The unassuming strip mall exterior gives no hint of what is waiting inside. A modest gyro shop has climbed all the way to the number two spot on Yelp’s Top 100 Places to Eat in the entire country.
Not bad for a place that started as a food truck in 2019. The menu throws the rulebook out the window with flavor combinations you did not know you needed.
Classic lamb gyros sit next to fusion bombs like Korean bulgogi beef and Caribbean jerk chicken with habanero. It is creative chaos that somehow works perfectly, earning a devoted local following.
The portions are generous, the prices stay affordable, and the owners still greet regulars by name. Oregon has a way of hiding culinary treasures in unexpected places, and this one is a prime example.
It is the kind of spot that makes you question every other gyro you have ever eaten. Walk in expecting a quick bite, and leave wondering how a strip mall joint ended up as one of the best restaurants in America.
A Small Shop That Earned a Massive National Spotlight
Not every legendary restaurant looks the part from the outside. Twisted Gyros sits inside a modest strip mall in Hillsboro, and you might drive past it without a second glance.
But Yelp saw something that casual passersby might miss entirely.
Yelp ranked Twisted Gyros as the number two restaurant in the United States on its annual Top 100 list, which you can explore at https://www.yelp.com/article/top-100-us-restaurants-2025. That recognition put this quiet Oregon gem on the national map in a big way.
People started driving in from Portland, Salem, and beyond just to see what the buzz was about.
The shop started as a food truck, building a loyal following before settling into its current brick-and-mortar home. That scrappy origin story makes the national ranking feel even more earned and genuinely exciting.
From Food Truck Roots to a Brick-and-Mortar Legend
Twisted Gyros did not start with a dining room or a lease. It began as a food truck, earning loyal fans one gyro at a time across the Portland metro area.
That grassroots beginning shaped everything about how the restaurant operates today.
The jump from food truck to permanent location is a tough transition for many small businesses. For Twisted Gyros, it only amplified what already made the food so compelling.
The same care and creativity from the truck days carried straight into the new kitchen without missing a beat.
Long-time fans who remembered the food truck say the quality has not just held steady but actually improved. The bigger space allowed for a more expansive menu and better consistency across every order.
Building a reputation one customer at a time, over years of hard work, makes the Yelp ranking feel like a deeply deserved reward for real dedication.
The Signature Gyros That Put Hillsboro on the Foodie Map
The gyros here are not your average fast-casual wrap. Twisted Gyros builds each one with layers of bold, carefully balanced flavors that keep every single bite interesting.
The lamb gyro, in particular, has earned a devoted following among regular customers.
Crispy fried onions and pickled vegetables add unexpected texture and brightness to the classic formula. The sauces are rich without being heavy, and the portions are genuinely generous.
Customers consistently mention that splitting one gyro between two people is a completely reasonable plan.
The Mango Habanero Chicken Gyro brings serious heat alongside a fruity sweetness that somehow works perfectly together. Then there is the Bacon on Bacon Gyro, stuffed with crispy fries right inside the wrap, which sounds wild but absolutely delivers on every level.
Each creation feels like it was designed by someone who genuinely loves bold food and wants to share that joy.
The Bowls and Salads Worth Every Single Bite
Gyros get most of the glory, but the bowls and salads at Twisted Gyros deserve serious attention on their own terms. The Chicken Shawarma Rice Bowl comes with four different sauces on the side, though many customers report not even needing them because the base flavors are already so complete.
The falafel bowl surprised even skeptical diners who expected something dry and forgettable. Each bite delivered a layered complexity that kept people going back for more.
It is the kind of vegetarian option that makes meat-eaters genuinely curious and happy to try something new.
Salad bowls like the lamb salad have their own fans who return specifically for that dish. Fresh greens, roasted vegetables, potatoes, and pickles come together in combinations that feel thoughtful rather than thrown together.
The portions across all bowl options are large enough that finishing everything in one sitting is its own small achievement.
The Warm Welcome You Get the Moment You Walk In
Walking into Twisted Gyros feels less like entering a restaurant and more like visiting someone’s home. The interiors are bright, clean, and cheerful, with an energy that immediately puts you at ease.
There is nothing pretentious or fussy about the space at all.
Owner Jason is often right there at the front, greeting customers with genuine enthusiasm. He walks people through the menu with patience and real excitement about the food he serves every single day.
That kind of personal touch is rare in most dining spots today.
The atmosphere stays lively without ever feeling chaotic or rushed. Families, solo diners, and groups of friends all seem equally comfortable here.
The restaurant hums with a kind of happy energy that comes from a place people truly love visiting again and again.
Good food tastes even better when the space around it feels this welcoming and alive.
The Twisted Fries That Yelp Specifically Called Out
Yelp does not usually single out a side dish by name when celebrating a restaurant, but the Twisted Fries earned that rare mention. They are crispy, well-seasoned, and cooked to a golden perfection that makes them genuinely hard to stop eating once you start.
Dipping them into the whipped feta is a move that multiple customers describe as life-changing, and that is not an exaggeration that feels out of place here. The whipped feta is smooth, creamy, and just salty enough to make the contrast with the hot fries absolutely addictive.
Plain fries, stuffed inside a wrap, or loaded with toppings, they work brilliantly in every format the kitchen uses them. The fact that a side dish became a talking point in a national ranking says a lot about the overall quality and attention to detail happening here.
Good fries are harder to pull off than most people realize.
A Fusion Menu That Breaks All the Expected Rules
Mediterranean food and Korean bulgogi beef do not seem like obvious partners on the same menu. At Twisted Gyros, the Bulgogi Beef Bowl sits comfortably alongside lamb gyros and falafel, and somehow the whole lineup feels completely cohesive.
That is a genuinely tricky thing to pull off well.
The menu reflects a kitchen that is confident enough to experiment without losing its core identity. Mango Habanero Chicken brings heat and sweetness in equal measure.
The Pina Colada Shrimp Bowl offers something tropical and refreshing that regular customers rave about enthusiastically.
Creative combinations like crispy fries tucked inside a wrap or three types of bacon stacked on a single dish show a kitchen that treats cooking as a form of play. The results are bold, fun, and deeply satisfying in a way that standard Mediterranean spots rarely achieve.
Fusion done this well feels effortless even when it clearly is not.
The Family Behind the Food That America Fell in Love With
Behind every great restaurant is a team that genuinely cares, and at Twisted Gyros that team is a family. Jason, who co-owns the restaurant, is a consistent presence on the floor, checking on tables and making sure every guest feels taken care of personally.
During the rush that followed the Yelp ranking announcement, the two owners and their daughter managed long lines with impressive calm and efficiency. Customers in line were kept updated on wait times, the space stayed clean, and the food quality never dropped under the pressure of sudden fame.
That kind of operational steadiness under stress says everything about how deeply invested this family is in what they have built. Running a small restaurant well on a regular Tuesday is one thing.
Running it beautifully when the whole country is suddenly paying attention is something else entirely. The family at Twisted Gyros did both without missing a step.
Generous Portions and Prices That Actually Make Sense
In an era when restaurant portions seem to shrink while prices climb, Twisted Gyros takes a refreshingly different approach. The servings here are large, filling, and priced in a way that feels fair for the quality you are actually receiving on your tray.
Multiple customers mention splitting a single gyro and still walking away completely satisfied. The value equation at this place is one of the things people bring up again and again in their enthusiasm for the restaurant.
Getting both quality and quantity in the same meal is rarer than it should be.
First-time visitors are often caught off guard by how much food arrives for the price they paid. Regular customers have learned to come hungry and plan for leftovers anyway.
In a food landscape full of tiny portions and inflated bills, Twisted Gyros feels like a genuinely honest and generous place to spend your lunch money on something truly worthwhile.
Why This Oregon Gem Is Worth the Drive From Anywhere
People are driving from Portland, Salem, and even further just to eat at Twisted Gyros, and every single one of them seems to agree the trip was worth it. Distance stops feeling like an obstacle when the destination delivers something this memorable and satisfying.
The combination of creative food, warm service, honest prices, and a genuinely inviting atmosphere creates the kind of experience that sticks with you long after the meal is finished. Visitors often find themselves planning a return trip before they have even finished their first gyro.
Landing at number two on Yelp’s national Top 100 list for 2025 is not a fluke or a social media trick. It is the result of years of consistent, passionate work by a family that truly loves what they do every day.
If you find yourself anywhere near Hillsboro, making the detour to Twisted Gyros is one of the easiest and most rewarding decisions you will make.
Address: Twisted Gyros, 2401 NE Cornell Rd Ste P, Hillsboro, Oregon
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