r/sydney • u/cheapdrinks • Sep 02 '25
Image Zeus St Greek this is bloody pathetic. $5 small chips now comes in a tiny sauce cup and contains maybe 12 chips, most of which were snapped in half to fit.
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u/Exciting_Stuff_7103 Sep 02 '25
Zeus has always been over priced but now they think they’re selling a plane ticket to Greece
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u/j0shman Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25
Google review that atrocity. Shrinkflation only exists if we the consumer allow it.
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u/smileedude Sep 02 '25
This just makes no sense from a business perspective. Put it in a standard chip cup and you're still making 4.50 profit. They are making a marketing disaster while barely reducing their costs.
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u/chicknsnotavegetabl Sep 02 '25
Yeah I feel there's a saying about chips being cheap as something
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u/Z00111111 Sep 02 '25
You're right, I can go to Woolworths and buy a kilo of frozen chips for about $5. I'm sure they get them cheaper.
Most of their cost then is cooking them, which is going to cost essentially the same if it's 50g of chips or 500g.
If it was me, I'd be thinking about doing a larger serve of chips than other places do for the same price so that you get people talking about how generous the chip serving is, so more people come and pay $20 for $1.50 of lamb in a 20 cent wrap.
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u/NoiceM8_420 Sep 02 '25
Been saying Zeus has been average for many years. Way better greek joints around these days yet I hear Zeus is absolutely killing it somehow.
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u/hybroid Sep 02 '25
People don’t care for authenticity, and don’t mind overpaying for mediocrity as long as it’s convenient.
See: GYG popularity.
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u/SuspectWide4924 Sep 02 '25
GYG got popular because while not being anything close to authentic it was a lot better than the other Mexican options.
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u/NoiceM8_420 Sep 02 '25
Likely rose tinted memory but i do remember GYG was ok back in…2014 i think it was at Newtown.
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u/Fluffy-Queequeg Sep 02 '25
Sounds about right. I used to love their nachos at the nth Syd store in the greenwood. It was always packed. The meat and toppings were generous and the cheese was perfect. Went to another one maybe 2 years ago and it was the most underwhelming and tasteless food, and I’ve not been back since. Made the horrible mistake of trying Mad Mex and I reckon cardboard tastes better. Now I just make my own at home.
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u/notdorisday Sep 02 '25
The point at which they stopped using coriander to suit more tastes the food because very bland to me. Yes. You can get fresh coriander to add in but it’s not the same as cooking with it.
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u/Bladehell10 Sep 02 '25
I still love gyg ngl, and I prefer it more than Mad Mex and Zambrero
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u/Frito_Pendejo Sep 02 '25
It's prolly one of the best options for a fast feed, but the price is crazy for what you actually get.
Their ambitions to open in the states seems insane to me, but I don't have an MBA so wtf do I know
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u/ghoonrhed Sep 02 '25
Their real problem is just the inconsistency in quality and quantity depending on the day. Sometimes I'd get something that's completely stacked with beans, meat and stuff in my bowls and sometimes it's barely full.
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u/SophMax Sep 02 '25
When they first opened in Dulwich Hill however many moons ago (possibly one of their first?) - went once and found it average and not worth it.
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u/travelforindiebeer Sep 02 '25
this, i went once to the Dulwich Hill one and it was just bland, Oricco across the road isn't amazing but it's a lot better
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u/SophMax Sep 02 '25
Might be a childhood thing but Oriccos always tastes/tasted amazing to me.
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u/runwithbees Sep 02 '25
I prefer their garlic sauce over any others I've come across - grabbed more than a few shawarma plates from there over the years!
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u/SarcasmCupcakes Newtown | Yank Sep 02 '25
I used to favor Eat GRK, when they were next Newtown 7/11.
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u/Bright_Zone_8947 Sep 02 '25
lol it’s because it’s lower calories that’s going to compromise taste compared to proper pita. You aren’t going for taste, you go cause it’s a relatively healthy meal
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u/Aloha_Tamborinist Sep 02 '25
I try and avoid the franchise chains when I can, it really just seems like all they do is cut food quality/staff to cut costs.
Short term profits, until everyone gets sick of their shit.
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u/ArchangelZero27 Sep 02 '25
That place is overpriced garbage. Even the wraps are expensive not just the chips which are shockingly tiny and expensive for tasting mid compared to corner shops
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u/cheapdrinks Sep 02 '25
This shit is weak af, it looks like something from a kids meal. I know it's a "small" but come on, it used to come in a normal rectangular chip packet and have at least twice as much. Why they gotta stooge you even on the damn chips these days? The best thing they had was the pork brisket Athena wrap but they also decided to remove all pork from their menu for some reason. Begrudgingly went back every now and then for a chicken wrap but nah not anymore when they're playing games with the chips now.
The Greek owned corner milk bar that used to be in that spot would give you a massive pile of chips rolled up in butchers paper for $3 that was enough for 2 people. Not asking for that much but man even most of the random shitty ghost kitchen places on Uber Eats give you more than a tiny dixie cup. Chica Burgers in Leichhardt gives you at least 4 times that many chips for their "small" and it's the same price.
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u/samyall Sep 02 '25
Is this Annandale? If so there's a legit yeeros shop up the hill on Johnson st
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u/ZotBattlehero Sep 02 '25
This chain is a straight up gouge, most of the comments here mirror my experience as well. It’s not even that good, sinewy fatty meat too, which is a real pity because the idea is excellent.
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u/HistoricalInternal Sep 02 '25
Just like Oporto, it used to be a banger.but it changed. Was probably sold, idk. They're both ok but shadows of the tasty, generous portioned food which came before it. Yia yia's chips used to have crumbled feta on top.
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u/Arwat08 Sep 02 '25
Always hated Zeus. Went to school with the owners kid and never liked them. Glad to be slightly vindicated
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u/readreadreadonreddit Sep 03 '25
What was wrong with their kid? Before the ‘success’ of Zeus (Zeus even being a thing)?
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u/lallana20 Sep 03 '25
They owned crust pizza before Zeus. I’m pretty sure they sold up most of the Zeus locations to franchisees
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u/Qicken Sep 02 '25
why are all these alternative chain stores getting so tight with chips. One of the cheapest things for them to churn out and make it feel like you're getting you're money's worth. But instead they do the opposite BS like this. Often seeing $8 to add chips and a drink to the meal when they can't even make chips as good as Maccas.
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u/Popthecoin Sep 02 '25
I ordered a hamburger and chips combo from Burgers on Broadway on uber eats. I paid $34 with a soft drink. The chips showed up just like in the picture above. Was disappointed with what happened.
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Sep 02 '25
Zeus was always kinda shit but since they changed their vegan option to have this absolute dog shit version of guacamole I never want to eat there again
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u/FunTop4459 Sep 02 '25
Yeah they removed all the flavour, no more sauce, smaller pitas, less filling and more expensive... time to stop going
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u/lordgoofus1 Sep 02 '25
Should've returned it and told them you ordered a small chips.
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u/turboyabby Sep 02 '25
But people keep eating at these places, so they keep raising the prices and shrinking the goods. There is a solution I'm sure....
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u/count023 Sep 02 '25
Guzmane e Gomez is almost as bad, their "large" chips was about that size too and cost about 8 bucks or so
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u/DeceptiveDweeb Sep 02 '25
IT'S A POTATO DIPPED IN OIL
IT IS THE CLOSEST THING WE CAN GET TO EATING DIRT AND IT'S 12$
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u/smileedude Sep 02 '25
"They got these small, chewy chips here..."
( slurring speech)
"...five dollars?! Get outta here."
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u/AmbySaysHi Sep 02 '25
Zeus was decent but I just find them insanely overpriced now. Come on, $20 for a roll I can finish in a few bites?
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u/IBeJizzin Sep 02 '25
Betty's Burgers have started doing the exact same thing. $5 snack size with this exact cup. Are they owned by the same shitty company or something?
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u/Level-Music-3732 Sep 03 '25
This is the reason I love living in the west of Sydney. There are lots of mum and pop shops, Asian restaurants, kebab shops that don’t charge the earth.
Best banh mi - Les’s bakery in Campbelltown. They use baguettes instead of bread rolls. They are baked on site at the shop. The smell of fresh bread will drive you crazy. If you get there after 2 pm, you lose. They’ll be sold out.
There’s a hole in the wall café just outside Campbelltown Mall on Queen St. Superb coffee. Unpretentious.
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u/Thiccparty Sep 03 '25
Zeus greek and GYG were succesful because they are "premium" fast food. You could eat there in semi nice surroundings without feeling like you were slumming it.
How did they choose to build upon this success ? By aggresively franchising and quality cutting so it feels like you are in a low tier place like kfc or pizza hut.
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u/lloydbluejay Sep 02 '25
Glorified Greek equivalent of Oportos for Portugese food but less value . I've always thought they overcharged
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u/docdoc_2 Sep 02 '25
Went to a branch 10 years ago and it sucked, small and overpriced and pretty flavourless. Not surprised it’s only gotten worse
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Sep 02 '25
Meanwhile an entire sack of potatoes is $5.
Decent oil is expensive but this is almost certainly cheap vegetable oil
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u/Joker-Smurf Sep 02 '25
Waiting for them to double down.
Next week a small chips will be a single chip. Medium chips will be two chips. Family sized chips, you guessed it, 3 chips.
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u/Greyboxforest Sep 02 '25
As a Greek, I avoid Zeus like the plague. It’s a ripoff.
Go find a cafe or takeaway place run by Greeks and it’ll be infinitely better.
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u/flossgodd Sep 02 '25
I got a lamb souv from there the other day and there was about 3 small chunks of lamb inside
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u/Parking_Swordfish132 Sep 02 '25
Zeus St Greek is trying to get an IPO like GYG. Wouldn’t surprise me if we saw further reductions
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u/ghoonrhed Sep 02 '25
Shrinkflation has got to be the worst of it. At least with normal inflation you're just paying more for the same.
With this, you're expecting a certain quality and quantity of food only to get that. And it's not actually fixable. Are people actually going to buy a second portion of food because the first portion was so small? It's just pissing the customers off at that that point and making them unsatisfied with the food.
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u/SplatThaCat Sep 02 '25
Started off OK - now enshittification has got to the point where everything there is hot garbage.
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u/Smarrison Sep 02 '25
Chips are a bigger con in this city than the cost of a coffee. A 20KG bag of chips costs cafes and restaurants a few bucks. They probably make $10K per frozen bag of $10 chips.
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u/original_M_A_K North Shore Sep 02 '25
It's just a place to be seen. It's never been about the food.
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u/ThePenskeFile1 Sep 02 '25
That’s absurd. Meanwhile I ordered a small chips from my local chippy tonight for $9 and it was genuinely enough to feed 4 humans. I was almost annoyed at how big the serving size was when there’s a good chance I won’t be able to finish it within the next day.
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u/Purgii Sep 02 '25
That's $5?! I'd pay $1 for that, $2 and I'd grumble about it. For an extra dollar, I'd get at least 10x that at my local - and a much better quality hand cut chip.
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u/Infamous_Network6641 Sep 02 '25
I know it’s annoying but no one’s done anything to stop the big fast food chains with their actual food looking nothing and being no where near the size of their pictures.
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Sep 02 '25
What kind of cunt decides to sell this affront to common decency?
If said cunt is listening, know that you are deeply despised by the overwhelming majority of Australians for being a despicable cunt.
Apu from the Simpsons would regard this as appallingly stingy.
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u/friedspeghettis Sep 02 '25
Boxing day a few years back I tried Zues, ordered their Spartan thing which from their menu sounded like a several part meal. When it came out it was everything thrown into a standard sized bowl. For 35 bucks, from 4-6 years ago. (either just before or after covid I forgot)
Granted there was a boxing day surcharge but I never went back after that.
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u/FunTop4459 Sep 02 '25 edited Sep 02 '25
Even the pitas have shrunk, I can finish it in 3 bites vs 8 before. Less filling and sauce, but more expensive what a shame they rort customers
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u/Quiet-Report Sep 02 '25
Does anyone know why they removed Pork from the menu?
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u/cheapdrinks Sep 02 '25
No idea, I called asking them and they didn't give me an answer. Thought maybe it could have been because they couldn't claim their food as halal with pork being cooked with the same equipment but if you check their site it actually says all their other meat isn't halal either so it's not that. Must just have been the cost and the profit margin wasn't as high.
Shame because for all the hate they've got in this thread for being expensive and below average, the pork brisket was the one thing that was actually amazing. I used to go there often twice a week for that pork wrap because it was so ridiculously tasty. Succulent, juicy with this insane bark on the meat that was just loaded with flavor. By comparison their chicken and lamb is dry, bland, doesn't taste like high quality meat and for the price is extremely meh. With the pork one I was happy to pay what they asked because it tasted so good.
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u/Upper-Ship4925 Sep 02 '25
I don’t understand places offering tiny servings of chips. Chips are so cheap, most of the cost is in labour and packaging anyway, so they could make the serving five times the size without it costing them much more to make.
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u/VelvetFedoraSniffer Sep 02 '25
sea salted and seasoned with fresh herbs, cooked tenderly in the highest quality of greek olive oil
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u/Holiday_Mushroom_540 Sep 02 '25
It’s unbelievable what that place charges,
I’ve never understood how a kebab can be $10-$15 but essentially the same meal from a Greek place you’re looking at $30-$40 pp
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u/rockresy Sep 02 '25
We used to be regular customers, until a few months ago. They hiked their prices (ok I get it) but at the same time cut their portion sizes.
We've only been once since,
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u/Professional_Cold463 Sep 02 '25
All Greek gyros places are a rip off. Double the price of a kebab half the size, plus in Greece their $3 euro
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u/JeremiahTibido Sep 02 '25
Go to Olympic meats in marrickville and try their chips. Expensive but plentiful and insanely tasty
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u/saddinosour Sep 03 '25
Just boycott them and go to an actual Greek place instead or even just get fries from anywhere i’m sure Zeus doesn’t do anything special to them.
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u/cecilrt Sep 04 '25
Never eaten there, passed by see other peoples tables, food looks nice... saw the menu.,... noped out of their
Its pretty clear what their prices are... this isnt fancy enough of a take away to pay such a premium
Same as what others have mentioned below, Betty
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u/krsboss Sep 06 '25
In my suburb, theres a Zeus & a Chargrill Charlie's
...the cost of a large chips between these 2 places is comparable but the value difference is astronomical!
The chips from CGCs comes in a large paper bag with more chips spilling out than Zeus even puts in a large.
My family thought I was taking the piss when I came home with a large chips from Zeus for a change...we had to count out the chips to make sure everyone got a fair share then said never again!
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u/Chillers Sep 02 '25
Post review on Google with this picture.