Zeitoon opened in downtown Kirkland many years ago, replacing the Central 21 Steakhouse. Much of the interior still has the original dark room steakhouse décor. The center area hosted a huge group with multiple tables pushed together. I have avoided Zeitoon all these years because they are higher cost, not necessarily justifiable since there are lower cost Persian foods or similar Mediterranean restaurants in the area. I finally decided to try them. Our server answered my questions, including his favorites. Two questionable/sketchy things happened:
1. Our server recommended the Mirza Ghasemi, which he said is great with the optional soft-boiled egg. Sounds good. We ordered it. The optional egg is $2, which is not identified on the menu. (See photo)
2. When he recommended the Mirza Ghasemi, we asked him to remove the Mast O Khiar which we initially chose. I said we only want one appetizer. He nodded and said OK. When the Mirza Ghasemi arrived, so did the Mast O Khiar. They put both on the table and immediately left. I flagged the original server to remind him we said to remove it, but a different person showed up instead. He: "You want to cancel this? No problem." and took the yogurt away. I did not order this; it is not me canceling.
Minus 0.5 stars from overall rating.
The Food:
Mirza Ghasemi + egg, $14 +$2 - 2.5 Stars
This eggplant dish is the one recommended by our server. We do enjoy eggplant dips, especially warm versions. The optional "soft boiled egg" is not an American version but tiny threads of yellow egg bits mixed within the eggplant mixture. Honestly, we cannot taste the egg. It is borderline a scam. This dish would be 3.5 stars if it was $14 at the menu price, which is already on the high side. A $16 eggplant dish is delusional.
Lamb Shishlik Kebab, $36 - 3.5 Stars
Menu: Lamb rack marinated and chargrilled (see menu photo)
I knew I would not see a rack of lamb on my plate. I got four lamb chops. Meat quality wise, this is excellent. It comes with a ton of basmati rice and a salad with a refreshing light dressing. This is a bit spendy for the quantity of meat, but taste is good.
Soltani Shishlik, $42 - 3.5 Stars
This is the exact same dish as above except add a skewer of grounded beef kebab. This kebab, and I quote my hubby, is "not that good". Same comment for the rest of the dish.
A basket of lavash bread arrived at the table. I believe it came with the Mirza Ghasemi. We have eaten many lavash breads, commonly used as wrap so it is grilled and/or heat-pressed with oil on the surface. These lavash breads are simply warmed. I learned they taste terrible that way. The surface has a sandpaper texture and still taste like sandpaper when eating it. If I paid for this separately, I would be upset. read more