Salad Olivieh
Sirous Restaurant

Sirous Restaurant

268 West End Lane, NW6 1LG, London, United Kingdom

Steak • Drinks • Burgers • Steakhouse


"This is my go to place for a meal, situated on the trendy and vibrant West Hampstead High Street. The menu offers a mouthwatering selection of starters, Persian specialist mains, great steak options and various world cuisine alternatives. Chicken dishes like Chelo Jooje Kebab and Baghali Polo which is a Persian specialty rice served with broad bean and dill beside Sea Bass are really good. For me the Persian omelette is a special mention an amazing dish to start your day with, which you can dive into with piping hot ciabatta. It’s the place for you if you like traditional food with a big range of texture and flavor. The drinks menu is robust whether you want to enjoy your classic red to white wine, favourite coctails or if you want to just go with something hot. Camden Hells, Camden Pale Ale and Pravha are on tap. This is a family run restaurant; and it is a good match for family gatherings. The owner is warm and thoughtful, and he will check on the guests to ensure their experience is enjoyable. The staff is attentive and prompt. I see a lot of families enjoy a weekend meal together, with added ease for young children as they have high chairs that help. On many occasions there are social gatherings, pre game meals and drinks on big match days. It is also suited for casual dining or an intimate couple’s dinner. The restaurant has many regulars who visit almost on a daily basis. They welcome pets with dedicated pet friendly tables inside. Indoors is a mix of thematic handmade artwork, handwritten signs and prints. You can sigh off the day as you relax on comfy chester sofas with your favourite drink in hand, with cozy lighting throughout. Their tables in front of the restaurant on the street get an amazing amount of sun on bright days; so much so that I’ve seen people almost sunbathing while enjoying a refreshing pint on the side that is also when they realize the restaurant is very close to West End Green park, which offers bountiful, relaxing green views in an urban backdrop. It’s important to remember that no business and certainly no restaurant is flawless and every establishment has bad days; slight delays and hiccups on very busy days are normal. The restaurant is located in a busy and narrow street; so parking could be challenging. All of these do not change the fact that you will have a great time here, and I would definitely recommend it as a nice place to go with friends, family and partner. Do try their steaks !"

Termeh restaurant

Termeh restaurant

2 Canfield Gardens London, NW6 3BS, United Kingdom

Grill • Persian • Vegetarian • Mediterranean


"Mahdi is my go-to place in the neighbourhood when I want to stuff myself silly with the Persian delights available with them especially served as a delectable, generous buffet. It has great location, just as you take the first right turn from Finchley road station, towards Canfield Gardens. Hard to miss, being, in a sense, next door to the massive Waitrose (not its entrance side but the left one). Its buffet that I speak of with such overwhelming love is something available seven days a week, during lunch hours. Mahdi’s interiors are beautiful – warm and mesmerising – lovely stained glass work, even better tile work, traditional warm-toned cushions and on the walls, haunting prints of Persian-styled paintings, right out of Rubaiyat as if!!! The buffet is an unlimited spread with different items every time. I have eaten off their a la carte menu as well – some of those items naturally feature in the buffet from time to time. These usually include some sort of barbecued meats mainly CHELOV KEBABS with lamb and/or chicken; HOMOUS; MAST-O-KHYAR (like a raita with cucumbers); KHORESH GORMEH SUBZI (which is a lamb and bean stew with an amazing kick from the whole preserved limes); to be eaten with either fresh NAN bread or ZERESKH POLO which is the typical Iranian pilaf dish garnished with the tart zereskh berries etc. For the superior grade of food available at Mahdi, I think it is remarkably competitively priced as well. To do full justice to the buffet, I need to always ensure that I have literally fasted before turning up here and that I have kept the afternoon free so that I can curl up and catch a nice afternoon nap after the heavenly meal one is always ensured one will have at Mahdi."

Anar Persian Kitchen

Anar Persian Kitchen

349 Portobello Road London, W10 5SA, United Kingdom

Kebab • Persian • Chicken • Barbecue


"We were a group of local diners in our thirties who decided to have dinner at this restaurant. Unfortunately, we were the only patrons there all evening. The lady in charge was extremely bossy, rude, and deceitful, which really marred our experience. She seemed intent on pinching every penny from us, trying to convince us to order more expensive items instead of what we wanted. When it came to ordering the cheapest grill on the menu, Koobideh, she made it difficult for us to do so, insisting on selecting our starters for us. The starters turned out to be disappointing, with bland dips and a meager serving of bread. The main dishes arrived quickly, but the quality was lacking. My Koobideh was fatty and flavorless, requiring extra seasoning to make it palatable. The salads were unimpressive, with wilted lettuce and sparse toppings. We were not offered any tap water, only overpriced bottled water placed on the table to entice us to spend more. When it came time to pay, the lady declared that we would split the bill evenly, despite the fact that some of us had drinks and others did not. She refused to provide a bill and insisted I calculate it myself, which was suspicious. After paying, we realized we were short £35 and were met with hostility and arguing from the lady. Overall, she ruined what was meant to be a pleasant evening. I have lived in the area for ten years and know of many other Middle Eastern restaurants, such as Turkish Fez, Iranian Patogh's, and Lebanese Al Arez, which offer better food at a fraction of the cost without the deceitful tactics. It's no surprise the restaurant was empty."

Alounak

Alounak

United Kingdom, London

Meat • Persian • Local Business • Middle Eastern


"Fact number one: there are at least three Persian restaurants within a five minute walk from my office. Fact (or promise number two: I will try them all before my company moves to Central London. Alounak is my second experiment, and the one I had the highest hopes for: they have another branch in West Kensington (that is, within walking distance of my house , and heaven knows how much I need a Persian restaurant I can trust, afford, and reach without topping up my Oyster. Going by this experience, I shall try my local branch soon: Alounak 's Westbourne Grove restaurant may not offer the same variety or old school charm as nearby Al Waha, but its food is right on the mark in both quality and quantity, and made me glad to have finally got round to visiting. The lunch menu includes a set of hot and cold starters, and a selection of mains, among which you 'll spot most of the classic meat dishes you 'll no doubt know if you 're any familiar with Middle Eastern restaurants. They also offer one special course for each day of the week; I quite liked the looks of the Tuesday one (Zereshk Polo steamed saffron rice with berries and chicken , which made the realisation that it was only Monday all the more bitter. Not that I 'm complaining about my main: my saffron chicken breast skewer was well cooked and fulfilling, masterfully charred at the edges, and paired with the kind of fluffy, buttery rice that makes you wonder why on earth anyone should pick salad as their side (I might judge you if you do. I 'll try not to. At least get the bread, for Pete 's sake! . I 've recently learnt to master a similar recipe at home, thanks to Sabrina Ghayour 's Persiana , and have, as a result, grown more and more demanding towards its restaurant version. I couldn 't fault this one, just as I couldn 't fault the Kashke Bademjan (smoked aubergine, garlic, walnut and fried onion dip I had as a starter, paired with soft, freshly cooked taftoon bread; both a delight, and large enough to feed two people. Prices are very reasonable for the amount of food you get: £13.50 each (service included bought me and a colleague a generous starter to share, and even more aboundant mains. Not bad at all, considering that in most Middle Eastern restaurants £13.50 would be the price of the main alone. Visiting on a Monday also turned out to be a good idea. I 've walked past Alounak enough times to know it 's often crowded, but yesterday, there was no one but us inside at 1.30pm, and we could benefit from a speedy service that allowed us to enjoy a leisurely, relaxed meal well within our lunch break. Could this be my new recipe for beating the Monday blues? I 'm feeling positive, and might soon make it a Friday treat too. Or Tuesday, as I 'll have to come back for that Zereshk Polo. That 's also a promise."