RESTAURANT REVIEW - Tino's Greek Cafe, Austin, TX

Tino's Greek Cafe
13450 North Hwy 183, Austin, TX 78759 (512) 336-5999
10515 North Mopac (Arbor Walk Shopping Center), Austin, TX 78758 (512) 343-9999
5501 Balcones Dr., Austin, TX 78731 (512) 533-9292
9901 Brodie Ln., Austin, TX 78745 (512) 233-4999
9828 Great Hills Trail, Austin, TX 78759 (512) 346-3636
1201 Barbara Jordon (IH 35 & 51st Street), Austin, TX 78723 (512) 474-9292
Hours: Mon-Sat 11am-9pm, Sun 11am-8pm


Mark and I decided to splurge a bit today while we were out running errands, and had lunch at Tino's Greek Cafe. Tino's is a cafeteria-style restaurant where you can either order something off the blackboard menu (like gyros or whatnot) or you can get a "platter" - your choice of a certain number of items from the cafeteria lineup. I always get the Vegetarian Platter, which comes with 5 items for $6.99 at lunch or 6 items for $8.99 for dinner. Both come with a piece of pita bread. As far as I'm aware, the vegan options for the platter are the Rice Pilaf, Falafel, Steamed Vegetables, Hummus, Baba Ghanouj, Tabouli, Dolmathes, and Vegetarian Moussaka. I *adore* the falafel here; it's not the crunchy chickpea hushpuppy most places serve, but a flat soft patty made with both chickpeas and seasoned potatoes. The moussaka is also good, being flavorful and heavy on the garlic. If you're going for dinner, check before ordering the moussaka, since they offer beef mousakka for dinner only (and I'm not sure if they have both versions).


If you're not wanting a full platter, the one other option is a Falafel Wrap minus the Tzadziki sauce ($4.99 for lunch, $5.49 for dinner).

I've only been to the first two locations listed above, and mostly the first one. The waitstaff are not exactly personable, and the gal who works the cash register is downright surly, but if you can get past that, the food is really good and a decent bargain.