Flatiron Lunch: Souvlaki GR Truck Gets Comfortable on 21st

Now that Downtown has its very own section of the site, what are we going to post on Fridays? Answer… how about a column devoted to those lunches just south of the ML boundaries. Every week we post about a lunch in Murray Hill south, Gramercy, Flatiron, and everything in between… or to make it easy: Flatiron Lunch.

When the Souvlaki GR truck took home Rookie of the Year honors at this year’s Vendy Awards, they were still in their infancy, but I was really looking forward to them eventually serving lunch in Midtown. Unfortunately, they seem to be getting very cozy in a regular noon-9pm spot at 21st and 6th. Hopefully, they will still make it to Midtown eventually, but why wait? A few weeks ago, I took a (temporary) break from mourning Midtown’s loss to celebrate Flatiron’s gain (it’s still better than trekking to Astoria, right?). I can now say that wherever they park, Souvlaki GR is a great addition to the NYC food truck scene (and it’s just a few F stops away).

I ordered their bifteki (burger) pita combo ($5.00 not sure how much this is now, but separately bifteki is $4 and fries are $3) and a pork souvlaki pita ($3.50). The bifteki is less a burger and more like seasoned beef balls (like kofta). It comes in a pita with tomato, feta, red onion, tzatziki sauce and fries. All in all it was pretty good. The beef is flavorful and I really like their lemony tzatziki. I’m not used to tzatziki with such a strong citrus flavor, but it’s light and very good.

The combo also comes with fries. I ate the fries last and the wait rendered them a little soggy, but they were seasoned, and I have a lot of respect for seasoned fries. They’re a nice way to round out a meal but next time I’m more likely to just fill up on nice, charcoal grilled meat. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention they have something called Greek Fries, which I believe employs feta cheese.

Finally we have the pork souvlaki pita (they also have chicken). This is what the truck is named for so it had better be something special (I’m looking at you, My Biryani). I’m happy to say it didn’t disappoint at all. My souvlaki pita was much simpler than the bifteki. Just meat, vegetables and tzatziki. No cheese or fries. I think that’s a good thing in this case. The pork was moist, had nice charring around the edges and was just all around delicious.

The main thing I didn’t try was the souvlaki stix. Skewers of pork or chicken served with a piece of fresh pita. They’re $1.50 a piece or 5 for $6. One of those sounds like a very smart way to top off a meal here.

I know some people were worried about size when they saw these low prices. I think the souvlaki pita is about the same amount of food as a kati roll from the Biryani Cart. The bifteki is a little bit bigger. It’s not dirt cheap for sure (and prices don’t include tax), but I think it’s pretty reasonable for what you get. And the prices and smaller items allow you to try a few different things and still stay under $10. All in all the prices fall somewhere in between the tremendous value of some old school carts and the more expensive new school, gourmet carts.

The + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

  • Delicious Greek food from a truck is a rarity in Manhattan
  • You can try a few things and still keep it under $10
  • Awesome lemon-y tzatziki
  • It’s mouth-watering, charcoal grilled meat on a stick. What’s not to love?

The – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

  • It’s hard to fill up without getting close to the $10 mark
  • I don’t like souvlaki and they don’t have a whole lot else
  • Why would I want to eat mouth-watering, charcoal grilled meat on a stick when I can just go to Subway… again.

Souvlaki GR, They’ve been parking at 21st and 6th, but follow them on Twitter (or the ML Twitter Tracker) to be sure.

7 Comments

  • I hit this place last week. I walked over from 32nd and Madison. This is NOT a destination cart by any means, as I will explain below.

    First off, the souvlaki pitas are f’ing tiny!!!!! I had a chicken and a pork. EACH was $3.50,not $2.50, for a total of $7.62 with tax. There is a very small amount of meat in those pitas. If I could post photos here, I would show you how damn small and skimpy they are, and how NOT worth $3.50 a piece they are. I was a bit hot under the collar after I got home and ate—not only from the long humid walk (I went on that thunderstorm afternoon)but from the feeling of getting burned on my purchase…..

    Second, WTF with the tax???? That pissed me off extra. What other cart charges extra tax on top of what their prices are? NONE that I go to–that’s for sure. Big negative making me break out an extra dollar for Uncle Sam….

    Now, third, as far as taste, I admit, I did enjoy the taste of the food. The tiny amount of food they gave me tasted good. I liked the tzatziki, but didn’t get the overwhelming lemon zing this dude writes about. Maybe my taste buds are dead–it tasted like regular decent quality tzatziki to me. The meats were cooked well and had some char, and the seasoned fries tasted alright in the sandwich with the meats, onion, tzatziki mix. However, I was neither full after my meal nor satisfied from a monetary perspective. I bet some of the skewer deals are better, but I’m not making a close to 2 mile trek to find out….

    • interesting, i’ve never seen a cart/truck include tax as well. I assumed that most carts price tax into the selling price (or don’t pay taxes at all).

      • Indeed, it looks like they’ve raised prices since my visit. I guess that’s a luxury being a Vendy award winner affords you.

        I changed the price of the souvlaki pita in the post, not sure how much the combo is now.

        Thanks for the heads up, Goats.

  • I may have a look at this one of these days on the way home, I work on 20th/6, pass by it all the time. Goats’ review above isn’t instilling confidence though.

  • Made the trek down from office during lunch, was told no bifteki sandiwches today.

  • If you work right there jerkface, my advice would be to go for the sticks over the pita sandwich. I’ve no idea how much meat is on a stick, but it has to be better than the 3.50 for a coupla’ pieces o’ chicken or pork on a pita with 2 or 3 seasoned fries stuck in with it….

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    Its a little pricey but they are consistent and the pitas are really good.

    My favorite are the greek fries – very addictive.

    Compared to a $5 truck this might be expensive but it has good flavor.

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