Gyro Greek Diner

I stumbled upon this little nugget while wandering down Broadway. Thanks to some supportive Unilocal reviews, I decided to check it out. Prognosis: Although I really see a lot of potential here, I can’t see myself going out of my way to go back to this restaurant. This really pains me because the restaurant is so cute and home-​grown but a girl’s gotta honor her Unilocaler oath of honesty, so here it goes:
I was greeted by a friendly employee who spoke with a fresh-​off the boat Grecian accents (always a good sign) and the restaurant was comfortable without a lot of fluff. They have outdoor seating and the atmosphere makes you feel like you’ve stepped away from Cincinnati. They seem to regularly have lunch specials — check the board behind the counter. Unfortunately, they were sold out of the falafel, so I just got a veggie gyro. After waiting in line to place my order and waiting for it to be made, I was eager to nosh. Sadly, I didn’t think the ingredients were very fresh or high quality and it just didn’t fill me up. I would definitely recommend buying more than one gyro if you’re calling it lunch, but mostly, I would recommend finding another place to eat!
I would really love to see this restaurant excel, but I’m afraid poor location and unimpressive food spells doom and gloom for these guys.

I love this place! And it’s like two minutes away from my day job! The prices are incredibly reasonable, the service is awesome and they always have specials! Also, their fries are SO good — I don’t know what they put in them but I would come here just for the fries alone! Love love love getting lunch from here!

Gyro Greek Diner can’t figure out what it’s name is. It was Al-​Amir, then it was Mediterranean Café and now they’re going with Gyro Greek.
I don’t care what they call it, I’ve just never been that impressed.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not awful, it’s just not amazing either. Tucked away on Broadway next to where the old Blue Wisp used to be, this tiny store has a banner that reads «Now Open» … a banner which has been flying for at least six months. It’s because with the dark windows and the fact that they keep very odd hours (lunch only), it does seem like this place is always closed.
Inside, it’s bigger than it looks. There are some plastic booths and tables and a counter where you order. A man will tell you today’s special is an entrée with drink and a fries for $ 6.50. That’s the same special it’s always been every time I walk in, but it’s good nonetheless.
The food here is … meh. It’s ok. Not the worst Gyro of Falafel sandwich I’ve ever had but not the best either. Straight down the middle. The fries feel like they came straight out of a bag too, which kind of sucks.
It also isn’t fast. It always takes a while for me to get my food, which is fine when I’m sitting but I’m always taking to go from this place and that kind of stinks. Ah well. I knew what I was getting into when I walked into … what the hell is this place called again?

3.5 with room for improvement on service… 3 stars for now (subject to change later).
History Lesson: This place is called Gyros Greek Diner. The prior owner moved Al-​Amir to Vine Street at 4^th/​Vine and the new owner is a friend of Al-Amir’s.
Totally agree with Alex on service: it is really slow and painfully annoying at times. I’ve ordered here multiple times and every time it’s been a roller coaster… my recommendation is to come 10 – 15 minutes after you’d expect your order to be done and maybe it is ready by then, it’s unfortunately that suspect.
It hurts me to write this about a place I want to succeed and has very good Mediterranean food but tough dookie. Service needs improvement or else this place will be renamed to «For Lease» (which are the 4-​to-​1 odds on favorite).
Final Thought: Good luck with the service; the food is very solid. The real Al-​Amir is the better deal, go there if you want some decent service.