Peter Sklar 1962-2012
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Greek House Cafe
5 W. Haley St, Santa Barbara
Phone: (805) 560-0809

  • Category: Greek
  • Hours: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm
  • Price: < $10
  • Serving: Lunch
  • Reservations: Yes, but usually not needed
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Greek House Cafe writes: Authentic Greek Cafe. Serving Gyros, Kebobs, Greek Salads, Calamari and more. Casual dining with take away for all your needs.

  • Specials: Daily specials include Moussaka, Lamb Shanks with Artichokes. Seafood Plake
  • Delivery: $30.00 min. Delivery fee $5.00. Call ahead, times available. (805)560-0809

Reviews by the General Public

I'll take your Groupon!, 2/12/2013
Reviewer: Ty from Santa Barbara, CA
Please give this place a try, it is great. If you don't I'll use your groupon for you.

Purchased vouchers on Groupon, 2/7/2013
Reviewer: Ede from Santa Barbara, CA
After reading the reviews, especially about the cleaness, much less the food, I'm not sure I will give it a try. Shame too, I was really looking forward to it... I got I'll in Europe eating Greek food. Not fun.
never going back., 9/1/2012
Reviewer: sigmund from Santa Barbara, CA
I haven't had much in the way of Greek but what I had just seemed sloppy and thrown together. Not a very clean place and the service was really bad. I placed an order and it literally took 25 minutes. By the time I had gotten my food, the "can" of soda I had got and opened was warm. Not trying to hate but was very disappointed. Waste of time and money IMO.
Decently good, yet poor effort
Reviewer: Nick M. from Santa Barbara, CA
Ive been frequenting this spot for a while now, since then they've made some menu changes even tho all I order is the gyro. Being a working chef myself in town, I come in here and look behind the counter and can only shake my head in disbelief at how grimy it looks, and with the knowledge that I know I pray for my food and for my health. Luckily so far so good, the owner I guess "stan", ? seems nice and puts together a decent product but every time I go in there its the same story, grimy setting and a decently good gyro, Last time I went I wasnt paying attention to my C/C receipt and got charged for nearly 2o bucks just for an gyro ( stan just got mixed up because someone else was picking up an order when my order was ready) I highly recommend this place just watch your receipts and dont be shy about the noticeable grime!
Seriously?
Reviewer: Alex from Santa Barbara, CA
I was surprised at how bad this palce was. I got the gyro. We waited 20 minutes for our food and we were the only people in the place and I know that the meat is already cooked so I have no clue why it took so long. The pita was crunchy, the meat was ok and there was barely any tzatziki on it. I was very disappointed.
Awesome!
Reviewer: Cassie from Santa Barbara, CA
This place is awesome! My family and I love it here, and we absolutely love Stan. He is doing a great job with his business and hope he continues to stay open for a long time! If you haven't gone there already, it's time for you to go get hooked!!!!
Good Food, Nice Owner
Reviewer: Glenn from Buellton
The Owner is nice, the food is good. Place is pretty small but does have some seating inside. Gyro was fairly similar to other places in town and good. Owner is Greek so you are going to get authentic stuff. 1/2 block from lower state, will be open late in the future apparently.
Authentic and delicious!
Reviewer: Jessa from Santa Barbara, CA
Wow. This place is amazingly good. I went for the first time for lunch, ordered the gyros and salad combo. Its the best I've ever had - better than the gyros I tried at the Greek Festival earlier this year. The meat is thick, well seasoned and the ingredients were fresh and top notch. The prices were very reasonable. The best part for me was the woman who works there! She is so friendly and makes you feel like you at home - at home in a legit, Greek grandmother's kitchen. Highly recommended!
Great Authentic Gyro
Reviewer: N.R from Santa Barbara, CA
I am a frequent international traveler and have never found a food that is as tasty as the Gyros that you can buy in Greece. Living in the states, I have searched for a Greek restaurant that prepares and serves authentic Gyros with no avail until I had the Gyros at the Greek House Cafe. These gyros are as authentic as I have seen, especially the fact that they are served with "chips"(French Fries) which is common in Greece and that their meat is thick. This is the best Gyro I have had sense traveling to Greece and the only reason I gave it 4 stars instead of 5 is that the meat is a bit overdone, but not enough to really make a fuss about. I will continue to go back to the Greek House Cafe and am happy to be a loyal customer.
Eh, wouldn't go back.
Reviewer: David from Santa Barbara, CA
It is possible to be funky and have less than perfect decor and still be clean. This is not that. Old, crusted on food stuck to tables is not cool. The food was passable. The gyro was commercial gyro meat (so no surprise good or bad) and the accouterments were dismal and miniscule. The Greek salad was about what I would expect from a place that has never seen one before. The ingredients were mostly romaine lettuce with some slices of bell pepper and a few (pitted) olives. The Feta was grated into tiny pieces and very sparingly at that. It was hard to taste any Feta at all. Having been to Greece and having gone to many Greek places in the U.S. I would rate this as though it was operated by someone who has no clue what Greek Salads are supposed to be. Additionally the salad was served with (bottled) Italian dressing on the side, no olive oil or vinegar or lemon juice. It would be so easy to repair these flaws, and I hope they will.

Greek House Cafe writes: David Your comments are will be addressed. The salad comment on the guy who runs the place etc. I am the owner and made the menu. I am 100% Greek. I grew up in a Greek household. Greek is my first language. My grandparents immigrated from Greece. They also taught me how to cook and passed on family recipes. Your comments on how you went to Greece and ate at a few places does not make an expert on anything Greek. In Greece they do not use lettuce in the salads , as lettuce is too expensive to grow. They like lettuce but it is scarce. So when Greeks came to the States and found lettuce all around, is was added to the Greek Salad. My Grandma (Yia-Yia in Greek ), who lived with us and cooked Greek food for the family daily. She even make yogurt and cured olives. She put lettuce in her Greek salads. Many restaurants also use lettuce, as does my church at functions and many Greek Festivals i hav´ worked at. In example: Check out Papa Cristos in LA and on the Web. This place is great and check out their Greek Salad.(with lettuce and house dressing) . We also serve the Village Greek Salad that has no lettuce with olive and vinegar in the store on request and it will be printed on the new menu. Bottled Italian Dressing. The dressing is made on site, It contains some olive oil, sea salt and oregano all imported from Greece. I also add some dijon, lemon juice, garlic and pepper. Yia-Yia used red vinegar instead ot lemon juice. We also used straight olive oil and vinegar on request. At the cafe we do not put the dressing on the side unless it is requested. Olives: you may ask for more olives, as many as you wish. Our dressing is very popular. Gyro-I believe the cone we use was invented by a Greek in Chicago, It is not like the ones in Greece which are Pork. The Cone is very popular in the States and other parts of the world, When I was in Greece , a non-English Speaking Greek Gyro Stand owner, took me in his kitchen and showed me how to make a Gyro. It was layers of Pork with spices that included Black Mustard Seed. He also had Chicken in Pita and Bisteak in Pita. We also offer the Chicken, Steak and a Falafel. at my cafe. Your comments on your Food Portions. I am sorry that you were not served the proper amounts and shredded feta cheese (which is sheep’s milk) I have taken care of both of these issues, We will gladly give you a refund or another meal. Your table should not have had a spot on it., we missed a spot. We clean tables when guests leave. We keep a clean kitchen. I agree the decor is. funky because it has no decor .. We are in the middle of a remodel . The current dining room has most of the decor removed We will be adding more seating and new colours and floors We are also adding a full kitchen and grill . Most Recipes are all Yia-Yia’s from Greece. I hope this addressed your comments and if you wish call me or stop by or more information.
wonderful service and food
Reviewer: DCR from Santa Barbara, CA
Will always go back and recomend to people to try it. :P
The Best Gyros!!
Reviewer: Lo from Santa Barbara, CA
This place has the best Gyros in town!!!

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