Zgara Greek Grill

San Diego, CA (The Joy of Food) — Half the world seems to converge at Zgara during the lunch hour where, between the lamp emporiums and resale couch shops of this curvy part of Morena Boulevard, you will find what I’d consider to be San Diego’s very best greek fare.

The food is fresh and tasty here, and that might help explain the near-constant stream of hungry students and distinguished professors from nearby USD that cross its doorstep on a regular basis. In a world of too many choices, great cooking always wins out.

This is what you eat at Zgara: sandwiches and plates filled or piled high with crisp bits of marinated pork or chicken cut right off the rotating grill, chunks of grilled meats (souvlaki), crunchy, creamy falafel, flaky spanakopita, or grilled portobello mushrooms with superbly charred edges. 

If you look around, you will be surrounded by people worshipping at the altar of the pig. Spoiler alert: more often than not, I am not a pig part fan, if that’s a thing, but if there is one pork gyro in San Diego that I enjoy, it is this one. And there is a reason for this; here, they make their gyros in-house. Every other place gets their meat from Grecian Delights, and something in their mix leaves an aftertaste that I don’t enjoy. But here, the pork gyro is tops, cut so that you get crispy, chewy textures in every thinly sliced piece, and it’s never too salty.

The chicken gyro is also pretty wonderful, especially if you get the sandwich version, where the charred, crispy bits get packed generously into the pita cocoon within which they are  wrapped. You can most definitely expect this little bundle of goodness to explode upon eating. The chunks of chicken souvlaki are similarly awesome, very tender and moist, though slightly less satisfying in its totality given that far too many bites will have lettuce and pita and none of the chicken.

The tzatziki that gets dolloped on everything is creamy and cool and scratch-made, as expected, and the hummus is rich and full-flavored and dressed with a splash of olive oil just before serving. It pairs nicely with the warm pita bread, the same stuff that accompanies any plate or envelopes the sandwiches. The rice that’s served with the plates is simple, moist, and never a clumpy mess like you’d get elsewhere. The desserts are probably their weakest point, if they have one. I’ve given the baklava a shot twice and I wouldn’t recommend it.

Behind the counter, their setup is like a well-oiled machine, and it has to be given the droves that descend on what’s basically a small neighborhood spot. The mis-en-place of toppings and fillings means that once your main stuff is cooked to order, they can assemble the rest like the Flash without missing a beat. There are people ordering, waiting, staring, eating, picking up (they also do online orders), and they are doing their best to keep up.

For the most bang for your buck, you’ll want to visit before 4 p.m. when they have their lunch pricing which includes either a sandwich with fries or a plate and a drink. The cost for those same combos goes up for the dinner crowd, and the rest of the menu is available all-day at full price. All of this will likely incur a modest wait, but good food is always worth waiting for.

Written by Joy

Thanks for reading. The Joy of Food blog celebrates eating well, traveling often, and living la dolce vita. San Diego, California is home base, but thoughts are from all over. Reviews and photos help to highlight wonderful (or not) food experiences from around the world.

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