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Mon-Fri. 10:30 a.m. - 9:00 p.m.
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You want a quick lunch with your colleagues and savor it at the same time, then this is the place to go. They have some of most delicious middle eastern recipes on their lunch menu - I ordered the gyro plate (duh!!) and I loved it. Most importantly you get a side of salad and fries - kind of a balanced meal rather than all carb and protein.
The seating is not very convenient as this is almost like a hole in the wall. And parking is on the streets.
I came here yesterday with some co-workers around 11:45 and there was a long line out the door. We were contemplating leaving but decided to wait it out. Luckily they have the ordering process down so waiting was kept to a minimum.
We were on our own when finding a seat, but luckily one opened up as we finished ordering. Once our group wasseated, they gave us a basket of pitas and bread with a yogurt dip. From the other reviews, it seems that you are also supposed to get hummus, which I was disappointed about. In any case, I ordered the Gyro Pita with fries. It was solid, filled with lots of meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and tzatziki. I would definitely come back to try other items on the menu but hopefully not during the busy lunch hours.
I've been to Athena Grill twice and the food hasn't disappointed, yet. The first time I had the Chicken Souvlaki plate and it was good, tender pieces of chicken served with fries and deliciously fresh pita bread. The second time I went I had the Gyro plate, delicious with well-balanced flavors, again with fries and fresh pita. I highly recommend ordering the Tzatziki with either of these dishes, you definitely need more of this addictive food than already comes with your plate. I love hummus, but give this one a pass, it's pretty bland. For dessert the Ekmek (Layers of kataife, walnuts, almonds, peaches, vanilla custard lemon zest syrup & whipped cream) is good, as is the Ravani (Almond cake with semolina & lemon zest syrup.)
Service can be hit or miss, the first time our waitress was very friendly and attentive, the second time our waitress had to be flagged down any time we wanted something because she never came by the table.
4 Stars
Came here for lunch w/ a friend and it was packed, but we managed to get seats outside after ordering. He ordered a Lamb Souvlaki Gyro and I had the Gyro platter.
Started off w/ some bread and Tzatziki....mmmm mmmm. Not sure if they make it fresh, but their pita bread is the best I've had...tzatziki was up there too
The Loukánika Mezés came w/ greek fries. It was ok, but I'm spoiled by the Loukánika I order at the Greek Festival, so it's tough to compare to that.
The Lamb Souvlaki was ok....but I'm not big on lamb, and it had that gamey taste to it......My Gyro Plate was off the hook though....!!!! The meat was perfect, fresh warm pita, and greek fries that weren't overwhelmed w/ garlic and feta. The last Greek place I ate was Opa in Willow Glen, and Athena's blows them away!
On the way out, I bought a bottle of their Olive Oil for my gf......I'll probably have to update this after I cook w/ it a few times.
Check this place out.....if you're not in the mood for a crowded restaurant.....they're open until 9p, so come in for an early dinner after work.
3.5 Stars
The BF and I were impressed with the homely type atmosphere and cozy environment. We were seated right away and almost instantly offered warm pita bread and a homemade hummus. The hummus tasted very fresh and the pita bread warm. After we gobbled that up, almost instantly the wait staff brought us more pita bread and another serving of dip. This time a cheesy feta cheese type blend that was sooooooooo savory and incredibly addicting!! With such an amazing start I was greatly anticipating what was up next.
I ordered the thinly sliced lamb pita which contained feta cheese cubes, mixed greens and a little bit of tangy tasting tzaziki sauce. After the amazing dips I was greatly disappointed with my pita sandwich. BLAND! The lamb wasn't seasoned well and the mixed greens did not add any kind of texture (which romaine would've added). The tzaziki sauce? Just meh.
I definitely wouldn't mind returning to give Athena's another shot before heading over to AMC Mercado.
BTW: The garlic fries were pretty memorable!!
Dang! This place is popular. Got there around 11:45 and the tables were quickly filling up. There was a long line out the door waiting to order. They are so quick with the process so the wait is minimal. Once seated, they gave us 2 baskets of breads/pitas with hummus and a yogurt dip...hmmm...love it.
Went with 2 other coworkers and all of us got the Gyro Pita. It comes with either fries or fruits...I got the fruits but tried the fries from my coworker's plate...OMG, it was incredibly fresh, crispy and oh so good...heheheh...Can't wait to go back for more....the pita itself was alright...I wish the beef isn't ground beef...it was too soft that it lacked the texture of beef. I wish it was thinly sliced instead...but overall it was good...will definitely go back for more..it's sooo close to where I work...yay!
Thanks Yelp!!!
Amazing thick garlic hummus given in a basket with pita and sliced bread
Tried the gyro pita with yogurt sauce
Hummus! Hummus! Hummus!
Enjoyed the Greek food and outdoor patio seating
Now I'm craving more hummus!
Authentic Greek restaurant is only open on weekdays! :(
You can't miss this place because of the BRIGHT yellow! Just keep walking or driving until you see the yellow awning!
I can't wait to come back again and try a new entree! I love the complimentary hummus and pita!!! :D Give me more please!!!
Go green take: VTA# 60 to Scott and Space Park
An unlikely place for such a cozy restaurant. My bf took me here for dinner a couple of times and it was good. Not great but good. I love their warm pita bread with homemade hummus. I typically don't really like hummus but theirs was good.
Then we ordered our entrees. I had sirloin patties. It was a bit too dry for me. The salad was greek salad, of course. Couldn't go wrong with that. My bf had the lamb. It too was a bit dry. Not very flavorful. The fries were good though.
Service here was great. Although we usually come when the rush is over.
I think their appetizer here is a lot better then their entrees. They just need to season their meat some more and not over cook them. All in all, pretty good Greek food.
I love the food here simply because it tastes great and always delivers. They have fantastic daily dips that they give out as part of the table appetizers when you dine in and their selection of spread is great as well because there is one for every flavor you're craving.
Their meats are usually very flavorful and tender, especially if you order red meats such as Lamb and Beef. They always come out perfectly cooked to order and their yogurt dipping sauce is the perfect compliment to the flavors of the meat. I've never had chicken there so I can't speak to it but I have heard good things about their chicken as well.
I usually end up getting a gyro or a lamb wrap unless I am feeling carb-less and end up with just the lamb meat plate. Either way you can't go wrong. The only downside of this place is that it **is** a bit pricey for food (although great food indeed) and parking here during lunch is JUST epic.
Still lovin' the fries, but the overall lunch of lamb wrap was dry and not seasoned well. Overdone lamb = not good! My co-worker agreed that his gyro was not spiced well either. Bland!
Definitely would come here and get the entrees, which are by far better. And an order of the purple dip and fries. Yum.
This place is a hole-in-the-industrial-wa ll ... located in an area that is mostly office buildings… Read more »
My mom works in the area. She raves about Athena Grill so I had to check it out myself.
The location isn't all that great. It's tucked away within buildings and offices. And during the lunch hour, you will be fighting for parking and tables.
The food is great! Hummus & gyros! I can sit and eat hummus for hours, lol. I've heard people talk highly of their garlic fries, but I wasn't too impressed. Athena Grill is definitely worth checking out.
I was surprised to find this place in the middle of an area populated by offices and the very busy Oregon Expressway, it was a weekday evening and from what I heard this place gets a lot of business especially during the lunch hour so we should be able to park and get a table easily. There were maybe around 6 -7 tables which were occupied. Most people are already finished with their meals and just chatting away in this nicely decorated Greek place. I do love what they have on the walls, costumes, amphoras and vases.
The food was Greek, Im not really the biggest Greek food fan since I always end up getting some pita with dry Gyros meat so I ordered a lamb kebab which was succulent, prices were just about the same as any Greek place in the Peninsula, 12-16$ for a dinner order and maybe 8-10$ for a pita sandwich. Took awhile to grab our waiter since he was busy though. They are very generous with the bread bowl and hummus.
All in all, it was just alright, the dishes were brought out fast and the quality was good.
I LOVE Athena Grill! It is a Very comfortable atmosphere.
I love the food and the people at this place.
I ordered a salad that was very fresh and had lots of cucumbers and other topping that i actually split with my friend and was enough for both of us.
I got the swordfish and my friend got the sirloin and they were both very good. I totally recommend this place!
I find Athena Grill to have very authentic Greek food.
They are busiest at lunch time, & parking are especially hard on Fridays, so make sure you go early. The lines go out the door to the street!! It's nice to sit out on the patio on a beautiful day. Dinner time are a little more quiet.
Every table are served pita bread & french baguette with humus and sometimes cheese dip or olive dip. Try to order from the daily specials, which are posted on the wall. They are always tasty and based on what fresh ingredients they get of each day and season.
The portions are really big, and vegetarian or meaty plates are all available.
The owner (originally from Kalamata) makes her own olive oil that you can buy there. You can also try Greek wine with your meal. Check it out, it's a small place but you'll feel at home, in Greece of course.
Well, I love Greek food but probably can't tell the difference between good and bad renditions. I ordered a sirloin steak plate and was very surprised with the amount of food they give you.
Three patties, a huge tomato, cucumber, olive, and cheese salad, and fries definitely was too much for me to finish. It didn't help that i stuffed myself with the free bread and pita. The provided dip was excellent as well!
I was a bit disappointed in the sirloin patties, but it still tasted good!
We were driving up to Reno and it was my job to pick up dinner to eat in the car. After debating between gyro's vs. pizza, I decided on gyros. Yelp helped me find Althena Grill. Here are my two cents on the food.
- Gyro: Meh.. I would probably rate it 2 to 3 stars, meaning nothing spectacular.
- Lamb Souvlák: Talk about TASTY.. My bf ordered the Gyro and I got the Lamb Souvlak.. boy was I happy I did. The lamb was tender and tasted fantastic.
- Garlic Fries: I would come back just for the fries and olive mayo. Soo delicious. I got my bf the fruit but was a little upset I just didn't two orders of fries.
- Melitzanosaláta: which is this eggplant spread/dip stuff. The description made it sound delicious.. it looked like crap and tasted somewhere in between. I probably wouldn't order it again, i was just trying to be adventurous. It was a little more chunky then I thought it would be. I really thought it would have the consistency of hummus however its more of a salsa.
Overall I probably would go again.. Not quit sure if its a go to Gyro place, but I would def. go there to get some friends and lamb.
I could eat here everyday. Sometimes I do. Nothing I've had is bad.
The daily specials on the wall near the register are well-worth the upcharge with a pretty generous portion of filet mignon and grilled shrimp for any eating partner I've ever had and I.
At lunch, I change it up between the gyro pita and the swordfish souvlaki pita and I ALWAYS get their fries with their housemade olive tapenade dipping sauce. I don't care that I reek of garlic for the rest of the day or that I'll have to hip-hop extra hard to look spectacular in my wedding gown.
Their beer & wine selection compliment the food well and pleasantly enhance every dining experience I've had there (surprise, surprise).
Some caveats: the veggies that sometimes come with dinner aren't great (so they aren't for everyone), the lunch hour is pandemonium but they do their best to manage (I haven't ever seen anyone storm off disgruntled) but if you're in a rush, order to-go ahead of time and they'll have it ready within 10 minutes, they're not open weekends.
Met a few friends here for lunch at 11:30. By 11:45 the line was out the door. The place is extremely popular and even had tables along the outside of the building to accommodate people.
Got the grilled lamb kebobs. The lamb was tender. The veggies were well seasoned, but a bit mushy. The rice was really good. Portions are definitely large.
Overall a solid place to go offsite for lunch on a workday.
I came out here for lunch because I heard this place was the bomb. It was only ok. I think there are much better other places to eat for the quality of food. The atmosphere is cool as people are pretty happy to be out of the office and hanging out for lunch. I wouldn't race out here to eat but it ok if you are in the area
I almost hate to give Athena a good rating as it is becoming a hidden gem that a lot of folks seem to know about based on the line that is regularly out the door starting at 11:45AM.
I am sure the other reviews rave about the food, so no need for me to go nutty other than to say it is really, really good. The only reason I did not give it 5 stars is due to the "industrial" location. Not a place I would head for a romantic dinner, but a great place to grab lunch.
"How in the world did you find this place off the beaten path?" - my cousin.
Yes, it is a hidden gem in an industrial/office area of Santa Clara, but it is the best Greek place I have been to in the south bay to date. I love how they always give you a complimentary side of sauce (whatever is their serving for the day, could be hummus, could be red caviar sauce, etc.) with bread to start off.
The gyros are amazing. You know something's good when the first reaction you have after the first bite is "MMmmm". Must order the Gyro when you are there. Lamb chops were very tasty and seasoned well, very moist and not dry at all. Fasoulada soup is so healthy yet delicious - definitely try a cup of that! The garlic fries are very very addicting! The entrees come with a greek salad, which is huge. Actually all of the portions there are huge.
The food portions aren't the only huge thing. Their menu is huge with a really wide variety. The service is always so friendly, warm and speedy.
You know what's weird? Every Greek restaurant that sticks to the authentic Greek decor (Greek flags everywhere, blue and white checkered table cloth, fake flowers) never seem to disappoint me. It makes me feel like I'm back in Greece again. This is one of my favorites!
This is one of those places that you grow to like. After a few visits upon arriving in San Jose, I totally wrote this place off as overrated. Long lines and just okay Greek food were not impressing me. The food didn't remind me of my favorite places from Texas or Idaho, which I know sounds weird.
After a year of ignoring this place, which is a shame since it is close to my work, I decided to give Athena Grill a second chance to impress. I have found that the gyro and chicken pitas are good reliable lunch meals. That combined with having too much truly awful Greek food located in San Jose strip malls, I have grown to accept Athena Grill more positively than negatively.
3 out of 5, as I will still eat here but I won't be one of my first suggestions.
This place is the bomb!!! I caught a $15 dinner coupon out of a local paper a while back, so I thought, what the heck, let's give it a try. You are greeted by warm pita bread, and you really need it when it's 55 degrees outside as well aspouring rain. Next up: warm dolmas. Now I'm not a huge fan of warm dolmas, but when they're this big and good, who cares? The main part of the meal was a rice dish and a sauce of some sort. Wasn't anything like Greek food I've had in the past, but nevertheless it was still very tasty. Now, the dessert. It was baklava, and damn good baklava on top of it.
If you go here you will get the following: quality food in large quantities, good service provided it's not to busy and as much pita bread as you can stuff down your throat. Hell, if it kept me satisfied without meat for dinner, then it's fit for a king.
This food tastes like homemade Greek cooking (this coming from a Greek).
If it is your first time I HIGHLY suggest the Mezes Athena choice, which is like a sampler platter. You will undoubtedly have enough for two meals. When you figure you're getting two meals for $10.95 how could you go wrong?!
Service was excellent, atmosphere was great, especially when you see that everyone there is enjoying themselves.
Take a friend and impress them by showing them that you know where the dining hot spot is!
I had a swordfish svetlaki sandwich at a work luncheon the other day and really liked it. Then I found out the place it came from was a greek place close to my home. So I tried it tonight for dinner with my companion. We both thought our food was fabulous. Service was prompt and friendly. I especially liked the warm pita bread and daily dip (it was a potato, garlic, olive oil thing), and my swordfish dinner was incredible. My companion had an eggplant dinner and she thought it was very tasty. The garlic fries that came with dinner were okay - a little too garlicky for me, but still yummy. We will definitely visit here again, and I'll try something other than swordfish. The only reason I can't give it five stars is that I didn't care for the vegetable medley that came with my dinner, and no sauce or yogurt or anything came with the swordfish to dip it in.
The location is off the beaten track unless you work in this armpitty area of Santa Clara. I did work in this area in 1984 and was surprised that not one thing has changed. The parking is not plentiful at lunch time...So why 5 stars? The food is faaaaaaaaaaaabulous. All the lamb dishes are perfect. The portions are huge. Great pita and dip to fill up on while waiting for your huge lunch that you will not finish even though you try.
WOW, what a find in the middle of nowhere in Santa Clara near Central Expressway. We made a mistake of getting there around 12:15 in the middle of lunch rush. The line was out the door. We probably waited 20 mins to order. The staff was very efficient on taking orders and delivering food to the table. Not sure how they figured out where people were. I talked my coworker into ordering the gyro with fries, since there were rave reviews about them. And they were correct, very tasty. We were pleasantly surprised when the busboy dropped off a basket of warm pita and bread with their dip (we are still trying to figure out which dip it was) was wonderful. There is plenty of street parking. The only issue is the line is all over the place and no systematic way of getting a table other than standing around and waiting for people to leave.
Falafel and biftékia very tasty- love their fries.
Souvlakis are ok- I'd go for a kebap at an Afgan or Turkish restaurant instead, though.
But overall- it's great value- good food!
beware of parking on Friday's for some reason the neighborhood gets too crowded -I've seen tow trucks at work-
Dip that comes with fries: fantastic.
Portabello mushroom wrap: flavor-full.
Hummus: good.
Great speedy service, friendly staff. I met the boy here for lunch today and really enjoyed the atmosphere, the huge yellow awning and comfy corner-secret feel of this Greek restaurant.
Not a big fan of Greek, but I'll be back. ;)
This is one of the better Greek places within driving distance of the office. Located in a small business park, most people who come here know to get here by 11 or risk having to wait in a long line not only to order, but to wait for a table.
Even though I generally try to restrict my meat eating to the weekends, I do have to say that if you're going to eat lunch here, go for a meat dish. The salad aside (it's always good), vegetarian dishes - judging on their spanakopita and falafels, are edible at most - but the chicken, beef, and lamb ANYTHING is juicy and to die for.
Portions are obscene - that is to say ginormous. Two or three people could share their Greek salad alone.
I love that they serve warm pita bread and tzatziki with every meal.
Always my first choice to bring people who are visiting me at work and happen to have a hankering for really good Greek food!
The food is excellent, but as of the last time I was there, they do a terrible job managing their seating during lunch hours.
There's a line going out the door and people are "holding" tables while their friends are in line.
Net result is: if you don't do the same you may end up with two plates of food and nowhere to sit! That's what happened to us, anyhow. Carrying around plates of food while tables are empty with one person sitting at them!
I suggested to the manager that she manage seating and not seat people until they have already ordered and she pretty much just blew me off with "well, people find their own seats." We asked for the food to be repackaged to go and I have not been back there since.
Customer service is important to me and there's plenty of places around with decent food.
Chicken Souvlaki!
Order it. and Love it.
Sooooooo good!
It's tasty, and very filling, because it's humongous! I really like the pita bread they give with their hummus. But my absolute favorite part about this restaurant is the.... GARLIC FRIES with that olive oil type HUMMUS! Writing about is just making want some. This restaurant is really a secret though, probably only known to people who work around this area. Its only opened on weekdays though, which makes me sad cus I always wanna take my friends here on the weekends.
Surprised.
It's located in industrial area and so hidden. But once you go inside, you can enjoy family-style, casual, but yummy Greek foods.
They offer you pita breads with dip to start with.
All foods are reasonable, actually a little too big portion so you probably ended up with taking some home. I usually order a couple or more appetizers and one main to share at other Greek restaurants, but my friend who took me there warned me that might be too much. And she was right.
I' d definitely go back there;)
I've been here a couple times and my old company also uses them for company lunches.
Food:
Most of what I had has been full of flavor. Watch out for suspect grilled chicken. Sometimes it's been pink and/or fatty. Everything else is good, no issues. The falafel are crispy and delicious on the inside, the hummus is creamy, tzaziki is great, and when u eat there you get a bread w sauce appetizer free. Yum!
Service
Be prepared for a long line at lunch. Haven't been there for dinner. Food cones out quickly, there's a good amount of seating and friendly attentive staff.
YUM! Great place for lunch. Excellent food and quite inexpensive. Try to avoid peak lunch time, it's packed.
I'm very impressed with this place. I mean we ordered their gyros ( thinly sliced beef) which comes with greek fries and pita. First of all. the portion you get is more than generous, for the price you pay is unbeatable. Not only was the place inexpensive for the servings you get, but the taste of the food which matters the most was very addicting. Especially the pita which comes with humus and their greek fries, you can't stop eating them. Their salad which comes with the meals was impressive also. Whoever owns this place should get slap in the face for making such a great food affordable. thank you
+/- signs represent intensity of positive/negative sentiment
++++ enormous portions, walmart-style prices. the sampler dip platter alone can feed 2 people.
+++ large selection of authentic greek food, a few comfortably all-american entries.
++ speedy gonzales service.
+++ warm pitas & bread w/ every meal
++++ dips that make you cream yourself.
+ few good wines available.
+ reasonably neat outside seating, if the place isn't too packed.
-- on the heavy/greasy side, but it's all olive oil.
- almost always busy, even on random weekdays.
- bit of a weird location, smack-dab in the middle of a heavily commercial/industrial area. close to highway, though.
summary: one of the few places i keep returning to, time & time again. dips & pita bread alone are good enough to warrant 5 stars, but every single item i've so far tried has been teeth-rattlingly good. the place is well-suited for any kind of casual outing, but the food & wines are good enough to bring business or family events to it. ignore the tame packaging & buy a glass of olive oil (owner has olive orchards in greece) it'll blow away the supermarket-bought nonsense you've had before.
Oily.
The white bean soup was very oily and bland
The Chicken Souvlaki was surprisingly tender and moist
The vegetables were bland and oily.
Did I mention oily?
Fantastic Greek place, the only bad thing is it is not open on weekends. Other then that the food is excellent, espically the lamb dishes. Not sure what it's called but make sure to ask for the purple sauce for your bread and fries, it is amazing.
I don't really get this place. It's always crowded with only street parking. (Get there before 11:45 if you want to beat the lunch crowd)
The food is ok but not worth $13-16 for lunch, and that's with water. Portions are big-ish.
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