The Happy Greek

Excellent Service and the appetizer combo was unreal… Sometimes a gyro is a gyro… but not here… the gyro platter was superb!

OK so the Happy Greek was a really good pretty pricey for a gyro $ 10 bucks and it comes with fries, but I can’t complain. The food was so fresh and flavorful it was hard to not still enjoy, even the fries were great. If your one of those people who loves a good gyro then this is the place for you. A small restaurant with a very professional feel. Something like the gyro version of the cheesecake factory. I recommend the heck out of this place. Go spend your money and eat well.

There is an amazing patio in the back of the Happy Greek. I only discovered it rhe eighth or ninth time I went to eat here!
This place has authntic greek food. The mousaka is very good. The gyro plates are fabulous. My yaya would have loved this place.

Loved the Gyro. Service fantastic. Food excellent the sample of 4 dips was awesome with the pita bread

It’s a tale of two visits to The Happy Greek this year. The first was this summer when I made my first trip back there since 2004 — 11 years! I should dabble in Greek food a lot more than I do — it’s so refreshing to eat .and I want to believe it’s better for you than other food options although it’s debatable. Anyways, not a lot went right with this return visit there this summer. We decided to sit on the patio but ended up at a table we didn’t want because the server actually told us it was too far for him to walk. Yes, he actually said that. Also, I ordered the Beef Shwarma and didn’t love it. It had cinnamon (or something that tasted like it) and it didn’t work for me. Neither did the hummus my lady ordered — I’m just not a hummus dude. And we had a loud annoying female close by oblivious to her voice’s volume. It wasn’t a bad night out — just not great.
Last night, we decided to try again after both of us had a rough day. We returned to the patio in the back, figuring we didn’t have too many of these nice mild nights left to the year. Whole different experience. We ordered a better appetizer: the spinach feta dip. Phenom. Then I went with the award-​winning gyro pita, opting for cucumbers instead of banana peppers — and it was fantastic. In my best Donald Trump voice, it was «a yyuuuge yyurr-​ohh» (you’re supposed to pronounce the «gyro» as «yur-​ohh» I’m told, so there.)
I don’t know why I don’t hear The Happy Greek mentioned in the company of other great patios in Columbus. It is as if you are dining in the backyard at home, as the patio is accented with a surrounding wooden fence, some accompanying trees providing a hint of nature, and Short North residences that round out the scenery. Our server left us alone but was there when we needed her. I won’t let it go 11 years again.

Fantastic food very filling and delicious. Great service and friendly atmosphere. Good Greek food…

So freaking yummy! I would bathe in any of their dips if I was allowed. Very authentic food and wonderful service!

Well this is a relic of the Short North past…
Where to begin… the service wasn’t bad. Until bugs came out of a gyro and my friends salmon salad was very under cooked. Than there was the burger that was under cooked as well. One of our friends got sick.
I think the wine is safe. And possible the dips…
Oh dear. Just don’t risk it…

Eh. I’ve had much better greek food elsewhere. It is pricey for the quality and quantity of food. I got the spicy chicken gyro. The pita was small and it was very average. I would not return if I had the choice.

The food and service were very good at this place. Went the with a group of 7 and it was handled nicely even though it is a small place.
Started off with the flaming cheese and stuffed grape leaves, sorry I don’t remember the proper names of the dishes, both were very good. Had the gyro plate and the meat was good but the dill cucumber sauce needed some work. Not enough pita bread served with the plate either but that was just a minor inconvenience.
Good stop if your in the area for some good greek food.

Walking in the Short North, I was waiting til I saw the place that called my name. It did. It was the smiling logo of The Happy Greek.
I sauntered in and sat down at a very well-​kept bar. Eri, gave me greetings and two very tempting menus. I inquired about beer.
Draught selection was modest but strong:
Elevation’s Dark Horse, Great Lake’s Burning River, New Belgium’s Fat Tire, Goose Head’s 312, Columbus Brewing’s IPA, and Stella Artois made for a good selection in a restaurant.
I selected the Great Lakes, and wasn’t disappointed at all.
Not looking for a meal, I ordered the Feta Fries. Perfectly seasoned fries, topped with a subtly sweet lemon sauce, and a generous amount of feta cheese. The ramekin of ketchup was pointless, and it was summarily set aside.
The fries were perfect. The texture, the balance of the salty feta and the sweet lemon sauce, I really enjoyed them, and they will be had again.
Eri, was a true gentleman, and is a very well traveled young man. I’m sure he looks forward to your company.
The Happy Greek, put a smile on my face.
This snack was less than $ 15, even with beer.

I am ashamed to say I judged this book by its cover. I pass this restaurant at least 2 – 3 times a week and never had any desire to go here. The sign and the building made me think this was a quick gyro shop and it for whatever reason just didn’t appeal to me.
I was craving Greek one day and we didn’t want to go far so we gave it a shot. The inside of this place was very cute and a lot nicer than I expected! They have a gorgeous patio too.
I made sure we got the saganaki because it’s my favorite. It was really good, maybe the best I’ve had! For dinner I went with the gyro salad and the boyfriend had the spicy gyro. The salad was everything I hoped it to be. And the garlic dressing was so good I couldn’t stop eating and ended up dunking all of my pita in it :) The gyro my boyfriend ordered came with their house dressing which was really almost identical to my garlic dressing but much more tangy. Don’t know the last time I was so crazy about a dressing/​sauce! Make sure you try this!
We got the this puff pastry desert that I can’t spell or pronounce. It had honey drizzled all over it and tasted so yummy! However… Walking back to the house I thought I was going to die — veryyyy very filling and rich. So beware!
Can’t wait to come back here and try some more things. Their menu was very lengthy and everything looked amazing. Not sure how I will make a decision. If you are walking by make sure to ignore that sign out front and give this place a shot!

This may be the last Greek restaurant in my neighborhood that I’ve had the chance to try, and I can’t believe it took this long. I probably pass by Happy Greek several times a week, and if you live in the Short North/​Victorian Village area, I’m sure you do too. The sign out front never seemed very engaging to me, so I just never gave it a shot. I’m now here to say this is one of my favorite Greek spots I’ve tried in Columbus.
First off, I couldn’t believe how big the place was, and it has a really cool patio out back. We were seated immediately on a weekend night and apart from our waiter being a little slow on checking up on us, he was really nice, and the service was great otherwise.
We ordered the Saganaki, which is one of my girlfriend’s favorite dishes, and the cheese was delicious along with the warm pita bread that came with it. For my main course, I had the spicy gyro which comes with kopanisti on top (basically a spicy feta), and it was large and absolutely delicious. I asked for the house creamy garlic dressing on the side, and it was some of the best sauce I’ve had around town. That, plus the delicious gyro meat and fresh vegetables, put it in my top five gyros.
I was pretty full at the end of that, but I saw they offered Galaktobouriko, so I had to try it. The last time I saw this was at Zoe Café, but they didn’t have it available, so I was pretty excited to give it a shot. It’s a very dense custard pastry covered in honey, and although it was pretty tasty, it’s incredibly filling. I’m not sure if I’d get it again or just stick to baklava.
The girlfriend and I will definitely be back here to try some other options on the menu, and it’s quite a large menu. With all the new restaurants in Short North, it’s definitely easy to overlook the long time staples, but if you haven’t been in awhile, you have to give the place a go.

It’s something else, really – during the summer, Jules and I spent most of our time eating out, mainly because of game-​convention season! This time around, we headed to our absolute favorite convention: the Origins Game Fair in downtown Columbus.
If there’s one great thing about this site, it’s the food options. With North Market just across the street from the Convention Center proper and the whole of the Arena District and Short North so close, it’s your own fault if you can’t find some great grub while at Origins!
Jules and I actually had the privilege to take two of our gamer friends – whom we actually don’t ever see, outside of Origins – out to the Happy Greek before settling in for an evening of gaming. Jules and I had been to the Happy Greek a few times prior, but for Rod and Justine, this was their first time out.
And really, I have no complaints whatsoever. Arriving on a Friday night in the Short North, you’d expect the Happy Greek to be packed, but their ample seating covered the the crowd easily and we were seated almost instantly. Service was courteous and affable and we made it out with plenty of time for our 7pm game.
The food, though! Ohh… the food! Happy Greek focuses on Greek and Mediterranean classics, with plenty of variety to be had. My lamb shawarma over hummus came with a delectable roasted pepper sauce that complemented the lamb beautifully. Justine’s chicken dish was grilled to perfection and smelled heavenly. Glorious, wonderful Greek delectables!
Oh, and if you go? Make sure you order the saganaki. Yes, I know – it’s not «authentic», coming from Greek immigrants to Chicago, but it’s delicious and it makes quite the statement, watching your waiter light your goat cheese on fire!
If you’re in the Short North, you owe yourself a dinner here. Opa!

Who knew there was a patio out back? I hadn’t been here for years, and came this past week for lunch with a group of 8. This place is like the tardis — much bigger inside than it appears on the outside! Greek music, lovely murals, and the shaded patio out back give the illusion of being far removed from the bustle of High street. I had the spicy gyro pita with fries, and it was a ton of food. Initially, I was disappointed that they don’t have a lunch menu with lower prices, but the pita/​fries makes for a great lunch portion. The kopanisti on the ‘spicy’ pitas is just hot enough to be flavorful and isn’t overwhelming. And that pita bread? So fluffy and soft that I wanted to roll up into it like a sleeping bag.
Our server did a decent job for a larger group, but was a little spacey. She accidentally knocked a cup of ketchup into my coworker’s purse, but provided a piece of baklava to compensate for the hassle. It looks like they have an amazing happy hour, so I’d love to come back to check that out. My recent visit was a reminder that this place is a hidden gem in the short north!

This was one of the best Greek places I’ve been. The food was good the service was good and the atmosphere was nice and greeky. Would definitely recommend this place to anyone I know.

Unpretentious Greek-​American food. It’s not the most authentic, but it is very tasty, and that is why I eat out ultimately. The servers are friendly and the prices are reasonable. Overall, it’s enough to take care of my Souvlaki addiction.

We had lunch there today and it was delicious – the only problem was trying to decide what to order. I decided on the gyro pita, because that’s probably a solid test for a Greek restaurant. YUM!!! And it was even better because I switched out the fries for the grilled vegetables (my husband had the fries, which were delicious, too). The avgolemono soup was the best I’ve ever had.
And the patio! Who knew they had a patio? It’s in a lovely little courtyard out back, beautifully landscaped.
Add in the attentive and friendly servers, and what else can you ask for? This place rocks.

Great environment, great food, great service. Thanks Alex. Walking distance from the job site. Good for blue collar and white collar. I felt very welcome.

Again, Unilocal app to the rescue!
Super friendly staff. We were in Columbus for the weekend, mainly to see a concert. Decided to venture around the Short North area and grab a bite to eat. This was a good choice.
Gyro is good, I believe my husband had the Keftedes Kabob, which was also good. Plus creamy garlic dressing drizzled on stuff makes everything delicious, right? Right? Okay, anyways, yes. Fries with the Gyro were crunchy golden tastiness.
If we’re in Columbus again, I’m sure we’d pop in!