The Sigdi Kitchen — Restaurant in Melbourne

I value honesty and respect in all interactions, so I wanted to share my recent dining experience at Persian Room 248 with absolute transparency.

I had eagerly anticipated visiting this establishment due to its reputation for exquisite cuisine and elegant atmosphere. However, I must admit that I left feeling quite underwhelmed.

To begin with, the food did not meet my expectations. While I appreciate unique culinary experiences, the use of excessive fillers in the kebabs and meats negatively impacted their taste and texture. This resulted in an unpleasant sensation following the meal, I felt ill, which certainly wasn't enjoyable given the premium pricing.

Speaking of costs, I found the menu to be surprisingly expensive compared to similar establishments offering authentic Middle Eastern dishes. It seems that the focus may have been placed on creating an impressive ambiance rather than prioritizing affordability without compromising quality. Additionally, even the rice appeared to be bought precooked from some wholesale kitchen, artificial looking—a minor detail that can significantly affect one's perception of the entire dining experience.

Ultimately, despite the visually appealing setting, both the food and service fell short of my anticipations. For those considering giving Persian Room 248 a try, please note that there might be other nearby options where you could potentially enjoy superior meals at more reasonable price points.

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The food at 248 has always been delicious, I would come back here for years, whenever I felt like Persian food and would bring guests to try Persian cuisine. I'm not sure what happened, I assume the management has been changed or something, unfortunately on my last visits, the service was embarrassing and I would not risk it to get back or bring guests. It is such a shame, because the quality of the food is still good but the service is horrible! We ordered faloodeh and what we get was cubs of a frozen faloodeh, which would break your teeth, and it was tasteless, without rosewater or anything! I was shocked the way they served it! And the waitress couldn't speak English apparently as she kept ignoring my guest completely, which was very rude! In our last visit, we were only 3 people and we all ordered the same dish, but our food were served in very different timeframes, about 20-30min later which was very frustrating, they served us one of the three foods that we ordered, it got cold and we couldn't eat it because it was not enough for 3 of us. The service is absolutely shocking and...

We were lucky enough to visit this before lockdown and it was worth the visit. The menu offered so many choices but we eventually decided on the Special Dip Platter, the Persian King 3 skewer Kebab with dill rice, Lamb Shank with broadbean rice and Faloodeh for dessert.

The generous servings turned this into a feast with an orchestra of flavours. Each dish served up unique tastes, scents and textures from the deeply spiced meat dishes to the light and refreshing cucumber & yoghurt dip plus the Faloodeh. This sorbet-like dessert with vermicelli noodles and rose water syrup was a stand out for me - distinctive and lingering pleasantly. The black team with cinnamon and cardamom also deserves a mention - an unforgettable experience in itself.

Staff were helpful in our menu choices and friendly throughout the visit. Although there were quite a few diners there, I didn't feel much of an atmosphere here. Hooray for restaurants with comfy chairs that make a longer stay just that bit nicer. Overall, a very good experience here...