Greek food: 10 best Greek restaurants, plus Fort Pierce Greek Festival information
Opa! St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Fort Pierce hosts a Greek Festival in mid-February every year, featuring food, wine, music, dancing and products from the Mediterranean islands.
Are you craving gyros, souvlaki, moussaka, pastitsio and lamb shanks? Or side dishes such as dolmades, tyropita and spanakopita? What about the array of desserts that include baklava and loukoumades? Looking forward to washing it all down with some Mavrodafni wine?
If you can't wait, or you can't make it to the three-day Greek festival, you can find traditional Greek foods at 10 of the best Greek restaurants in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.
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Fort Pierce Greek Festival
The 44th annual Greek Festival is Feb. 16-18 at St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in Fort Pierce. The three-day festival was created to raise awareness and as a fundraiser for the church. Members volunteer to showcase their Greek heritage with live Greek music and dancing, authentic Greek food, and imported Greek wines, beers and other beverages.
When: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, noon to 6 p.m. Sunday
Where: St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church, 2525 S. 25th St., Fort Pierce
Cost: $5 admission (free only from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday)
Greek dance: 6 p.m., 7:30 p.m. Friday; 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m. Saturday; 1 p.m., 3:30 p.m. Sunday
Church tours: Noon, 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m. Friday; noon, 2 p.m., 4 p.m., 6 p.m., 7 p.m. Saturday; 2 p.m., 3 p.m., 4:30 p.m. Sunday
Cooking class: 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. Saturday; 1:30 p.m., 2:30 p.m. Sunday
Pylos Greek Kuzina
Three Greek cousins, Kevin, Brandon and Robert Jaboro, opened an authentic Greek restaurant in June 2023 in Palm City. They run the business with a fourth owner, Demetrios Diamantopoulos, a family friend from Pylos, Greece. The cousins' grandparents were from Kalamata, Greece. While the restaurant serves traditional lamb and beef gyros, it also puts its own twist on the Greek wrap by offering them with shrimp, pork, steak, chicken or vegetables.
Think Greek
Stella Koufalis started her restaurant as a food truck in 2014, sold it in 2017 and opened a permanent location off Port St. Lucie Boulevard in 2018. She’s the sole cook, making food that’s as authentic as it gets, thanks to her mom’s and grandma’s recipes. She puts fries on sandwiches instead of lettuce, which she said is more traditional. She also puts an American twist on some menu items: Greek nachos, Greek quesadillas and Greek wontons. The latter won Yelp’s “Best Bite on the Beach” at the 2020 South Beach Wine & Food Festival.
Spiro’s Taverna and Olympic Taverna
Spiro Laskaris owns the Treasure Coast chain of Greek restaurants that include Spiro’s Taverna in St. Lucie West, Tradition and Vero Beach and Olympic Taverna in Palm City. They use his family recipes and serve Greek cuisine and a combination of American favorites cooked with a Greek twist, such as Greek flatbreads and grilled pita sandwiches. Many ingredients come directly from Greece, and desserts and salad dressings are handmade. Each location serves breakfast daily.
Olympic Taverna of Palm City: 2951 S.W. High Meadow Ave., Palm City; 772-781-8461; Facebook
Spiro’s Taverna of Tradition: 10511 S.W. Village Center Dr., Port St. Lucie; 772-800-5991; Facebook
Spiro’s Taverna of St. Lucie West: 1738 S.W. St. Lucie West Blvd., Port St. Lucie; 772-879-4083; Facebook
Spiro’s Taverna of Vero Beach: 1555 U.S. 1, Vero Beach; 772-217-3074; Facebook
Online: Website
Nostalgia Kouzina
Kyle Greene took over the part-Greek, part-Italian restaurant in Plantation Plaza near Stuart Bowl in June 2023 after Tom Bournas originally opened it in 2019. Gyro meat is served with pita bread, sliced tomatoes, onions and house-made tzatziki. Appetizers include feta cheese and olives with fresh pita, as well as flambéed Saganaki imported Greek cheese. Soups include avgolemono and kotosoupa.
Gyro City Grill of Stuart
Gyro City Grill of Stuart, which opened in 2015, is a family-owned restaurant using recipes that have been passed down for generations. Co-owner Jehona Kupi, originally from Albania, said Albanians cook and eat the same food as Greeks. The restaurant’s most popular items are the kielbasa and hummus.
Address: 2660 S.E. Federal Highway, Stuart
Phone: 614-497-1600
Online: Website
Mr. Gyros Greek & Mediterranean Grill
John and Yianna Kaplanidis opened a Greek restaurant chain with authentic gyros and Mythos beer in Stuart, Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens. The casual, modern Mediterranean eatery serves traditional Greek family recipes using fresh ingredients, including gyro meat roasted on a spit. Daily specials include a grilled cheese pita.
Address: 2383 S.E. Federal Highway, Stuart
Phone: 772-463-3127
Online: Website
The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill
This national chain is a contemporary take on Greek cuisine. Fresh, authentic ingredients are used to make classic family recipes, including gyros, skewers from the grill and crisp salads or wraps. It has locations in California, Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.
Address: 10513 S.W. Meeting St., Unit 101, Port St. Lucie
Phone: 772-303-2104
Laurie K. Blandford is TCPalm's entertainment reporter and columnist dedicated to finding the best things to do on the Treasure Coast. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com. Sign up for her What To Do in 772 weekly newsletter at profile.tcpalm.com/newsletters/manage.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Greek food: Best Greek restaurants Stuart, Vero Beach, PSL, Palm City
