The Salt Lake gyro at Crown Burgers and Apollo combines vertical-rotisserie lamb-and-beef gyro meat with pastrami, tomato, onion, tzatziki and pita bread, a Greek-American fusion that defines the local counter idiom.

Greek Orthodox immigrants arrived in Utah in waves from the late 1800s, building Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1925 and the annual Salt Lake Greek Festival since 1976. Greek-American burger counters including Crown Burgers (1978) and Apollo Burger (1980s) brought the gyro spit to Utah burger culture, blending it with the pastrami burger and fry sauce into a distinctive local Greek-American counter idiom.

Where to eat Greek pastrami gyro in Salt Lake City

3 editor picks for Greek pastrami gyro in Salt Lake City, ranked by editorial score. All Salt Lake City signature dishes · Greek pastrami gyro across every city.

  • Manoli's

    Order Halloumi with black olive honey, dolmathes, spanakopita and a Greek pour off the list.

    Manoli's on Harvey Milk Boulevard, chef-owner Manoli Katsanevas' Greek small-plates room since 2015, reinterprets Greek mezze with seasonal local ingredients.

    DetailsDirections

  • Crown Burgers

    Order The Crown burger with pastrami plus fry sauce and a gyro on the side.

    Crown Burgers on East 200 South, the Katsanevas family's burger institution since 1978, popularized Salt Lake's pastrami burger at its Greek-American counter.

    DetailsDirections

  • Apollo Burger

    Order The Pastrami Burger with Apollo sauce plus a side of fries and a milkshake.

    Apollo Burger on Redwood Road, the Utah burger chain since 1984, serves charbroiled pastrami burgers and Greek-American sides, souvlaki included, six days.

    DetailsDirections

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Make it at home

Serves 490 minIntermediate

Ingredients

  • 500g ground lamb
  • 300g ground beef
  • 1 small onion, finely grated
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 200g sliced hot pastrami
  • 4 pita breads
  • 200g tzatziki (Greek yogurt with cucumber, garlic, lemon, dill)
  • 1 tomato, sliced
  • 1 cucumber, sliced
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced

Method

  1. Mix ground lamb and beef with grated onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, paprika and salt. Knead 5 minutes until cohesive and slightly tacky.
  2. Form the mixture into a tight log on aluminum foil. Wrap and refrigerate 30 minutes.
  3. Heat oven to 200C (400F). Place the log on a rack over a roasting pan. Bake 45 minutes until cooked through.
  4. Let rest 10 minutes. Slice thinly with a sharp knife.
  5. Warm pita breads. Spread tzatziki on each pita.
  6. Layer with hot sliced gyro meat, then a layer of warm pastrami slices.
  7. Top with tomato, cucumber and red onion. Roll tightly and serve immediately.

Editor tip. Sliced thin is the gyro signature; chill the cooked log briefly for cleaner slices. Pastrami warmed in the pan fat is the Salt Lake addition that distinguishes the Utah version.

Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy.