best persian restaurant in san francisco

I am quite new to Persian Cuisine. The first time I tried any Persian foods was less than 2 years ago. I will say that it is not my favorite category of food (that would be Italian or Tex-Mex) 😛 . Nonetheless, I love try out different Persian restaurants (actually I love trying out many different foods). The restaurant is located in the North Beach area of San Francisco. I would say that this place is very classy! The restaurant looks snazzy on the outside and the inside is no different. They have beautiful Persian art nicely hung on the walls and perfectly arranged place settings.

If you have ever been to a Persian restaurant or had dinner with Persians then you know that all meals begin with fresh, raw basil and onions (not pictured).

And you cannot forgot about soft, warm pita bread!! This is also an essential food in Persian cuisine. The pita bread at this restaurant was glorious!! I do not think they make the pita bread in house, however, it sure does taste like they do!

For appetizer, we had Baba Ghanoush and Hummus.

The hummus was pleasant, although, I was not crazy about it. It tastes like normal hummus.

menu description:

Hummus
Garbanzo, Tahini and roasted garlic

This was the first time that I have had baba ghanoush. It has an a different, exotic flavor. Despite that, I definitely prefer the hummus over this appetizer. Next time I will likely opt for the Mast-o-Khiar (similar to tzatziki) over the baba ghanoush.

menu description:

Baba Ghanoush
Smoked roasted eggplant, Garlic, Tahin

For entree, I had the chicken breast kebab. And …. IT WAS SOOO SAVORY & FLAVORFUL!! There were a lot of great flavors from the marinade and spices! I would order this dish again and again! The rice and the vegetables were also fantastic! The veggies were grilled and in my opinion, that is the best way to cook veggies! Two thumbs up on this dish!

menu description:

Breast Kebab
Marinated boneless breast of chicken in onion, basil, lime juice, vegetables, Basmati rice

Hmm.. where to start with Persian ice cream. I incredibly ❤ ice cream in general! So I am glad that I have had the chance to try this fascinating ice cream type. It tastes completely different from regular ice cream, but in a good way. It still has that icy texture that you find yourself craving in the evenings. 😉 The Persian ice cream at this place is my favorite so far. I had another Persian ice cream in Houston and it had a strong aftertaste which I believe is from too much saffron. Don’t get me wrong, I like the saffron and you can taste it in the ice cream at Maykadeh, but it is less powerful.

menu description:

Bastani
Persian ice cream