Let's make it clear again, I have been eating Persian food since 1984. I love all types of middle eastern and Mediterranean food as well.

This restaurant became introduced to me many years ago by my (at the time) girlfriend, who is Persian. I have been eating there regularly for the past 12 or so, but since 1984 all together.

The summary of this review is the following. I have NEVER had a meal that was not perfect. It's that simple. And in my recent visit last week, I had the same customer who was picking up food for take out and he added that even when they (he) brings in food for take out, it's equally excellent.

Now for the details. Simple ratings are as follows:
Atmosphere: cosy and intimate with a Persian flair.
Service: warm, friendly, welcoming, caring, attentive and knowledgable of their menu and how the food is made.
Selection: fish, chicken, beef, steak (filet mignon), lamb (shank), vegetarian.
Price / value / portion / quality: this restaurant has priced itself very wisely, in that it is in perfect ratio of ALL the above points.

So here is the low down.

If you are familiar with Persian food, please excuse the layman review. If you are new to Persian food, this is the restaurant you want to go to try it for the first time.
Mahain, as I refer to her, the owner, is the master of all recipes and everything she makes in her restaurant is from scratch. As she said to me once, "I can't even make it as good at home some times". This was a reference to the homemade hearty bean, lentil and barley soup - osh. This soup will just about fill you up and the flavour is something special, and acts as a great opener for what is to come in flavour city.

Best enjoyed with a group of people or of your very hungry or not shy to bring leftovers home after the meal, are the appetizers. My family usually goes with three classic appetizers. The first is the Persian version of tzaziki, but unlike the Greek version this is sweet and without garlic. The Persian name for this appetizer is mast-o-khiar and is made with thick yogurt, dill, mint, cucumber and topped with raisins.
The second, probably the best interpretation of egg plant is the mirza ghassemi. This is served warm and is a perfectly and delicately smoked eggplant blended with tomato, garlic and egg - though you would be hard pressed to realize that there is egg in it. I can eat a whole bowl of this.

The next appetizer is very unique to the North American pallet, it's called zaitun parwardeh and is a is a mixture of finely chopped olives and walnuts mixed with some cinnamon and pomegranate strip and topped with some pomegranate pieces. All the appetizers are perfectly paired with the basket of rolled and grilled pieces of warm think style pita. Yummmy

If you like salad they have a house salad, it's like a regular salad in that there are the typical fresh veggies, however, it's the house dressing that makes this salad stand out turning non salad eaters into salad people.

This restaurant specializes in kebobs. The one I suggest if you are two people or two with a young child is the dinner for two that includes your choice of soup or salad for 2 people, a massive plate of basmati rice with saffron, roasted veggie skewers (with onion, red pepper, zucchini and green pepper), two roasted Italian plump tomatoes and three skewers. One skewed with plump moist chicken breast cubes, another with large filet mignon cubes that are crazy delicious that any great steakhouse would be jealous of and another kebob of koobideh, ground beef with seasoning shaped like a link of pillows of mouth watering juicy pockets of beef.

After eating this, remember to chop up the roasted tomato into pieces that can be blended into the rice so to incorporate a piece of protein and rice on a fork.

When you are finally ready to say "when" and have the wait staff retrieve your plates from the table all is not over. The meal also includes two pieces of Baklawa, the Persian version of the Greek Baklava - but not as saturated with honey and therefor more delicate and less overly sweet. The house Persian tea, aka chie, ( pronounced chi -ee), blend wonderfully with the desert as this tea is a blend of three different types of teas ( a secret ) and needs no sugar of you eat your Baklawa at the same time as you are drinking your tea. This is a wonderful ending to a meal such as this. If you wish for something cold or more refreshing, the home made rose hip ice cream is nothing but exceptional and any ice cream store (bilbouquet watch out) would love to get their hands on the recipe.

So what does this meal for two cost, under $50.00 plus tax. Great value and ridiculously satisfying. But there is also another dish you should consider as well. This is what I would say is the Persian version of Oso Bucco. Quartier Perse makes many different types of stews, all are excellent, but it's the lamb stew that stands out from the rest. Without getting to artsy and esoteric on you, this dish would make any Italian cook think twice! Be sure to pour the tender and juicy morsels of lamb over your rice and blend it together and fill your fork or spoon and slowly chew and then swallow for continued food pleasure. You get my point on this dish - right? As I said, this is a great place to go as a group so you can share a nice assortment of dishes.


By the way, there are other types of classic Persian style rice dishes such as one with with shreds of orange peel and carrots, slivers of pistachio and almond or the other with dill and Lima beans - I know, this sounds boring compared to the previous one, but trust me it is delicious.

Best to call in advance and know that lunch is only served on Fridays. If you are lucky, ask the server if you can have a piece of crispy rice, known as tadeek - a delicacy in the Persian world of family cooks where everyone wants a piece of this from the process of making the rice dish.

Enjoy and say hi for me when there.


"The Food Critic"