Pita’s Republic Review

With almost 20 years of serving Tampa Bay under it’s belt, the Pita Republic (808 S. Dale Mabry Hwy. Tampa, FL 33609, 813-879-4976) has made it’s mark on diners who want good quality, fair prices and tasty Grecian dishes on the go.

It’s unassuming location, tucked away in a small strip mall on Dale Mabry south of Kennedy, makes it a bit difficult to find. If you’re southbound, you’ll have to fight traffic to get back northbound to pull into their driveway, as it’s both divided and incredibly busy all day long. But if you’re looking for a good to-go Greek food values, you’ll find them here.

I was very impressed by seeing the owner of this location working. He’s been a long time employee there and purchased it a few years back. It’s obvious he puts a lot of care into his store, as it was both clean and well stocked. As soon as I said, “I’ve never had this before..” his face lit up and he started firing off recommendations. That kind of passion is so rare that it took me by surprise. On his recommendation, I got two slices of spinach pie and a gyro pita to go.

The spinach pie was fantastic. It’s such an easy thing to mess up, and a lot of greek places won’t even carry it because of the difficult preparation. The Pita’s Republic spinach pie was flawless. Spinach was rich and creamy tasting, and hot. No cold spots and no hard spots. The crust was flakey and soft, exposing dozens of layers of hot flaked crust as you bite into it. Nothing was soggy or overly greasy and it was delicious. I honestly haven’t had a piece of spinach pie this good since I left Greektown in Detroit.

The gyro was also delicious, as many gyros I’ve had in Tampa tend to be. This one was better than average, as it was filled with substantially more lamb than I was expecting and the pita bread was very airy and flurry, as opposed to the crunchy or chewy texture I sometimes get at other places.

The prices are very reasonable. My whole meal, including soda, was under $15. That included tip I left him for the great service.

Greek/Mediterranean greek food