Persepolis
“We ordered a sampler appetizer plate which included humus, tabuleh, shirazi salad, yogurt and eggplant mirza.”
“I love the ghorme zabzi, rice with almonds, Cornish hen, hummus, shirazi salad.”
“Kubideh is my favorite along with Saffron Rice and don't forget the Rose Ice Cream (to die for)
Love it here!”
Persepolis
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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I'm still mad about this. But I'm trying to be level-headed.
I'm a Persian who moved away from her persian family and became vegan. But you'd be surprised how often I can find delicious vegan persian food. Both in restaurants and in the homes of many of my relatives.
Persepolis was not one of those places. The only good thing was that the tah dig (ready around 3-4 pm daily but call ahead) was only $3 without stew and the portion was medium sized. But it was like rubber. Thin, still mostly white (no golden brown chunky crunchy layers here) and bland.
This meal had a consistent lack of salt. My uncles talk about this constantly: persian rice is seasoned (and salted) within an inch if it's life. This was bland like I have never experienced. I had the dill rice and the dill was definitely not infused in the rice plus I got about 6 Fava bland beans total.
The ghormeh sabzi (vegetarian) was also lacking the rich depth of the dried lime. My father did tell me he's been having trouble getting lemou omani but I had veg ghormeh in Boston not a month prior to this and it definitely had that exquisite flavor I was looking for in every bite.
The mirza ghasemi: this was the first time I have ever had a bad experience with this dish. Tomato and eggplant? How can you go wrong? But they did. It tasted more like bademjoon – underseasoned and lacking tomato so a little gummy in texture.
The shirazi salad had parsley in it. A ton of it. Um, that's weird and not appealing.
The kabob tomatoes were normal. I did like them.
I'm used to paying a lot for persian food so the $45 didn't phase me (I prefer the full meal not just the stew and rice, plus I can stretch it into two meals). But when I called to ask about delivery they told me it'd be $15 to grand central (30 blocks). Step back, jack. I'll just get it myself, thanks. Or maybe I won't get it.
I had never had bad persian food before this. So, thank you for giving me doubts about my favorite cuisine since childhood.
(Picked up takeout early august, Tuesday around 3:30 pm)
This restaurant is perfect in just about every way. It's decor is pretty elegant. It's a great spot for a date or for a family dinner. We started off with the grape leaves which were excellent and the complimentary whole wheat pita was good.
My wife was between the lamb shank and the rack of lamb but ultimately decided to have the lamb shank… More on this later. I went with the lamb and beef combo with the dill rice.
The waiter got confused and ended up putting her down with the rack of lamb… no big deal, because they were excellent. My combo was delicious as well. Their dessert menu was what you'd expect from this type of restaurant, but I really was hoping for something a little bit over the top after seeing how amazing their grill masters are.
We came here for the price fixed $17 lunch per person. It includes the choice of an appetizer and main course. More than I would prefer to spend on lunch but not bad considering the amount of food you get, the quality, and how nice this place is inside.
We had the hummus to start which was extremely good hummus. The small spicy tomato salad with it was also fantastic.
Minus one star because I've had better Persian stew before a couple of times and I haven't even been to that many Persian spots.
I love how the lunch menu ends so late on weekend. It really helps to narrow down what to order because everything on the menu sounds delicious. And at $17 for an appetizer and entrée, there's not really much more to think about.
Okay, the restaurant might look a little cheesy with the colossal grey goose bottle in the entry way, but it's eye-catching, right? Regardless, food stands on it's own here – there is no need for gimmicks because one bite of the food was enough to get me to come back again.
Although this place serves solid food in a pleasant setting, there is nothing too exciting going on here. It is your standard list of meats on the menu and they are all served with rice and a few veggies.
The chicken and lamb that were ordered were fine, but lacked significant flavor and were a bit tough. Also, the roasted tomato that comes on the plate was burnt on the outside and cold on the inside.
The falafel was decent but nothing special and I would say the same thing about the eggplant. Not bad place for a big group but there are better Mediterranean restaurants in the city.
Wins my vote for the best Persian restaurant in NYC. It's been around for a long time and that's probably because of the consistency of their food. Loved the service here! I forgot his name, but there is a server who is German or American, but speaks Farsi (or at least he knows a couple of words and he tries and is very endearing) – loved having him as our server! The kashk appetizer was delicious. We requested a side of the gheimeh stew and he brought it poured over tadig (crunchy rice), which I loved. I ordered the sultani and my skewers of koubideh and barg were tender, juicy and delicious – I didn't want to share, is that selfish of me? The rice was good too, with giant fava beans. I will definitely be back!
we visited Persepolis for lunch. Tried the kebab over rice and saffron ice cream. Overall OK food, very small portion and I would say slightly over priced. But it is a decent food and service was pretty OK.
Good service, tasty food, and they make a nice drink to boot. Came here with friends and scored a great outside table. The service was good, our water was always full, and the food was terrific. We had the dip sampler to start and I had the meatball with the rice with raisins. The meatball was fantastic and the rice was out of this world. Great local neighborhood spot and, when I'm next on the UES, I'll definitely be back. Highly recommend.