10/18/08

Maybe Authentic, but just so so

by austinarkie

A coworker from Iran recommended this restruarant and I just didn't get it. We tried the buffet because it had lamb on it but after eating for a couple of minutes, my husband and I just looked at each other, it was gross. Though my kids loved the food, it was way too pricey for what they ate. They charged $12.99 for a 9 year old and $6.49 for a 4 year old. As mentioned earlier, the service was horrible. We had to chase down the server several times and the restruarant was practically empty. I guess we will drive out of the way and stick to our old favorites.

• Pros: Atmosphere was quiet, relaxing
• Cons: Too pricey for kids, horrible service, kind of greasy

10/03/08

Yummy Persian grub.

by texaswombat

They tend to have a lot of the same items on the buffet every time we visit, but that isn't always a bad thing. The potato dish (which the owner will not divulge the recipe for - believe me, I have asked) is wonderful as are the eggplant and lentil dishes. The kofta like kabobs can be a little dry at times and it would be nice to see some hummus available on the buffet, but all in all good food for a reasonably good price.

I have heard there is a belly dancer now, but I must admit that I would find that distracting during a meal.

• Pros: nice setting, nice staff and good food
• Cons: not a lot of variety on the menu

08/05/08

Delicious authentic Persian cuisine

by subhakul

I have been to the Sunday afternoon buffet several times and I thought after moving to Austin from Houston, I would never find Persian food that met same par, but I have! Restaurant is very clean, never too crowded, and always a great selection and consistently delicious food.

07/31/08

Lunch Buffet was Delish!

by Josie512

Having never had Persian food, a friend brought me here yesterday. The lunch buffet was really good and I got to try a lot of things I would not normally order off of an unfamiliar menu. I will be back with the girls for another lunch date.

04/22/08

Food is great but service is not...so is it really worth it?

by dsiluznd415

My boyfriend and I frequent this place and in general, we always thought the food was great and the service was pretty good too. In fact, we've never really had a bad experience until now. We went over the weekend (as usual) but this time the service was TERRIBLE. If it weren't for the buffet, we'd have starved to death waiting to order. We were seated immediately but we weren't given any guidance other than 'drinks are included'. If we'd been first timers, we definitely would not have gone back. We were literally half way through our meal before the waitress even acknowledged us to bring our drinks. Have you ever tried to choke down rice without water? Not sure how she could have missed us, especially since our table was blocking her direct route to and from the kitchen, that combined with 2 desperate faces in dire need of a drink. In fact, if the guy distributing tea refills hadn't come by, to make up for her incompetence, we would have walked out. As if that wasn't bad enough, they raised the prices. It doesn't add up (not for my patience or my checkbook). Don't know about you but I'd much rather PAY for my drink (like before) and actually GET ONE. Not sure what's going on over there but you guys should seriously look at bringing back your old wait staff before somebody chokes to death already.

• Pros: tasty food
• Cons: service

02/12/08

Nothing special place

by foodpicky

Hello,

Let me please tell you that real persian cuisine requires long hours of preparation. It seems to me that Alborz chose the easiest and quickest adapted way to prepare their dishes. The dishes they serve are very different from those we eat at home in Persia. Basically, all dishes are the variation of the same dish-with differetn names and slightly different ingredients. I was embarassed to invite my American friends there and would rather cook for them in my house to impress them. After all, Persian cuisine is one of the best in world, which cannot be felt after visitng the Alborz. Sigh.....

09/12/07

fantastic restaurant, mediocre food

by djb7125

I enjoyed everything about this restaurant except for the entrees. The atmosphere was fantastic, and the wine list was not bad. The appetizers were delicious, but the actual entrees were very substandard. I would recommend going with a couple of friends and splitting a few appetizers and a bottle of Persian wine.

• Pros: atmosphere, wine list
• Cons: food

10/01/06

Definitely recommended

by the_verdict

This Persian restaurant seemed to be quite popular, it wasn't packed but it definitely wasn't empty by any means like some other places I've reviewed. I assume this place is popular due to word of mouth, because I don't think I've ever seen it advertised and you wouldn't really notice it unless it was your destination. I myself found out about it via The Entertainment Book. Upon arrival we were promptly seated by an employee (not sure if he was a designated host - he kind of came out of nowhere), and then immediately greeted by our server. Our server was great, had our drinks out immediately, refilled them at appropriate intervals. What I liked best is that he didn't come back to our table 5 times asking if we were ready to order...he waited for our cue. It was obvious I was catching up with a friend and it took us about 15 minutes before we looked at our menu. Once we ordered he brought out our bread and cheese to start. It's like pita bread and feta, some greenery and onions. I was impressed with our waiter...he would nonchalantly tell us what to do with what he brought without making us feel stupid and/or waiting for us to ask. He said, "here is your bread with cheese, etc for you to make little sandwiches out of.." I don't mind being given instructions. Had he not told us that, we might have just thought the extra items were just garnish and not enjoyed the full Persian experience. When our meal came out ( we had ground beef & chicken kabob combo served with Basmati rice)He lifted up a shaker of what appeared to be paprika and said "and this is for your rice". KUDOS to him (server id #6) for pointing things out like that. In addition to the impeccable service the food was perfect. The ground beef kabob, although it looked like Mr. Hanky,was freakin' delicious! The chicken was good too but the ground beef could not be outdone. The Basmati Rice was perfect and tasty, I don't know if the paprika stuff helped, but let's just assume it did.

Persian eats in a casual space filled with adventurous food fans.

by Contributor

In Short
A warm and welcoming reception area uses a Persian motif with gorgeous calligraphy and paintings that spread throughout the large restaurant. Customers are a mix of Persian food fans and adventurous food connoisseurs. The kashk-o-bademjan is a rich, smoky, baked-eggplant starter topped with dry yogurt, mint, walnuts and garlic. Tender, grilled skewers of chelo kabob-e-koobideh (ground beef kabob) are served with flame-broiled tomatoes and seasoned with herbs and onions.

01/02/06

Worth trying

by faezeh2

I am iranian and I go couple of times a year mostly when I would like to have kabobs. Their kabobs vary in quality from time to time but are overall OK.

I have been to their buffet three times and it got boring for me, since they do have the same meals most of the time and the quality is below what an average Iranian lady cooks at home, so nothing intersts me in their buffet anymore but I have non Iranoan friends who love their buffet, so it could be interesting for you to try their buffet as a semi-proxy to persian home cooking.

Overall, I guess their buffet is worth trying on a weekday(when cheaper) and you might like it, but do not keep your expectations high.