The Spinning Gyro — Restaurant in City of Albany

After a medical appointment at Albany Med my wife and I and our daughter enjoyed lunch at The Spinning Gyro, our first visit to this Turkish restaurant across South Pearl from the MVP Arena. Enes -- we learned his name later -- patiently answered our questions as we ordered and then made changes to our order. He was gracious and patient, always smiling while at the same time caring for other customers. We ordered beef and lamb gyros wrapped in foil, a generous Greek salad and shiny stuffed grape leaves. While we waited for our order, he served us strong Turkish tea in little clear tea glasses on diminutive saucers and refreshed our cups throughout our meal.

Enes was remarkably serving and ingratiating, it was apparent he did not simply work there; so we asked him point blank: "Are you the owner?" In short, as a young man -- he is still young -- he and his family left Turkey for a good life in America and created this restaurant where his mother is a chef. His is a delightful story, too long for this review; come ask him to share it with you some time!

After a short wait, Enes served us our piping hot meal, Wow! What a scrumptious culinary delight! Fresh lamb cradled in vegetables bathed in a savory sweet sauce. Afterwards he served us Baklava no doubt crafted by a master Mediterranean pastry chef; it was finger-licking delectable!

We asked Enes afterwards why everything we tasted was so delicious. "We make it with love," he responded simply with his trademark smile.

This welcoming Ottoman eatery in downtown Albany should be on every culinary...

We turned the corner following the sounds of a raucous band and lo and behold there was a "block party" going on before the game right outside the MVP ARENA. We snaked our way through the crowd and found a non-busy SPINNING GYRO run by Turks. Everything looked good and fresh and I wanted to spend the least amount I could, the Tacos looked like a good choice. I also asked a couple questions like: How do you pronounce GYRO? What cuisine is this? and How is business with this crazy arena across the street? We first ordered 1 chicken and 1 lamb and beef Mediterranean tacos which come with 3 tacos each which were really really good. We 5 devoured them and found that it was not enough. We ordered a mixed GYRO platter with all three meats along with rice, fries and bread. That took a while to come out but we quickly devoured that meal too. We all commented the hot sauce on the side was really good and we wanted to take it with us. But we were going to a football game at the MVP ARENA, that wouldn't have worked. This place is highly recommended and it was super simple, all packed and ready to take out if...

We recently visited The Spinning Gyro in Albany, and it was hands down one of the best meals we’ve had in a long time. We ordered the Chicken Gyro Platter and the Beef & Lamb Gyro, and both dishes completely exceeded our expectations.

The Chicken Gyro Platter was packed with tender, perfectly seasoned chicken that was juicy and flavorful in every bite. It came with a generous serving of rice, crispy fries, shredded lettuce, pickled red onions, tomato, cucumber, and a pickle. Everything balanced everything out beautifully.

The Beef & Lamb Gyro was equally impressive—the meat was rich, savory, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious, wrapped in soft, warm pita that brought it all together perfectly.

What really set everything over the top were their incredible sauces. Each one was bursting with flavor, from the creamy, tangy tzatziki to their bold red hot sauce. They added the perfect kick and complemented the gyros wonderfully. We are already planning our next trip to Albany so we can...