Reviews Zeitoon Restaurant

Zeitoon has a very nice kabab and the chicken was very good, i like the restaurant and also the staffs were friendly, the service was also good

April 14, 2017 · by JuliaEats · My first time trying Persian food! Service was polite and the food was very interesting, I was pleasantly surprised! Although, I probably

Came here on a Sunday evening and the place was very busy. I quickly learned this is for a very good reason-great food. I ordered the hummus as a starter and then the koobideh as a main. Very good portions and very tasty marinade. Quick service too! Would recommend.

It's been a very long time since I've had Persian food. This place is higher end that the other kebab places near by, so you can expect prices to be around $15 - $20 for dinner. We enjoyed the Solanti and Vaziri dishes as the kebabs were so juicy.

For an appetizer, we got the crispy rice tahdig. Very delicious too.

Eaten here three times so far. Seems consistent. Ordered the lamb soltani and egg plant dip. Very delicious. This place is a tiny mom and dad buisness type. I could care less, so far the food has been consistent for me atleast. Great place for take out if your running out of time as well. And right across the street is a Persian market. Make it a Persian day for yourself!

Zeitoon, A Persian Affair. “Like all food, whether you’re talking about Persian food, or Chinese food... it’s always a reflection of wars, trading, a bunch of good and a bunch of bad. But what’s left is always the food story.” –Marcus Samuelsson.

Zeitoon is a cozy Persian style restaurant we visited the downtown location at the cross streets of Denman and Pendrell, but they also have a location in North van near the corner of Lonsdale Ave and 16th St. When we arrived, the staff was very welcoming and greeted us at the front door with big smiles. Once seated, the waitress was very helpful to those of us unfamiliar with this type of cuisine [i.e. ME,] explaining what certain things were and telling us what her favorites were. We settled on a starter of Kashk Bademjan. Kashk bademjan for those that don’t know it is a warm eggplant based dip that we found to be spectacular! The restaurant provided complimentary khubs (Arabic pita bread) for dipping. The chewy texture of the pita mixed with the creamy and smoky flavour of the Kashk Bademjan made for a delicious treat for our tummies J
Our entrees were the Lamb Soltani and Ghormeh Sabzi Stew. The lamb tasted amazing; it was perfectly cooked and it didn’t have the super strong gamey taste that I find lamb to have sometimes. The ground beef on the other hand, although very tasty, was a little too oily for my taste and wasn’t my favorite on the plate. The rice was probably the lightest and fluffiest rice I’ve had to date but to my tastes was a little bland, from my understanding it is authentic but I wish it had a light sauce of some sort drizzled over it.
Ghormeh Sabzi is a Persian stew made of slow-cooked herbs and usually has kidney beans and seasoned beef chunks in it. When made to perfection, it is a hearty textured green stew that is broken up with bites of tender beef and has a tart limey taste to it. The Ghormeh Sabzi at Zeitoon is pretty good and lives up to its reputation as a cornerstone of Persian comfort food. It is served with Basmati saffron rice and olives. However, I did find it to be a little on the oily side as well and the beef, while perfectly seasoned, a little dry [cooked for a smidge too long]. It definitely satisfied my craving for a nice hot flavorful meal on a cold winter day.

I did a little research before settling on Zeitoon’s for lunch and all of the other reviews I read had a common thread to them: good food but terrible service. Having a service industry background, they certainly had a couple of small hiccups, but nothing that marred our experience. Initially the server was very helpful and was around quite often. The time from we placed our order till the time the food arrived was about 15-20 minutes (pretty quick in my opinion!) but the thing that stuck out to me was that she didn’t come by again to check on us or make sure everything tasted okay until we were done and ready for the cheque.

The overall experience at Zeitoon’s was good food for your buck and although not exceptional service I would definitely go back again, or recommend it to anyone who is looking for a Persian restaurant.

if you liked my review check out www.themaltesechef.com

Can't wait to go back. It's a busy place and I can see why. The staff were very friendly and helpful and the food is now at the top of my list for Persian cuisine. For entrées I ordered a Lamb Shank and my wife had their BC Salmon skewer. The presentation was beautiful and the immense bed of saffron rice could feed my entire Chinese extended family for days. The shank was very juicy and flavourful with all the spices thoroughly infused into the meat.

What really surprised us was the salmon, which is not something we'd normally order at a Persian restaurant. The flavours of Persian spices must have just soaked right into the perfectly-cooked salmon. It's seldom that we'd get such tender and juicy fish (especially dry-cooked filets) at a restaurant but Zeitoon did it right! We highly recommend this dish.

Of course, we had to accompany this with some of their wonderful homemade doogh. I imagine this salty yogurt drink would be an acquired taste for some.

Hands down the best Persian food in the City. Kabobs are delicious and moist. Huge quantity for the price. So much attention to detail. Truly amazing.

Good quality food-poor service. I have been here a few times and have endured the poor service for their delicious lamb skewer dish! You get 6 of those T-bone lamb steak fresh off the skewer, tasty, and cooked perfectly! They cost a few more dollars than Yaas but Yaas pieces are small and always overcooked/ burnt. Instead of waiting for the waitresses (who spend most of their time staring into space behind the counter), I sometimes just walked to the counter to get my order taken. Be prepared that your water glass will not be refilled unless you ask. Be prepared that you won't get complementary pita bread when you arrive unless you are Iranian, but you do if you ask. Be prepared to give small tip because the service is poor.

You should try this place. .... You should try this place.
-Good food
-Large portion
-Love the atmosphere

Took the kids - ordered *Torsh Kabob *kabab Kobedeh *boneless chicken - in addition to shirazi salad and keshk bedemenjan (eggplant appetizer)

Food 10/10 - the Torsh us new to me and was fantastic - grilled to perfection

Presentation 10/10 : food in plate looked pretty good

Service - very freindly - and food was quick to come

Price - mid range - fed 4 people for about $65-70

Highly recommended !!!

Mmmm dill and lima bean rice. Went with a friend and had the lamb shank with dill/lima bean rice.
The shank portion was reasonable, though slightly tough. However, I am a huge fan of their rice - light, fluffy, flavourful.

They may need to adjust their pricing as there is comparable fare for lower prices within a half block. However, they're still tasty, and they do have daily specials which look to be a better deal.

Dine here once a week from Surrey. I come here once a week from Surrey..quite happy with the food and service..It can get quite busy on the weekends and you should expect a line up which I believe aside from the wait is a sign of their good food and ambiance..If you like meet, rice and a filling mediterranean dish with good value, then you must check out Zeitoon..my favourites are the chunky beef kabab (Chenjeh) and the chicken kabob..very tender..descent portions.

Awesome Lamb Kabob. Me and my wife have been going to Zeitoon for about 2 months now. Been there twice. The kebob is called Shish Leek that is lamb of course. We love it. It's awesome and I will be back to try it again. So far the best shish leek in town. The service is okay but they need to be more professional.

Zeitoon is a cozy Persian style restaurant we visited the downtown location at the cross streets of Denman and Pendrell, but they also have a location in North van near the corner of Lonsdale Ave and 16th St. When we arrived, the staff was very welcoming and greeted us at the front door with big smiles. Once seated, the waitress was very helpful to those of us unfamiliar with this type of cuisine [i.e. ME,] explaining what certain things were and telling us what her favorites were. We settled on a starter of Kashk Bademjan. Kashk bademjan for those that don’t know it is a warm eggplant based dip that we found to be spectacular! The restaurant provided complimentary