Lovely new Persian restaurant and store by Yonge/16th. They are famous for their food coming from Isfahan, a city in central Iran, and offer delicacies such as Khoresht mast (خورشت ماست) which is a type of saffron yogurt made with ground neck meat, eggs, and sugar. I loved the taste -- not too sweet and definitely fresh. They also offer Isfahan-style biryani (بریانی) made with ground rib meat and lungs of sheep. The biryani was tender, the meat delicate, and the naan soft and fresh. Their meat is also Halal.
They also offer a variety of soups or Aash (آش) such as Aash-e-Shole-Ghalamkar, a mildly spicy soup with meat and white bean, another specialty cuisine from Isfahan. I was a big fan!
They also offer other cuisines unique to Isfahan such as doogh and Gosh-e-fil (دوغ و گوشفیل) which is a sour yogurt drink served with Gosh-e-fil, a fried dough dipped in sugar, saffron, and rose water. It's a strange combination but the sweet and sour tastes go incredibly well together. Their doogh is made in-house and wasn't carbonated, but tasted fresh and not too salty. Their Gosh-e-fil was fresh and crispy.
They have maybe 4-5 tables inside the restaurant, and it wasn't too busy when our group went on a Saturday night. They are open until 10pm which is certainly a bonus. I loved the fast and friendly service -- the personnel readily gave us samples to try the food before buying it. The interior design of the restaurant is also studded with traditional Persian enamel (میناکاری) plates, and they also have a beautiful poem from Hafez painted at the front.
I will certainly be back to try their jooje, kebab, other types of Aash, and their shol-e-zard! read more