Athena Greek Restaurant — Restaurant in Mansfield

!!!!FANTASTIC BUSINESS OWNER ALERT!!!!! Before I review the food, I want to give a HUGE shoutout to the manager of this establishment. While ordering my food, a regular customer came in to place an order. The manager asked the guy what he wanted, the guy ordered and the manager asked him how much money he had. That caught my attention immediately.....so I paid attention. The guy pulled out $2.75 and told him that is all he had because he needed the other $.75 for the bus. The manager nodded and said "Don't worry, I will take care of you." This manager literally took care of a regular customer who didn't have enough money for a full meal. THIS WARMED MY HEART! It is not often you see a gesture of human love like that.

----NOW ONTO THE REVIEW----

The fam and I went to the Ohio State Reformatory for a tour and needed a place to dine. Before I left, I went on Groupon to see if anything in Mansfield struck my fancy. Saw the Groupon for Athens and checked out Yelp to see the reviews. It is not like Mansfield is the hub of fine dining, so I was beyond happy to find a good place to eat. Made even better by getting a great discount. Winner winner gyro dinner. I got my shiny new Groupon and headed to Mansfield!

I wouldn't say I am a Greek food connoisseur by any means, but I have had my fair share of gyros, souvlaki and moussaka. But, from my humble Greek food eating experiences, this place knocks it out of the ballpark folks. The flavors in Athens food is spot on. Simple flavor, quality ingredients and friendly service. A great combo if you ask me!

1. Original lamb gyro open plate: The serving of gyro meat here was huge. I couldn't believe how much meat they put in our to go box. Whoever said size doesn't matter, obviously wasn't talking about gyro meat. The meat was juicy but not greasy. Flavorful and not at all overcooked. The tomatoes were PERFECTLY ripe folks....sweet and red. To me, that makes for an amazing accompaniment to gyro meat.

2. Original chicken gyro (grilled) : The family devoured this chicken. Seriously, the flavor was absolutely awesome. I only wish we would have ordered another one to be honest. The chicken was juicy and perfectly grilled. Can't say enough good things about it. Next time we come, we are definitely doubling down on this beauty!

3. Oven roasted lamb dinner: $8.99 for a roasted lamb shank, green beans and potatoes. Now that is what I call a deal. The flavor of this lamb was awesome, and it was perfectly cooked. It literally was moist and falling off the bone. I loved the tomato flavor it had with it too, it totally compliments the lamb. Have to say, I wasn't a fan of the potato balls (that is what I am calling them.) Weird texture and the tomato sauce it was in didn't compliment them one bit. I LOVED the green beans. I have never had green beans in a tomato sauce mixture, but I am totally sold.

4. Pork souvlaki: The flavor on this kabob was perfect, but the pork was a little dry. I was disappointed we only got one skewer for the price. If the pork was cooked better and they threw in one more skewer, I would be totally on board.

5. Pita: There pita here was really quite wonderful, and they give you plenty of it. The texture was fluffy and warm and perfectly grilled on the stovetop. My youngest couldn't get enough.

6. Tzatziki sauce: The best sauce I have ever had. I cannot explain to you the flavor profile. Most tzatziki is kind of bland and unassuming. This had some onion flavor, cucumber flavor and was just slightly tart with a sweet undertone. I also loved the consistency....because most tzatziki is really runny. This had some substance!

A gem in the heart of downtown Mansfield. I will...

Edit: Was in the mood for a gyro and craving some baklava cheesecake today. So I came back for a second visit today for lunch.

As expected, the gyro and fries were good. Fries were a little undercooked, but the gyro was perfect.

I ordered a new dessert for me, galakto-bouriko. This was fantastic. It's heavy, rich, and decadent. Might be my favorite new treat.

Today I channeled my inner fat kid, as I also ordered a piece of baklava cheesecake. A little disappointed as it appears to be a bit different. It had a chocolate crust and what seemed to be a chocolate swirl in the cheesecake itself.

It wasn't as good as the first time I ordered it here. Hopefully it's not a permanent change.

As a whole though, very happy with the $20 I spent here today.

Edit 2: Ordered a falafel gyro and fries for lunch today, with an order of kataifi and baklava as well. The falafel gyro was great, no surprise there. I prefer the lamb tho.

The kataifi and baklava were on another level today. Both were just lathered in honey. Which is a good thing. So much flavor.

Get the kataifi and baklava everytime you visit. Every.....time....

Had a wonderful experience here for lunch. I phoned in a pickup order and the young lady who answered was polite and full of energy. She sounded like she was enjoying herself at work. Great first impression.

When I got to the restaurant, two people greeted me by saying hello and welcoming me in. Great second impression. And I believe the young lady who I spoke with over the phone also got my order for me. She was so polite and had fantastic energy.

For lunch I ordered a gyro with fries and a piece of baklava cheesecake. You read that right, baklava....cheesecake....

The fries were at first a disappointment. I was expecting them to be seasoned fries, as every Greek restaurant I've been to has seasoned fries. These aren't seasoned, but they are good. They were fried perfectly and consistent throughout the serving. So I added some salt and got over it. As regular fries go, they are delish.

And maybe if you ask for seasoned fries they have them. I'll have to check next time I order.

The gyro was quite tasty. It was also quite large. And it had more tzatziki sauce than any gyro I have ever had before. I really couldn't have been happier with it. The veggies were big and fresh, and the whole gyro was just bursting with flavor.

The baklava cheesecake though. My goodness it stole the show. My favorite dessert is baklava. I visit Greek restaurants sometimes just to get a dozen pieces or so for the week. But to put it on cheesecake? GENIUS!

Seriously, the two pair phenomenaly. It's my new favorite dessert. The cheesecake itself was solid. But the baklava layers lightened up the dessert and it looked as good as it's flavor.

All in all, this place rocks. Highly recommend it. Get lunch here and don't forget the baklava cheesecake. Will be...

Absolutely LOVED this place! We decided to dine here due to going to Blood Prison. Our service was friendly and very attentive from appetizers to dessert. The appetizer was a platter of Gyro meat, Hummus trio, Spinach and cheese pies, Greek olives, L, O, T and Gyro sauce and Pitas... DELISH!! I got the Moussaka and Greek green beans. Let me tell you, I've had the Moussaka other places BUT this had THE best flavor of all!!Greek green beans, I've never had before, PHENOMENAL!! VEGANS will LOVE the green beans! We thought there was meat in them BUT there is NOT! The last items "topped" our experience, Greek Coffee.. THE best I've had AND last but surely not least Galaktoboureko! This is Greek custard on phyllo dough with syrup.. BAKED to utter PERFECTION! I have been to Greek festivals, other Greek restaurants asking for this and NO one had but ATHENA! The combo of coffee and custard is the best you'll ever have! I'm going to assume the gentleman we talked to with glasses was the owner, I apologize for not getting a name but he is in the right business. He was very friendly while checking in on the tables to make sure all was going well as WELL AS taking the time to tell me how to make GALAKTOBOUREKO at HOME! This guy is a GEM! We traveled from the Dayton area and we WILL BE BACK!! WELL DONE ATHENA GREEK RESTAURANT!! Keep up the...