Papa Gyros’ Gyros are fresh, juicy and big enough for two… If you’re willing to share.
The Gyro. The tasty sauce and tomatoes are hidden under all that meat.
It was a dark and rainy evening, I was fighting off the last remaining bits of being sick and food was on my mind as it definitely wasn’t in my belly. Not looking to spend a great deal of money, Jen pulled out some coupons for Papa Gyros, we put the bark collar on the dog and headed out.
We traveled the 10 minute drive to Papa Gyros and exited the vehicle as the rain was subsiding. Papa Gyros is a small little place with probably less than a dozen tables in total. The entry way was spacious leaving plenty of room to wait in line (if necessary) to order at the walk-up counter.
Jen chit-chatted with cashier while I snapped a few photos of the establishment. We paid and no sooner found a booth when a waitress approached us asking me to please not to take any more pictures.
I was perplexed and it obviously showed. She volunteered that orders came from management and asked if I would like to talk to the manager. “Yes, please.”
A few minutes later management came to our table, I explained to him why I was taking pictures and showed him my hot-off-the-press The Hero Of Canton business cards. This seemed to convince him I’m not a competitor out to steal company secrets. Both the manager and the waitress were very nice, respectful, and I appreciate them allowing me to take and post these pictures of their restaurant.
Jen was excited about the tiny ketchup bottle. Yeah, I didn't get it either.
The dining area was spotlessly clean. That’s seems to be the exception these days and it was worth taking note of. The staff obviously took great care to provide quick clean-up as patrons left and ensure the restaurant consistently looks fresh.
When we received our food the waitress offered to refill our drinks for us. They have one of the serve-yourself fountains so I thought this was a very customer-focused gesture. I’ve heard about Papa Gyros excellent service and was now seeing it first hand.
The Gyros we ordered were massive. This wasn’t a simple pita sandwich, this was mammoth portion of meat stuffed into a bursting roll of pita bread. And it was good. It’s been years since I’ve had a gyro and I always liked them. This one was exceptional.
It took me a while to figure out how to eat the darn thing. It was simply too big and juicy to pick up with your hands without falling apart all over the place. I opted for the knife and fork, but that created issues with the paper layered on the bottom of the plate. I had to be careful with my cuts so I didn’t end up with strips of paper in my bites. Neither Jen or I could finish the entire sandwich and took half of each home, which made an excellent lunch the next day.
Initially I wasn’t much enamored with the fries, but then I rarely like restaurant fries. I was spoiled growing up on McDonald’s french fries. I added some salt which did a little, threw some ketchup on there and that improved them a bit more (I rarely eat fries with ketchup.) Jen suggested I try vinegar. I’ve never (knowingly) had vinegar on my fries and I liked what I tasted. It gave the fries a whole new twist.
If you’re looking for a good Gyro, Papa Gyros is the place. It’s rare that I leave a restaurant thinking I can’t wait to eat here again, but this was definitely one of those times. Oh, and in case you didn’t know, it’s pronounced Year-roh, not Jy-roh.
More Papa Gyros Info
Cost: 2 adults – $19
Hats off: 4/5 
Papa Gyros menu (pdf)
Yelp reviews
Google Reviews and info
Location:
2045 Cleveland Ave NW
Canton, Ohio
(330) 456-9000
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I understand completely about the problem with management not wanting you to take pictures. Unless there is no way around it and I have to ask permission up front, I always try and be as stealthy as possible. First because I want to get the pictures to write the story that *I* want to tell and secondly, if management finds out you are doing this for something that will be in the public eye (like on a blog), I am always worried that I will get treated differently than someone who wasn’t posting their experience on the Internet. I don’t think that is what happened in your case, but I know it is something that I always worry about.
I’m glad to hear your experience at Papa Gyro’s was great. They definitely do gyros and fries pretty decently. The last time I went (last year some time), I did find some of their other items were eh, so-so.
Yeah, it’s happened to me a couple of times now. I’m always a tad self-conscious when taking pictures of a place. Not only because of what the people working there might be thinking but the other people eating. They always look at you funny.
When people ask my standard line is “I have no short-term memory so I take pictures to remember what I do each day.” Then of course I tell them the truth and hand them one of my business cards.
I love Papa Gyros..I wish there was one closer to my home (the nearest one is about 30 miles away),But thats not why I’m writing to you…I laughed-out-loud (seriously) about your “short term memory” comment…I’m sure its your fun style that keeps me coming back to read what adventures you are into…thanks so much…keep it up