Niko Niko's Restaurant in Houston, Texas: A Review

Niko Niko's is a very popular Greek restaurant in Houston that is located on Montrose Blvd. It's been rated as one of the best restaurants in Houston for many years, and still is. I discovered Niko Niko's by accident. I was in the area looking to stop by a store called The Magick Cauldron and Niko Niko's was right next door. I didn't drop by the restaurant until months later after I had visited a Greek festival and was craving gyros.

My first impression of the place was that it was a bit crowded and unorganized. There were people standing very close together trying to order food. It seemed unorganized but it really wasn't. Unlike a conventional restaurant there are no waiters or hostesses. You seat yourself, if you can finding seating that is, they have a patio area and roomy booths inside. Since there are no waiters you have to order at the counter but you have to stand in line to do so. The good thing is that they're very fast and I've never had to wait in line for more than 10 minutes on their busiest days. They're pretty fast at preparing the food too and when you're food is ready you're little buzzer thing will go off. My first time there was a bit overwhelming but the food alone makes the crowding and commotion worth it.

When I first had gyros it was at a Greek festival in Houston and some of the food was no doubt made by the people at Niko Niko's. I didn't know what gyros was all I was told was that it's very delicious and that I should try it. It was the best meat I had ever had, very tender and moist. I remember leaning over to my boyfriend and saying how very tender the beef was only to find out it was lamb. I had no idea gyros is traditionally made with lamb, and as tasty as it was I couldn't get myself to eat baby animals. So, just to let you know gyros is often made with lamb if you didn't know already. Niko Niko's offered some lamb alternatives that were just as delicious, just not as tender.

Niko Niko's menu has a pretty good selection of dishes to choose from if gyros isn't for you. They offer chicken, pork chops, lamb shank, kebobs and vegetarian dishes to name a few. One of my favorite items is their Spanakopita. Spanakopita is "Greek spinach pie stuffed with spinach and feta". It's served with their Greek salad, pita and tzatziki sauce.

Don't forget to try their desserts. I don't know what it is about Greek desserts that make them so tasty without making me feel like they're going straight to my hips. I love Greek desserts and if you've never had it you're really missing out. Some of my favorites are the baklava, dipples, Macedonian Halvah and the kourambiedes, also known as wedding cookies.

The prices at Niko Niko's for the most part is affordable, there are a few dishes that are up in the high two digits but nothing that hits $20 that I've seen. Their menu prices are all day prices because they only have one menu. If you're in the Houston area and craving Greek definitely check out Niko Niko's. If you've never had Greek cuisine before you're really missing out on something great. I would also suggest maybe visiting them at a slower hour if you don't like the crowd and plan on dining it. They get a lot of business and trying to find a place to sit can be difficult.