Tuesday, January 23, 2024

Kalamaki Greek LA Opens in Los Angeles and Adds Greek Froyo






Fro-yo girl here. Kalamaki Greek LA is a new Greek street food café in Los Angeles that started as a food truck in 2018. A brick & mortar restaurant opened last September in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles (Central LA). The menu includes gyros, skewers, salads, sides, Greek coffee, and Greek yogurt smoothies. In November 2023, they added Greek froyo to the café (but not to the food truck).

The owner of Kalamaki, Antonios Karagiannakis, is from Crete and he made Greek frozen yogurt when Greek froyo became huge in Greece. Then he was recruited to make Greek fresh and frozen yogurt for Go Greek in Beverly Hills.

Kalamaki specializes in authentic Greek street food made with Greek olive oil, Greek feta, etc. Choose from appetizers, skewers (chicken or pork), falafel, Greek salad, and gyro sandwiches (beef/lamb, beef, chicken or pork gyros). It’s not froyo but the Greek salad with gyros was excellent – very fresh ingredients, lots of feta, very flavorful.

I was more than a little disappointed that they were cleaning their froyo machines during the afternoon of my visit. I waited two hours and they only had one froyo flavor available. 

On my second visit, they had all four flavors available.

Froyo flavors:

  • Mango
  • Plain: rich, smooth, tangy, lots of flavor, softer and creamier 
  • Chocolate
  • Honey tahini: similar to the plain froyo only with the distinct taste of tahini (yellow sesame)

A small froyo is $11 with a choice of two toppings, while a large is $13 with three toppings. Greek fruit preserves, a hot dark chocolate crust, and hot Nutella crust are extra. The toppings looked healthier: hemp seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, popping boba, fresh fruit, nuts, mochi, granola, coconut, sprinkles, etc.

It’s expensive but the froyo quality and taste are there.

Order at the counter and get a number. They’ll bring the food to your table. The café’s décor is reminiscent of Greece. The neon sign in front and the awning both say frozen yogurt (yay!)

They are understaffed at the moment, so expect a long wait.

You know you love me. X0 X0, fro-yo girl.

* KALAMAKI GREEK LA: 344 S La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036

Looking for more frozen yogurt news, discussion boards, and resources? Check out the International Frozen Yogurt Association website at http://internationalfrozenyogurt.com/. The IFYA is the independent voice of the frozen yogurt industry.



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