The Anna Progress visits the downtown staple for gyros, lamb skepasti and saganaki.
Anna, TX — Sitting along Fourth Street in the heart of downtown Anna, Kalamaki Greek Eatery has become a familiar part of the city’s growing restaurant scene.
Located at 121 W. Fourth St., the Greek restaurant offers everything from gyros and pita to less familiar dishes that give diners an opportunity to venture beyond Anna’s typical restaurant offerings.
For The Anna Progress’ first local food review, Pablo and Noe stopped by Kalamaki to try several of its offerings.
Saganaki and pita served at Kalamaki Greek Eatery in downtown Anna. (Photo by Pablo and Noe/The Anna Progress)
The Visit
Pablo and Noe visited Kalamaki around 11 a.m. in the middle of the week, finding the small restaurant relatively quiet when they arrived.
“It was not busy, middle of the week at 11 a.m.,” Pablo said. “When we left, two more parties arrived to the small restaurant.”
Inside, Pablo described Kalamaki as having a clean interior with brown wood finishes and a painted wall mural serving as a centerpiece of the restaurant.
Pablo described the music as “rhythmically Greek songs, upbeat and without lyrics.”
The entire meal came to approximately $40 before tip for two people.
Chicken gyro with seasoned fries at Kalamaki Greek Eatery in downtown Anna. (Photo by Pablo and Noe/The Anna Progress)
Chicken Gyro
Noe ordered the chicken gyro with fries, with the pita immediately standing out as one of the most noticeable parts of the dish.
“The pita bread was the primary texture,” Noe said. “It was soft yet slightly grainy.”
The chicken and tzatziki proved to be the stronger combination.
“The chicken and tzatziki sauce flavors complement each other really well,” Noe said. “The chicken was juicy, tender, and well seasoned — not too salty. The sauce tasted lemony and herby.”
The accompanying fries also earned praise from both reviewers, who described them as crispy with just the right amount of salt.
Lamb Skepasti
Pablo ordered the lamb skepasti, a Greek-style grilled pita sandwich resembling a quesadilla.
Like Noe, he first noticed the pita — although the texture of his differed slightly.
“Similar to the gyro, the pita was soft, though mine was not grainy,” Pablo said, noting the difference could have come from the way the skepasti was prepared or simply a difference between the two pieces of pita.
Inside, Pablo found the relatively mild cheese worked well with the vegetables and lamb rather than overpowering them.
“The cheese did not have an intense flavor, but it had a nice chew to it,” Pablo said. “It paired well with the juicy tomatoes and onions, along with the tender, seasoned, easy-to-eat lamb.”
The skepasti arrived cut into multiple large pieces alongside seasoned fries and tzatziki, making it one of the more substantial dishes of the visit.
Trying Saganaki
The meal also included something neither had tried before: saganaki.
The Greek cheese dish was served with pita bread and stood out to Pablo primarily because of its texture.
“The saganaki was unique — I’d never had it before,” Pablo said. “It also had a nice chew, though in my opinion lacked flavor as it was only paired with pita bread.”
The dish changed considerably when he tried it with Kalamaki’s tzatziki.
“When combined with the tzatziki sauce, it created a nice creamy, oily sauce,” Pablo said.
For someone unfamiliar with Greek food, the saganaki represents one of the more adventurous parts of a visit to Kalamaki: something new to try alongside more recognizable options such as gyros, pita and fries.
A Downtown Anna Staple
Kalamaki’s location makes the restaurant particularly notable.
As Anna continues adding national restaurant chains along its major commercial corridors, Kalamaki occupies a different niche. It sits inside downtown Anna, just off the city’s traditional center, offering a locally distinctive dining option in an increasingly crowded restaurant market.
Across the meal, Pablo and Noe repeatedly highlighted the soft pita, tender and seasoned meats, crispy fries and tzatziki.
Not everything landed equally. Pablo found the saganaki more memorable for its chewy texture than its flavor when eaten with pita alone, while adding tzatziki improved the combination considerably.
For Pablo and Noe, Kalamaki offered a filling introduction to several Greek staples without requiring a trip to Greece.
Kalamaki Greek Eatery: 121 W. Fourth St. Anna, TX 75409
Food review and photographs by Pablo and Noe for The Anna Progress.
The Anna Progress 