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Athena Gyro Greek Restaurant
Categories: Restaurants Greek Restaurants Mediterranean Greek, Mediterranean [Edit]
969 Edgewater BlvdFoster City, CA 94404
(650) 312-1515
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Chuck N. said: "Between Each Little Libation Yields Delicious And New Culinary Inventions Notably Global Yes, I spelled out "BELLY DANCING," why you ask? Cus I can! And yes, they have an amazing belly dancer weekly that entertains you while you eat…" read more »
23 reviews for Athena Gyro Greek Restaurant
23 reviews in English
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Review from Kate D.
San Mateo, CA
3/16/2012
Yum! I haven't tried this place to sit down and eat, but I've done takeout there a few times and I have no complaints. Their gyros are always hot and taste good, the service when they take my order is prompt and everyone has always been friendly.
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Review from Amy R.
San Francisco, CA
7/31/2008
My husband and I have been eating from the same plate since the day we met and have NEVER fought over food. Well, the Spanakopita that came with our Vegetarian Plate did it. I think that the very friendly and jovial waiter (owner?) noticed us bickering...but I'll bet he had no idea quite how juvenile it was.
You got more!
No, I only had one small bite. You're getting more than half.
I thought you were on a diet.
I'm taking a break. Plus, you got more filling. I don't want all this dough.
Hey, don't take that. It's mine!
I usually order the Falafel Wrap (which I love) but I'm glad Mr. Amy R talked me into sharing the Vegetarian Plate for a light lunch. Not only was it probably much easier to split...but it was SO good.
I love eating on the patio with the beautiful Foster City lake backdrop. The inside is cute, comfortable and well decorated...and I have always had great service. This restaurant is definitely something I miss about living down the street from it.
I also tried the sage tea for the novelty of it. It kind of reminded me of some kind of poultry basting. I guess that's just how I'm used to consuming sage...but I think it's kind of cool and I'm going to experiment with making it myself.
I don't get the low reviews at all...looks like the meat might not be that great? Well, I'm a vegetarian and I don't care. -
Review from Greg S.
Foster City, CA
10/9/2011
Decent food, reasonable price, nice owners, but inattentive service; I.e., almost never a refill on iced tea or water, outside tables dirty, no napkins, etc.
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Review from Erin K.
8/14/2008
I don't know why there is so much love/hate for this place. I think its pretty middle of the road but I do love these particular things though:
- location (close to work and home) and i love eating outside
- lunch specials...you get a sandwich (i get the falafel), drink and a dessert (BAKLAVA) and its all for less than $9
- getting seating quickly
I know that the food isn't AMAZING but its good. It fits into my hr lunch break that I get and the staff is friendly enough (not over the top). I've enjoyed the two lunches I've had here so far and I definitely see myself going back.
You can also take out their sandwiches for $5 which I'm thinking about next time!! :D -
Review from Leota T.
San Mateo, CA
6/17/2009
Just finished one of the best gyro's I've ever had. Mmmmmm! YUM! Maybe it was because I was starving but I thought it was pretty darn good for $5. The place is now called OLIVE. It's cute and looks like it gets a bit packed during lunch time. I'll definietly come here for lunch to eat-in.
I took away one star because I had to stand waiting for my food. They should add a chair/bench for folks waiting for take-out. I probably wouldn't mind if I weren't in stilletos :/
Next time I'm hungry and on a budget, I'll be back for another $5 sandwich :) and maybe I'll add their fries on for just $2 (a soda is $1) -
Review from Breezy M.
Foster City, CA
Updated - 3/1/2009
I eat here probably more then a normal person would, but it is just so damn convenient.
I love the greek coffee, small but tasty and does the job.
gyros always rock- 5 dollars to go- sweet action! I think the lamb is better then the chicken.
My new favorite is the lamb kebab salad. I do wish that it had a different lettuce then iceburg, but the feta, dolmas, and huge chunks of juicy lamb is perfect for a light dinner.
The spanakopita is a must try too, thick pastry and a good amount of creamy spinach. 7 bucks1 Previous Review: Show all »
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12/27/2008
Definitely will be going back to this well decorated hole in the wall FC joint.
Dolmas are delish.,… Read more »
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Review from Chris W.
San Jose, CA
8/13/2007
I came across this place one Sunday after an exploratory drive around Foster City looking for photo opportunities. Greek food sounded like the perfect solution to my late afternoon hunger. Unfortunately Athena Gyro Greek Restaurant fell short of my expectations.
I ordered the gyros which I assume are the signature dish of the restaurant given the name. Although the meat was decent it was sparse with the majority of my sandwich being veggies and tzatziki. Non the less, it was edible and relatively satisfying.
My finance went the appetizer route getting the 3 bean salad and the eggplant (I think this was trying to be baba ghanouj). As soon as her dishes were placed on the table I could tell that they had both come from a can. I picked a green bean from the salad and my theory was confirmed. It was soggy and had a horrible sweet, pickled taste. The only thing fresh about this salad were the 2 thin slices of tomato and 2 small cubes of feta.
The eggplant was equally bad and had an unnatural gelatinous consistency. I was able to take a few bites but was almost offended that a restaurant would try to fool customers by serving food from a can.
In the end, we shared my sandwich and the appetizers we left almost untouched. I've been to some pretty bad "Greek" restaurants before but this one takes the baklava. Needless to say, we won't be going back. -
Review from Mia L.
New York, NY
7/28/2008
This is the first Greek restaurant I've been able to track down in SF that serves avgolemono (lemony chicken) soup! The soup itself was not the greatest, but my giddiness to have found it far outweighed its mediocrity.
Also had a gyro - twas chockful of meat and well-seasoned.
It was kind of unsettling that no one else was in the restaurant around dinner time, but I'd definitely return. -
Review from Hap C.
Austin, TX
1/3/2009
This is another spot on my regular lunch rotation. Great lunch special that gets you a drink, gyro, and a desert for 8 bucks... pretty good deal. The appetizer sampler is pretty good, too.
I know some have issues with the authenticity of the food here. I am not a master of greek / mediterranean cuisine, but I have no complaints with lunch menu (all I've had here). -
Review from G. R.
San Francisco, CA
4/14/2007
The only things I found tasty and decent enough to eat here were the pita bread and hummus. The chicken kabobs in my dinner were small, tough, and appeared to have been deep fried (I think my friend's dog Fifi would have enjoyed them though). The accompanying rice was WHITE like the kind from a Chinese restaurant (so much for being authentic). The 'homemade' ice tea was weaker than tap water. You're better off at Daphne's in San Mateo - it's cheaper and tastes ALOT better!
Sorry to say I cannot recommend this location and would never go back. -
Review from Meow M.
Hayward, CA
2/28/2008
I was running some errands during lunch and came across this place.
Lunch special was a good deal. $7.99 + tax includes a gyro, a drink, and a dessert. So I got myself a falafel gyro, a home made iced tea, and a piece of baklava.
I placed my order, and sat down at the first table by the front door. The place was clean. Maybe because it was a little past 1pm so there wasn't that many patrons. I saw that there were people sitting in the outdoor seating area in the back.
Moments after I sat down, the waitress brought over some tea and sugar (tasted like Lipton). I thought the glass tea "cup" was really cute. A few minutes later, another lady (perhaps the owner) came out of the kitchen. She greeted me and smiled. My order took about 10 minutes to prepare. I thanked the waitress and headed back to work.
It took me about 10 minute to get back to my office, another few minutes to get my lunch situated. I was really excited to have a falafel gyro for lunch because I have been craving for falafel lately. The gyro is of pretty decent size. So I took a bite. Eh, it was okay. I didn't expect the falafel to be so soft. The bread itself has already gotten soggy. The flavor was okay.
The "homemade" ice tea is simply just cold lLpton tea, nothing spectacular. There also wasn't much ice, which is okay for me since I don't like my cold beverage to be too cold. Perhaps I should've tried the homemade lemonade, but I was afraid there was going to be too much sugar.
On to the dessert. I've only had a bite of the baklava so far, since I'm really stuffed from the gyro (which tells you that it's not that good since I LOVE dessert). It tasted okay, although it's different from what I've tasted before elsewhere. It tasted a bit like a pecan pie.
Based on the taste of the food, I would've only given this place two stars, but because of the friendly staff and my complimentary tea, I gave them three stars. What can I say? I love free stuff. -
Review from Karsten P.
San Francisco, CA
4/7/2008
Souvlaki is not meatballs served on pan-fried pita.
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Review from Andy H.
2/17/2007
Clean, but not super authentic. A good fix when you need one, the Gyros are good with extra tzaztiki sauce. The eggplant salad is not good, the spanokopita is a little too middle eastern (not Mediterranean), the avgolemono was okay, but I got very little rice and one piece of chicken which is also lame.
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Review from Catriona C.
3/11/2009
Cheese and spinach in a pie. You can't really go wrong. Unless you put it in a microwave. Filo pastry just can't survive the tender ministrations of radiation. The hummous that I ordered as part of the Vegetarian plate didn't appear and the felafel was rock hard. An uninspiring salad. 'Meh' is probably as much as I would give it.
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Review from Apollo L.
Sunnyvale, CA
11/23/2006
Tasty Greek place on the water in Foster City. This place served up a generous serving of vegetarian Greek food and a powerfully strong cup of coffee. I will certainly return.
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Review from Lily C.
4/21/2007
I miss Greek food, and can't seem to find a decent one around here! No one was in the restaurant when I went...I found that a bit sad and uninviting, despite the warm Mediterranean decor inside. Our food was microwaved, I believe (according to the boop beep boop, I heard). They put a bunch of cream over my dolmades and ... well on everything, it seemed! Super sweet server, but the food didn't cut it. The pita was good. The tzaztiki was ok...not enough cucumbers.
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Review from Jaclyn P.
Woodside, CA
2/9/2008
Decent gyros, the gyros in Foster City are better than the ones at the San Mateo location. I usually order take out and it takes about 10 minutes to get my gyros. They don't taste the same as the Gyro man outside of the bars back on Welch in Ames but they'll do when you don't feel like cooking dinner.
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Review from Eric I.
San Jose, CA
3/16/2008
Just mediocre. Good if your in the mood for gyro's but you can find much better in the area. Wait staff did not impress, was actually somewhat slow for the food to arrive, considering we were the only ones there.
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Review from Patricia E.
Foster City, CA
11/25/2008
This is a friendly neighborhood place where you can relax inside or outside. I've never been to Greece but I lived in Astoria, Queens, in New York for a few years. I cannot comment on "authenticity" but I can offer that the food is plentiful and the prices are reasonable. I happen to love the lemon soup. The servers are friendly and the place is rarely crowded. It's just a pleasant place in the neighborhood.
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Review from Chris T.
Hayward, CA
1/21/2008
I was really excited when I came home and while doing some grocery shopping I came across this place, I was really hungry and thought that a gyro would hit the spot. I sat down to have a bite, it wasn't to busy, maybe two or three tables, but for some reason my gyro took close to about 25 minutes, and unfortunately after that long anticipated bite it was stone cold and was smothered in tzatziki sauce.... I did also order and partially consume the eggplant salad, mine was bland, and almost had a sour after taste... The waitress was really nice and tried to make me as comfortable as possible, but I have to admit the food was a real let down. When I was last in they did take credit cards, but when it came time to settle the bill they told me that their credit card machine was down, so I had to embarrassingly go run over to albertson's and hit up the ATM.... Needless to say, unless the food improves I don't think Ill be coming back...
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Review from Jessica d.
Sausalito, CA
4/20/2006
This location is actually a little different from the San Mateo location. First of all, there is no grumpy man running it. I've only been served by the nicest women in Foster City. Secondly, this venue makes cheese saganaki, which the San Mateo location does not. Third, this locale has lots of love in their food and atmosphere. It's very blue and mediterranean inside, they serve Ouzo (hell-o!), and the food is great. We order takeout from here constantly and our order is done in 10 minutes. Granted, they sometimes mess up the order, but never in a bad way - sometimes we get extra baklava or 2 gyros instead of 1. Who could complain about that? The only other complaint I have is that when you dine in and need to visit the loo, the hostess will give you a key to an outdoor bathroom. Might be a little alarming for your date if you tell him or her that you need to use the bathroom and you leave. Heh. Nevermind. It's kinda funny.
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Review from ASHLEY D.
San Mateo, CA
7/12/2011
very very rude people there. do not call in your orders. they arent very nice to their customers.
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Review from Marc T.
San Jose, CA
5/24/2006
This charming restaurant has really great food. I love their gyros and with the special lunch promo, you get the sandwich, drink and a dessert for a great price. The beer selection is quite ecletic and the ambiance and decor take me back to Greece (even though I've never been there!).
