When I reached out to my friend who used to live in Atlanta for restaurant recommendations, he immediately said "you have got to go to Rumi's." I trust him when it comes to good food, so I immediately made a reservation on Open Table. Our group was excited to enjoy some Peruvian cuisine as it is not something we have much of in our hometown. The joint was jumping on a Saturday night. I do love an open kitchen concept so you can see all the action. The decor was simple with some key pieces and greenery and large windows allowing light to shine in before it got fully dark. The table settings were classic and attractive with some ambiance lighting.
To start things off. I indulged in the Persian Sunset (bourbon, ginger, fresh ginger, apricot jam) cocktail with a complementary small plate of pita type bread, cheese, walnuts, olives radish, and herbs. My husband got a different drink originally, but switched to this as he agreed it was real good. We crushed through the bread quickly, and were thrilled that they would bring us more to enjoy with our food.
Our table had trouble settling on just a couple appetizers from the "Taste" section. But in the end went with the Dukkah roasted carrots (hazelnut, sesame seed, labneh), mirza ghasemi (smoked eggplant, tomato, garlic), and hummus (ground chickpea with green tahini & olive oil). The hummus was very creamy and enjoyable. While the mirza ghasemi didn't look very attractive, the flavor was great. Not sure if I have ever had smoked eggplant before but would like to have it again. The carrots took a long time to come from the kitchen, but they were nicely roasted and delicious. The labneh (yogurt with za'atar spices) underneath was great and I liked the additional crunch from the nuts. The roasted carrots were my favorite of the three.
For entrees (or "Feast" based off their menu titling) I settled on the Chinjeh Lubia Polo (beef sirloin kabob, garlic yogurt, braised green bean & tomato basmati rice). Woah this was a lot of food, especially rice. I wasn't sure what the combination of green bean and tomato with rice would taste like, but turns out atleast in this case-pretty great. The sirloin was also cooked to perfection and the spice blend on it was so good. Always happy for more naan and the garlic yogurt dipping sauce was yum. I really enjoyed my dish and was glad I tried something I knew I would mispronounce, but probably would be good.
My husband got the Lamb Shank (Persian lime, turmeric, dill & fava bean saffron basmati rice). Again, huge portions. The meat fell right off the bone at it should and had great flavor. I like that each basmati rice side was a prepared little different with various ingredients to go with the protein. He also ordered a Darjeeling Creme Brulee (darjeeling tea, cardamom, caramelized sugar) for dessert. I was so incredibly full, but still snagged a couple bites. I can't say I liked it more than a OG creme brûlée, but appreciated their Peruvian spin on this dessert.
We had a waitress and an assistance waiter taking care of our table. All of the waitstaff was very personable and knowledgeable about the food on all questions we asked. Service was a little hit or miss at times as they were so incredibly busy. But, we just enjoyed each other's company and honestly having things a little spread out wasn't so bad.
Also, they do valet parking at the location (as parking quite scarce). This is a bit of a foreign concept for us, but the process was very smooth. I think it cost like $2, plus whatever you tip. The line at the end of the night to get our car back moved very quickly. If someone asked me where to go in Atlanta for food, I would join my friend's recommendationto me and also say Rumi's! read more