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Olympic Flame Restaurant

4.0 (170 reviews)
ModerateMediterranean, Greek
Closed • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Olympic Flame Restaurant Photos

Business Info

OLYMPIC FLAME RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Olympic Flame Restaurant

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Main Mezethakia
April Gaea G.

I was here on a layover. My crew members and I were walking around downtown and this was recommended by the concierge of our hotel so I decided to stop by and eat before we continue on exploring. The food was great but the staff's service was amazing and made everything above and beyond. Thank you for your hospitality and good food.

Salmon
Mary P.

Ditto everything like a year ago! We do enjoy the chicken gyros & steak de burgo! Good place to eat. We got the last table.

Our 2nd visit here and it was as wonderful as the 1st! Going to Greece this fall and wanted to try some good Greek food, it's not good, it's amazing! I love the atmosphere, only about a dozen tables, no TV's on the walls and just the quiet background music along with the hum of people chatting over their delicious meals. Tried a couple of wines which were tasty, then came the lemony soup with tender chicken & vegetables. The warm pita bread - the best! Greek salads did not disappoint nor did the flaming appetizer or our dinners. Finished off with the best baklava I've ever had! The courses aren't hurried which I love, it was a relaxing 2-hour dinner. I like going out once in a while when dinner is the main event, not a rushed bite before something else. Olympic Flame - THANK YOU! We will be back!

Falafel Sandwich
Christina W.

No one holds a flame to Olympic Flame for Greek food in Des Moines! Came out in a Wednesday night to enjoy some authentic Greek. Ordered two falafel sandwiches, fried squid, and baklava. Total came to $37.xx before gratuity. Everything tasted amazing! I absolutely loved the falafel sandwich. Very generous helping of every ingredient. Very fluffy, hot, and fresh falafel croquettes. I've never had them like here. Hummus was very flavorful. Buttery taste almost. The fried squid was delectable. My very favorite was the baklava though!! Hot crunchy and gooey with the BEST flavor, baklava. Everything I ate was dairy and egg free. I was completely satisfied. Service was efficient and very nice. Restaurant was quaint. I enjoyed the window seating. Not very busy when we visited but it made it an enjoyable and intimate night out. I highly recommend Olympic Flame for a delicious Greek craving. I've tried many around the city and I'm very impressed with Olympic Flame for quality and flavor of food and overall environment.

Trio Plate apparently
Juli G.

for my boyfriends birthday dinner we decided to come to this place because he has been there a few years prior and said it was good. we arrived around 7:30 and didn't get our main meal until an hour later. it took so long to get our food and it was so disgusting i couldn't even eat it. i barely touched my trio plate and my boyfriend did not like his food at all either. both dishes were microwaved and not fresh; it looked like a bunch of slop. the chef did not even try to plate it nicely because the appearance was so awful; just the look of the dish itself turned me off of it. the lamb was very hard and the waitress serving us tonight couldn't even tell me the difference of the two piles of slop that was supposedly "pasticcio" and "moussaka". the kebabs tasted like they microwaved and then left there for an hour. i truly hope this was just a bad night for them but honestly i doubt it. the server didn't take anything off of my bill even though i barely touched my food and told her it was bad and not enjoyable in the slightest. you can overhear everything from the kitchen as she was telling the chef i didn't like my food. it was embarrassing. she stated " i don't know what to do about it" to the owner. he obviously did not care in the slightest because they charged me 72 dollars for garbage. the waitress was nice but unprofessional. i didn't tip due to the fact that i was paying for literal shit and she said "oh so i'm the one being punished? that's f*cking awesome" and continued to bad mouth us as we were leaving...like yeah you decided that the food you were serving to me was up to standard and just by looking at it, it clearly was not, so i'm not paying you!! thank you so much for this terrible experience; i genuinely have never felt more underserved. i felt like i was on a kitchen nightmares episode and that has never happened to me before. don't go here.

Luke M.

Went for lunch on a day off after Christmas. Staff was friendly and attentive. I believe 1 waitress and 1 cook running the restaurant. Food came out fairly quick and had good flavors. This is a smaller place and filled up quickly after we arrived. Furnishings are dated, but not shabby. Gyro does not come with fries, I added them as a side.

Belly dancer
Denise L.

The food was amazing! We stopped in before a concert, and it was packed. They were able to seat us right away. They had a belly dancer performing throughout the restaurant, and we were able to meet her lovely family! I 100% recommend this little gem of a spot!

Mezethakia

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1 year ago

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4 months ago

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5 months ago

Small, venure, good food, nice folks. We enjoyed it very much. We will be going back again soon. PEACe from IOWA!

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11 months ago

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Best steak de burgo and reasonably priced! Lovely if you can snag window seating. Old neighborhood haunt!

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2 years ago

Best gyro in the Des Moines metro. The food is always fresh and hot. Cute, small place with very friendly staff.

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3 years ago

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2 years ago

Fun place to go. We had the flaming cheese. Place is not fancy but food was good. ......

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

Best Gyro in town, and if you like it you will appreciate the baklava even more!!

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7 years ago

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4 years ago

Great gyros. Tzatziki is on point. Fried potatoes are amazing. Avgolemono soup is transcedant. Best Greek spot in Des Moines.

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OPA! Italian & Greek - Side salad

OPA! Italian & Greek

(175 reviews)

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Had a really great dinner at Opa Italian Restaurant. Everything just hit…read more The shrimp pasta was the standout -- perfectly cooked shrimp, great seasoning, and a light, flavorful sauce that didn't overpower the dish. Simple, fresh, and done right. You can tell they care about the food. The atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable, and the service was friendly and attentive without being too much. Just an easy, enjoyable meal from start to finish. Definitely a spot I'd come back to when I'm in the mood for solid Italian food.

Opa! Italian & Greek How I wanted you to be the best dinner night, but you came up short…read more We needed a place to grab dinner and they didn't have a wait on Saturday night. We were running a tight schedule which is our fault. I ordered the Creamy Steak de Burgo with Rosemary Potatoes. I ordered it medium and chose the beef tenderloin. Well it didn't come out medium or rare, but raw. I mean raw. The server agreed and took it back. It took a while to come back and by that time we needed to go to catch the show. We also barely made it to the show. I had to take it to go. The server didn't say anything to the manager or apologize or anything. Again I know I was in a tight schedule, but it is your responsibility to ensure the food is correct and cooked to order. I am not giving up on Opa! because the food is solid, The service could be better. The beef tenderloin was very good with the creamy garlic, wine, & basil sauce. Tossed and topped with mushrooms. The rosemary potatoes were fire, especially with the creamy sauce from the tenderloin. I would ask for more sauce next time. I did the upgrade and it's definitely worth it. They need to work on getting the rare, medium, medium well, and that's not good correct. What I got back was a very well done tenderloin. This is a solid meal and I will be back to give it a shot. We never said we were in a hurry or anything. Just want it cooked correctly. The salad and bread were good. I would get the salad dressing on the side. My gorgeous wife got the lasagna and I got a bite. It was amazing as well. She loved it and would get it again. We hadn't planned on going to Opa! but we did and I absolutely love the atmosphere and feel this is a solid place, just wasn't a great experience. I was so damned hungry through the entire show at the Civic Center and may have been hangry.

Flame & Skewer - Fish Sandwich

Flame & Skewer

(38 reviews)

$$

3/9/26 6:15 p.m…read more Dine-in Food: Our order was - Mushroom appetizer, Cheeseballs appetizer, Garlic Citrus Shrimp, Fish Sandwich w/fries & mayo, BBQ Swiss Burger, and a kids menu Mac & Cheese. Everything was delicious! Yes, the fries may be the frozen kind, but I feel like a lot of places use premade fries like that; it didn't take away from how good everything was. The Mushroom appetizer is SO good! Savory, crunchy, and cooked to perfection. Their ranch is also really yummy; it's the good ranch ;) The size of the mushrooms was surprising as well. Most places use small, white mushroom caps for their deep-fried mushrooms, but these were slices of large portobellos (I think lol). We also really enjoyed the cheeseballs. They were crispy with the perfect melted cheesy inside. The shrimp was plump, full of flavor, they were much bigger than I was expecting, and there were a lot more of them as well. Not to mention the vegetables that came with it (there is a lot more under the toast in the photo) were really good! My husband really enjoyed the BBQ Swiss burger. Our daughter tried a bite as well and said she should've ordered that instead of Mac & Cheese lol. The burger was juicy and had great flavor. My daughter loves Mac & Cheese, so of course she devoured her serving lol. The Fish Sandwich was big, cooked perfectly, not overly greasy, and very filling. Service: As we arrived, there was a sign out front that said "Please seat yourselves", so we did. We were greeted with smiles as we walked in and were brought menus pretty quickly. We were served in a timely manner and everyone we interacted with was pleasant and easy to talk to. They were really welcoming and made us feel comfortable while we were dining, even engaging in small conversations instead of the normal quick dash by that other places tend to do. I had asked about the seasoning on the veggies (because it's absolutely delicious) and they gave me a whole bottle of it to take home! I was shocked and incredibly thankful for their generosity! As we were checking out, they even offered my daughter a ring pop, since we had forgotten to order dessert :) They're incredibly nice and seem to really care about their customers. Ambiance: As you walk in, it smells fantastic! It's quite casual and welcoming. You feel comfortable, which is always a great feeling while you're out enjoying a meal. There is a TV, but it was off, which, in my opinion, was kind of refreshing lol. Overall, the noise level wasn't very high. It was just low, casual conversational chatter throughout the restaurant with the occasional kitchen sounds. The decor isn't overdone; it's homey feeling, which adds to the relaxed nature of the place. All in all, we will definitely be dining here again! We really enjoyed our experience and can't wait to try more menu items :)

Great food and reasonable prices. I would especially reccomend the Gyros Plater. These sole…read moreproprietership restaurants are becomming rare. This place deserves your support. The food, the service, always excellent and consistent. My favorite restaurant in Ames.

Olympic Flame Restaurant - mediterranean - Updated May 2026

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