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Pita Fresh Grill: Greek take-out done right

June 25th, 2009, 7:52 am · 14 Comments · posted by Jeff Overley

greekskewer

Pita Fresh Grill opened a year or two ago next to my old office, and even though I’d pass by it every day, I never did stop in. Its strip mall neighbors are all chains - Panda Express, Dippin Dots, etc. - and so I assumed it was also a thoroughly corporatized, boilerplate version of Greek cuisine.

greeksignBut you know what happens when you assume things.

After seeing a Restaurant.com coupon for the Mediterranean eatery, I used the Google to see what the masses had to say, and waddaya know, it was rave reviews all around. I high-tailed it to PFG to see for myself, and after feasting on half the menu, I can happily report that the masses got it right.

Let’s start with those skewers pictured above. Both the lamb souvlaki, $3.25, and the pork souvlaki, $2.95, were everything you’d want out of a stickful of meat.

For one thing, both portions were more than generous (I am guesstimating a quarter-pound or so). Each was properly cooked, possessing a solid char but also a slightly pink interior. And while both had tasty marinade-infused flavors, they both were still recognizable as gamey lamb and savory pork.

Moving along, I ordered the Meze Combo, $8.95, in order to get a little bit of everything.

greekplatter

In addition to the grilled, seasoned, great-by-itself pita bread (shown in photo at top), the combo includes tzatziki sauce, spicy feta dip, hummus, two dolmas, kalamata olives and a nice mound of gyro meat.

The dolmas were filled only with rice and so were fairly pedestrian, but everything else was super-duper. The hummus was bright and fresh, bursting with strong notes of lemon and mint, while the spicy feta dip was both rich and honestly quite hot. The tzatziki was what you’d expect, as was the moist, mouth-watering gyro meat.

greekfalafel

The $4.95 falafel pita, shown above, left me ambivalent. It only included three falafel, and I think a fourth was in order. That said, this was the most complexly flavorful fast-food falafel I’ve encountered, simultaneously hitting the tastebuds with herbs and subtle spice.

And again, the grilling and seasoning of the pita bread makes a world of difference. If I could do it over, I’d probably pay 50 cents extra to have this stuffed with feta, as the menu offers.

greekbaklava

For our finale, we have an oblong slice of baklava, $1.95. Not shown here is the puddle of sugary syrup that oozed gorgeously out of this flaky masterpiece. I thought it could use more crushed-nut filling, but nonetheless, the sticky-sweet honey-cinammon dessert was fabulous.

Oh Pita Fresh Grill, how could I have ignored you for so long?

Pita Fresh Grill
18011 Newhope St.
Fountain Valley
714-241-0119

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 14 Comments

  • niyaz! says:
    June 25, 2009 at 7:55 am

    i want to eat my computer right now because those pictures look so good.

    • itsme says:
      June 25, 2009 at 4:28 pm

      Met too!!!. ARe they open after 5:00pm. Im going there for dinner tonighht if they are!!!

  • adam says:
    June 25, 2009 at 8:56 am

    then eat it

  • Josh says:
    June 25, 2009 at 9:29 am

    Looks great! I’ll have to try it. I’m a huge fan of Athens West in HB. Fantastic Greek food.

    • Jan in FV says:
      June 25, 2009 at 10:33 am

      I ate at Athens West after hearing great things but I thought the food was very much like Daphne’s only not as good.

      Pita Fresh Grill is awesome and the owners are so nice. Too bad it’s closed on Sundays cause the weekend is usually when I wonder over that way.

      P.S. I’m thinking Jeff didn’t take those pics on an iphone!

      • Jeff Overley says:
        June 25, 2009 at 11:00 am

        Josh - I’ve been to Athens West several times (wife loves Greek salads) and trust me, you’ll like Pita Fresh even more.

        Jan - Thanks for the FYI on them being closed Sundays, I missed that. And yes, I have a Razor cell phone, which is one step above a pager, so I do use a real camera.

        • Niyaz Pirani says:
          June 25, 2009 at 11:20 pm

          the razor may be one step below a pager. at least pagers have reliable reception.

  • jackson says:
    June 25, 2009 at 11:02 am

    why is this in the newport beach/costa mesa section?

    • Jeff Overley says:
      June 25, 2009 at 11:44 am

      Hi Jackson - We post food reviews to the web pages of nearby cities because people don’t eat strictly within their cities. Pita Fresh, for example, is one block from Fountain Valley’s border with Costa Mesa.

  • Jake says:
    June 25, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    I work practically next store and have never been in. I’m always at Panda or ZPizza. Thanks for the info Jeff, going there for lunch now!!

  • David says:
    June 26, 2009 at 7:33 am

    Looks good, I’ll have to try it. Is it by mile square golf course?

    • Jan in FV says:
      June 26, 2009 at 8:39 am

      David, if you’re at the golf course, do to Euclid, turn right and go down to Talbert. Make a left. You’ll see the T-Shirt Warehouse and Panda Express on your right. Turn in that center and Pita Fresh Grill is over by Z-Pizza & Coffee Bean.

  • Denise in Costa Mesa says:
    June 27, 2009 at 11:01 am

    We dropped in PFG after a visit to Fry’s Electronics and have returned 4 or 5 times since. Absolutely love the food, the service, the quality and the quantity is just right too. The only downside to PFG is they aren’t open on Sunday. We could eat here every day!