Food Review: Greek Castle (Lewis Center, OH)

In my search to find a proper, decent Greek food place in Columbus, I am failing quite miserably.

Just for kicks, I decided to give Greek Castle in Lewis Center (US 23) a shot. It is located in the same plaza as Wal-Mart and occupies the exact same space that housed a Charley's Grilled Subs about a year ago. (The family that owned that franchise moved south to Grove City and reopened the restaurant there.)

I decided to try out a standard gyro sandwich with a side of fries. As for the sandwich, the gyro meat was freshly shaved and very flavorful. However, it had more sauce than I liked and juices were was dripping everywhere. That made finishing the pita-based concoction a bit of a napkin adventure. I did like the fries as they were freshly cut and fried with the skin still on them.

Here's the food. I'm glad I didn't take a pic of the actual restaurant. I'll explain that next.

Although I can give props to the taste of the food, this would definitely NOT be a place I would take my friends out to for lunch. Restaurant sanitation, bathroom conditions, and environment were deplorable. The women's restroom toilet was clogged with toilet paper and couldn't flush, and it could've used some warm decor that was, at the minimum, Greek flavored. Even the wall paint was so shoddy that I could still tell that they place used to be another restaurant. I would've thought that there was someone else who could be out mopping or wiping down tables. Was the only person who was in the store at the time the only employee?

I'm not a restaurant expert nor am I in the food industry, but there are certain criteria that you would expect to see as a paying customer - good upkeep and cleanliness, great tasting food, and a friendly/comfortable environment to enjoy said food.

Greek Castle is located at 8641 Columbus Pike in Lewis Center. Open 7 days a week. For this place, I strongly encourage take-out and an open mind.