Athena Restaurant

Fabulous!¡! Can’t wait to return. We had hummus and feta cheese. I had the grilled chicken pita. My brother had a gyro, my aunt had lentil soup and a beautiful salad. My nephews had cheese pizza. The staff was extremely friendly and the restaurant was very clean. Look for the blue and white building beside the LaQuinta on the loop.

Delicious! This was the first time we ever had Greek food but have been wanting to try this place for awhile. I’m so glad we did! The staff was so friendly and the service was great. Our server, Nick was very good. The place is very clean and I loved the atmosphere. We will definitely be back!

Great place to eat authentic Greek food. Everything on the menu is delicious. The service is friendly and fast. I recommend the fried cheese as a starter. It’s «slap your mamma» good.
They also have an Italian menu for those who might be afraid to take the Greek food plunge.

Delicious, Greek food! If you love Greek food you will like this place. My 11 yr old daughter destroyed an adult size gyro and fries with a sweet tea. My husband also had the gyro and fries. I had the Picasso salad that consisted of tortellini, feta cheese, grilled chicken, house dressing and Kalamata olives. It’s the only warm salad on the menu and it was delicious. We had a hummus and pita bread appetizer that was obviously house made and very tasty! They have a decent beer and wine list and some daily specials. Our server was great. We ordered some baklava to go because we were all stuffed due to decent sized portions. Yum! My daughter used the restroom and said it was fine. No issues to speak of. Give this place a try. The tables and dining room looked clean and well maintained. It is an older building that used to be a Denny’s years ago. The walls and décor were Greek and cool.

Clearly this place has a loyal following and that’s good! Regulars keep local businesses going.
So I’ve actually been back TWICE since my initial review at the behest of friends who insist that my initial review was a bit off. The first time was literally a day after my original review — and guess what, they still had country music playing (my friends had to eat crow on that one).
Here is the thing, I know real Greek food and just like many cultures there are people who just can’t cook. These people can cook and if I didn’t think so I would never have written my original review with three stars — I’d have given them one and moved on.
So, they got rid of the country music finally, and they’ve improved their tzatziki (in my opinion).
That said most of my reviews of restaurants are positive, and I gave this place three stars earlier. There is a reason for that — if you can’t take real criticism based on facts and if your friends are incapable of telling you the truth then reviews like mine are the only honesty you’ll ever get. Don’t kill the messenger — up your game instead! I think his place has done that.

Great food! I would highly recommend this. We will definitely be back next time we are in Tyler.

I love Athena’s. We go on a regular basis. The food is so good, but what makes it better is the owner. She is so sweet. She makes sure your well taken care of. She doesn’t sit in the back and do nothing. She’s out talking to her guests. She makes sure the food is good. I love this place

Went here for the first time today — we had the gyro plate with the greek salad and the moussaka. The sides were good, but the sauce they put on the oven-​baked greek potatoes did not entice my palate. They were well-​cooked and some of you may love the sauce… it’s just not for me.
The moussaka was AMAZING. I’ve been to quite a few Greek restaurants (especially the ones in Austin) and this was as good or better than any moussaka I’ve had. There were strong hints of cinnamon and cardamom in the perfectly spiced ground beef. YUMMY!
The gyro meat was standard, no worse and no better than what I’m used to. It was equivalent to the gyro meat at «What About Kabob» (which is right down the street), another great place to eat. The tzatziki sauce and feta cheese were perfect.
We will DEFINITELY be coming back here. Thanks for adding more culture to Tyler!!!

Just found this great place by accident. Great authentic Greek food and good prices. Will defiantly make the trip here again.

Feels like home. I liked everything very much. Especially baklava, because it is hard to make, and they made very well. The foods bring us to our country, Turkey. With the food, music and lovely owners, Athena provides us feeling at home.

Tasty and authentic Greek food! We are out-​of-​towners who visit Tyler every rare once in awhile but every time we do, we make sure to visit Athena! The wait staff is always so friendly, the place is simple but clean and food is always made quickly! Definitely a place to check out :)

OK I found it. Eureka… a real Greek momma sitting at the bar watching the family. Goes with the real Greek food. The gyro is awesome with Greek potatoes. Greek green beans. There’s no saganaki tho. But the rest of the menu is great. Stuffed for 22 bucks

Yay! I was SO happy to see Tyler open and Greek style restaurant! The staff is super nice, the environment is very casual and food is great! I personally enjoy the Gyro plate, their house dressing/​salad and hummus!

A nice casual place offering delicious gyros and friendly, quick service. They also have lunch specials which are very very affordable.

I really thought I’d already written a review for this restaurant. Oh well, here goes.
In college I ran around with a guy named Dimitri Georgantis. He taught my way around Greek food. Gyro was a food of much discussion. He told me that the sauce for the Gyro in Greece was call garlic sauce. Our favorite Gyro place near San Diego State University was very good. Dimitri lamented that the sauce didn’t have more garlic in it. Otherwise he thought it was an authentic Greek meal.
I had to try the Gyro at Athena. It was delicious. The sauce had plenty of garlic, more than I’ve been able to find in the decades since Dimitri and I hung out. I wish here were there because I’m pretty sure it was what he was talking about.
This place was good — downright tasty. I wish I lived closer to Tyler. I would make it one of my regular dine-​outs. The folks there were very friendly and our service was good.
I don’t hand out A’s in my class. I was tempted here — very tempted.

Stopped by for lunch. Service was a tad slow, but otherwise I’m very impressed with the freshness of the food, as well as the flavor. I can’t wait to go back!

Great food. Friendly staff. I will be back.
Authentic Greek food! The humus was the best ive ever had.

I concur with Unilocal Nation 4 stars but 3−½ would be closer. It really is Greek-​not Lebanese. I got the Lamb Shish Kabob with a substituted Greek salad. Good traditional salad. The kabob had lots of tender lamb-​good quality meat with a great flavor. The sauce was good with store-​bought quality pita. Apparently they now serve beer and wine which means they used to not?
I was in the mood for something besides Mexican, pizza, burgers or bar food. I’m glad I popped in. I’ll probably try it again when I am in town.

Our second night in Tyler we decided to come here because we honestly didn’t know where else to go. The place wasn’t decorated fancifully, but it was comfortable and clean. The staff was friendly and attentive. My coworker and I each had the gyro plate, which comes with a Greek Salad and a side of fries. Having read the reviews about the undercooked fries, I opted for a side of mixed veggies for $ 1 up charge. The food came out quick and the plates were large. Dressing comes on the side, which was definitely nice. There was a ton of meat on the plate, a side of the sauce, and 2 small pieces of pita bread. The meat was delicious, even without the sauce. Not a bad deal for $ 9.99. I would eat here again if ever in the area. They had quite an extensive menu with many different food options to choose from, in addition to a nightly special. All in all, this was a very pleasant experience.

Friday night– no wait, friendly atmosphere and staff. Wife and I started with hummus and Greek salad. Hummus is smooth and garlic-​heavy (which I like). Salad was tasty as well. Oh, and they have sweet tea as should be the law in Tyler. :)
For our main course we had chicken skewers, Greek potatoes, and the green beans. All were tasty and unique. Shared baklava (still warm from the oven!) even though I was stuffed…
All together a great meal… This place needs more business Tyler. We need to make sure they stick around! That Mexican restaurant can do without you one night!