Yeeros welcome: Greek Souvlaki brings 43 years of in-state heritage to Utah County
A plate of Chicken Souvlaki, left, and a Yeero, right, at Greek Souvlaki in Lehi on Tuesday.
A Chicken Souvlaki plate, featuring skewered pieces of chicken, grilled onion and grilled zucchini at Greek Souvlaki in Lehi.
Tony Tareh uses an electric cutter to slice meat for a Yeero at Greek Souvlaki.
A Yeero, with a mixture of lamb and beef cooked on a vertical rotisserie, sliced and served in a pita with onions, tomatoes and Tzatziki sauce, at Greek Souvlaki.
Tony Tareh uses an electric cutter to slice meat for a Yeero at Greek Souvlaki in Lehi.
A plate of Chicken Souvlaki, left, and a Yeero, right, at Greek Souvlaki in Lehi.
It may have taken nearly 43 years, but Greek Souvlaki has finally crossed over into Utah County — and not a moment too soon, judging by our recent dining experience.
The original Greek Souvlaki opened its doors in Salt Lake City in 1972. In the ensuing years it branched out to several other Utah locations before opening a restaurant in Lehi near Thanksgiving Point in November. The Lehi restaurant marks the franchise’s sixth Utah location.
Greek Souvlaki claims to have been the first restaurant to bring the gyro (or Yeero as it appears on the restaurant’s menu) to Utah. And for that alone we offer thanks! We sampled the Philly Yeero and, holy cow, was it delicious.
So what is a Yeero, exactly? Well, it is billed as the hamburger of Greece. It features a mixture of lamb and beef cooked on a vertical rotisserie, then sliced and stuffed in a pita with other mouth-watering ingredients.
Greek Souvlaki offers three basic variations including the standard Yeero, the Philly Yeero and the Veggie Yeero. We couldn’t pass up the Philly version, and our very first bite confirmed the intelligence of our decision. Talk about flavorful! In addition to the meat, the Philly comes with grilled bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, a mix of cheeses and a steak sauce. Not only was it downright delicious, it was also quite filling. With everything else we were sampling during our visit, we saved half of the Yeero for later at home.
Picking the Philly Yeero was easy, some of our other menu options proved a lot more difficult. We spent a lot of time at the counter ordering — but our cashier was extremely friendly and helpful in explaining all the menu offerings.
The restaurant itself was neat and clean, and appeared sleek and stylish with its blue-and-white wall hues, impressionist art and three flat-screen TVs showing various sporting events. The restaurant was bigger than we expected from the outside, and there were a mixture of seating options from booths, to four-seat tables, and barstool seating along one wall. There were also a few tables on an outside patio as well.
We had the whole family in tow, and with a couple eaters not exactly of an adventuresome nature, we opted for a variety of offerings, some decidedly American. Such as a hamburger. As bizarre as it might seem to go to a Greek restaurant and order a hamburger, let me tell you this burger was absolutely tasty in every regard. We definitely recommend it.
In addition to the Yeeros, another big ticket item is the Souvlaki (or shish-kabob). The Souvlaki offerings are five fold: Chicken, Pork, Chicken and Pork, Double Chicken, and Double Pork. Going for the best of both worlds, we ordered the Chicken and Pork, which also included grilled zucchini and onion slices between the meats. This was also very good and a definite hit at our table.
The Greek Low-Carb Salad was also well received. It comes with your choice of meat (Chicken Souvlaki, Pork Souvlaki or Yeero meat) along with Romaine lettuce, pepperoncini, tomato slices, cucumber, calamata olives, feta cheese and red onion, topped with a Greek dressing.
The onion rings were another hit. Thick and crunchy, these were some of the best onion rings around — and the house fry sauce made a most perfect complement.
We also sampled two items off the Specialties menu: Dolmathes and Spanakopita (Spinach Pie). The Dolmathes — featuring rice and ground beef stuffed in a lemon-flavored grape leaf wrap — offered an intriguing taste/smell combination. Admittedly, we took a flyer on the Spinach Pie, because even though we’re not big spinach eaters, we do like it as an accent ingredient in certain foods — such as quiche. That didn’t really apply in this case. Let’s just say that there is a very strong spinach taste in this — which may or may not be your thing.
We also splurged on a Baklava Shake — which was a great way to wash everything down.
In conclusion, one overriding thought was that Tina Turner didn’t know what she was talking about back in 1985 with her hit song from the movie “Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome.” Because, from our perspective, we definitely do need another Yeero.
GREEK SOUVLAKI
Where: 2975 Club House Dr., Lehi
Prices:$2.99-$8.99
Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Thursday, 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, closed Sunday
Info: (801) 768-9090, greeksouvlaki.com