Darband's is located in a little cute eatery food court near the Berkeley campus. The owner is super nice and always asks customers how they like the food, like "Was your meat seasoned enough or juicy enough?". The owner values customer opinions about his food which I think is awesome. I ordered a Beef koobideh plate which I thought was perfect. The meat was juicy and had a nice buttery flavor. It came with two roasted tomatoes, rice and some pita. The entrees are definitely reasonably priced as well especially being near the campus. Only drawback is this place doesn't stay open too late, closes at 7pm and misses much of the dinner traffic, but definitely a place worth trying. read more

Darband Mediterranean Restaurant - Beef Koobideh Lunch - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

Delicious! Excellent food, excellent service and cute location. We sat at a common garden in the back. The staff was really awesome and service was fast for a well cooked and prepared food. We had lamb chops and shawarma and ooooh they were so yummy! read more

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Darband is by far the best Persian food in the Bay Area. The joojeh and koobideh are an absolute 10/10 in flavor, quality, and portion. The owner is also quite friendly, and will kindly make recommendations upon request. Everything is delicious, make sure to stop by! read more

Went on a Saturday and it was not busy at all. The service the was fairly quick and welcoming. The food was soooo delicious! Only downside is that there is not much seating if you are planning your meal there. Overall, I would return and try more items on the menu. P.S. they also do catering! read more

Darband Mediterranean Restaurant - Kashk Bademjoon - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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It's true when they say you can taste the love put into the food. Even though this store seems unassuming, I was really surprised by the quality and taste. We ordered joojeh and koobideh kabab. They are both so good. My partner says it's the best joojeh kabab he's ever had in his life. They give a nice portion, with generous amount of butter and saffron, to make everything taste more fragrant and delicious. Nice salad and tomato for a complete meal. I'm excited to try their other options next. Thanks Darband for providing a delicious meal. Recommend 10/10. Ordered through door dash. read more

I can't remember the Persian name for the dish I ordered and can't find it on the yelp posted menu. Totally delicious, tender chicken thigh kebabs with saffron mixed into rice, grilled tomato and salad. Added a package of sumac to season the meat or salad. Worth the wait, it is so fresh! read more

A solid choice for the area! The Joojeh (chicken) kabob plate was huge and well-balanced. The chicken was cooked to perfection: thoroughly seasoned and juicy. The only caveat was stale bread, but the overall experience easily makes up for that! read more

It feels different food quality given to different customers, should be more open minded as not reflective of the location. Owner or the group owns the building, thus likely sometimes the discriminatory arrogance. Now they changed their business to a friend chicken place. read more

Phenomenal fresh/healthy food, reasonable prices, and excellent customer service with a smile. The shop itself is easy to access as it is in the front across from Kirala 2. The dining area at the back is really nice - outdoors with chairs and umbrellas for shade. The chicken was super fresh and delicious. I saw them take it out and put it on the grill after I ordered. Fresh food takes time to cook and it was worth the wait. Cool and interesting selection of drinks and soups and sauces in their refrigerated section also. Another customer bought two containers of the baklava so I'm definitely trying that next time. read more

Darband Mediterranean Restaurant - Chicken Kebob with rice - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

Rainy day and good eats! Made a quick dash from the car into the Community Dining and was welcomed by the delicious Darband! While I waited for my joojeh I was given the most fragrant, delicious warm cup of tea. This place was clean, quick and delicious! read more

The food here is the real thing! Everything we ate tasted homemade and the falafel was the standout.There's tables out the back door & on the side with a lovely little garden there.We're planning on many return trips! read more

Chicken Kebab -- gorgeous, gorge yourself, gorge your friends, just go(rge). Always choose thigh over breast, in chicken and in love. You will never be sorry. read more

Aghiles was very professional. He gave a 5 star customer service. Best Tahdig around.

Happened to stop by this place while visiting the area. Very tasty food. You want ghormeh sabzi like your mom made it ?? This is your place. I have pinned it on my list for many future visits. read more

The food is fantastic here, and very affordable. I ordered their catering package for 40 people. Everyone loved the food. The package though had more bread and rice than was necessary, and was short on hummus and falafel. Next time I will order extra of those. There is no ambience near the food counter, so I recommend that you take the food to the back garden, or to a different place of your liking, or have it delivered. read more

Darband officially opened a few weeks ago, replacing Flavia in the Epicurious Garden food court. A friend (and fellow lover of Persian food) and I decided to give it a try today and we were not disappointed! The beef koobideh plate was enormous. I ended up saving half of it for another meal. It came with salad, a grilled tomato, and bread. I decided to add saffron rice for an extra $2.99. Perhaps they should consider giving people the option of rice or bread/salad? The koobideh was soft and juicy. The rice was warm and fragrant. My friend's chicken chapli kabob also looked incredible. They have some vegetarian options, including Mediterranean falafel wraps and hummus, but also some Persian (kashk o'bademjan, aash reshteh) and Afghan dishes (bolani). We decided to share a medium-sized order of potato bolani, a flat bread stuffed with potatoes and green onions. For $9.99, we were given a pizza box full of crispy, yet tender bolani. The filling was mild, but paired well with the chutney and yogurt sauce. There is plenty of outdoor seating in the beautiful garden courtyard. If you decide to come for a quick meal, plan to wait ~15 minutes for your food as it will be fresh off the grill. It's so exciting to welcome an authentic Persian restaurant to Gourmet Ghetto -- I will definitely be back to try their other dishes! read more

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Food was fresh and delicious. There seemed to be only one man working and he was very nice. Will def be coming back!

I just waited 50 minutes for a chicken kebab plate. Pretty frustrating.. never coming here again.

Delicious shawarma - Made with love for sure! Service was excellent, really nice guy. A new favorite for sure!

Stoppp I actually really love this place. It has very authentic tasting food. I would definitely visit agian and agian

Love the food here! I ordered the #2 Chicken Thigh Joojeh plate! Delicious! Service was fast and prices were decent! I'll be coming back to this place again! Parking is a little challenging depending on what time of the day you come but I usually can find a place near by! read more

Very average falafel wrap. It needed more salt/seasoning, some harissa (as an option). There was a large piece of the hard cabbage core in mine too, which showed there wasn't a lot of care given to preparing it. The falafel sandwich just around the corner on Vine St. is MUCH better. read more

Excellent chicken kabob. Owner was friendly and helpful and offered up a nice conversation. Would return for more

Food is really good and the service is amazing! I would definitely come here again. They even provided me tea which was so nice of them!

Delicious surprise. Amazing quality of lamb, perfectly prepared, generous serving, really enough for two! it was my first time, but won't be my last. read more

Excellent Kabobs and really delicious saffron rice. A great service Had an enjoyable experience and the food was ample read more

I love Epicurious garden. Darband has the best Persian food. Tongue sandwich is awesome I be back very very soon. They have good Mexican and sushi. Darband has the best tongue sandwich and best Persian food read more

This place is a gem! Really good money for what you get. We especially love their tender chicken thigh kebobs and their incredible stews. This has become one of our favorite local spots--there's a garden patio out back with peaceful seating. read more

Darband Mediterranean Restaurant - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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+1 for the chicken joojeh kebabs. I'm addicted. I think about them. They are so tender. You can tell they've been marinated in yoghurt etc. the kebabs always come with tadik, roasted tomato, salad, saffron rice. stews also . Tea is spiced and floral. Darband is our go-to spot when we want to pick up food. And, the garden behind is lovely outdoor space to eat in. Because of the location in Epicurious Garden, you can get the Persian food from Darband while your friends get Japanese or Mexican next door. I always get Darband though. read more

Best Persian food in the East Bay. I have tried all of them. Fresh, delicious and made to order. Nice people and wonderful flavors. I had the falafel and salmon wraps and they were amazing. The salmon was marinated in advance of grilling and therefore had its own distinct flavor. The falafel balls were very tasty and the wrap bread used for both was original middle eastern bread. I've also had the meat plates and rice. The meat was tender and flavorful and grilled to order. The bolani was amazing, freshly made, and packed items ready to take home are also authentic and delicious. They have vegetarian & vegan options in addition to meat. read more

Excellent food, friendly staff. Tastiest koobideh and joojeh kabob I've had anywhere in the area. Also a big fan of the babaganoush and the kashk o bademjan. And as a bonus you can enjoy the meal in the cute garden in the back. read more

The food is fresh & tasty and also customer service is great. I have tried all of their chicken dishes and all of them were super good. Also, bolani bread is super delicious. Highly recommended! read more

Their food is so fresh and delicious!! The staff is always friendly and the prices are reasonable. We just got catering for 50 people for a party and they were prepared on time and great quality. I would highly recommend Darband! read more

Delicious, reasonably priced, generously portioned food prepared and served by kind, attentive, friendly people. What a great place to stop for a bite. A rare gem on Shattuck, which has so many expensive-yet-mediocre options. read more

High quality take out Iranian food. Love their kabobs, soup (aash), stews with rice, herb cutlets and falafel plates. We first found out about them as trays of their food were being served at a party and we all thought the quality of the food was excellent. The kabobs were juicy and the stews very flavorful. And their eggplant appetizer is such a hit in our family as well. Keep it up! read more

So so tasty! We'll be back to try everything! Unique flavors and sauces, friendly service, and open for a later lunch/pre-dinner when most of the other spots in the area were closing. Thanks for a delicious meal! Hope to return very soon. :) The only problem is that I liked the shawarma so much that I may want to eat this every time we are here... lol read more

Had a delicious chicken wrap there today. Delicious authentic Persian fare! The care and pride in the restaurant is obvious. This is the kind of place where you want to try everything on the menu. The adventure begins. read more

Authentic, tasty, friendly service, and great portion sizes. We live in San Francisco and Darband beats any place in the city. The quality to price ratio is amazing. We especially love the barg kabob and the homemade bread. We also love the courtyard seating. If you are pressed for time, you can order ahead and pick up. read more

Delicious food, super fresh, high quality ingredients. Really enjoyed it, probably the best Persian food I've had in Berkeley. I do wish they had Salad Shirazi but otherwise no complaints. It's located in a food hall of sorts with great outdoor seating and patio in the back. Highly recommend. read more

Darband Mediterranean Restaurant - Shishlik Kabob (lamb), Fillet Kabob Barg and Rice, Beef Koobideh (soltani) - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

My experience eating in this small eatery was just OK, nothing spectacular and nothing impressive. The place was clean, but it was also permeated with some stale, rancid grease smell (making me just want to leave right away). There was not a bit welcoming atmosphere there but silence.. The display windows were empty- except for a small tray of baklava that did not appear to be house-made. Above all, it is too pricey with such style of restaurant: no services provided other than the food is heated or cooked and put in a to-go box. Basically you order and pay at the counter, grab your own plastic tableware and napkins, then you wait and wait and wait, (the cook is very slow). And you need to keep going back to the counter from your seat to check if your order is ready. The kabob was fresh and juucy but bland, but the salad dressing tasted rancid (like store bought cheap Italian dressing). To sum up, it was truly a disappointment. read more