food was bad. Shouldve just ordered from Georges on Damen and dealt with the calorie guilt!
Do not make the same mistake here! Try Falafel Grill or Baylon — or even Roti for crying out loud!

Love it! Think of this as the Chipotle-​version of gyros. My boyfriend and I were just looking for a snack while shopping around Bucktown today and split the lamb mini with a side of greek fries and were plenty full! I can imagine how stuffed we would have been if we each had our own full-​sized gyros and fries.
Great flavor, fresh, delicious meat, and a beautiful dining area to top it all off (those lights hanging above the bar tables are amazing). Recommend!

I guess it’s nice the meat is organic. We all know there are better gyros in Chicago. The menu is confusing. They need a list of the sauces on the menu.
Still, I will probably be back, because they have capers as a topping choice, and my salad was pretty good.

Typical yuppie neighborhood trapping.
Take greasy spoon-​fast food items, make them gourmet/​healthy/​Eco-​friendly.
Have an «streamlined» ordering system.
Charge and arm-​and-​a-​leg.
Have a overly-​trendy interior.
Decided to try the chicken gyro. Hard to screw up chicken, no?
Came out dry as a desert.
The spicy cheese and pita chip side was good, but it was probably Kraft pimento spread with Stacy’s pita chips.
The cashier was incredibly strange, and tried to start profanity-​laced banter with me. Sorry, bro. I just want a gyro. I’m not as bada** as you.
If you want good gyros, go to a place that:
isn’t in a yuppie neighborhood, doesn’t have ridiculous prices, and looks probably far less trendy than Covo.

D R O O L
i can’t wait to come back here. i ordered the lamb/​cow on gluten-​free pita with the tradish toppings — tomato, onion, tzatziki sauce. and feta. because i love feta hard. i felt like i was at chipotle — pick yo’ meat, yo’ toppings, yo’ sauce, yo’ sides, yo’ drank. but fatter and mediterranean.
my friend ordered the checkin with the regular pita filled with gluten. she said it was great, but the checkin was kinda dry. maybe you can order the bird with less burnt and more juiciness?
we asked the dude behind the counter, who was supes nice, how big the fries were, and he said, big enough to split. he so nicely plated the one serving onto our two plates. he deserves 5 gold stars.
also, when you check in, it’s 20% off your order. at least for now. so go do it.

Showed up for a late lunch on a Saturday, happy to try a new place, and really happy to see the place busy but not overflowing. Only 4 people in line, and about the same behind the counter. Seemed like a good ratio, except that it took pretty much forever to get through the line. It also didn’t make sense given that the operation is set up really well to get through customers quickly, maybe they were just having a bad day on the speed front.
After wading my way through the short line, ended up with a lamb/​beef gyro and one of their «dips», the spicy feta; I was also able to try the Greek fries off of a friend’s platter. The food really didn’t stand out. The gyro (and meat) was extra greasy, and though the «covo sauce» was good, it didn’t sop up any of it. Everything seemed to be oversalted, even the spicy feta. I left feeling queasy and very thirsty. The fries were fine, nothing special though relative to the rest were the start of the show. I’d say that the grease and the salt would be great for lunch after a late night — except that was the state I was in, and it just made me feel worse, not better!
Meal ended up being pretty expensive as well, none of the sandwiches come with sides or drinks, so it quickly gets to $ 12 – 15 for a meal. I would potentially be willing to pay that much for a god meal — this definitely wasn’t that; price dropped this place to a single star.
There are tons of places to get a good gyro in Chicago, this one won’t be on my list again.

There’s a new trend in the restaurant industry. Taking our favorite comfort foods and turning it into fancy, gourmet dining. Both Kuma’s and Hot Doug’s have been quite successful at it. But a warning to the wise. If you’re going to screw with our traditional fast food items, it had better be good. Damn good! As much as I love my Gyro from the local Hot Dog stand, Covo Gyro Market has taken this Greek, comfort food staple to a new level of deliciousness.
The décor reminds me of a fancy, corporate cafeteria. The look is very clean and minimalistic. There’s no wait staff, you just go up to the counter, order your grub and have a seat. The food was shockingly good. The ingredients were fresh and unique. My selection of the Beef/​Lamb Gyro was just what the doctor ordered. The ingredient options include, cheese, olives and japeleno’s and other goodies. The meat had a smoky, steak taste that I really loved and everything tasted freshly made. I loved every morsel I devoured.
Here’s the bottom line: If you’re looking for a deliciously new take on the Gyro. Head on down to Covo Gyro Market. You’ll be glad you did.

I liked this place! It is exactly like a Chipotle for gyros, great comparison. there are only like 3 or 4 things on the menu. I got the chicken gyro and pasta salad of some sort.
The design is great, very cool place. It seems clean and I like that a lof of things are local and organic. My hubby got the sweet potato fries with the marshmellow dip or something, they were awesome. We both really liked our food. It was super fast, casual, but still nicer and seemed healthier than going to a fast food place.
Gyros are ‘street food’ and this isn’t street food pricing, however, that is the world we live in today. You can go down the street to the stand on the corner if you want a $ 3 gyro. These are definitely higher quality. Similar to Antique Taco. I’m a fan!

I thought this place was very tasty! I loved the décor with the wood and the lights hanging, super trendy, and the guy behind the counter was nice and chatted us up throughout our order. The concept is like Chipotle except Greek. You choose your style then your meat and then you can add your toppings. I had the Chicken Gyro and it was very flavorful and all my toppings were fresh. I especially like their Tzatziki sauce. My boyfriend had the Lamb/​Beef combo (he had been here before), and Im assuming enjoyed it since it was gone in about 5 minutes ;) We also split the sweet potatoes fries with the marshmallow dipping sauce, they were good, but I wouldnt say the best sweet potato fries I’ve had. The sauce was probably the most interesting sauce I’ve had, it definitely grew on me.
I dont get the poor reviews as I thought the food was very tasty, fresh and my meat was not dry at all. Maybe they have worked out their kinks? I will definitely be returning.

I hate giving 2 stars to a new place in the neighborhood that I’d like to see do well. However, after going here to redeem my groupon, I didn’t think I could justify a higher rating.
First of all, ordering took forever. Upwards of 10 minutes to place my order and get my tray of food– not quite the well oiled machine operation one would expect of a fast food type place. They have college kids working there that couldn’t care less about the business or customer service. They were out of pitas, so they had to run to the back to grab a plastic bag full of them– which just screams freshness. Next, I ordered the lamb /​beef meat for my gyro. Nevermind that it took so long between the time I told the guy what I wanted and the time that he actually went to shave the meat from the skewer that he forgot what I ordered.
They shave the meat into a shovel looking tray, and there is no consistency whatsoever into how much meat they give you. My husband and I received barely enough meat to cover the bottom of the pita. We thought for a second they thought we ordered the mini. The girl behind us got a heaping pile of meat on her pita– if it’s a small portion that’s one thing but be consistent about it at least.
I did like that you could pick your toppings, however they were scraping the bottoms of the containers to give us just a crumble of cheese. When they put the tzatziki on my husbands gyro, they drowned his entire plate in it. Mine barely got any– I couldn’t even taste it.
We each got a side– the couscous and the quinoa. Both were bland. It’s called salt– anyone that has ever cooked a meal should know of its existence. I shouldn’t have to add salt to anything when I dine out.
The sad thing is, the gyro actually was pretty decent. I didn’t have any complaints about it other than the lack of sauce. However, for 2 gyros, 2 sides and a water it would have cost us $ 25 if we didn’t have the groupon. Definitely steep for what it is, and considering we were both not stuffed when we left.

The Gyros were excellent (lamb and beef) and I loved choosing the toppings. The greek fries were delicious, but I wish that the chickpea and couscous salad had more flavor — it was SO bland, I took one bite and that was it.
I love that they’re in bed with Goose Island too — I’m on a huge GreenLine kick, so it was nice having it with my gyros!
The service was super duper friendly, I will totally be going back. Just remember that gyros are messy, so I don’t recommend it for a first date place!

I was very excited to try Covo and sadly disappointed when I actually tasted the product. The meat itself was not very tasty at all and neither was the dressing so what was there left??? The fries. They were good, but this is a Gyro place.
It’s a really cute restaurant too. too bad the food itself doesn’t live up to the hype.

Hmm, I’m not sure if I visited a different restaurant or if they’ve improved, but my gyro was a) folded and b) made by super nice, knowledgeable staff.
I will say that the spot is a bit overpriced, we walked away for 2 at almost $ 30…which I think is a bit much. I like their ‘draft wine’ as an option, but overall, I think the food was pretty good, at exceptional prices. I also agree with some other reviewers that the lamb shouldn’t be an upcharge (though, I will admit, I got a large portion size of it).
The staff when I was there was friendly and knowledgeable, so I can’t knock them for being open about a week if some others didn’t have a perfect visit.
The décor is cute and relaxing. I didn’t see an issue with it being «upscale Chipotle looking» — if you’re looking for a quick bite, there’s nothing wrong with some cute décor.
So, aside from the pricing, I’d say that it’s ok, nothing to seek out, but a good spot for a relatively quick option in the area.

If only a review of 2.5 stars were possible.
My friend and I wandered in here after a Bollygroove Cardio class, absolutely starving. The service and menu options were your standard up-​scaled fast food fare. In look and feel this place is almost identical to a Chipotle.
I had the chicken gyro, which was fairly tasty but a little too salty and drowning in sauce. I also ate some of their «greeked» fries — skin-​on fries with lemon, herbs, and feta, which were tastier on the whole than the gyro.
My meal with water was $ 12.50, way too much for the amount/​quality I got.
My friend got their greek yogurt with strawberries and blueberries. Not too bad, but nothing special. Their greek yogurt wasn’t even as thick as the kind you can buy in the grocery store (Fage) and didn’t seem properly chilled, especially since it was stored in a big vat on the toppings assembly line, next to the gyro fixings.

What a dissapointment!
Its expensive, the portions are small, and it doesn’t taste as good as your standard gyro. Um, am I missing something? You rent out a large space on Milwaukee Ave, and you sell beer, so you think you can then rip off customers by providing average tasting expensive food. No thanks, i’ll head to the Athenian Room or go to Greek town. I give Covo 6 months tops before they shutter their doors.
Don’t waste your money. There are so many better food options in the neighborhood.

I’ve been waiting for this place to open. so here it is. And it was not what I expected. It is an upscale place to get gyros. Not Chicago style gyros, but almost like Subway. Although the toppings are better than Subway, it’s all fresh stuff, from Greek Olives, feta, onions, green and red diced peppers, basil/​parsley, tomatoes, cucumbers and a few other things I am forgetting.
The Tzatzki Sauce if you want to call it that came out of a mustard type dispenser, and had no flavor. The beef and lamb was also tasteless, but the fresh toppings made it edible. The Pita served more as a plate for the meat and toppings.
I had the Greek fries, greasy, mushy and lukewarm. Very little flavor.
For the Greek Fries there was an upgrade in the price, to have a lamb and beef gyro there was also an upgrade in price, my lunch was just over 13.50 .no drink for me. No Coke, Pepsi here. They do serve Goose Island Beer and wine.
Nice seating inside, with a few odd tables set up outdoors. The music in Covo was too loud for a lunch crowd, and was a pretty bad mix of adult contemporary type music. This is a hip neighborhood, and that music was rank. I’ll try it again in a few months.

Just went here for the first time the other day and I’ll start with the bad parts…
1. The system is weird. At first glance it’s like a Chipotle but for Greek food. But here, they write your order on a piece of paper, build the thing, then at the end of the line, they take it off the paper and move it to a plate or to-​go container. Didn’t make sense and made the line slow. Annnnd if you get it to go, be prepared for it to be all over the place by the time you get home.
2. How the heck do you eat the gyro? THe pita bread is grilled flat and stuff is piled on it, you can’t roll it, it’ll break. I ended up using a plastic knife (failed miserably) so it was just overall really messy.
The good parts?
1. The food was pretty good. Everything was fresh, pretty healthy and for a fast-​food-​ish kind of place, it wasn’t bad, especially if you like veggies (they have lots). I got the beef/​lamb combo but I think I want to try the chicken next time.
2. The atmosphere was really cool. The lighting, the seats, everything. Liked it.