I'm moving to the East Village tomorrow and tried out Olympic Flame with a friend who's family is Greek. I'd never eaten Greek food at all before and she's lactose intolerant so we weren't able to try their signature appetizer Saganaki, but got to witness others around us receive it at their table while it was on fire which was pretty cool. We ordered the dolmathes which were wonderful and then a couple of gyros which never disappoint! I have a feeling this will be a place I revisit in the future. read more

I can see how this place could get some stars here in Des Moines simply because it has no real competition. The fact is that this restaurant unfortunately is just average. The gyros is not even real, as they use pre-made formed meat that is placed on the spit. Real Greek places layer the meat. The pita bread is not homemade and I question if the tzatziki sauce is homemade as well. This is a fast food Greek restaurant dressed up like a family style restaurant. On a positive note, the servers were great and real nice. read more

Great restaurant with great gyros!!! The owner and staff are so nice! I love spending my lunch hour here! After only a few visits the waitress knew my name and order. If you are looking for great Greek food with the home-town feel, this place is for you! read more

Terrific lil joint downtown with delicious food, great service and generous portions. I love Dolma and todays ranked up there with the best. Wonerful gyro and falafel sandwiches. read more

Checked this place out for the first time on Saturday - I have lived in Des Moines for the past 23 years, and didn't even know the place was here. It was pretty quiet for lunch, but the place was clean. I was impressed with how reasonably priced the food was. I ordered the chicken gyro and my husband had the falafel. Both arrived promptly, and warm. Service was friendly and accommodating. We also ordered the baklava for $1.49 - first time trying this and I would definitely have it again. Nice quaint place I would definitely stop back at for a quick bite. read more

Great little local joint for Greek food. Service is always prompt & friendly, even during the busy weekday lunch rush. The atmosphere leaves a little bit to be desired, but you can't go wrong with the gyro platter & the chicken souvlaki, and that's really all that matters. read more

Went back recently and had great service. The place was equally as quiet as our last trip. The food was fantastic and everything came out as ordered. read more

I'd been craving Greek food ever since moving to Iowa from Los Angeles, and I happened to mention this one day at work. Immediately, a few of my coworkers recommended Olympic Flame. I took a look at the menu and asked my fiancee if he wanted to get take out. He did, so we called ahead and ordered two gyro dinners, some baklava and some pita with tzatziki to go. It was ready exactly fifteen minutes later when we arrived. I was greeted with a friendly smile when I walked in, though the place was empty, so I would have hoped so. When we got home, we opened up our packages to a veritable feast of piping hot food. We hadn't realized that we also get soup, salad and bread in addition to the orzo, spanakopeta, dolma AND tiropita - you definitely get your money's worth in sheer quantity, at least - but then we tasted it. We were floored. I'm not even a huge fan of dolma, but I enjoyed this one. The gyro had thick slices of tender, juicy, perfectly spiced meat, the tzatziki was cool and so tangy. I've never had spanakopeta or tiropita before, but I immediately wanted more after tasting both. Don't even get me started on the baklava, it was, like everything else, incredible. We are DEFINITELY adding Olympic Flame into our favorite restaurant and will absolutely be back for more! Thank you! read more

I came in from riding my scooter from the 80/35 music festival, and sweaty and all, super nice and friendly!

3.5 stars for food 1.5 stars for service My family and I wandered in here after another restaurant down the street had a 45 minute wait. We were seated immediately, although, the waiter seemed to struggle putting together a table for 6 people. The restaurant wasn't crowded at all - which should have been a sign in and of itself as it was a Saturday night. While our waitress was friendly, the service was poor at best. Here's why: 1. We asked to put in an appetizer while we looked over the menu and were told that the chef didn't allow orders to go in separately and we would have to order our food at the same time. The waitress told us she would ask the chef if he would make an exception - he wouldn't. 2. We quickly ordered our meals (mostly gyro sandwiches) and put in our drink orders. My mom and brother ordered diet cokes (they never came) and my dad ordered wine (which he had to remind the waitress to bring). 3. The waitress suggested we should get a side of Greek fries to go with the gyro sandwiches and we agreed that it would be a good idea. She forgot to put them in so when we asked about them, she told us the chef hadn't seen them on our order and it would be a few minutes. The Greek fries were actually really good but we were basically done with our meal by the time they arrived. The gyro sandwiches were good but not good enough to outweigh the poor service. To be honest, I'm all for local mom & pop places and it really kills me to write a bad review so I'm hoping they were just having an off night. If not, I hope they do something to fix the service! read more

came here with my husband got very poor service waitress had one other table besides us took her 15 mins to wait on us. took another 15 mins to receive our drinks. We ordered the gyro platter and expected to get what we paid for instead got a gyro with barely any meat nd a 1oz portion of fries with a salad. Waitress never came back to see if we needed a refill or nothing. won't be coming here again. read more

The food is very tasty but the service is extremely slow. On a Friday, at 8pm, there was ONE server for the entire restaurant. Based on the other reviews, apparently this is Olympic Flame's M.O. While I enjoyed the food, I don't believe the food is good enough to make up for the extremely slow service. read more

The Gyro platter is highly recommended...great flavor! I was very pleasantly surprised at the great tasting food. The focus is on the food, not the simple style of the dining area. I'll be back to this great place to eat. Recommended!!! read more

Food was awesome - yay for a good gyro. We went for lunch and the service was incredibly slow, but if you're patient it's worth it.

One word: Saganaki! A flaming block of Kasseri cheese that's served table-side ...part entertainment and part tasty goodness! A freshly-made, Greek salad with homemade dressing and topped with lamb made for an amazing lunchtime experience! I highly recommend it! read more

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Went on a Friday and was disappointed by the terribly slow service. We received our soup before getting our waters, waiting at least 30 minutes for them. After receiving our waters they were never refilled. The food was okay but not worth the 2 hours we ended up spending there. Will not be returning. read more

I can only speak for the gyro, Greek salad, and vegetable Dolmathes. The gyro meat wasn't dry and was good, the vegetable Dolmathes were tasty. Nothing to complain on the service. I will definitely come back whenever I am in the mood for some Greek food. read more

Not a super diverse menu for entrees, but a lot of appetizer choices. Nice little restaurant with very nice staff. Was very pleased with all the food bought to the table. Loved the gyro! read more

Great food, and lots of it for a good price. The meals are giant! They come with soup, salad, and three other appetizers as sides along with the main course. The pirate is excellent. Staff was friendly and did a great job. We will definitely be back and will be recommending this place to friends. read more

My cousin and I stopped here and had pretty good lunch. I had the chicken gyro which had a lot of flavor but was a little hard to eat. The fries were pretty good and my cousins lemon chicken soup was tasty. The service can be slow so make sure to have enough time. Overall this place is a nice spot for lunch. read more

George! FAM was driving through Des Moines and found this on YELP. Easy off easy on interstate. Huz got Gyro and Mom&I got pork Souvlaki. Tzaziki is homemade and really delicious. George was quick with apps & drinks and timing was perfect when entrée arrived. Loved it --- read more

This is by far the best gyro i have had in town, much better than Ted's cony island or any place in the skywalk. The owner is extremely friendly and service is always quick. My main reason for the three stars is that I wish the lunch menu was a little bit more substantial as it only has a few greek items and then some pretty stereotypical american diner type fare. read more

the food was above average. No ambiance to speak of. The busts over the mantle were redacted from Michelagelo's David (Italian art from a biblical tradition; nothing Greek about it). weird... If this restaurant were in a real metropolis (which Des Moines IS NOT) it wouldn't have a chance in hell of getting 4 stars. But as the choices were meager, this one stood out for me. The waiter that day was very good. I would go there again. read more

Nice place. Nice older gentleman who served me and seemed to be the owner or similar. Had the greek salad for lunch and added on chicken. Tasted very well. They had Saganaki which is usually something that doesn't happen on a lot of greek restaurants outside of Greece. Unfortunately it was sold out but still a good sign. Will come back for dinner read more

Visited for the first time a few weeks ago and had an awful experience. Was not greeted when walking in they seemed very understaffed and had trouble getting service. Took over 2 hours to get our meals and the high chair was very dirty not cleaned. Forgot our salads and the appetizer came two hours later with our meals. The young server did not seem knowledgable about the menu or the food and did not even ask how I wanted the steak cooked or what dressing I wanted on the salad I never got. Will not be going ever again! This was around 5 pm on a Saturday. Not worth it to go out of your way to eat here, was a walk to find parking and not worth the long wait. read more

This is an excellent little Greek restaurant. We had the Saganaki that came with fresh warm bread and the Souvlaki that came with soup, salad, orzo and two small spanakopita triangles. Everything tasted great and the service was also excellent. We will go there again on our next visit to Des Moines! read more

Such a classic little authentic Greek spot in the East Village. A nice quaint place with friendly service. Gyros filled with plenty of meat, salads are always fresh, and the fried cheese will make you a show off in this place!! 2 floor to ceiling windows in the front to sit in and watch the passer buyers window shopping as you enjoy your meal, if you so choose. Not expensive. Lots of options. Various beers and wines also. Ooohhhpaaaah!! read more

LOVE this place! The food is fantastic! We always get the Saganaki to start and I love their Greek Village Salad and add gyro meat to it. It's like a gyro without the pita. So good! My daughter always gets the sampler trio and loves it. The Baklava is delicious too. We always have the same waiter (handsome bearded guy) and we always have fun with him. Great place! read more

Excellent food! The family had 5 different items and passed them around, everything was great. The falafel and Greek Village salad was particularly nice read more

My first visit & I'm already thinking of coming back again & again. Ordered the Trio plate & was more than worth the wait. Every course was mouth watering. read more

The staff at this place is amazing! After seeing my partner propose outside, they offered congrats in the form of drinks and food on the house. So incredibly generous! The food was delicious and the people are friendly, warm, and kind. I'll definitely be going back. read more

Being of Greek descent I must say that I was very disappointed! Maybe for Des Moines this is considered Greek Food, but I can't say that I enjoyed any of the various menu items purchased. My husband is Scandinavian and his Greek menu is more authentic than this restaurant. The only positive was that the atmosphere allowed me to reminisce about past trips to Greece. Don't waste your time if your looking for authentic Greek fare. read more

Ordered a gyro basket without fries for take out. Was given a gyro basket with fries. The fries were gross- mushy, cold, and no seasoning. The gyro consisted of an over sized portion of meat, tomato, tzatziki sauce and feta. No onions or tomato. The meat was three saving grace of this meal. Perfectly seasoned, tender, and enough to feed an army. It was good, but Gazali's is better. Service seemed indifferent. read more

We love this restaurant in East Village. We have been going here for lunch for many years. Usually have their Greek salad and Chicken Lemon soup. They are the best! read more

Stopped by for an early dinner. All the food was delicious, and the saganaki we ordered had some especially nice flames. We found the service to be prompt and quite friendly. read more

Couldn't have asked for a more perfect dinner! The service was great, the food was amazing and reasonably priced! Delightful. The staff was very helpful and our food was out quickly! read more

Hands down, the worst experience I have ever had dining out! The wait staff, one server in particular, was outrageously disrespectful and rude to me and my friends. I told another friend of mine about our experience and she said she works downtown and refuses to go there specifically because of that server. I strongly recommend another restaurant because the food is NOT worth the poor service! TERRIBLE! read more

Food is great but service ALWAYS SUCKS! It's even hard to get their attention....so strange??

Amazing service - amazing food - amazing entertainment! The Olympic Flame helped me entertain a group of fourteen teens and parents from a local high school organization, Friday night. The hostess and staff were overwhelmingly polite to our students, and of course, vice versa - great behavior from our students! We were there on a very busy night; service to all in the restaurant was great. Don't be in a hurry. They take pride in the preparation of their food, and it is a night of entertainment. The belly dancer was great! She welcomed a student to dance, provided a scarf and taught a few dance moves! The whole restaurant enjoyed their performance. We tried everything on the menu, I believe, and all left stuffed and content. Many ordered and enjoyed the gyros; however, I highly recommend the Greek sampler, soup, and certainly the flaming cheese and baklava desert! I loved taking the students there; several plan to go back and take others for Senior Prom, coming up! That's what it's all about...good food and making good memories with family and friends! read more

I've been thinking a while about how I wanted to write this review because it's harder for me to write the ones for places I'm not as happy with. My boyfriend and I went here on a Saturday and were seated right away. We both figured out quickly what we wanted, and waited. Then we waited some more for our order to be taken. He ordered the gyro platter, I ordered the chicken gyro platter, and a couple of appetizers. His meal showed up first, before the apps, then the apps, and my food showed up. The sides on the plate were good, but the chicken in my gyro wasn't cooked all the way through. When I mentioned it to the server, she told someone about it, but nothing was done to remedy the situation. No amends were made to make the customer happy. The bill was not adjusted. There were only 2 servers working with a full restaurant, and when I asked why there wasn't more staff, they said that they didn't think it would be busy. It was the first gorgeous day of the spring and the east village was FULL of people. I left unimpressed and won't be returning. read more