Grill Stand · Spit-Roasted Wrap
Gyro (Γύρος)
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Gyro and souvlaki are often confused, but gyro meat is stacked and shaved off a spinning vertical rotisserie, while souvlaki is small cubes threaded on a skewer — two different grilling techniques that both ended up wrapped in the same pita.
Thin slices of seasoned pork or chicken are shaved straight off a slow-turning vertical rotisserie, then piled into warm pita with tomato, onion, tzatziki and fries. Grill stands across Athens sell it wrapped in paper for eating on the move.
Why it's made this way: The rotisserie technique arrived with refugees from Asia Minor in the 1920s, but gyro only became Athens' dominant grab-and-go food once mechanized vertical spits and mass-produced pita made it cheap enough to sell on nearly every corner by the 1970s.
More from Greece
Souvlaki (Σουβλάκι)
Koulouri (Κουλούρι)
Loukoumades
Spanakopita (Σπανακόπιτα)
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Retsina (Ρετσίνα)
Kokoretsi
Part of World of Street Food — 3248 dishes from 118 countries.
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