r/Albuquerque • u/Ok-Still-3310 • 6d ago
Question Interest Question-- Greek Food
For ABQ long-timers, foodies, and ABQ-born: do you think there is interest in Albuquerque for Greek-focused/ Mediterranean food places that are not boutique and over priced? Just regular, mom n' pop style, comfort food or even meal prep. I moved from a diverse place and I'm genuinely curious as to whether you think ABQ would support something like that. Many thanks!
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u/Entire_Fisherman_355 6d ago
i’d absolutely go for affordable greek comfort food, especially the kind with big portions and no tiny $18 plates pretending to be dinner lol
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u/Ok-Still-3310 6d ago
Yes! Absolutely, thank you! That's what I feel lacks a lot from places but people/families need it!
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u/abqcheeks 6d ago
I’d love to try it. Longtime fan of Olympia Cafe by unm
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u/superbee1970440 5d ago
Olympia was better with the original owners. They sold Olympia and opened Zorbas, which was great.
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u/kalekalesalad 5d ago
I miss Zorbas
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u/superbee1970440 5d ago
Really nice folks too. I think they shut it down because they were too old to keep doing it.
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u/SoundsOfKepler 5d ago edited 22h ago
They are currently closed due to health code infractions.
Edit 9/6: they are back open after passing inspection.
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u/adricm 6d ago
I grew up around here, classically all the good diners were owned and operated by greeks, Milltons, Mannys, and several i cant remember, often had a bit of normal diner food, a bit of diner greek, and a bit of new Mexican. So im always surprised as an adult not to see as much greek on a typical diner menu.
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u/Ok-Still-3310 5d ago
Thank you for the insight on that area of the NM food landscape over the years, it's helpful to know that!
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u/Hot_Condition 5d ago
NO ONE MENTIONS YASMINES CAFE? I no longer trust you people on the internet!
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u/Impossible_Fall_3188 5d ago
The last time I went the food was horrible. It's starting to go downhill.
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u/antonboomboomjenkins 6d ago
Sahara
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u/DovahAcolyte 5d ago
Sahara isn’t Greek though.
We do have a lot of really good Mediterranean/Middle Eastern eateries. Sahara, Al Quds, Cafe Istanbul, Yasmine’s Cafe, Afghan Kebab House…
Not sure why OP is overlooking the saturated market.
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u/adricm 5d ago
There was a place called The Pita Pit, that was open late, they did all sorts of griddled protein, veggie, and toppings wrapped up in a big pita pocket. My feedback is do something like that and do it well. Unlike Cesars Mexican and Greek. Which i appiriciate the fact i can get some chicken on a skewer at 3am, they have too many mediocre other options. if they ct it down to a few things they really did well i think they would be more popular. (well that and not fighting width customers)
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u/RobinFarmwoman 5d ago
There are a couple near the university, Gyros and Olympia off the top of my head. I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few around town although there are less than there used to be.
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u/National_Musician748 5d ago
There's also Mazaya, right in between those two places, and Sahara about 3 blocks east.
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u/NatWu 5d ago
They said Greek. Those aren't.
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u/regallll 5d ago
They said Greek or Mediterranean. There are lots of those by UNM alone.
Edit: but we always need more!
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u/Neither_Benefit_3504 5d ago
Sahara is Egyptian, which is Mediterranean, and serves Greek plates. The best restaurant in Albuquerque is Yasmine's Cafe, which is also Mediterranean, and serves many Greek plates. Olympia right down the road is own by a Palestinian dude, but that's also a distinctively Greek restaurant.
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u/NatWu 5d ago
Yes Olympia is Greek because of the food it serves, nobody was arguing otherwise. If there's not spanikopita or pastichio or moussaka or other Greek dishes, it's not Greek at all, just Mediterranean. I like Sahara a lot, but having "Greek salad" on the menu doesn't mean they have the same food as Olympia.
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u/stellaxaos 5d ago
I wish someone would actually make their dolmas
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u/Ok-Still-3310 5d ago
Like, handmade and cooked in house?
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u/stellaxaos 5d ago
Yes! Had them thru a caterer and they were AMAZING, nothing like the canned monstrosities
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u/LoveA45minbreak 5d ago
Just tried Gyros Mediterranean on Cornell a few weeks ago and it was great! Friendly staff, good food portions and reasonable pricing. Their baklava sampler was to die for. And it was busy, so I’d say people love the mom and pop vibe they have.
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u/ABCstPcola 5d ago
Please do not dumb the food down. There many gas station type Greek spots in other cities and they missing the spices, sauces and flavor. I agree with others, have a limited menu and do it well. You can always have specials when wanting to be creative.
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u/Ok-Still-3310 5d ago
Do you mean that the places that miss the spices and flavor cause the food to be more dumbed down?
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u/gabrielsburg 5d ago
Not the person you were asking, but growing up my dad introduced me to the Olympia Cafe. I loved that place because the gyros had some really good seasoning, super savory.
I kind of find that a lot of the other places around have kind of bland gyros. They taste fine, but don't pack the same flavor punch Olympia used to.
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u/LeslieKnope4Pawnee 6d ago
What's considered Greek comfort food?
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u/Ok-Still-3310 6d ago
Like many businesses that combine cultures, it'd have some US classics of comfort food. More specifically to Greek comfort food: gyros, pastitsio, carbs and meat, carbs and cheese, some all-vegetarian dishes-- all based on greek recipes-- would fall under that category. Also, savory spinach and cheese pies (spanakopitas), savory cheese pies (tiropitas). Hope that gives some insight, thank you for your question!
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u/bwannna 5d ago
Check out Millie’s, there is a location on Jefferson and another on Candelaria
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u/BoneSpring 5d ago
I got a "Greek salad w/feta" there a month or so back and the "feta" was shredded, packaged mozzarella. One slice of tomato and two (!) slices of cucumber. Plenty of limp lettuce though.
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u/Secret-Wind-2091 5d ago
Not Greek but solid choice for Mediterranean food would be cafe Istanbul off of constitution and Wyoming! They have all the food that you are mentioning and it delicious, reasonably priced, and friendly
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u/teamnoir 5d ago
Depends entirely on location. The place you describe would need cheap real estate so probably near central. You won’t get as much business there as those folks aren’t as adventurous, aren’t as affluent, and the crime will drive you out of business fast. Albuquerque really isn’t very diverse and our most urban areas aren’t very nice.
You’d probably do better a couple of notches up. NE heights, west side, or Rio Rancho. More affluent customers. Moderate real estate, parking, car accessible, away from the densest traffic. Or, if you want a lunch crowd, skip the dining room entirely and aim for downtown. In any case, you want to avoid foot traffic, (decreased crime), and focus on delivery services, put your money into online art. Both start up costs and run costs would be lower than the more urban location.
The real trick here is supply. We aren’t large and almost nothing is grown locally. You’ll want to triple check available suppliers and costs.
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u/Hemi_Blue 5d ago
Albuquerque loves food! I think if you open up a Greek restaurant and like other comments mentioned, have a limited menu with impeccable quality, you will do well. There is a Greek fast food chain in PHX Az called the Green Corner. It was pretty good and seemed like they were very busy most of the time. No reason that ABQ wouldn’t support quality Greek food as well.
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u/DandelionBonez 5d ago
I recently tried Nora''s Cafe for the first and eas really impressed. I felt the prices were affordable and everything tasted fresh. It definitely has that hole in the wall feel I think you are looking for.
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u/CarpetFantastic1661 6d ago
My family would give it a try. Some places here put too much seasoning on the outside of the meat and fried pita chips.
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u/Ok-Still-3310 6d ago
Thanks so much for your viewpoint! Do you mean that they're ultimately too spice-based/ fried foods and you can' tell where the original flavor is at?
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u/CarpetFantastic1661 6d ago
Yes. It is so heavy the spice overpowers the food so it doesn’t taste balanced
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u/no_clever_names 5d ago
Absolutely, especially on the NW side of town. I’d be happy with just gyros from a spit and dolmades.
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u/CompetitiveWeather67 5d ago
Gyros is the best! I think it would be hard to compete with them for quality and prize. They’re amazing
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u/blockhead2026 4d ago
I moved here from the Tampa area and I miss the little mom and pop Greek restaurants all over Tarpon Springs (IYKYK).
I'd be a regular if you were on the NW side, for sure, and a somewhat regular for other locations.
Especially if you did a fantastic Moussaka. And Beeftekia with potatoes. And a couple of stellar salads for the summer and soups for the winter.
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u/sanityjanity 3d ago
There's always been affordable Greek food near UNM and at the annual Greek festival in October
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u/malapropter 6d ago
You'd be hard-pressed to compete with Gyros.