House of Yiros: Greek street food shop opens in Toowoomba CBD

Looking for an alternative to a kebab? A globally-popular street food has finally reached Toowoomba, and it’s already attracting repeat business.

House of Yiros owner Ranjan Bhandari said Toowoomba has embraced his Greek street food since opening his eatery along Margaret Street.

Upon moving to Toowoomba, food-lover Ranjan Bhandari realised the city was under-serviced for Greek and Mediterranean street food — so he decided to do something about it.

The former Brisbane hospitality owner has brought the mighty yiros (also spelled gyros, pronounced year-ros) to Garden City streets after opening The House of Yiros on Margaret Street in the Toowoomba CBD.

Mr Bhandari said he and his business partner saw a gap in the market for quick-service Greek food.

He said his wraps, which include a choice of meat with salad, tzatziki sauce and hot chips, could compete with the city’s numerous kebab shops.

“Before moving to Toowoomba I used to live in Brisbane, and my partner in the company … used to work in a Greek restaurant and the food there was really nice and really quick,” Mr Bhandari said.

House of Yiros owner Ranjan Bhandari said Toowoomba has embraced his Greek street food since opening his eatery along Margaret Street.

“When opening here something, that started the idea — there wasn’t any in the Toowoomba area (doing it).

“We’ve got a different meat (to kebab shops) with the lambs we use the shoulder and we use real meat.

“We use souvlaki bread as well, and you can’t get them in Toowoomba (in other fast food shops).

“With the kebab, they toast it but our wrap is opened, we just toast the bread and we do not fully close it.”

Along with gyros, the menu includes snack boxes and plates that act like a deconstructed wrap.

The eatery’s launch late last year comes just a few months after Mediterranean foodie haven Loulaki, which offers banquet and sit-down eating experiences, opened its doors along Duggan Street.

Mr Bhandari said after a quiet start due to the Christmas period, trade had picked up and the shop was seeing repeat business.

“We’re going to have to work on people (trying it) but I’ve got really good reviews, people really like them and we’re getting repeat customers,” he said.

“If there’s someone who has tried our food, they’ll recommend it to others — they’re really liking our food, so they’re coming back.”

The House of Yiros is open seven days, including until 3am on Saturday and Sunday mornings.

For more information, head to the Facebook page.