Gyro? Yes please! I love a good gyro. By the way, it’s pronounced “yeer-oh”, not like the piece of equipment used for navigation. I confirmed this while spending time in Greece, that’s my public service announcement. Ok, back to the Taverna Yamas Restaurant Review. Below are the pictures of the Souvlaki Gyro and the Chicken Artichoke.
9753 Deer Lake Ct.
Jacksonville, FL. 32246
(904)854-0426
Location: It’s located right behind the Miller’s Ale House by Tinseltown Movie Theater. If you know where Mellow Mushroom is, then you know where Taverna Yamas is.
Food: Earlier in the day, I was talking with the wife and we were talking about the delicious gyro’s we had in Greece and that I had a hankering (that’s a word right?) for a good one. She immediately suggested Taverna Yamas and talked about how good the Greek salad was when she had been there before. I was thinking to myself “it’s a salad, can it really be worth talking about?” But I humored her because I wanted the Gyro, the salad is just dressing <--- see what I did there? I'm so clever right? Feel free to smack me when you see me. So, off we went for dinner. When we got there we decided to sit outside since the weather was great and not many bugs were out (don't worry, it's Florida, they showed up once the food came). I knew what I was ordering, the Souvlaki Gyro which is described as: on pita, tzatziki sauce, tomatoes, onions served with lemon potatoes & salad for $15.00. Don't flinch on the price, this was a TON of food. The wife ordered the Chicken Artichoke which is described as: All-natural chicken breast with creamy lemon caper and artichoke sauce served with spinach rice for $19. My wife was actually looking at the lunch menu by accident when she ordered this and on that menu it is listed as $9, so when the bill showed up, she was shocked. Management changed the bill with no argument whatsoever even though it was our fault for not paying attention. A+ for customer service, you don't see that often. Back to the food... So, the food showed up and it was enough to feed a small army. By small, I don't mean a bunch of people that are 5'4", I mean quantity of people. The only complaint I would have about my meal, and this is being picky, is that the meat was a tad bit thin. They do give you a lot of it though. I just prefer it not be sliced so thin. And my wife was right about the salad, it was awesome. Tons of soft feta and cucumbers. Throw in the lemon potatoes and everything was great. The wife loved her chicken, that plate weighed about 5lbs, it was a lot of food. The chicken was very tender and the cream sauce was excellent. The rice was a tad bit on the bland side but when you mix a little bit of the cream sauce in it, it was perfect. The service was fast, the manager even came by to check on us mid-meal.
Extra: Below, you will see a picture of a bunch of napkins on the ground and probably think the place is a mess but it really isn’t. Those are from when the staff goes around dancing and singing, they throw napkins up in the air. If you look up, you will see some in the rafters. Pretty neat. They also have a DJ booth inside and they were sure pumping the music out. It was a tad loud for me (It would have been hard to have a conversation) so it was good that we sat outside anyways. This place will definitely be in my rotation. If you want authentic Greek food, give it a shot and let me know what you thought.
The Good:
- Huge portions
- Great staff and service
- Authentic food
- Good entertainment
The Bad:
- Kind of loud inside
jaxfoodcritic
I love food and I love to make people laugh. This blog started out as a place for me to just vent about some crappy food and turned out that I stumbled into some good food along the way. I'm a father of 2, husband, and master of nothing.
Follow Me:
Wow! Looks yummy will have to try this place out! Love Gyros!