New Greek restaurant Gyros hitting the heights after opening in Ayr

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A restaurateur is pledging to bring the flavour of Greece to the streets of Ayr.Colourful character Tony Kyrcikos has opened a traditional diner boasting a touch of the Med in Newmarket Street.Named 'Gyros,' it specialises in the famous meat wrap dish with customers already flocking for a taste of the action.Made from meat such as chicken or pork cooked on a vertical rotisserie, the mouthwatering Gyros are wrapped or stuffed in pita bread along with ingredients such as tomato, onion, fried onions, chips and tzatziki sauce.And Tony, who hails from Larnaca in Cyprus, insists his new venture can help open eyes — and mouths — to a new type of cuisine.He told Ayrshire Live: "I believe we're Ayrshire's only authentic Greek restaurant and I'm very proud of that."I've been in the UK for 25 years and spent most of that time in London."Down there, you will find quite a few restaurants specialising in this type of cuisine, but it's not something you get up here as much."I firmly believe you should do one thing very well and that is what we are doing here — the food is cooked with passion and I hope the customers will see that."The family business is headed by Tony and wife, Sophia, who prepares all the restaurant's specials and 'mezes' — small plates of food.And what began as a small takeaway in the town's Sandgate has quickly morphed into bigger plans.A move to Newmarket Street has involved a quick rapport with the street's pub boss, Jim McSherry, himself a former star of Cypriot football side Pezoporikos Larnaca.Tony, 45, of Irvine, explained: "We only spent four weeks in the takeaway and realised we needed something bigger, we were so busy."The chance came up for this property and it was perfect.