Piatsa Kalamaki

I was walking down the street trying to figure out what to have for lunch today when I stumbled upon Piatsa Kalamaki. I’ve passed it a few times, but today it peaked my interest. I decided to go in and see what they had to offer. The shop is very small and cute. I loved the vibes and they were playing some reggae music. I noticed that it was Mediterranean food such as gyro pitas and salads.
I decided to go with a chicken gyro pita. You have the option of getting salad inside or fries, but I chose the salad as I’m trying to make healthier choices. Inside the sandwich it was lettuce, tomato, cucumber, lettuce, and a little bit of tzatziki sauce.
i really did enjoy the sandwich. It was excellent! It was a little bit on the smaller side though so it didn’t really fill me up. The salads looked really great and that’s definitely what I’d like to try next time I visit. The crunchy avocado salad was the one that stood out to me. Great to find a new lunch place near work!

Great place for Lunch the staff is extremely friendly they make you feel very welcome in here. They recommended I try the steak Kalakami platter and they were right it was delicious. I hope this place stays open it definitely is a great spot to pick up lunch and healthy and it’s very hard to find very friendly service for lunch hours. Sandra is such a sweet heart.

Food is can of expensive so little but some how it’s good
Review food so far is great love the gyro but it’s kind of small but great flavor

Super nice staff. My lunch arrived a bit late and due to new packaging they were trying out, it also arrived a bit soggy. The manager completely understood and offered to re-​send my lunch right away. Not only was the staff really friendly and helpful with the issue and willing to do better but they were genuinely customer service orientated and the grilled squid was lovely!

Just got back from greece a few weeks back. I was craving a chicken gyro. The one here was super tasty and about as good as the ones I was eating in Greece every day (literally every day). I will be back.

I’ll give 5 star to their beef skewer and 3 star to the lamb gyro sandwiches, so 4 stars on average.
The beef skewer is juicy, tender well flavored and pretty good portion for just $ 3!!! I’ll definitely be back for this.
Lamb gyro sandwich, on the other hand, is a bit dry and too salty.

Ordered the lamb-​beef gyro and was not impressed. The meat is stringy and dry… Not very appetizing. There were also some oily fries mixed in there.
Liked the soft pita with the yogurt sauce the gyro was served on and the service was very friendly. But overcooked and stringy meat is too much of a turn-​off. Won’t be going back.

Awful service and will never go again. Ordered a sandwich which they describe as their signature. Went back to office to eat it and they left out the meat. This happened to mine and guest I was with. When we returned the new owner refunded money and they tried again which was an epic failure. Instead of a sandwich they piled the meat right on top vs making a sandwich. Staff is slow and unfamiliar with menu items. Some of the meat wasn’t even cooked so I left it all behind and walked out. If they don’t get their act together they will be out of business shortly. Only positive was owner trying to make things right but his staff let him down.

I have been here now three times and it’s amazing. You’re getting Athenian street food at good prices. Other reviewers have noted the wait– this is really a timing issue. I have passed by and it’s been packed but every time I’ve been there to eat, I have never waited more than 3 minutes for the actual food from ordering. I will say that the grilled skewers usually take longer than the gyros so keep that in mind if you’re in a hurry.
The vegetarian skewers, the yoghurt pot, and both types of gyros are what I’ve had and all are amazing. Fresh ingredients, constructed Greek-​style with a hospitable atmosphere, especially if you start talking to Michael the chef.

Best cheap eats if you’re staying at the Wyndham 45. Open until 10:00 pm too!
Among the many hole-​in-​the-​wall eating places around the area, this small place which is more a take-​out/​to go counter has only 3 seats by the window counter. But the way the store was set up speaks of the effort of the owners to impress. And they don’t disappoint with the food either.
Kalamakis on a stick range from $ 4.00 to 7.00. We tried the beef, pork, shrimp, and salmon and all tasted good. We ordered these with a platter– pita bread, veggie rice casserole and a salad. Good combo.
Wait time may take a while as they grill it upon order but it’s worth the wait as against eating at the other choices in the area which could be really crappy or more expensive. I like their Tzatziki too and their Avgolemono soup (chicken stock, rice, egg yolks, lemon juice). We took all these back to our room and ate it there and enjoyed our meal.
Not for dining in, but good food to bring home.

I got the sausage combo here and I have to say the sausage was well seasoned, nice herbal accents on the flavor. There wasn’t much food to speak of though so it’s a very light meal but the flavor of the sausage is excellent!

Food tasted fresh and delicious and portions are big! Came back a few times for lunch now.

Great gyros!
There’s more to a good gyro than a big pile of lamb meat.
These guys get that. The gyro is delicious here. Lots of good ingredients.
I’ve tried to other greek places nearby and prefer the gyro here.

So, I thought Greek people pronounced gyro like «yee-​roh»; I’ve been pronouncing it like this for a few years after I looked it up. The man at the counter was pronouncing it as «jai-​roh». Hmm, I wonder if this is truly a Greek place and I’ve been miseducated…
The food was aiight. Though, I’m no Greek cuisine expert…
(also, I don’t think gyros typically have french fries stuffed in it)

Food not great and service completely sucks. They screwed up my order. served everyone after me. I said something and they where all confused.
They had completed half and gave the second part of my order to another customer.
Don’t waist your time with this place.

I was so excited to try this place since it opened, but after I finally did I will never return. First the card machines did not work and from the other reviews I read it seems to be an ongoing issue, luckily I had cash which I rarely do. I had the chicken souvlaki and it was GROSS!!! The chicken is dark meat, which threw me off. I was expecting white meat chunks. I had it on a pita, which included fries inside, I was not a fan of that, but could have dealt with that. I don’t what it was beside the cheap dark meat, but I still have a nasty taste in my mouth. Maybe the sauce ?? Whatever it is it left me hungry and since I had no time to get anything I had to settle for an apple I had in the office.

The jury’s out. Ordered a beef/​lamb gyro, side of taramasalata, and a can of San Pellegrino. Total came to $ 15.25 with tax. First problem is that the cashier swipes my card and then holds it out of sight, only to report that the machine is hanging. I have to ask for it back and pay with cash. I don’t get a transaction cancelled receipt, all of which leaves me with a not so warm and fuzzy feeling.
Then there is the unusually long wait — after all I am having a sandwich and a cold meze, not a gourmet meal.
The total seating comprises two stools, and two standing spots outside. And the man I perceive to be the owner occupies one of them, chatting with guests who are friends.
By the time my wait is over, the owner has surrendered the seat, which I grab. The sandwich is small and tasty, with a few fries built in, very much like those at Pita Pan on 30^th Ave. in Astoria. The tarama is pretty average, but the charred pita chips accompanying it are delicious. Counterperson apologizes for the wait while I am eating.
It’s pleasant to sit in the window and watch the passerby, and a nearby tree on 45^th frames your view nicely.
I will probably return.

I am writing this minutes after consuming the following: chicken on a stick (Kotopoulo), swordfish kabob (ksifias), Greek sausage (Loukaniko), and fish roe mousse (Taramosalata). I am very happy! This place is terrific. My office mate had the gyro sandwich and he was happy too.
All of the kabobs were subtly basted in a judicious mix of lemon juice, olive oil, and herbs that really brought out the flavor of the meat without overcoming it. This tasted like awesome grilled Greek food done right. I have eaten a lot of taramosalata in my day and I can tell you that theirs was fresh and had a generous roe content. I would have been full with just the chicken and the taramosolata but got the other stuff so I could really sample.
My officemate’s gyro was substantial: identical in size to a regular size Potbelly sandwich. He told me the meat was tasty and not dried out like so many gyros these days. Overall he was very happy and wanted to return soon.
This leads me to take issue with the reviewer who complained about price/​size ratio and posted those photos. I wish I had had the presence of mind to photograph my $ 3 chicken on a stick dish before utterly devouring it, but let me say — it was pretty large. Maybe not quite as big as a street meat kabob, but at least 90% of the size, tastier, basted in awesome stuff, and far safer to eat (and, depending on the street vendor, less costly: the ones near Grand Central charge upwards of $ 4). This was like a good 4 – 5 big chunks of chicken for $ 3 — I don’t think you can find a value like that anywhere else in the neighborhood!
Meanwhile, my office mate’s gyro was $ 5.50. It was the same size as a Potbelly sandwich — for less money (Potbelly runs $ 6.00) — and a lot tastier, fresher, and healthier.
My other two kabobs were smaller, but the sausage one came with a nice small salad, and in fairness, the swordfish kabab has pricier ingredients.
In the end I find it very surprising that someone would complain about the prices here. Perhaps he ordered items that were not the best value, or perhaps his situation occurred because he ate there only a few weeks after they opened, and they may have tweaked things since then. At any rate, if you order the gyro or any of the things I got (particularly the chicken), you can’t go wrong, and you can’t get a better value in Midtown as far as I can tell (for better or worse, I have been eating lunch in Midtown East for over 3 years, and Midtown in general for nearly 10).
Lastly, the woman behind the counter was very cordial, friendly and helpful. She made sure to advise me, as I will advise you, that the kabobs take around 5 min to make. That’s the same as with a street meat dealer so totally reasonable. Meanwhile my office mate’s gyro was done very quickly. They kept it under the heat lamp until my stuff was ready, which was a little bit quicker than 5 min after all.
Will try to update with photos after my next visit, which will be very soon!

This place is not good let me list why. I paid $ 13.50 for a meal which included two skewers of beef $ 4 each the 5 pieces of meat on each skewer were tiny i kid you not. And to add rice and «vegetable casserole» (basically over steamed rice real watery with thin slices of cucumber tomato and green peppers.) its an additional $ 4. I was quite shocked at how much i paid for such a small meal. I must say there is no way anyone could get full from a double order of skewers and rice here. The meat was over cooked and unseasoned and the vegetables lacked flavor overall the dish was bland. Please look at my photo and judge for yourself how much food you actually get. 4 inch by 2 inch container and 3 inches of depth…

Solid Mediterranean offering in Midtown offering skewers and gyros. Prices were very reasonable, and the staff was very friendly.
Reason for the 3 stars was that the menu says that their gyros and sandwiches come with fries… They packed my sandwich (Skepasto, $ 8) to go and I opened the bag after returning to the office: no fries! The sandwich was very tasty though, and the portion size was decent.
I’d also note that the place lacked a menu behind the counter, opting instead for paper menus… Not a big problem, just seemed odd.
Will give this place another shot and make sure they give me fries.