Freshly sliced meat from a gyro spit. This new Greek restaurant opens in Warner Robins
A new restaurant serving authentic Greek street food is now open in Warner Robins.
Olympia Gyros at 670 Lake Joy Road, Suite 150, offers wraps, sandwiches, bowls, melts, platters, salads and burgers.
“We are a Greek restaurant but I know my customers love wings, so we have wings,” said Nabor Gutierrez, the chef, manager and owner.
Most locals who frequent the popular Greek Village restaurant on Watson Boulevard in Warner Robins know Gutierrez from that restaurant. He partnered with Adriana Ivanus, owner of the Greek Village, to open it. She ran the front of the restaurant and he ran the back. They’re still helping each other, said Gutierrez, who goes by “Jose” or “Joe.”
Owning and operating his own restaurant is a dream come true for Gutierrez, who’s been in the restaurant business for about 30 years.
Before the Greek Village and now Olympia Gyros, he spent most of his life working at diners, including the Seven Star Diner in New York and the Marietta Diner in Atlanta. He served as a chef, line cook and then manager at the Marietta Diner more than a decade ago.
Olympia Gyros opened for the first time for three hours a week ago Tuesday. Its currents hours are 10:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Gutierrez expects to eventually expand those hours, including opening on Sunday.
The food
Gutierrez arrives early at the restaurant. Everything is made fresh: the meats, the vegetables, the sauces. Nothing comes in cans.
Already, the most popular dish is the Olympia gyro, with shredded gyro meat freshly sliced from a spit, grilled onion, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, feta cheese and tzatziki sauces.
Gutierrez also adds french fries inside the gyro, although the menu didn’t specify that on a recent visit.
“We’re the only ones that do that and my customers love it,” he said.
But if a customer prefers gyro without fries, that’s fine, too. Tip: say so when ordering.
Gyros can be ordered as wraps. sandwiches, bowls and skewers in a platter meal. Other proteins include chicken, steak, chicken shawarma, shrimp and falafel.
Most dishes come with a choice of fries or fried rice.
Customers also may order separately a Greek or house salad and may add a protein for an additional charge.
Burgers include an American burger with lettuce tomato and onion, a Pappulis burger with grilled onion, feta cheese and tzatziki sauce and more. The menu also includes blackened chicken and grilled chicken breast “burgers” as well as a Philly cheese steak wrap.
Wings, which come with a choice of fries or onion rings, come in six ways: plain dry, honey hot, mild buffalo, teriyaki sauce, lemon pepper and Greek style. Wings can be purchased 10 pieces, 15 pieces, 20 pieces, 50 pieces and 100 pieces.
The kids menu includes an American burger, a chicken breast sandwich, chicken or steak on a pita and a tuna salad sandwich.
Starters include tzatziki dip, hummus dip and Olympia potatoes, which are seasoned french fries topped with fresh lemon juice, sprinkles of feta cheese, shredded gyro and tzatziki sauce.
Desserts include a generous slice of baklava or of a variety of cakes. Fans of the Greek Village will likely recognize these desserts.
Olympia Gyros also offers daily house specials that are featured on a chalkboard. On a recent visit, the special was New Zealand lamb chops served with a Greek salad, french fries or rice, and hot pita bread with Tzatziki sauce.
Once it receives its beer license, the restaurant also will offer domestic and import beer.
“We are so excited to be here,” Gutierrez said.
The new spot is sandwiched between a Pizza Hut and My Dinner Tonite, a locally-owned chef-driven business that offers prepared dinners cooked on site for pickup and delivery to be heated up at home. A Which Wich Superior Sandwiches was formerly in the space where Olympia Gyros is located.
The restaurant offers dine-in, takeout, online ordering, and delivery via DoorDash and GrubHub. The restaurant’s number is 478-287-2176.
