Gyro Xpress (499 Castro) opened its doors Monday in the spot that, in years past, has seen a couple of restaurants come and go. The new restaurant hopes to break this curse and make it work by offering Mediterranean food in a friendly, fast-paced environment. I stopped in on Tuesday to try out the food and share my experience with the neighborhood.
The restaurant is setup for fast food. Orders are taken at the register and you seat yourself. The menu is also pretty simple. Gyro Xpress offers a few appetizer and salad selections along with gyros and combo platters. It seems they are still trying to figure out how much food to prepare as my combo plate with French fries (who knew Mediterranean is served with French fries?) came out cold and my pita bread was stale. The lamb and beef gyro ($10.95), however, was delicious and a hearty portion. They also have a good variety of beers on tap for thirsty neighbors to choose from. I went with my local favorite, Lagunitas.
Gyro Xpress has certainly taken advantage of one of the best parts about their location: the view! Patrons can sit at the counter-height tables that line the restaurants full-length windows along 18th and Castro and peer out at the neighborhood, glare at the Google Bus riders, or watch passersby rush to MUNI.
Many restaurants in the neighborhood are deciding to stay open later on weekends to take advantage of the late night crowd. Gyro Xpress appears to be following that trend and will be open 7 days a week from 11-3AM. We'll see how long the weekday late-night hours stick around depending on how popular gyro and falafel are after a night of partying.
This space has always had such great potential. Here's to hoping this one sticks around for a while!
Gyro Xpress 499 Castro St San Francisco, CA 94114 (415) 445-9111 7 Days a week 11-3am
