Ali Baba's King of Gyros- West St Paul, MN

Cuisine: Greek, Lebanese, Middle Eastern
Restaurant Features: Counter-Service, On-Site Parking

Location: West St Paul
Address: 1264 So. Robert Street, West St Paul MN 55118 (651) 552-9660
Links:  Google Map

Atmosphere: The building itself is very small, so besides the kitchen, there is just a very small dining room with a handful of standard fast-food-restaurant-style booths.  The walls are decorated with colorful travel posters.  You order your food at a counter, above which is the pictoral menu of food items. 

Menu: Appetizers include Baked Eggplant, Fried Vegetable, Spinach Pie, Hummus Bil-Tahini, 5-Feta Cheese, Falafel and Grape Leaves.

Sandwiches are served in fresh Pita Bread with cucumber sauce, lettuce, tomato and onion.  Specialties include the famous Gyro, Greek Chicken, BBQ Gyro, Chicken Gyro, Falafel Patty, Vegetarian Gyro, Philly Steak, and Philly Chicken.
Entrees include Chicken Gyro, Chicken Kabob, Beef/lamb Gyro, Lamb Kabob, Kufta Kabob, Greek Chicken Plate, and Sauteed Chicken with Vegetables.  There are also a couple fo vegetarian entrees, including the  Stuffed Grape Leaves, Spinach Pie, and Fried or Sauteed Vegetables.
Can't decide what to order? No fear! There are also several combination dinners including the Ali Baba Feast that lets you try a little bit of everything for $29.99
Ali Baba also has fresh Tabouleh Salad, Greek Salad and Greek Chicken Salad.

Price guide: Appetizers $ 4-6 Sandwiches $5-7 Entrees $8-12
What I ordered: I ordered what I thought was the Chicken Gyro, but I think I received the Ali Baba Chicken.  It was very good, but I had not been expecting chicken that had been marinated in curry spices (good thing I like curry!).  It was a really interesting combination of flavors, especially the curry chicken and the cucumber sauce.  The portion was huge (two meals for me!) and instead of making a giant mess, I ate most of it with a fork.

 

My companion ordered the Gyro Sandwich, which was loaded with tender slices of beef and lamb that had been marinating in spices.  The meat on this sandwich was delicious! Probably the best Gyro meat I have ever had.  The vegetables were also very fresh and the sauce was decent (although we both agreed we like Dino's sauce better).

Service: Compete counter-service, from order to pick-up.  After that, you're pretty much on your own. 
Overall Impression:  Excellent Gyros, cheap prices.

Comments

[Sarah]

1.

Yes! This place is the best gyro place in the Twin Cities! I am glad I live 5 miles away.

Also, the Chicken Gyro you ordered...I went to Ali Baba's with my mother about a year ago and that is what she ordered and it had curry on it. So maybe it isn't the Ali Baba Chicken?

[Tino]

2.

I don't recommend getting the gyros for take-out, the pita bread tends to get very soggy. Best to eat them hot and fresh in the restaurant!