This is close to home, looks reasonably authentic and smells amazing so it should be a regular snack stop. For some reason, it isn't. I have pondered many times as to why this is the case - I had a passable kebab there once and the odd portion of chips and other lesser snacks - pizza for example - which were all perfectly lovely. The kebab skewer is often a grand beast: thick and juicy and an irregular shape with a coarse texture. This should elevate it above the smaller, more homogenous looking of its brethren; they even slice it with a knife instead of that vibrating shavey thing for a more rustic feel. The meat was great from what I remember, but the pitta, garlic sauce and salad were sub-par. The salad was almost the polar opposite of the meat - all chopped up and mixed in together, with a vinegary tang presumably to extend the shelflife. The sauce was heavy and think, rendering it cloying and heavy. The pitta was poor also, it did not open into a flap readily which was impossible to wrap up into a sandwich.
I however think that the key to its downfall is the staff and opening hours - I approached the shop one evening to attempt a review but the kebab skewer looked thin and well-shaved, and the gentleman at the counter looked surly and unwelcoming. Couple this with the short opening hours (we have had the door shut on us by another surly gent when attempting another review) and the fact that the Arches sells pizza + chips for £5 and the Grecian is a whopping £6, defying the unwritten agreement of lower Gloucester Road, and you are left with the overwhelming decision, come kicking out time, to venture to the Arches or Effes (review to come soon).
I am determined however to conduct a decent review of the Grecian, the good Lord himself only knows what wonderful kebabs and secrets this place holds.
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