Al-Basha Foods
11321 Village Square Lane
Fishers, IN 46038
http://www.albashaindy.com/index.html
Had it not been for the monthly mailers I get advertising local businesses, I would have never known Al-Basha existed. Al-Basha is a Greek/Mediterranean restaurant combination grocery store in Fishers that is hidden behind a CarX on Allisonville Road just south of 116th Street. The business has two entrances, one for the small grocery and one for the restaurant. I went at lunchtime for some carryout on a weekday and the place was busy, which is usually a good sign.
While waiting for my order, I walked around the grocery store exploring how many unique products were available in these three small aisles. Almost all the products were imported and ranged from olives, fava beans, a large and well priced spice section, cookies from a bakery in Chicago, and Turkish coffee to dunk the cookies in. There is also a small refrigerated case with some meats and cheese you just won’t find in stores around Central Indiana. Along the tops of the shelves, there were dozens of Hookahs for sale and a small section of Hookah supplies. You can even order Hookah off the menu and partake in a private room.
What I had: Although the menu in the restaurant is small, it had all the basic sandwiches and soups you might expect from a business serving Mediterranean cuisine. My sole purpose for stopping in is my love of the gyro. Gyros at Al-Basha will cost you $5.99 but you can always get the price down to $4.99 by printing a coupon online. Their gyros include the standard stack of meat, cucumber sauce and a tomato wedge. Feta was extra and I decided to pass since the cheese sometimes overpowers the other flavors. Off to the side, there were four pickle-like wedges included with the gyro. Although my wife hated the taste, I thought they added a sour crunch that balanced the gyro out well.
Al-Basha Gyro
The gyro at Al-Basha reminds me of a cross between a Hot Pocket and a Kolache. It looks like a filled puff pastry that is open on one end. Inside, you could see plenty of cucumber sauce spread around and the pocket was filled with meat and a tomato edge. For the purpose of this review, I cut it wide open so you could see just how much meat was inside causing my eating experience to be a messy one. My wife had no problem eating hers neatly and appreciated being able to hold the gyro and not have meat or sauce dripping onto her shirt.
Would I Buy It Again? Yes-100%. Although it was not my favorite gyro, it was probably the second best gyro I have ever had. Every gyro I have ever had has been served with some raw onion. After getting home, I was surprised to not find any in the container and will inquire whether that is an option next time I return. Another customer told me how good the falafel (fried patty or ball made with fava beans or chickpeas) is and that will be on my list to try next time. Fishers has few locally owned restaurants and even fewer that are good. Al-Basha Café and Grocery is located in a strip mall, but is a unique oasis in the middle of a suburb that is almost completely commercialized by national chains.
-EatHSE
Tags: al-basha, Food, Greek, gyro, mediterranean
I guess I have always had the Americanized version because I have to have lettuce, tomato and onion with feta [no cucumber sauce] on my gyro. And I have only ever had it on a pita – is that not correct?
Then again the first time I ever had one was my freshman year at college when my boyfriend took me to a local Chinese take out and bought me my first one. LOL – I miss the place, their great gyros [never could figure out why they were on the menu, but the fries were good too!] and I miss the nice couple that ran the business.
Thanks for pointing out this great find! Now I know where I’m eating lunch today
I used to eat at a little hole-in-the-wall Lebanese place in West Los Angeles that put the long picklely spears in their gyros and falafel too…I thought it added a lot to the sandwiches and I’ve been searching for something similar.
I know it wasn’t the focus of the review, but it begs the question. – where was your favorite gyro from? (Yes I am sure I could find it in your review archives but hey, I am at work on a smartfone.) thanks!
I believe this is next door to a good Indian place, India Sizzling. There’s also a Thai place out in front. As far as Al-Basha goes, it looks good, and the name of the place speaks to its authenticity. This little area is about the only place I know in Fishers.
I had a great gyro from Sam’s Gyros in Fishers (there’s also one in Broad Ripple). As for those one and a few late night drunken gyro runs, my gyro is experience is limited. EatHSE or WIBIA may have more experience/input on this one.
In the strip shopping center next to it, there’s a Mexican restaurant and a Japanese restaurant as well. I never though of it until now, but it is oddly enough pretty much the ethnic center of the Town of Fishers.
I’m SO glad you like Al-Basha! We go for lunch and get Gyros and Fries – YUM! I got started on that combo back in the day when my sis lived near the Parthenon in Chauncey Hill (Purdue).
One of my good friends says that in her opinion, Al-Basha is WAY better than Sam’s. I need to get to Sam’s one day and find out.
That little section of Fishers really is ethnic restaurant heaven. And Sahm’s is just down the street and The Roost is just around the corner.
Note that all of the restaurants in that area are local – no real chains there. Please support your independent restaurants in this economy – we’ve already lost too many good ones.
FYI: raw onion included with a gyro is a traditionally Greek/American method of preparation. The long-sliced pickles you got with the Al-Basha gyro means that it is a more typically Middle Eastern/Mediterranean version. (Sometimes you will see this mixture differentiated from Greek “gyros” on menus that serve both types of cuisine, by calling the latter a “shawarma wrap” or something similar.
My favorite gyro are a bit more traditional. My two favorite places are
King Gyros (South side of Bloomington)
http://www.kgyros.com/
or
King Gyros
2323 East Michigan Boulevard
Michigan City, IN 46360-5321
(219) 872-1740
woooooooooow it’s nice nice man i realy like it
so much
I just returned from a visit to Al Basha based on your reviews. I loved the gyros I ordered. There was enough meat on it to share or for another meal. I ordered the special (french fries, drink and gyros). The fries came with a sprinkling of paprika which, according to the server, kids love. I could have forgone the paprika and will probably ask to have it left off next time. My order was served in the traditional pita bread and was very good.