You notice the parking lot fills up fast for a Tuesday lunch. That alone tells you something about Opa Greek Kitchen on Greenville Avenue, just south of Belt Line in Richardson’s older commercial corridor — the kind of stretch where nothing survives on novelty alone.
Walking in, the space is straightforward: counter service, a few booths and tables, walls with some Aegean imagery but nothing overdone. It’s the kind of room that says the owners put their money into the food rather than the décor, and after eating here a few times, that reads as the right call.
The menu covers Greek standards without trying to reinvent them. Gyros, souvlaki, spanakopita, hummus, Greek salads — familiar territory. The lamb and beef gyro is the anchor. The meat comes off the spit with good char at the edges, wrapped in warm pita with tzatziki that has real garlic in it, not the watered-down version you get at places trying to be inoffensive. The tomatoes and onion are fresh-cut, not pre-prepped hours earlier. It’s a $10-to-$12 gyro depending on what you add, and it holds up.
The chicken souvlaki plate is what I usually order when I want to sit and eat rather than drive. You get two skewers of grilled chicken, a small salad, pita, and a side of rice or fries. The chicken is marinated in lemon and herbs — not complicated, but cooked correctly, which matters more than people admit. Fries here are worth getting: thin-cut, crisp, and seasoned with oregano and a little salt in a way that’s distinctly Greek rather than generic.
Spanakopita comes out warm and genuinely flaky, the phyllo doing what phyllo is supposed to do. The filling has spinach and feta with enough seasoning that it doesn’t taste like diet food. It’s one of the better versions in this part of the metro, and it’s available by the slice so you don’t have to commit to a full order.
Hummus is housemade and served with warm pita. It’s smooth without being gluey, with olive oil and a dusting of paprika on top. Nothing surprising, but done properly.
The lunch crowd on a weekday tends to be a mix of office workers from nearby business parks and regulars who clearly have a usual order. Service is quick — this is counter service, so you order, grab a number, and the food comes out within ten minutes most days. On a busy Friday, give it a few minutes more.
Prices stay reasonable. A gyro with fries and a drink lands around $14-$16. The plates run $13-$17. There’s nothing on the menu that feels like a splurge.
Dinner is quieter than lunch, which makes it a good option if you want a table without competition. Parking is a shared lot with adjacent businesses — not huge, but workable outside of peak hours.
Opa isn’t trying to be an experience. It’s a Greek kitchen that cooks Greek food with care and keeps its prices fair. In Richardson’s crowded restaurant landscape, that straightforward reliability is exactly why the parking lot fills up on Tuesdays.
