FETA'S GREEK RESTAURANT
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
District: Blackstone; Central Omaha
Gyros & Other Greek Specialties
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Takeout
Standout Dishes: Gyro; Greek Salad; Spanakopita
With some types of food, there’s beauty in simplicity. Don’t get me wrong, I love to see restaurants push and evolve food, finding ways to elevate and evolve it. But sometimes it’s nice to have something in its most simple, delicious form.
That’s what Feta’s Greek Restaurant does with the gyro.
This is a no-frills gyro in its purest form. Meat, tzatziki, and a few vegetables pile into a pita together to create a meal that won’t exactly take your taste buds to Greece, but will make them very happy.
And you won’t leave Feta’s hungry. I guarantee you of that.
The restaurant has two locations: one just off 114th and Dodge, the other near 40th and Dodge. The original restaurant (114th St.) is part of a strip mall type of area, but it’s long and spacious, allowing for probably 50 or 60 people to eat. The decor is simple – a few movie posters of Greek flicks hang from the walls and some TVs play either the Food Network or news stations.
The whole experience is very casual. You order at the counter, take a numbered stand back to your table, and wait between five and ten minutes for the food to arrive.
The kitchen sits directly behind the ordering counter, and a few giant spinning racks grilling the lamb meat for the gyros are in plain sight. Just watching these giant cones of meat slowly spin is enough to make one start salivating.
The Gyro is absolutely massive. It’s so loaded that, upon delivery, you can’t actually see the pita. Mounds of sliced lamb/beef are heaped onto top, mixing with tomatoes, white onions, and the creamy tzaziki sauce. You need to bring your appetite to handle this sandwich.
In order to pick up the gyro and eat it traditionally, you’ll need to eat some of the other toppings first to get to the pita, basically giving you an extra side of meat to go with the gyro.
The meat is solid if not spectacular. It’s browned nicely on the spit but doesn’t have much texture or grilled marks. It’s lightly seasoned, but plays well with the other elements.
But it’s tough to have a good gyro without solid tzaziki sauce, and Feta’s does it right. The cool, creamy cucumber-based sauce helps give some depth to the mountain of meat, mixing up the flavors without providing a direct contrast. The restaurant also offers bottles of Cholula sauce, so if you want a little extra kick just sprinkle some of that on.
The Chicken Gyro is solid as well, but it’s not nearly as tasty as the traditional option. The giant slices of poultry are tender and well-seasoned, but they can’t stand up to the brilliance of the beef/lamb combo. Regardless of protein, the soft, pliable pita bread is the perfect delivery vessel.
The gyro combo comes with a choice of Greek Potatoes, French fries or a side salad. The Greek Potatoes are fine but unspectacular. The crisp steak fries are a much better choice. The salads are actually quite good at Feta’s. The sweet dressing is delicious and can be found in some local grocery stores.
The Spanakopita serves as an excellent appetizer. Layers of flaky phyllo dough combine with spinach and feta cheese to create a delicious savory start to any meal. The dough gets a fatty boost from butter, which pairs well with the creamy cheese and the fresh spinach. This may be an acquired taste, as my wife isn’t a fan. But I can’t stop eating it.
The menu offers some other traditional Greek dishes, such as falafel, hummus, chicken breast, and souvlaki. The Baklava, though served in small pieces, is rich and studded with plenty of nuts without being too syrup-forward. It’s a solid way to end a deeply savory meal— if you have the stomach space.
Feta’s knows exactly what it is and doesn’t try to be anything it’s not. It’s a fast casual, quick way to get a delicious gyro or salad; maybe it’s not the most innovative or traditional, but it’s just good,
