What's the best Persian restaurant in LA?

[ilovebutter]

Message

[chewbacca]

Darband in Tarzana is excellent!

[epop]

Too bad about Shekarcheh. Darn. Darband is run of the mill, imho.

[circe0723]

Skaf's Grill - Oxnard and Laurel Canyon. Good quality, very friendly service.

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Skaf's Grill
6008 Laurel Canyon Blvd, North Hollywood, CA 91606

[J.L.]

No one restaurant is the best; I like to think about "best dish"es rather than one "best restaurant" in particular...

Ash (soup): Attari Sandwich Shop

Chicken olivieh sandwich: Attari Sandwich shop

Doogh (yogurt drink): Shaherzad

Ghormeh sabzi (Persian herbal stew): Shaherzad (although properly made homemade ghormeh sabzi easily beats any restaurant's)

Ghaimeh bademjan: Shaherzad

Kababs: Raffi's or Shamshiri Grill

Soltani (beef filets): Flame

Tah dig: Darya (West LA)

Fesenjan: Javan

Estamboli polo, albaloo polo, zereshk polo, bagali polo: Shaherzad

Any lamb dish: Canary

Fish: Javan

Nan (oven-baked bread): Shaherzad

Dessert:
Faloodeh: Shaherzad
Bastani (ice cream, rosewater): Mashti Malone's
Cucumber ice cream: Persian Ice Cream, next to Pomodoro in Westwood

Sorry my thinking's so "all over the place", but I believe there is disarray when it comes to this issue. True Chowhounds would understand (and make the proper pilgrimages), I hope...

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Shamshiri Grill
1712 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Shaherzad
1422 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Attari Sandwich Shop
1388 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Soltani Restaurant
1535 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90028

Raffi's
3887 E Sierra Madre Blvd, Pasadena, CA 91107

[foodiemahoodie]

Oops, didn't see this. Thanks J.L.

[westsidegal]

let me add to J.L.'s list:
shirazi salad ATTARI SANDWICH SHOP

[J.L.]

Yes, agree, westsidegal!

[epop]

I agree with this, attari for soup and friday lamb. Also the ice cream places are great.

Aside from that NONE OF THE FOOD at Persian restaurants in L.A. is even average in quality, if you have ever made any of it at home, or had it made for you at someone's home.

I don't think a Persian chef is there making it in any of the places mentioned above.
Flame had that, for a while, but the last 2 meals I had there were disgusting. Same with Darya, Javan, Shamshiri (once excellent) and so forth. It is rather ridiculous.

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Shamshiri Restaurant
19249 Roscoe Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324

[hanguolaohu]

Wow J.L., what an amazing list! Thanks!

[BerryPieFanatic]

What about Shah Abbas? No one's mentioned it here, but on another Chowhound post re Fesenjan someone recommended it. It had very mixed reviews on yelp...

I'm slowly trying all the Persian restaurants on the Westside that have Fesenjan which is my favorite.

So far I like Javan & the place across from Pasadena City College the best.

Shamshiri Westwood was refreshing, but just OK.

Also I don't see any mention here of Reyhan in Culver City, --any comments on that-- there was 1 good review for Fesenjan... but other reviews said its gone downhill.

Going somewhere for late lunch or early dinner tonite( Westside only), so far thinking between trying Shah Abbas & Reyan... which would you recommend better for Fesenjan, or somewhere else on the Westside that I haven't tried? I'd love to know asap if you get this, thanx! :)

[epop]

I've been told Shekarcheh (downtown) is a cut above the Westside Persian places, which are literally so substandard at this point that there's zero reason to go. Attari still does some things adequately, at least.

I haven't tried the place downtown yet though, because I don't believe it.

[J.L.]

Shekarchi is OK, nothing great.

[sushigirlie]

My favorite by a large margin is Shamshiri Grill.

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Shamshiri Grill
1712 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

[westsidegal]

imho, Shamshiri Grill makes a mean Ghormeh Sabzi.
also, to my palate their take on dolmas is the best in town.
instead of using oil-soaked white rice as the filling they use a lentil mixture.
much more tasty and contains much more protein than a white rice rice filling.

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Shamshiri Grill
1712 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

[epop]

that's a different rice dish, not that they soak it differently. One is plain white rice (saffron), with butter/oil, and the other is a lentil rice dish.

Persians wouldn't eat that stew with the lentil rice
but maybe you're on to something. The Ghormeh Sabzi already
has beans in it.

[westsidegal]

epop:
is the lentil rice dish of which you are speaking ADDAS POLO?

if so, although i love that dish when made with their brown rice, the dish to which i was referring is their stuffed grape leaf dish which is served as an appetizer. the stuffing is NOT the white rice one normally sees, and to my palate the lentil stuffing tastes tons better.

as far as eating adas polo with ghormeh sabzi, although i order them together, in the interests of calorie control i normally eat only the ghormeh sabzi at the restaurant and i take the adas polo home to eat as another meal entirely (actually, they serve enough of it so that their "side portion" actually will cover me for another two meals). maybe i was inadvertently eating close to the way Persians eat. a "normal" meal at Shamshiri grill is too much even for me to eat in one sitting.

[epop]

yes, Adas polo, or rice with lentils. Sorry about the confusion.

Portion control hasn't hit Persian restaurants.

[J.L.]

Leftovers! The basmati rice still tastes great re-heated.

[sushigirlie]

The portions at Shamshiri Grill are preposterous. They're so large that they're a negative in my mind.

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Shamshiri Grill
1712 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

[Ernie]

Shamshiri used to be so much better at their old location before they added non-Persian items like hummus to their menu

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Shamshiri Restaurant
19249 Roscoe Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324

[westsidegal]

not to me! i LIKE good leftovers.

[hanguolaohu]

I like Darya very much in W. LA. All their food is high quality and delicious. I like the 3 sauce Tahdig (burnt rice), Borani (eggplant), Shirazi salad, and Chicken cornish. The restaurant is very popular with the local Persian community, often quite busy during dinnertime. At some point, they switched from round dishes to triangular shaped dishes which lessened the portion size. Considering that Darya's prices can reach $25 per dish, I was not too happy about that.

I used to go to Shamshiri many years ago when it was south of Santa Monica Blvd. After they moved north of Santa Monica, the ambiance was brighter, resembling a Spanish cafe, but the food inversely declined in authenticity and quality. Now the last time I tried their current location was more than 8 years ago. Perhaps it's high time for a revisit.

Javan I visited once and thought it was mediocre. This was more than 5 years ago.

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Shamshiri Restaurant
19249 Roscoe Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324

[foodiemahoodie]

There's is heresay, but from a friend who is Persian/Iranian (take your pick!) and considers himself kind of a foodie (he's not) - says Javan. He recommends the lamb.

[goodhealthgourmet]

There's is heresay,
~~~~~~~~~
i assume this is a disclaimer that you're passing along secondhand info (hearsay) with the Javan recommendation...? at first i was trying to figure out if/why you were accusing hanguolaohu of heresy! :)

[foodiemahoodie]

Exactly, total hearsay, which I'm reluctant to pass on, but it's a fairly reliable source. Perhaps I shouldn't have mentioned it.

Shamshiri Grill - to those who know it - what should I order there that would make me think it's better'n Javan? I'm opening to knowing more about (and eating better) Persian food.

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Shamshiri Grill
1712 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

[Porthos]

Second Ghormeh Sabzi with lamb neck (Mon and Fri only) at Shamshiri. Awesome. I went to Javan once and returned promptly to Shamshiri Grill for all future Persian meals.

I also like the lamb and chicken koobideh at Shamshiri. Very juicy and flavorful.

Adas Polo is also good there.

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Shamshiri Grill
1712 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90024

Shamshiri Restaurant
19249 Roscoe Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324

[papajoel747]

best tahdiq is Shaherzad...beats shamshiri and javan...javan has greata lamb.

[westsidegal]

it depends on the dishes you'll be ordering.
for the best shirazi salad, i like attari sandwich shop.
for the best ghormeh sabzi , i like shamshiri grill
for the best bread, i like the place north of shamshiri (sherazade? flame? i know it when i see the storefront)

at any rate, you get my point.

[Cinnamon]

I'd go with Shamshiri Grill.

[lucyhu]

we are neophytes to persian food though my kids had a lot of homecooked meals with friends. they thought that Bacara's on N. Brand in Glendale was worthy!

[SwissMiss]

Heidar Baba

1511 E Colorado Blvd
Pasadena

[mlgb]

Its not in Westwood Village, it's on Westwood Blvd near Santa Monica Blvd Street parking?

BTW, there is a huge new-ish City parking structure on Broxton in Westwood Village that was built with parking meter money.

[SauceSupreme]

What's the parking like at Shamshiri? I'm always wary of going anywhere in Westwood.

[westsidegal]

because it's not in the village (it is on westwood blvd. north of santa monica blvd), the parking is more reasonable.
i generally find parking at one of the metered spots on westwood blvd. within a couple of blocks of the restaurant.

[katkoupai]

These are the places my family eats kabob in order of where we eat most:

It's All Good in Reseda-- take-out (order by phone and pick it up)-- they have a chef's combo plate that has one skewer of every type of kabob the owner makes (the owner cooks the kabob, usually)-- beef, ground beef, ground chicken and chicken breast. Comes with rice or lavash bread. Service may be slow, even if you order by phone, but we always order from there if my mom doesn't want to cook homemade.

Raffi's Place in Glendale-- the last time we went was a few months ago, and everyone from my grandma to my little sis enjoyed it. Dine in.

Shamshiri Grill-- this is where I like to eat when I'm in Westwood. I only go once or twice a year, but it is always good. Huge portions too. You could order one kabob plate and some appetizers and split it among two people, and you still might have leftovers.

[westsidegal]

shamshiri is my westwood favorite, too.

[epop]

i don't like the places you mention, although i haven't tried It's All Good. you're right, in your post above; one would think the persian food here would be the best around, given the population. it is better than ny and most other cities, because of the quantities. but
certainly nothing like Byblos in Montreal, for example. there the chef is an artist making simple and great food.
I'd like to see more women chefs, actually and
someone open a place that understands the subtleties of this cuisine, not just throwing huge amounts on platters and then calling it a restaurant.

[foodiemahoodie]

Good idea. There's a certainly healthy (and wealthy) Iranian/Persian population that would likely support an upscale restaurant.

[alext]

After two mediocre meals at Javan, I'm going to have to give thumbs up to Shaherzad. I've been twice over the last three years whenever I get the chance to get down to LA from San Francisco and both meals were incredible. The bread is freshly baked in their tanoor (flavorful and not too hard and stale like most Persian bread at restaurants), the tahchin is the best I've ever had (especially with lamb, rather than chicken), and the eggplant dishes are all fantastic. I wish I'd never gone to Javan and always to Shaherzad...

[Diana]

I like Shiraz in Sherman oaks

[ilovebutter]

Never mind! It wasn't Javan that got a bad review. It was Darya. Sorry.

[ilovebutter]

hey, you guys, what a fantastic list of suggestions! On another Chowhound post, however, i did hear that Javan had slid a bit... Tannazie, it sounds divine from your description... What do you think?
And I look forward to that grandmother-owned restaurant. :- )

[Kaisgraham]

If you can get down to Irvine, you should try Caspian. It is wonderful. It's at the 5 freeway and Culver. I love Persian food!

[tannazie]

My favorite in the LA area has to be Javan. Great kabob, rice dishes, and tahdig (get half gheimeh, half ghormeh sabzi -- double the delicious!), and the ash-e-jo (thick barley soup) is flavorful, warming, cozy. I just wish they'd replace the cold lavash with some yummier bread.

If you're willing to step out a bit, the Green Cottage in Woodland Hills is exemplary. It's cozy and family-run, the portions are huge, and the quality seems to be a cut above the Westwood gaggle of kabob places. They also have delicious pickled garlic.

And I second the recommendation for Attari Sandwich Shop -- a sunny courtyard that offers a very different corner of the Iranian culinary landscape than the kabob shops.

And yep, make friends with an Iranian and have them take you home with them for dinner -- really the best bet.

[Ernie]

For kebab, Shiraz in Glendale

For tah dig, Shamshiri Grill in Westwood. They also bake their own fresh bread which is quite good

[mrpullings]

Persian relatives from NoCal think Shamshiry (sp) in Glendale or Sheherzad (sp) in Westwood are the best LA has to offer. But agree w/ above poster - nothing in a commercial Persian rest. comes close to great homemade Persian food.

[epop]

raffi's was the best but no longer. there is a significant drop in quality. i think to have a really good kebab you have to either make it or go to a wedding.

i hope your grandma does open a restaurant... or someone's. this city just doesn't have a fine example of persian cuisine.

[katkoupai]

I agree that there's nothing like homecooked Persian food, but I just wanted to point out, if there is a good Persian restaurant out there, it's most likely in LA, since this is where most of the expatriate Persian community is (sort of like how Miami is the expat capital for Cubans).

Also, the Persian wedding fooding is usually catered by Persian restaurants or Persian catering businesses, so if that's good, then someone out there must be doing something right. :)

Personally, when I eat Persian food out, I stick with the kabobs, appetizers and salads, because I agree with you that grandma and mom do the homemade stews best. :)

[epop]

CORRECTION: I now agree that Raffi's (open every day) has the best Persian kabob of the many places tried. I'd given up on the restaurants.

[hungryhyena]

It depends what you are looking for. The best kabobs IMHO are at Raffi's Place (Aremenian owned) in Glendale - where I think the beef soltani & the whitefish are excellent (they are closed on mondays). In downtown LA try Shekarchi (Iranian owned) for excellent persian kabobs (open Mon - Fri).

I think that to get a good kabob you have to leave the Westwood are. If you are in O.C. the original Darya across from South Coast plaza is good.

There is a place in Westwood for lunch time cuisine, I think it's called Atari & if I remember correctly it is across the street from the 7-11 and you enter through a courtyard.

Also in Irvine, Wholesome Choice market is a persian grocer with a Whole Foods style hot foods section.

And for the rest, I am sorry to inform you, none of the restaurants come close to the stews that we have at home! If my grandma ever opens a restaurant, I'll let you know.

[westsidegal]

attari sandwich shop
although their 'legal' address is on westwood blvd, their actual entrance is on wilkins, around the corner.

they have the best shirazi salad in town and their asch (soup) is terrific