Souvlaki King

Best souvalaki I’ve ever had, even better than my recollection of what I had in Greece (though that was decades ago.) Loved it, and I’ve searched far and wide to find a souvalaki equal to those I had on Brunswick St. in Fitzroy in the States (that’s the U.S.A.) and I regret to say I have yet to find one even near to being its equal. And I might add, unlike the bulk of the other reviewers of this establishment, I was 100% sober every time I visited! When I’m back in Melbourne again, this will be the first place I go!

I like Souvlaki King a lot! Im my opinion they do the best souvlakis on Brunswick St and the staff are really nice people. They are also very tolerant of late night drunk customers — which is an important attribute when your business is open til 3am and is a few doors down from Bar Open!
The food is good quality and reasonably cheap. They also do chips and potato cakes and other greasy late night treats as well as the healthier souvlakis.
The other thing I like about the place is that it becomes quite sociable quite late at night, so it ends up becoming like an extra pub when the real pubs shut!!!
They are also community minded and gave discounts to Melbourne Chess Club members whose clubrooms are around the corner. People can also put notices up on the walls.
Note, Souvlaki King was renovated within the past year too — which make it even nicer!

Brunswick Street is full of charming places to eat and drink, so a souvlaki bar is not usually on the cards until you’re well into your drinking session or soon to be calling it a night.
I have never met lovelier staff than those found in Souvlaki King. They deal with the drunks well, and offer conversation based on your intoxication levels. Watching them interact with others nearly be as good as talking with them yourself.
One thing you will also never find is such a clean take away shop. All the salads and pieces are prepared with fresh ingredients. One cook was even a vegetarian and commented on the cleanliness of a place that serves shaved meat in bread. This is a good sign. If you’re not after the protein and oil fat hit of a kebab, I highly recommend their zucchini burgers. A real winner amongst the locals and a good way of avoiding your post kebab hangover. The backlava is also a winner
The kebabs here are still greasy enough to kill a hangover or match your craze for take away on a Saturday night, but the quality is top notch.

Don’t be fooled by the fake kebab that hangs from the shop next to Souvlaki King — yes, it’s a cool looking sign, but Souvlaki King is actually where it’s at.
When you think of kebabs, you think of drunken nights where you wake up regretting you ever ordered that lamb/​chicken/​falafel kebab. Why put all that grease and meat in you? I’m not saying I don’t do that with Souvlaki King, but it’ll most likely feel less bad because the kebabs here are better than the rest of the kebabs on Brunswick Street.
It’s the meat — they’re juicy, full of flavour, and less greasy. The kebabs cost around $ 8 or $ 9, which is quite average. I like to order a chicken kebab and add a couple of falafel for an extra $ 2 per falafel. It makes me feel slightly healthier.
Whilst I do come here drunk, I’m not afraid to admit that when I’m craving a kebab when I’m sober, I do also go to Souvlaki King occasionally. Please don’t judge me.

Yeah, the King’s okay. And it’s open quite late, which is in everyone’s best interest. But, when it comes down to it, I’m a kebab man.

The amount of drunken dollars i have dropped in Souvlaki King is countless.
No matter where i have ventured for the night, I always get the taxi to bring me back here (My house only being a 500 meter walk).
Open til the wee hours of the morning, Souvlaki King is your edible savour. There is a large range of Souvlaki’s available and whatever the flavour (Mine being Vegetarian), I’ve never heard of any complaints.
The Falafel Wrap is around $ 8.50 (From what i can remember, most occasions are blurry at this point) and absolutely delicious.
The two old Greek men who work behind the counter are friendly enough and your order takes no longer than a few minutes to wrap up.

For years I patroned the souvlaki shop next door without even a second thought. And then one day someone insisted I went to see the king and I have never looked back.
Look it can be hard to tell one souvlaki from the next sometimes, and if you are even as averagely drunk as the usual souvlaki customer then you are even less likely to be able to tell. And it must be said there is really nothing wrong with the souvlaki shop next door. But I have a simple souvlaki taste score system — which essentially takes the dimension of taste out of the equation — because lets face it, everything greasy tastes good if you’ve had a few drinks.
First I see how much I want a second serve of any given souvlaki, this is a definite indication of flavour, as well as an instant litmus test of how sick/​greasy the souvlaki has made me feel. The second, and most important test is how good I feel the next day. I discount garlicy burps, as this is usually par for the course and means that you got to experience extra flavour when it counted — the night before. No, the real test is whether I have an alcohol hangover or a greasy souvlaki hangover.
And guess what? Souvlaki King comes up trumps every time! No souvlaki hangovers here.

Located in the heart of Brunswick Street amongst a gaggle of kebab shops, Souvlaki King wears the crown and is the pick of the bunch. For $ 10 you get the best souvlaki on Brunswick Street. Soft bread, crunchy lettuce, a generous helping of garlic sauce, onions, fresh tomato and a generous portion of succulent lamb or chicken. They even look healthy!
Want something sweet too? Their baklavas are awesome.
Don’t be distracted or sucked in by the rotating kebab spit and spinning meat of the Real Greek kebab shop next door, Souvlaki King is the real deal. They’ve even got celebrity customers with messages hung up on the walls (eg. Hamish and Andy are the ones that come to mind).
The guys at Souvlaki King are really friendly and they never seem to get an order wrong. How they manage to stay calm when a hundred drunk people are screaming for their kebabs, and carnage is unfolding all around at 3 in the morning, is a complete mystery to me. But hats off to them for those mad skills.