Garbanzo is fantastic! I was in Iowa for work and was looking for a quick but healthy lunch option when I stumbled upon Garbanzo. Their food is fantastic, service is quick, and it tastes great! It's fast casual "build your own bowl" style place, very similar to Chipotle, just with Mediterranean options. Portion sizes here are great and all of the ingredients seemed very fresh. This is going to be my "go to" stop for the next couple of days for lunch! read more

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh - Harissa Chicken Bowl - Greek Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

3.5 I had been wanting to try this place for awhile and after I got some coupons in the mail, I made it happen. I ordered a harissa chicken gyro with lettuce, cucumber/tomato, and tzatziki. My husband got the basic lamb gyro. Both were very tasty and made well, but the pita bread just fell apart and made it very messy to eat. All the options are customizable and similar to a "chipotle" ordering where you pick your option, protein, veggies, and sauce. The staff were friendly and efficient even after telling us they were short staffed. Their soda machine had some fun choices to choose from. We enjoyed the strawberry and cream soda. Pricing seemed medium-high at $11 for just the gyro and Ala carte add ons for drinks and sides. The interior had plenty of booths, tables, and patio seating. The bathrooms were ok, could've been cleaner. Overall, I'd come back but just not my first choice. read more

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh - Soda Tractor Fountain Drinks - Greek Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

See all

I have been wanting to try this place forever and I'm so glad I finally did. I love a little bit of a healthier option, but that is still quick and easy. There are many options for food and their ingredients are fresh! The staff has always been helpful and prompt. I have been here about once a week since I first tried this place and I still can't wait to go back every-time! The gyro meat is delicious and the tzatziki and garlic sauces are a must. I always make my own bowl and I love that it also comes with warm pita bread. This is a great option for food on the go that's not fried and good for you. read more

I came here because the food and the customer service at the other branch was exceptional. This place was the complete opposite and I am highly disappointed. The lady at the counter was kinda unhappy and disgruntled when I asked her about the food. She started making my shawarma and I asked her if she could make it in the pita and she flipped and said yes but smashed the bun in her hand in the counter and she picked up the buns and smashed them in the bins. I could clearly see the anger on the face. Even though I said I am sorry multiple times and that I should have mentioned it earlier and trying to make it better but she was just angry. She didn't ask me if I wanted any sauce or add ons but when I asked her for garlic sauce she remembered and told me if I wanted anything else on it. They have their own signature drinks and none of them are sugar free so usually I make it a meal and they give me diet coke but she directly said no and said that I would have to pay for the diet coke otherwise I can take the drink from the fountain. All in all a very disappointing experience and I am never coming back to this branch. Mind you I drove from tama which like a hour and a half away to come to this place. read more

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh - Greek Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Expensive. But the food is phenomenal. Super quick you create your own meal. Staff is helpful and the place is always clean.

I needed some healthy food for lunch while I work out of town and this place hit the spot! There are rice bowls, salads, and delicious offerings but the chicken salad with all the veggies... OOOO! So good! Their proteins are quite flavorful and tender. I tried the spankopita and was hoping for more flavor, but it wasn't quite there. I usually like baklava, but was not prepared for the sweet sensation, lol. I intend to try their rice pudding for breakfast sometime or their parfait! For lunch, I enjoyed their chocolate chip cookie -- yes. Very good. Either way, go there and put their cilantro sauce on literally ANYTHING! Also, the owners (or managers) are really sweet. read more

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh - Chicken salad with tomato cucumber mix, pepperchini peppers, onions, pickled cabbage, cilantro sauce ---- YUM! - Greek Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

See all

Very few toppings on my $13 Greek salad. Specks of feta and tomato, very few pieces of chicken and olives. Very disappointing side salad for full salad prices. Try the gyro or falafels. Pass on the salads. read more

Loved the steak rice bowl with so many choices to go on top: lentils, chick peas, romaine. Feta, and so much more. It comes with a pita too. The service was fast and they were great at giving is suggestions of what works good together. The ambience is fun and relaxing. read more

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh - Fresh pita - Greek Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Went to grab some lunch and the kids working in the store were horrible. I had to stand there for 5 minutes before the stopped talking to each other in the back and walked up. The girl who made my food was chewing her fingernails when she walked up and didn't wash her hands and then put gloves on. Gross. Halfway through my order I heard crying, peeked over the counter and saw a baby in a car seat sitting on the floor. Insane. read more

This place is a great, quick, lunch option for Ankeny! I love how customizable it is and my favorite part is the sauce options. There aren't many stores in Ankeny that sell falafel, so this is my go to place when I have a craving. It's kind of expensive, but they have a wide variety of ingredients and toppings so I think it's justified. read more

This was a first time dining experience at this establishment. We walked in to a nice, brightly lit restaurant with easy to read menu boards. You order at a counter and tell them what you want basically. I ordered a bowl with rice, half chicken and half portobello mushrooms, and lentils. I ordered Hummus and signature sauce on the side. I also got a huge full size pita and some rice pudding. The prices are reasonable and I was full at the end. The rice was good, and chicken was fantasticly juicy. The mushrooms and lentils were nicely cooked as well. I loved the rice pudding as well. The staff was friendly and knowledgeable about their food and the place was clean as well. I will definitely return to try some of the other menu items as well. Great healthy option in North Ankeny. read more

Great food! It isn't super cheap, but it's worth it. Quality food! My favorite is the falafel pita.

Not only is the food amazing, their generosity is second to none. Since December 2020, The Simple Greek has donated hot meals to Urban Dreams twice a week. The freashly prepared single serve meals are an absolute hit in our community. Moreover, they are needed and appreciated. Please support businesses that support the community. read more

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh - More generosity from community partners. Thank you for your twice a week donations to Urban Dreams. - Greek Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

See all

Huge Mediterranean food lover! This is delicious, fast and fresh tasting. I would prefer this over a Panera or other fast food type place any day. I ordered falafel in a laffa (wrap) with veggies & tzatziki sauce, olives, feta. The fresh non-GMO, organically sourced soda's are delicious. The cherry cream was so refreshing & didn't have that heavy syrup mouth feel to them. Service was friendly & fast. I will for sure be back here & I'd love to try a salad and blood orange carbonated beverage next! read more

I have to admit to having low expectations, and being pleasantly surprised. It's not great food, but it's decent fast food. Elsewhere I have seen it described as (a certain Mexican chain), only Greek, and that seems fair. I got this delivered so I wasn't in the restaurant, but it seems that it's packaged gyros, not carved from a spit. For that, it's still alright. The tsatsiki is a little bland, but the Feta was quite mild and very nice. I like a stronger feta in some cases, but this worked really well with the sandwich. Both the gyros and the pita would work better if they had been put on a grill for a few moments. The hummus was also decent, a bit on the bland side (the theme for the review), but still acceptable. It did seem to be a smallish serving for the price. The dolmades really surprised me. Really nicely made, really tasty. They take the review from a 3 star "meh" review to a 4 star review. read more

Good flavor , but for $17, I'd expect more chicken than I got. The atmosphere is also not great, as it is not cozy and there is no music

I really wanted to like this place especially after seeing this on The profit TV show because I really enjoy that show. The concept is great it's kind of like a Greek version of Chipotle. The problem is the ingredients are not well executed. The pitas are not homemade they're out of the bag, the meat that you put inside the pita is dry and not super flavorful even the gyro meat is not flavorful. The staff is not particularly friendly or quick. One thing that is really good is their baklava I would really recommend that but everything else is average at best. The Greek fries for example could be really good if they are fresh fried and served crispy with the feta and vinegar on them. Instead they're served in a box soggy and steamed almost. The gyro wrap is okay but only slightly better than a frozen version that I can buy at Target unfortunately I don't think I'll be back. read more

See all

This place has some good food. Been here a couple times now. Ankeny needed a fast food Greek place. Each time I've had a gyro rice bowl. The gyro meat is good and you can add a variety of things to go with it (tzatziki sauce with anything is good to me) The chicken gyro is good too. The patio is great place to enjoy your food here. read more

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh - Gyro rice bowl - Greek Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

Myself and my husband stopped here at 7 on Sunday night curious to try something new. The first impression is that the restaurant is incredibly clean and nice and bright. The food here is pretty good, I was pleasantly surprised because I learned that it was a chain kind of like a Subway or Chipolte but with Greek foods where you build your own bowls and gyros. There are quite a few good choices on their bar, you start with either rice or lettuce if you select a bowl or white or wheat pita if you select that. There are a few different choices for meat and then toppings (lettuce, tomato, marinated veggies, olives, hummus, etc.) I got the traditional gyro on a white pita it was pretty good but kind of greasy (that may have been because we came later and it sat for a bit). It did have good flavor though! The hummus was good as was the Tatziki sauce, really happy they had kalamata olives! One issue is it is such a mess! So do not eat this in your car! They give you a ton of food but the pita just fell apart. My hubby got a bowl with traditional gyro over white rice, it was more than even he could eat, it was piled full and he really enjoyed it. We ordered a Spanakopita to share, it was light and flaky with a good amount of filling. We also each got a Baklava, because let's face it, I don't want to share! It was really gooey and very good, a bit overly sweet from traditional baklava but still delicious. Overall the price wasn't bad $35 for both of us with tip and the food was pretty good. read more

Absolutely the worst dining experience in years. Inept service and tasteless food. My goodness, it is America. If you serve fries, ketchup; not excuses. Go to Costco and get ketchup. Would rather go hungry than ever eat here again. ZERO STARS. read more

Love this Greek restaurant! Friendly staff, great healthy fast food, enjoyable environment. I've gone here about once a week since they opened and have had a great experience each time. Not sure why there's so many low reviews, of course it's a new restaurant so there's going to be some bumps in the road in the first month. You've got to try this place and you'll fall in love too! read more

Garbanzo Mediterranean Fresh - three bowls of salad - Greek Near Me - Ankeny, Iowa

See all

A few weeks ago I saw that Ankeny was going to get another restaurant in the northern part of town. I was excited since it is a Greek restaurant. While eating at Which Which one day, I walked over and looked inside. They had their electronic menu up so I spent a few minutes staring at it from outside. I was a bit disappointed that it was basically a Pita Pit or Chipotle for pitas. Still, I wanted to give this place a chance to stand on its own merits. After two visits this past week about 4 days apart, I can say that it lived up to my low expectations, which isn't that hard. I like gyros and the fact that I can have traditional gyro meat as they call it or a number of options like shrimp or spicy chicken is great. Their multiple sauces were good such as the traditional gyro sauce or a hummus. What I didn't like were the toppings. While they were fresh, they didn't fit my pita very well. Instead of tomatoes that were cut smaller, I was given 2 larger slices of tomato for my gyro each time. The cucumber had the same problem. The olives were whole olives. I love whole olives. Just not on my pita like this. Why am I complaining about the size of these ingredients? Well, when you put it all together in a pita and fold it in half to eat, the olives fell out. The cucumbers fell out. My couple slices of tomatoes ended up in just 3 or 4 bites of the pita because each bite consumed half of a slice. I found I had to constantly reload my pita with the ingredients that fell out. I know what you're thinking. This guy doesn't know how to eat a pita. Well, I love pitas and haven't really had this problem before. Not at Pita Pit. Not at the multitude of other restaurants that I've eaten gyros at. I just think it is the way they cut their ingredients. The other places, they cut them smaller. This allows them to place them throughout the pita. If you're going to get a side, definitely the freshly made Greek Fries. The combination of hot french fries, feta cheese, and garlic oil was oh so good. read more

See all

After getting a full sized bowl and giving it another chance I'm really happy with the new changes here. The food is a lot more flavorful now. Same friendly service and they're patient and explain things to you. I next want to try a plate. The new rice is really good. I do miss the lentils but the new flavors are enough to make up for it. The new pita bread is thick and fluffy and delicious. read more

This is good, clean, whole food. I choose to go with the bowl most of the time, but what I love most is that the food is fast and filling without being unhealthy. It's our go-to place when we don't have enough energy to make dinner, but still want to eat healthy. Clean and fresh ambiance. It's definitely not your typical fast service chain. read more

I love this joint! Healthy food, amazing taste and great service. I e been here for doordash to pick up orders as well and they are very fast and efficient. Friendly staff, great food, highly recommend. read more

The food is great and would get 5 stars, but the service really holds me back from giving that rating. I used to live in Denver and Garbanzos was one of my favorite spots to eat so I was pumped when I saw Garbanzos opened close to my home. When you walk into Garbanzos in Denver they cheerfully welcome you and hand you a warm falafel while you wait to order. Here, however, that is not the case. Every employee seems to hate their job, no one smiles or cares to make small talk. They are serving DELICIOUS Mediterranean food - a smile would go a longgg way. I will be back because your food is excellent, but for the love of all things holy and Greek- serve up a SMILE with that hummus read more

The food was excellent!!!! Pitas were soft, the soda was soooo good, I had the blood orange. I got green beans in my bowl and they were SO SO SALTY, but I'm assuming it was just one of those silly things that happens. However, the customer service was subpar at best. One girl asked me three separate times to repeat myself, but had an airpod in her ear. Which is honestly kinda gross cause what if it falls in the food? Otherwise it was really yummy, and I'd recommend. read more

Just had a great Gyro and a Bowl - fresh food - super clean - staff are super helpful and the overall experience was fantastic - btw - the lamb protein was done perfectly!! It's a new go to place in Ankeny!! read more

It was better when it was Simple Greek. Company that bought them out is not as good. It a shame. I will have to find another place to get my gyro's. read more

I've been here a few times. I get the salad with traditional gyro meat. It is exactly what you think you'd have. You can add anything you want from their topping selections. There food had always been consistent, very tasty. They also have baklava that is brought in pieces. I've had it twice and both times it was super good. This place is really good. read more

So good! Fresh ingredients! I love the Mediterranean shrimp in a mixed greens bowl. The Greek fries are my weakness! Clean restaurant. Friendly workers. I feel very safe going in during Covid19 as well! read more

We went here on Saturday night and wasn't very impressed. The girl didn't warm the pita up and gave up two slices of gyro meat. We had asked for extra sauce and said we would pay for it but it never ended up in our bag. I would say when you are newly opened, I thought they would do a better job. read more

We wanted a vegetarian type meal so we tried this Monday. The young people serving seemed poorly trained even though they appeared to be trying. The chicken for my grilled chicken bowl seemed multiple days past peak freshness. I found as I tried to eat the dried out chicken and brown rice that I should have requested a triple serving of sauce. Extra sauce is not available except for hot sauce bottles. Cold air pours in with each customer entering. Price seems maybe a buck or two higher than competitors like Subway and Jimmy Johns,,, only the quality is less. I'll check back in on this restaurant in 6 weeks to see if the owner has improved these shortcomings or if he simply closed the door and gone out of business. read more

This is quite possibly the worst food I've ever eaten in my life Pita bread falls apart on the gyro Making it impossible to eat without a fork the Bread itself taste like cardboard 2 gyros 2 drinks1 spanakopita 38$ Totally not worth it read more

Was hesitant at first but wanted to try something healthy and this place delivers on great food and service. The Greek fires are tasty with that dash of olive oil! I've been several times and have not been disappointed with the bowls. read more

It's fresh and delicious! We really miss our authentic gyro joint in our home town, but this has been an excellent addition to Ankeny.

The Food from The Simple Greek makes me do my happy food dance. Their rice pilaf is so good. Light and lemony. I know it isn't traditional Greek food but it is tasty and quick and the service is amazing. We have been there twice this week and we will be going back. read more

Service was fast, food was absolutely delicious, and price was affordable!! Definitely will come back!

This is my second time going and I loved it! The owners are so nice and the service was great. I am so glad they are here now. Can't wait to go again read more

See all

The Simple Greek just opened and my family went there for lunch today. It is similar to Chipotle in set up where you pick if you want a Gyro or a Bowl, then pick your protein. (Steak, Grilled Chicken, Chicken Gyro, or Regular Gyro if I remember correctly) Then you pick your toppings and what type of Pita Bread you want and you are good to go. French Fries and "Greek Fries" (add feta) are available. You also get so select from typical greek dishes as options. Dolmathes, Souvlaki, and Baklava are available. There are a few other non traditional options, the most noticeable being the Baklava Cheesecake which was really good and likely worth stopping to pick up a slice or two for desert. Seating is casual and there are a few tables outside. Over-all, we thought that the lemon rice base was very good along with the marinated tomato - cucumber Village salad. The tzatziki sauce was good and the lemon potatoes were OK. The gyro meat was on the bland side which was disappointing and perhaps it will change was they get more experience. On the whole, I would rank it a bit lower than Z'mariks which is at the other end of the same strip mall, (Except for the Baklava Cheesecake) but it is nice to have another option in Ankeny. read more