Paréa
Paréa rolls crisp potato wedges into its gyros, and Manoli Katsanevas says fries are a common gyro filling in Greece.
Why go
Manoli and Katrina Katsanevas run Manoli's, the Greek restaurant a short walk east on the same street. When the pandemic closed it for five months, they kept going with gyro pop-ups and take-and-bake dishes. Manoli Katsanevas told Kolbie Peterson of the Salt Lake Tribune: It was a huge success
(Salt Lake Tribune). In October 2024 they put both trades into a refurbished 1924 house on 900 South, with a gyro counter at the front and chillers of family-size pastitsio, spanakopita (spinach and feta pie) and tyropites (cheese pies) at the back (Gastronomic SLC, Salt Lake Sideways).
When Paréa opened, the Katsanevases skipped the usual cone of pressed lamb and beef. Stuart Melling of Gastronomic SLC found them spit-roasting pork that had been brined for several days instead (Gastronomic SLC). Manoli Katsanevas told Peterson that pork is the traditional gyro in Greece and that beef and lamb is a Greek American invention. The card has since added a lamb and beef gyro as well. Melling wrote about the bread in the opening month: The wraps arrive on substantial house-made pita, wonderful stuff
(Gastronomic SLC). The wedges inside, he wrote, were all fluff and steam lurking inside a terrifically technical, crisp exterior
(Gastronomic SLC). Heather L. King put it more simply in Utah Stories in 2025: Plus, they have the best gyro in town!
(Utah Stories)
A gyro cost $14 to $15 by filling in September 2026, and $17 as a plate with wedges and a side salad (Paréa). King counts it among the city's meals for $25 or less. Salt Lake Magazine named Paréa alongside Manoli's among its best restaurants of 2025 (Salt Lake Magazine).
Order this / avoid
- Order: the gyro on house pita with the wedges inside (Stuart Melling, Gastronomic SLC, 2024, and Heather L. King, Utah Stories, 2025).1
- Order: the red lentil falafel gyro. In 2024 Kolbie Peterson found the falafel
perfectly crispy and seasoned
and called the dillsuch a refreshing touch
.2 - Order: the side salad. Kolbie Peterson, 2024:
The salad, with its zippy lemon oregano vinaigrette, was bright and flavorful.
2
What locals & experts say
- Kolbie Peterson, Salt Lake Tribune (2024):
With its good food and welcoming atmosphere, Paréa is yet another must-visit local business along 900 South.
2 - Manoli and Katrina Katsanevas, to Salt Lake Sideways (2024):
Being Greek is being hospitable. All we do is hospitality.
4
Good to know
- When: Tuesday to Saturday, lunch into the early evening; shut Sunday and Monday.6
- After 3pm: a taverna menu of dips, dolmades with tzatziki and spanakopita, with Greek wine at $9 and beer at $8 in 2025.3
- To take home: Peterson's plan was a pan of pastitsio from the chillers for Sunday dinner.2
- Where: 320 East 900 South, a short walk west of Manoli's. Order at the counter or online.
Verdict
could-visit — Go at lunch for a pork gyro made the Greek way, and pick up a tray to bake at home for dinner. It's the casual sibling of Manoli's, closed on Sundays and Mondays.