Mason A.
Yelp
I might get lynched for giving Sami's Gyros only three stars, but I honestly find them to be pretty average. I've been here twice since it's re-opening, and yes, it's a little nicer and more spacious than the previous location (definitely much better than the gross Asian restaurant that formerly occupied the space), but there's not much (if any) change in the menu or improvement in the quality of their pita wraps.
I don't want to throw out the Ann Arbor card here again, but just as with Asian and Indian food, that town has definitely got GR beat by a long shot with its Middle Eastern food game, (pita/schwarma/falafel joints are literally on every main street there), and I've eaten at all the ones over there and in this city and I've traveled a little in Europe, where they vigorously eat Middle Eastern pita sandwiches about as much as Americans eat tacos. Falafel pita (especially w/ babaganooj) is my "expertise" (lol jk, but in all seriousness, it's my go-to fast food). And I will say this place does a decent falafel pita, but at the same time, The Pita House is highly overrated. I think that there's this certain subset of GR people that love to talk it up like it's god's gift to mankind, when in reality, they probably just haven't eaten at a lot of other pita places. Being one the first pita businesses in GR, Sami's/The Pita House has a good amount of name recognition and a loyal following around these parts, but you'd be daft not to try out all the other pita places in town.
So with that said, their falafel balls are sufficiently moist, flavorful and green on the inside (most importantly), and the other ingredients are always very fresh and delicious. I'm mostly just not a big fan of the pita bread they use. It's very rough, dry, and quite difficult to chew. (maybe it would help a little if they warmed it up first?) Not to mention, the first time I went there since the re-opening, my pita was very poorly folded and came undone thanks to the very unfriendly/careless employee working that evening. I basically just had a falafel salad mess. I like pitas they use Gita Pita and Chicago Style Gyro far better.
Sami's/Pita House is pretty middle-of-the road for me. It definitely does the trick at a very reasonable price, but I've also had better. I'm definitely going to try out some of their vegetarian platters instead next time, so this review is definitely subject to some updates...