Tony’s Mediterranean Grill

i feel like gyro and hummus with tzatziki sauce and i’m told the name of a new place is «cova fusion» which upon first glance… I thought it was a juice bar or something. Upon further examination, its halal mediterranean. and looking at the chalk board menu, i get the gyro with lamb. yes!
the lamb is moist and generous. nestled in lettuce with 2 pieces of tomato wrapped in pita and drowned in white tzatziki sauce and it comes with a healthy helping of hummus and stale pita. the stale pita was kind of a bummer and the hummus seemed overdrowned in olive oil with the paprika smashed to the sides of the bowl. very strange. overall the gyro was ok and the tzatziki sauce kindof tasted like not tzatziki sauce. I might give this place one more chance because the lamb was right and the surrounding pita and lettuce was good. i will tell them to hold the white sauce next time.
on another note, i noticed the receipt said it was Tony’s Mediterranean

I used to love Tony’s…but now, sadly, they’ve changed the name (can’t remember the new name), menu, and ownership, and it’s just not the same :(Used to come here a lot, probably won’t be coming back, the hunt for a decent Mediterranean restaurant in downtown Houston is back on!
The short review:
–Food was ice cold by the time I got back to my desk (less than 5 mins), had to go reheat
–Gyros meat came in giant chunks, instead of thinly sliced, had to get a knife and slice it myself
–No more of the delicious sauces that Tony’s used to offer and freely hand out. Instead the Taztiki sauce tasted like mayonnaise mixed with dill pickle relish
–No Taztiki sauce provided with the grape leaves
–Fries looked appetizing and well seasoned, but in reality, they had very little flavor and tasted like they had been sitting on the «heat» lamp for quite some time
–Had to pay extra for pita bread with the gyros plate (a far cry from the previous owners who would give you free bread and pita chips)
–Drinks are no longer included with the meals
–Staff was not nearly as friendly as the old staff
–The hummus was pretty good
Overall, I am disappointed that my beloved Tony’s has been taken over by new owners and is now just a fraction of its previous glory. RIP Tony’s…

I just did a quick run-​by of this place as I needed to get food and get back to my desk. I will update this review as I return and try more things.
I got the gyro with french fries, 2 pieces of falafel and a drink. This was under 10 bucks. Not bad.
The gyro is nicely sized, with lettuce, tomato, red onion, and sauce. The bread is nice and soft. The fixin’s are really fresh. The lettuce is nice and crisp. The meat is gyro meat. It’s not the best, it’s not the worst. As far as the sauce, it is pretty garlic-​y, which I enjoy. Actually, it could be more yogurt tasting and I’d be happy. As I have gone to other places that decided that ranch dressing would substitute for tzatziki, I’m more than happy with the sauce that Tony’s uses. The french fries are a bit of a disappointment as they are not crispy at all. Now, I did carry it back to the office, which means they were sealed in styrofoam for about 5 minutes, so they may have started the trip more crisp than they are now. The flavor is nice. They have spices on them and so are not just bland potatoes. Now, the falafel… not so good. I am a huge falafel fan and this just does not do it for me. Why? Well, the texture is not great. The outside is not crisp, which may be the result of the steaming in the container on the way to the desk, but the interior texture is off too. It is very dry and mealy. The flavor is not so good either. I think they over-​did it on the spices mix. There is one flavor… I think it may be cumin that is just overwhelming EVERYTHING. I would not recommend them.
Service wise, the place was not busy when I went there, but the people were courteous and fast.
Overall, I give the place 3 stars, for now. I definitely will go back again and try more. I may even try the falafel again, in case today was an accidental over seasoning.

As this is a quick lunch time place downtown, i will give it a quick business review… large portions, good food, nice serving staff, cheap prices.
In terms of main courses, I’ve had their rotisserie chicken and kebobs and both have been good. For sides, I like their hummus, although the flavor is a bit light, and their tabbouleh.

The food is yummy and fresh and the staff is very nice. Sometimes they will give you extra items with your lunch.

We decided to try this place out for lunch. It is located in the downtown tunnel where Prince’s and Ragin Cajun are. They had a couple lunch specials going. I chose the rotisserie chicken with rice, two sides, baklava, and a drink for $ 6.99. They also had lamb shanks or beef kebob as a lunch special. For the price point, this place is an absolute steal. The chicken was very moist and their hummus was decent as well. I also chose potato salad as my other side and it was meh at best. I was full without even needing to touch the potato salad.
The chicken is very moist. The skin could be crispier, but overall the chicken had very good taste. There was a couple that came in behind us that tried to order the chicken as well, but they had run out already at noon. So come early if you want to eat the chicken.
They have a fancy automated ice-​tea machine as well that lets you choose from 4 types of ice tea. Definitely a bonus as I try to stay away from soda these days. The fact that they also give you baklava is a plus. If you order Hummus as a side, they will give you slices of pita bread to go with it. Tip: they have garlic and hot sauce togo sizes on the counter. Be sure to get the garlic butter, as it is a combination or papa johns butter sauce and mediterranean garlic sauce. Works very well when you dip the chicken in it. The hot sauce is an asian kind of hot sauce.
I will definitely be back to try their other dishes. Their meals are very reasonably priced at the moment. Apparently many other people have already disovered this place as it had the longest line of any other location in the food court.

What a great idea, cheap, counter service food downtown. For some reason they are not open in the evening, but breakfast and lunch may be all they need to survive. Not fancy, not exceptional, but at least it is not hummus straight out of a bucket.
I have to try the breakfast, but the lunch offerings are the American idea of what Mediterranean food might be. As there are 21 countries bordering the Med. I am not sure which ones they are choosing, but the influence seems to be mainly Greek and Lebanese.
I am going to eat my way through their limited menu before I write more.