Gyro King — made in NYC — Restaurant in Texas

I generally do not post reviews on places I eat or shop at, unless I encounter something out of the ordinary.

The food at Gyro King was definitely to my satisfaction and the staff was very courteous and friendly. The restaurant was clean and the atmosphere was inviting. My reason for 4 instead of 5 stars was due to the owner and definitely not the fault of the staff.

This establishment's model is to walk-up, order, wait, pick up your order and either sit and enjoy your meal or take away to be enjoyed at a later time. There is a tip jar at the register, but I paid with credit card which included a tip option. I ALWAYS TIP AT LEAST 20% even before service is actually given, and this visit was no different. I asked the register attendant if the staff receives any of the tips, either from the tip jar or from the credit card receipts. I was informed they are allowed to split the tip jar receipts but they never see a distribution of the credit card tips!

This means the owner keeps the credit card tips, I paid a premium of 20% for my food and the friendly and efficient waitstaff and cooks never saw a penny of what I assumed it was a gratuity for them. I know this is common amongst restaurants which employ this model and they still pay their staff at least minimum wage, but this needs to stop!!! Owner's use a common credit card system for restaurants and they CHOOSE to include a tip option, knowing full well they can opt to keep those tips.

It was my fault for asking the question after I put a gratuity on my credit card, but OWNERS need to implement a means to compensate their employees with tips that customers like myself believe are going to the waitstaff and cooks! If I had asked the question first, I would have put cash in the tip jar.

If the owner of Gyro King is reading this post, please feel free to reach out to me and explain how you distribute the credit card tips. My hopes are that you value your good employees and reward them in some fashion with the gratuities folks like myself provide via credit card transactions, but my assumptions are that you keep the credit card gratuities for yourself (based on answers to my questions). If I am mistaken in my assumption I will gladly edit this review, but a lack of reply will validate my assumptions, where I unknowingly paid a 20% premium for your food. The staff's performance was the best part of my experience at Gyro King and it appears they are not compensated for their hard work and dedication to this...

--- NK Score = 8.0/10 ---

7/10 = Furniture/Ambience 8/10 = Food Quality 9/10 = Variety/Mastery 8/10 = Quantity/Prices (Other Ratings Hidden)

--- Price Range ($5.00 - $11.00) --- --- Solo or Small Group = Applicable --- --- Lunch or Dinner = Applicable --- --- Parking Accessibility = Average ---

Atmosphere: Pretty casual and modern place, the interior walls are painted in vibrant colors of yellow and red. Most of their seats are for 1 or 2 people, but they do have some tables for groups of 4. Also, the place is not usually busy because many people get togo.

Casual, Colorful Modern Interior Average Seating and Tables Low to Medium Noise Levels Takeout And Dine In

Food Quality: The food here is very unique and packed with an interesting flavor. Their platters consist of rice, tomatoes, corn, and other vegetables that can be mixed together with the sauce they provide.

Lamb Over Rice ($8.00): Many many chewy lamb pieces scattered over seasoned rice with the addition of their special sauce on top. The lamb is very chewy and soft at the same time, making it easy for you to break it down and consume with the rice. The flavor of the sauce is a mix of savory and creaminess, it blends really well with the mixed vegetables and salad like add-ons that comes with the platter.

Chicken Over Rice ($8.00): Just as delicious as the lamb over rice but with the chicken being much more softer to the chew. It has a different, more chicken like flavor, but combined with the sauce it's almost the same as lamb except a whole different texture. It's good if you like chicken with a new kick of flavor, especially when combined with their rice and salad.

Variety / Mastery: Gyro King has halal style meats and different unique kinds of treats like falafels or gyro. Although not much variety outside the culture, they do have a very good understanding of their own cuisine and do a great job of making it delicious. Much better than some other places that make these.

Quantity / Prices: The portion size is pretty good, it may not look like much, but you'll start feeling the fullness when you're halfway in. They offer a pretty fair price for the amount you get, and if you get togo or delivery, you will definitely be able to save some for later and eat 2 satisfying meals with only $8!

Recommendations: Lamb Over Rice ($8.00), pretty good lamb covered in flavorful, creamy sauce that can be eaten together with the rice and salad.

Signed NK...

This really hurts my heart to do because I absolutely love the food and for the most part have had great experiences however. Today I placed an order through door dash as I do at least once every one to two weeks. I order the same item and asks for simple instructions with the salad due to being allergic to onions. When I received my item today none of the instructions that I had written were followed as to receiving the salad with everything I asked to not be included. Since this also had happened one time before, I called the store itself like I've done before and it was handled PROFESSIONALLY. I call the store and a young, careless, monotoned, attitude giving girl named Lola answered the phone. I explained what had happened and I'm not even kidding, she literally said " Oh well the cook was in a rush so he just made the order how it came, and I'm sorry but it's really nothing we can do about it now." I went straight to asking her what her name was and where her manager was. She put a gentleman on the phone who I again explained that my order was made incorrect and also let his know the way this immature, unprofessional order taker handled my complaint. I kid you not, he hung the phone up. I called back twice and my call was ignored both times. I really did not want to have to leave this review due to actually loving the food but after today I absolutely will never give Gyro King another dime of my money nor ever refer anyone else after the way I was...