Hotel restaurants don't usually illicit much excitement from me, but I was genuinely excited to give Taste of Persia a try. Taste of Persia is located adjacent to the Comfort Inn West, and just opened two months ago in the space that used to house an Albert's and most recently, Zesty Family Restaurant.
Even though I drive past the area weekly, I probably wouldn't have noticed the restaurant change if not for the recommendation from my coworker, SR. Although the restaurant still serves western breakfast and lunch classics (most likely to attract hotel guests), it's the Persian side of the menu that certainly piqued my interest.
After work one day, I came to the restaurant for dinner with LT. I wasn't expecting much from the exterior, but the restaurant was surprisingly spacious and clean. Only a few tables were occupied, but it did get slightly busier before we left.
Middle Eastern cuisine is quickly becoming one of my favourite things to eat, but I can't say I've tried Persian (or Iranian) cuisine specifically. Persian food is very much a communal experience, with dishes meant to be shared family style. You can tell, because the portions here are huge. We ordered one appetizer and two entrees, but it fed the both of us for three meals. Best part is that everything is extremely affordable considering how much food you get. My advice is to come with a bigger group, so that you can try a bit of everything.
We started off with kashko bademjoon ($8.00), a Persian dip made from eggplants and whey. The eggplants are fire-roasted before being mashed together with a blend of spices. It's finished off with a dollop of yogurt whey, dried mint, caramelized onions, and fried garlic. The dip is soft and creamy, and has a mild smokey flavour. It's wonderfully aromatic from the onions and garlic, but I found the spices used to be on the more subtle side. My only wish was for the pita to be served warm, but the dip was so good that we pretty much ate it by the spoonful, mixed with the rice and meat from our entrees.
Our first entree was fesenjoon ($14.00), a traditional Persian stew made with chicken, ground walnuts, and pomegranate. The dish isn't much to look at, but the sauce is thick and rich, and it coats the tender pieces of chicken so well. It was my first time trying fesenjoon, so the sweetness of the sauce initially caught me off guard, but it grew on me the more I ate it. It has a fruity kind of sweetness, and finishes off with a slight tang. The sauce pairs perfectly with the mountain of rice they give you. Perfectly fluffy basmati rice with a hint of saffron.
Kebabs are probably the most popular food in Iran and it would be a mistake not to try them. Taste of Persia serves two kinds of kebabs, kebab koobideh (beef) and joojeh kebab (chicken). We couldn't decide on which one to get, but our server mentioned that we could order kebab vaziri ($16.00) which isn't explicitly written on the menu, but includes one each of koobideh and joojeh. The kebabs could easily serve two people, as it comes with a mountain of saffron rice, fire-roasted tomato, pickled red onion, and a lemon wedge. Our server also brought over a shaker of sumac, which can be sprinkled over the beef.
The kebab koobideh is made from a mixture of ground beef, onions, and spices. The joojeh kebab is chicken breast, marinated in lemon, yogurt, and saffron. I personally would've liked a bit more char, but both meats were tender, juicy and nicely spiced. The kebab koobideh was probably my favourite, as the sweet sharpness of onion definitely came through. The joojeh kebab was a touch acidic, but I do wholeheartedly recommend trying both to see which you prefer.
From where we were sitting, LT had prime view of the desserts on the counter. Although we were stuffed, she was intrigued by one sweet which resembled jalebi, our favourite guilty pleasure Indian dessert. We turned to Google to decipher the dessert menu and found what we were looking for: zoolbia bamieh ($3.00). Zoolbia bamieh are two different Iranian sweets, zoolbia and bamieh, but both are commonly served together. Zoolbia is a sweet, crunchy fritter, which bears a striking resemblance to jalebi, whereas bamieh is a choux-based doughnut, not unlike a churro. Both of these sweets are soaked in simple syrup and rosewater. The desserts are super sweet with a strong floral flavour. They are probably meant to be eaten alongside tea to wash down all the sugar, but LT was satisfied nonetheless.
Taste of Persia is a gem of a restaurant and I do hope that they can succeed. We certainly need more restaurants like them.
Taste of Persia
17620 100 Ave NW
Edmonton, AB
(780) 443-2525
- CT
Yes, their food is great and priced very reasonably. A lot of restaurants make kababs, but their fesenjoon and ghormeh sabazi are like what you get at Iranian homes....delicious.
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