Best Gyros in L.A.

[kevin]

Not to be confused with Shwarma or doner kababs

[echoparkdirt]

Best one I've found is on Sabra on PCH in Redondo. Incredible. Great kebabs too. Fantastic lebanese place.

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Sabra
2515 Artesia Blvd F, Redondo Beach, CA 90278

[Jelly71]

i am big fan of the gyro at George's Patio Cafe in Burbank on Riverside Dr. I go there for lunch 2x a week. it's just a good, solid, well done gyro with fresh greens and a good sauce.

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George's Patio Cafe
4011 W Riverside Dr, Burbank, CA 91505

[ns1]

work down the street, will have to give this a try.

[HerbyN]

I'm a big fan of the gyro sandwich at Elena's Greek and Armenian Cuisine in Glendale (1000 S Glendale Ave). great flavor, relatively inexpensive (just under $5, i think), and a portion size that rivals any place you'll find in southern california.

http://www.elenasgreek.com/

[Melvin Surdin]

Try Daglas on Vanowen in the Reseda area ... excellent Gyros. Their seasoned french fries are also excellent.

[AAQjr]

Here's a question I've been meaning to ask.. Is there really a difference? They are all getting their 'meatsicles' from the same couple of vendors, right? (there was an NYT article about this IIRC). Probably the pita as well. The only difference are the condiments and sauce. Am I wrong? Is anyone actually putting their own meat on the rotisserie?

Don't get me wrong I like gyro's as much as the next guy, but they all pretty much taste the same to me?!

[Das Ubergeek]

There are differences, and not everyone buys the meatsicles from the same two or three places... but even still you'd be shocked how much difference rotisserie temperature, slicing skill and, um, er, "meatsicle age" can vary the final product even before you dress the meat.

[Dommy]

For me, it's ALL about the dressing and freshness of the flavors... for that reason I prefer Petit Cafe in El Segundo, mostly a take out place in a strip mall, but their toppings are so fresh and flavorful... great bread too...

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Petit Cafe
630 N Sepulveda Blvd Ste 3A, El Segundo, CA 90245

[annapurna7]

I love this place. I used to eat here all the time when I worked in El Segundo. They have a great fatoush salad as well.

[epop]

Precisely, Das.

[bulavinaka]

Assuming that they are all getting them from the same place(s), different grades of meatsicles are offered by the same place(s) as well.

[epop]

Finally one (kind of) on the West Side, near LAX. The owner brings it in from Chicago. Tasty gyros sandwich. Plus there's all kinds of other goodies. I had a great lentil soup and a traditional horiatiki (greek salad without lettuce, as it should be).

Aliki's Greek Taverna

5862 Arbor Vitae St
Los Angeles, CA 90045-4731
[phone]

[ultraviolet]

Pozi's in Tarzana on Ventura. Amazing!!!

[epop]

Had Papa Christo's gyros and think that Ulysses Voyage makes a much better one. Good tatziki though.

[epop]

Ulysses Voyage in the Grove wins my vote for best in this part of town, by far.

[js76wisco]

Ulysses does make a very nice gyro. My vote for best gyro would be for Kings Kabob. The meat is spot on and has a very nice texture - crunchy on outside. The sauce is perfect and quite a deal for under $6. They also make some very good fresh falaffel. I particuarly like their tahini.

Kings Kabob
5500 Sawtelle Blvd (and Sepulveda)
Culver City, CA 90230
[phone]

[wilafur]

ooh, thanks for the heads up. i'm on the hunt for good falafel!

[epop]

I can't wait to try it... Thx for the tip.

[epop]

I like the gyros much more at Ulysses than at Kings Kabob on Sawtelle. I am not saying this rudely but I don't really understand your opinion on this one...

[js76wisco]

To each their own. I've had the gyros at both places on several occasions and prefer the King's Kebob gyro. It's more authentic to me. I was raised in Queens and have been to the mecca of Greek food in the US, Astoria, and King's Kebob reminds me of those gyros. I think the Ulysses gyro is also very good. But at almost half the price I'll take the King's Kebob. The meat itself is better and the tzatsiki is spot on. If you took the gyro to go then all bets are off, not very good when transported.

[Burger Boy]

Don't Sawtelle and Sepulveda run parallel?

[wilafur]

they intersect in southern culver city.

[jaymor]

ok, i'm in......will head to king's kebob......will report back to this thread afterwards

[epop]

And compare to Ulysses in the grove. I can see Wisco's point about the price though...

[jaymor]

it's been a while but i finally went to king's kabob.....i had a nice long friendly conversation with a man who i think is the owner.....the gyro was of the typical brown meat on a spit .....it was nice of him to cut a hearty slice from it....heated it up on a grill and let me have it to try......i thanked him for the sampler but it was not what i was looking for, so i left.

[annapurna7]

I like Kings Kabob, but they are really inconsistent in my opinion. When they get it right though, be it a gyro or a (lamb) shwarma, they are absolutely fantastic. Unfortunately, I've received many less than great sandwiches from them over the years and they seem to be skimping on the condiments lately.

[mbbear]

Try George's Greek in Long Beach. There are two locations....one downtown and one on 2nd street. Seriously good.

[selfportrait93]

Tried the mixed chicken,lamb and beef Gyro at Firehouse for the first time today. I must say it was pretty tasty. I will surely be returning soon.

[tissue]

I second Firehouse!

[Joe Blowe]

I happened to be near Stanton this afternoon, so I stopped by the Mad Greek for a gyro. With apologies to Das Ubergeek and ns1, that had to be one of those most average gyros I've had the misfortune of eating. It's not that it was bad, but it was definitely not better than any other place mentioned in this thread (including Papa Christo's which I slammed upthread).

It was the standard rotating spit of pressed meat, standard pita (maybe a bit on the dry/stale side), with some onions, tomatoes, iceberg lettuce and a relatively bland tzatziki sauce. Again, nothing offensive, just underwhelming. However, the fries were pretty good!

In response to someone possibly asking for a better place, I humbly offer LaZeez:

http://www.lazeezpitagrill.com/Sandwi...

They're a Middle Eastern restaurant in Torrance (local for me) that does an *outstanding* laffah, but their gyro definitely puts Mad Greek's to shame...

[ns1]

Fair enough :)

[Mr Taster]

When is the last time you've tasted the tzatziki sauce at Papa Cristo's? It's consistently the best part of the sandwich... thick and rich, wonderfully full flavored, well balanced... not too acidic, not too herby. To say that Mad Greek's sandwich is "not better" than Papa Cristo's by citing their bland tzatziki implies that they are roughly equivalent, and I can't imagine how you can say that if you've had any recent experiences at PC's. What exactly do you not find appealing about PC's gyro?

Mr Taster

[epop]

I liked the tzatziki at PC but the gyros was way too oily and the wrong texture as a result. I didn't like the way they cut the meat into a million little pieces. It reminded me of the typical Kronos gyros but maybe wasn't that.

[epop]

Does it depend on who is making them? I will go there soon but am trying to reduce the risk of the poor gyros.

[Burger Boy]

I just ate a quart of the tzatziki over the last week, with nothing but a spoon. It was like heroin, I could not stop, so frikkin goooooooooooooooddd!

[estone888]

I recently had one of the best gyros I've had in L.A. at a place on 7th Street in Downtown that is next door to the Original Texas Barbecue King -which is at 525 W. 7th, near the corner of Grand and 7th. The only problem is that I can't recall the name of the place. It also has Korean BBQ and is run by Koreans, but the gyros were excellent and cheap. They have a particularly good, homemade, vinegary hot sauce that I was very pleased to squirt on my gyros.

[kevin]

that does sound good, next to grand and 7th, if you have a name on that one, please post back.

thanks.

[estone888]

I wish I did. It's driving me nuts and Google has been no help. I was there two weeks ago, so I'm sure it's still there. My girlfriend thinks it might have the word "International" in the name. It has a window shade with pictures of most of its menu items.

It is definitely on 7th, next door to, or two shops down from the Texas BBQ place that I know nothing about but has an obvious sign.

Sorry about the lack of name. It's just a funky looking fast food shop.

[epop]

I want it made by Greeks, with Tzatziki.

[waveandwen]

Really the best GYRO is at Athena's in Canyon Country.
18853 Soledad Cyn Rd., Canyon Country 91351 661-251-8442
Really everything they have there is great--all authentic greek food at reasonable prices.
Its worth trip!!

[lovetoroq]

I will second your Athenas rec. Great gyro, really good greek salad. Outstanding pizza.

[WildSwede]

Agreed on the Athenas rec! And the Papa Christos rec!
But I am ADDICTED to the one at Sam's Kebab House in Monrovia on Myrtle. Pretty much every time I am at the Friday Night Farmer's Market I need to have one. Just so good. Shit, now I want one!!

[whatanappetite]

Spitz (the original location in Eagle Rock, and the newer one in Downtown L.A.) have amazing "donner" kebab sandwiches. You have an option of getting it with Focaccia bread or in a pita wrap, which is a bit deviated from the original idea of the gyros, but it's a great place. They also have amazingggg fried pita strips and great hummus (I have a Middle Eastern family, so I have valid reason is judging so!)

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Spitz
2506 Colorado Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90041

Spitz: Home of the Doner Kebab
371 E 2nd St # D, Los Angeles, CA 90012

[kevin]

thanks, but i was asking besides doner kababs and shwarma.

i'm not exactly a fan of spitz, it just doesn't do it for me. but a lot of people do like it. besides i had an ultra-bad experience the last time i was at their downtown locatioin.

[Burger Boy]

Everything I had at Spitz's was overly salty, everything, to bad.

[Psiweaver]

this tread has me desperately craving some tasty gryos.

[Das Ubergeek]

If you come to OC, Mad Greek (Stanton) or Greek Garden Grill (Orange/Santa Ana).

[kevin]

mad greek in stanton is related to the one near barstow???? thanks.

i will try greek garden for the gyros, i've already tried their grilled fish with potatoes about a year or so agao. and it was damn good.

[ns1]

I find them both identical...(baker and stanton), except the Stanton one doesn't have the ridiculous line

[Das Ubergeek]

Agree. Same place, same owners, less stupidity at the Stanton one, mostly because if you asked a hundred people where Stanton is, 90+ wouldn't be able to tell you. The one in Baker (between Barstow and Vegas) is a tourist destination; the Stanton one ain't.

[Joe Blowe]

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=mad+greek+in+sta...

[wilafur]

stanton is sandwiched between garden grove and buena park.

then again, google is your friend.

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Mad Greek Restaurant
12120 Beach Blvd, Stanton, CA 90680

[kevin]

do they serve those fresh strawberry milkshakes at the stanton location too?

thanks.

[Das Ubergeek]

That I don't know, because I don't like strawberry milkshakes.

And no, it's not worth the slog from the SFV.

[ns1]

Absolutely not.

[lil mikey]

Also in OC, Greek Island Grille on Bristol and Sunflower, across the street from South Coast Plaza, has darn good gyros. The pita is fresh and fluffy, and the tzaziki is plentiful and tasty. This is larger than many others I've had, and quite filling.

[bu dat]

California Pita - LA mall.

[asuninja]

Papa Christo's 2771 W Pico Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90006. There's nothing better this Greek market or there Gyros.

[David Kahn]

Agree.

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Papa Cristos
2771 W Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90006

[Joe Blowe]

Papa Christo's gyro is overrated, IMO -- the Firehouse blows the doors off of that place...

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Firehouse Restaurant
18450 Victory Blvd, Tarzana, CA 91335

[ns1]

Firehouse was pretty damn good but I think I prefer the ones from the Mad Greek

I don't think you can do wrong @either one though

[trojans]

No better than firehouse.

[epop]

Their gyros is way too greasy and about average. I do like the place a lot as a market but have had only the bad gyros.

[epop]

The post ended up low. I am referring here to Papa Christo's gyros as the bad one.