While this new Lynnwood restaurant is located in a spot which hadn’t had that much business luck in the recent past, Gyro Delight is packed all the time and is sure to be successful with its hearty portions and reasonable prices.
Owner/manager Nate Ver Burg started the Greek fast food restaurant just a few months ago with some Greek friends of his — friends who’ve had over 20 years experience with Greek restaurants in Chicago.
One of those friends is one of his chefs, Athanasios Nicolakakis, who has over 28 years experience cooking Greek food.
Ver Burg said with his Greek connections, Chicago style Greek food concept and low prices he is sure to have a winning restaurant in Lynnwood.
By the looks of the constantly full parking lot in front of his store, he’s right.
Ver Burg said the Chicago style gyro is different than the average because the average gyro has a little meat on it and a lot of lettuce and vegetables where his Chicago style has loads of meat (lamb or chicken) with no lettuce. (Lettuce can be added at no cost, however.)
“We want to be as authentic Greek as we can,” he said and that is why they offer a lot more than a gyro.
Along with the hearty, tasty gyros (from $3.75 to $4,25 depending on meat), gyro plates and souvlakis, Gyro Delight offers some very authentic dishes, like mousaka ($7.95), pastichio ($7.75) and spanakopita ($6.75). Not to mention other items such as Baklava, Galaktoboureko (a custard/ Fillo pastry dessert — I tried this and it was yummy!) dolmades and more.
Along with my favorite — the chicken gyro — chicken which comes off the “cone” like the traditional lamb instead of chunks of chicken, I also tried the falafal salad (meatless balls made from garbanzo beans tossed in a green Greek salad) ($5.75), the spanakopita and the lemon, rice, chicken soup — “avgolemono cup.”
I loved the gyro and had one of my friends, Phil Pons, who is more into a variety of Greek foods than I, also eat with me.
He thought the soup was good. “It’s real nice — light,” Pons said.
He also liked the falafal. “It was good. It wasn’t too greasy, very light and good.”
Pons said often times falafal can be too greasy and doughy but this wasn’t. Pons thought, however, the spanakopita needed more feta cheese.
What Pons said he liked most were the portion sizes and the cost.
“That’s a smokin’ deal,” he said.
Not only is the food tasty and reasonably priced, the customer service there is out of the ordinary friendly, helpful.
Ver Burg said it’s because he demands a level of respect for the customers from his employees.
“I want it to be a great experience for the customer — too many times you’ll get an employee with a bad attitude and it will ruin it for the restaurant,” he said. “I want the customer to come back.”
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