Farsi Cafe Reviews

Farsi Cafe is in the place of old Shamshiri Restaurant which was renovated to become Baran for a while and now its Farsi cafe under new Management and Ownership I presume. The Food: I go there with my friends for lunch and usually get the lunch special. Their Persian Khoresh (stews) with rice are excellent and as close to homa made as you can get. I only wish they would come with a salad. Others in the area, Shahrzad, Shamshiri etc..all give you a side of salad with your lunch special. Their Kabobs are still not the best in the west side. They are not as good as Darya on Santa Monica Blvd., but they are getting there. Price wise, they are bit more expensive than Shamshiri, but probably justifiably so ! The quality is much better. Especially the stews !!! Yummm Khoresh Gheime and Karafs are specially excellent!! As far as ambiance, the place was renovated under the old name and is a bit grey and dark, I wish they would open up the windows to create some indoor/outdoor seating and get some more light in there ! Generally however, its clean and smells good. The service is usually great!! they have a relatively high turn over in there staff but they are all very courteous and nice and the service is quick. Generally I highly recommend this place.

Farsi Cafe opened in 2011 on Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles. It is one of our favorite Persian eateries. We just love everything about it. The prices are fair for the great food they serve. The place is comfortable and not so huge. It is just perfect. It is always clean. I love the interior, it has some cool art and a very welcoming vibe to it. The service is just perfect. They know the menu so well and can help those who need to learn about Persian food. The staff is kind and they will make sure you are happy. You are never rushed out. Farsi Cafe Serves authentic Persian cuisine—kebabs, stews, and you can get great away dishes. They have the best rice. All of their food is great. We love all the lamb and chicken items. Their kebabs are great, no matter what type you get. They have great salads and you must try their traditional bread. And get a stew. It is so comforting. All of it is great. You will be happy.

In a neighborhood known for fine Persian cuisine, Farsi Cafe stands proud. With Far Asian influenced decor (the place looks more like an upscale sushi bar) and Iranian music videos playing overhead, the envirnment is warm and welcoming. Food is tasty and generous, and yes, with insane amounts of rice. Their hummus is among the best I've tasted.

Farsi Café is one of the best Persian restaurants in LA. The Ghormeh Sabzi is probably one of the best, if not the best in the city (I have tried practically every Persian restaurant) and the rice very good, the portion is gigantic! However, the koobideh is disappointing.

Visited farsi cafe for lunch . Noticed that the Persian dishes that we used to have for lunch for $12.95 are now $14.95 min or more .. yes $2 is not much but we got out of there spending $25 per person for lunch which is way too much .. also no salad comes with any of their lunch specials .. unlike Shahrzad up the street .. a better choice !

Excellent Persian food, attentive staff, comfortable environment. A little pricey but not out of line, and well worth the visit.

delicious kabob's and rice, my entire family loved their choices the salad was perfect also great service, it was a very good choice to go all the way there for a good authentic Persian meal

Found by accident based on available parking - great find. Great atmosphere with terrific food. Quality food and superb service. Even dining as one I was treated as a valued customer. The entire staff was attentive, any of the wait staff would check water or bread and refill as needed. The late lunch meant the sun was shifting and the staff was attentive to keeping the shades adjusted even in the midst of serving a busy lunch period. Atmosphere was clean, elegant, with true linen and solid flatware. Service was helpful to describe meals and preparation information. Menu was clear and easy to find each category of food and drinks. Good price for quality food and authentic flavors. Whole experience was great and I will recommend to all.

I really enjoyed the food here always. Chicken kobob is really good. Salads also are great. Basmati ricevus delicious

Ate here on our trip to LA. We all were so pleasantly impressed with our appetizers, meals, dessert and tea ! Great menu with so much to choose from - all Persian Style ! Very Glad we chose this restaurant! Service was exemplary _ Afiyet Olsun

Warm & friendly atmosphere, attentive service, and live music Friday evening. Enjoy the well-behaved kids at tables with three generations Alongside cute couples. Be sure to try the saffron rice tahtig and the kabobs, all very generous. Save room for the Persian donuts and baklava.

Hubby and a friend walked around the area, waiting for traffic to subside... had a couple of drinks, then settled on Farsi Cafe.What luck!!! I love exotic food, but had never had Persian before....service was great, relaxing, warm, we ordered 2 eggplant apps, for 6.95 we could have eaten just those, with a small salad and bread! Big portions, we were full but fought onward...Chicken was beautiful but a bit dry, but lamb shank and my beef/ bean mash with beef broth and special bread, and fresh green herbs, onion and radish....superb!!!!Go!!! Eat!!!!Pilafs also fabulous, and HUGE!

Delicious! I got the chicken breast lunch special with rice and everything was absolutely delicious! The portion is HUGE but everything was so good. I will definitely be back!

Very nice restaurant with all kind of Iranian barbecue and traditional meal I never test the barbecue but One of the traditional meal called Abgusht serves only in the weekends very very delicious large portions $16 Is reasonable price and very tasty

We wandered in as they were bringing in the outdoor tables. They couldn't have been nicer, explaining the menu, making sure we didn't order too much, advising thoughtfully on what we might like. The food was delicious, service attentive but not intrusive, and if we lived in L.A. we'd definitely be regulars. Prices were moderate, and they serve beer and wine without pushing it.

My buddy from Iran says this is the best Persian restaurant in L.A. County, so he recommended that for meeting when I was up there recently. Since I’ve dined on Persian food a zillion times, and I’ve only been to Farsi café once I have to qualify my review with: “I’ve only been here once.” Everything was fine, so I’ll make an effort to go back, hopefully soon. I ordered Adas Polo with chicken and my buddy got Geymeh. The only noteworthy aspect of my meal was that the chicken was served separately whereas I’m used to this being boiled and served underneath the rice. No worries; everything was fine. The décor was pretty cool … somewhat Asian rather than fully Middle Eastern. Service was friendly and adequately attentive. Street parking was available a block away (watch the signs and meters for the parking restrictions).

When visiting LA this past week with my husband and my brother, I really wanted to try out some Persian food. (I didn't know this until I was researching before our trip, but LA and Southern California have a large Iranian-American community with Southern California boasting the largest concentration of Iranians in the world outside Iran.) I picked Farsi cafe based on the menu (so many dishes I've never had before). We shared the Kashk o Bademjon (sauteed eggplants topped with whey, mint, and garlic), which was really delicious. My husband and I shared the tahchin (crusted rice mixed with yogurt, eggs, and saffron with a layer of boiled chicken in the middle and served with sauteed barberries on top). This is a huge dish, and I do recommend you share it. However, it was the only real disappointment of our meal at Farsi Cafe. The whole dish was REALLY DRY. The rice was dry, the chicken was VERY dry. I thought the dish needed about 5x as much of the barberries to make it less dry. My husband mixed our Shirazi salad into his portion of the dish to make it less dry to eat. I loved the idea of the dish, but the execution was really wrong. I wouldn't eat it again. But I might try to learn to make it, because I think it's a great idea! My brother got the lamb shishlik (six pieces of charbroiled rack of lamb served with grilled tomato, serrano pepper, onion, rice, and a salad), which was really good. While I didn't love everything we tried, I enjoyed most of the meal. The service was also very good, and the restaurant itself was really nice. It was a very good overall experience. I'd go back to try more.

Yes, as other reviewers have said, portions are huge. But we were looking for some good Perisan food, and this is a beautiful place to enjoy it. We had Mastro Khiar (Yogurt and Cucumber dip with flat bread - enough to two), Abghosht, Lobia Polo, and saffron rice pudding for dessert (heaven). We received great service from Farnoosh. This neighborhood is loaded with mid-Eastern places, wish we had a chance to try out more of them, but you cannot go wrong with Farsi Cafe.

This restaurant is a great find. We walked in not expecting much... that it before we came in and saw the decor and ate the food. The salmon kabob, stews (with eggplants), tahdig and yogurt were DELICIOUS. Best salmon ever. We will be back. The plates are very big, which makes the price very reasonable. A true gem in Westwood. A must for anyone wanting to try really good Persian food.

I've tried about 4 or 5 Perisan restaurants in the past, and each experience left me unmoved. I considered Persian food to be just ok, or not for me. Baran changed my opinion. The service was warm from start to finish, and each dish we tried was an eye opening expereince. We started with Tah Dig, a crunchy fried rice base, topped with our choice of stew. My Persian friend chose the stews, I can't remember what they were, but I had a hard time deciding which was better, they were both so good. The crunchy texture of the rice took a little getting used to, but the overall effect was very good. For an entree I ordered Soltani Kabob which included a skewer each (but without the skewer) of filet mignon and seasoned ground beef, both of which were excellent. My companions also gave high ratings to what they ordered. Deserts were ok, one was deep fried balls of dough soaked in syrup- too sweet for my liking, and baklava which was OK. Dining at Baran was a great experience, and I will return at the first opportunity.

This is fine cafe', but at overrated price. Food is good and about the average, service is below average and price is above the average!

My wife and I came from Chicago to Los angels just to eat Persian food and after very disappointing experiences in other restaurants this place made our trip worthwhile. We had the best fesenjan and ghormeh sabzi stews ever.

Nice atmosphere great quality and portion. We tried Tah-chin and Tah-dig tah-dig was made with real Safron. tah-chin was rich and delicious. Very polite and care staff. I enjoyed the service and will be back soon :)

This is a very good option if you were in the mood for Persian food and you happen to be in West Los Angeles. Located on Westwood Boulevard, there is free parking nearby on side streets. As for the restaurant itself, the ambience is very pleasant and the staff was both courteous and attentive. We shared a boneless chicken breast kebab, accompanied by rice and salad. This is a large portion and more than enough for two adults. The chicken was delicious. We would return do you eat here again

We had a nice dinner here; the service was a little slow, but good, and the food was authentic and very tasty. Be prepared for very large amounts of delicious Persian rice!

If you enjoy Iranian food you must give this place a try. Delicious food and very polite, courteous staff. Keep in mind that portions are big !

This is by far one of my favorite Persian restaurants. In my opinion some of their dishes is even better than ruffi’s like their stews and defiantly their tahdig which is like a thin layer of tahchin. They started to serve lunch bowls which I love. Their Cornish hen is really good and on top of that I’m a big fan of their salads and their salad sauce which I always buy some extra to take home. Their marinated olive is also on point. The house yogurt drink is also really good but thick I usually add water to it. I love their fesenjan stew but it depends on what kind of taste you like, it’s a combination of sweet and sour. They sometimes have live music which is nice. Their staff are really nice and polite. The only problem is the price in comparison to other Persian restaurants in westwood.

We visited the Farsi Cafe based upon a very positive recommendation from someone we trust. Three of us were dining in a half full restaurant. With open spaces in the middle and sides, we were seated between a large group of adults and a large table of children (ages maybe 6 to 10). So I should have spoken up at that point, but the kids seemed to be okay despite being away from their parents. We ordered food and as the meal wore on, the kids became more rambunctious -- talking loudly, playing videogames with the volume turned up, running around the restaurant, etc. I thought surely that the parents or the restaurant would address the activity, as the noise was interfering with our conversation and the kids would bump into our table. As it turned out, the parents were just as loud and not really paying attention. So the kids, about eight of them, were free to disrupt the restaurant. The restaurant also had an entertainer -- a man playing guitar and singing gently. Unfortunately, he was typically drowned out by the noise of the "patrons." Enough crankiness (on my part). The food: - Dolmeh: meh. I personally don't like dolmas, so I figured that this would not be much better, but someone at the table wanted to try them. Grape leaves stuffed with rice with a sauce drizzede on top. I would skip, as we left about eight of the twelve on the plate. - Beef Barg: good. The meat was tender and, well, meaty, but the taste was not very flavorful - Albaloo Polo (Chicken safron cherry rice): mixed. The chicken breast was dry as a bone. it might have been flavorful if prepared differently (more moist, tender), but instead, the texture was overwhelmingly bad. The rice, however, was ecellent. Not too sweet, but the added flavor from the cherries was amazing. - Beef Kobideh Kabob: Clear winner. Great flavor, tender meat, delicious. - Pomegranate ice cream: Yum. Ice cream sandwich quartered with a huge layer of delicious ice cream in the middle. A great end to the meal. All of the dishes were served with more rice than a human being could eat (or at least the three of us). It was tasty, and we took it home as leftovers. Soooo...mixed review, but the score was not downgraded due to the unruly children. The food was uneven, and knowing what to order (Beef Kobideh) and what not to order (Albaloo Polo) is pretty important. If you order the Albadoo Polo (because the cherry rice was sooo delicious), ask them to avoid abusing the chicken. While we do not know for sure, it appeared that the adults (party of 10 or so) with the unruly kids (party of 8 or so) may have been owners. However, the food was not good enough for us to warrant another visit, since there are so many Persian restaurants on Westwood that may treat their guests, even cranky ones like me, to a better experience. And the guitar player, once he sang his Persian flavored version of "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)," we became huge fans. He deserved better than this place. It was that kind of night...

I am Persian and very picky about authentic Persian food. This place is my favorite in LA (which has tons of options!). It is very clean, modern and has a romantic setting. It has a wide selection of Persian food at very good prices. The salmon, koobideh, house salad, masto khiar (yogurt and cucumbers), zeresht polo, ash (soup) are among my favorites. It is very suprising to me that it is not better known in Westwood -- it should be the top Persian restaurant there. Should definitely try!