Gyros pita
Photo: Manfred&Barbara Aulbach · CC BY-SA 3.0

History

Gyros arrived in Athens in the 1920s with Asia Minor refugees, a Greek adaptation of the Ottoman doner kebab. The vertical-spit pork version became the Greek standard in the 1950s and 1960s. Bairaktaris on Monastiraki has run a gyros window since the late 19th century, before the modern format settled. Today the pita with chips inside is the canonical Athens late-night order, EUR4 across most counters in the city.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 3 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 600g pork shoulder, sliced thin
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp dried oregano
  • Sea salt and black pepper
  • 4 large Greek pita breads
  • 200g chips, hot from the fryer
  • 1 tomato, diced
  • 1 small red onion, sliced thin
  • 200g tzatziki

Method

  1. Mix oil, paprika, cumin, oregano, salt and pepper. Toss with pork slices. Refrigerate 2 hours.
  2. Heat a heavy frying pan to high. Cook pork in batches 3 to 4 minutes per side until edges crisp and centre is just cooked.
  3. Warm pitas on a dry pan 30 seconds each side. Lay each flat.
  4. Stack hot chips down the centre. Top with sliced pork, tomato, onion and a generous spoonful of tzatziki.
  5. Roll tight, wrap the bottom half in foil or wax paper, and serve immediately.

Tip from the editors. The chips MUST be hot when they go in. Cold chips ruin the bite; fry them last and assemble in the same minute.

Where to eat gyros pita

Gyros pita in Athens

Bairaktaris ★ 3.9

€€ GreekMonastirakiUntil Daily until 02:00

Bairaktaris on Monastiraki Square in Athens runs until 02:00 every night, the long-running souvlaki counter that has fed the after-bar crowd since the late.

OrderA pork souvlaki pita with extra tzatziki and a glass of the house retsina.

TipThe pita window faces the square; the sit-down room behind is a separate bill and longer wait.

Directions

Kostas Souvlaki ★ 4.7

€ GreekMonastiraki

Kostas on Agia Irini Square in Athens has fired the souvlaki pita with its house tomato sauce since 1946, the €3 lunch counter that has fed the city.

TryPork souvlaki pita with tomato sauce

TipOpen weekdays until 17:00 or until the meat runs out; closed Saturday and Sunday and cash preferred.

Directions

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