Persian Riverside Restaurant — Restaurant in London

AWFUL SERVICE! OVERPRICED! BLAND FOOD! STAY AWAY!

We travelled from Harlow, Romford & High Barnet to eat this place. Ordered food and waited over 1 hour for a Platter for 2, Momtaz x2, Chips & Hummous. Mains came but no hummous so we cancelled the Starter. Between 4 of us we were given 1-1.5 teaspoons of Chilli sauce. We asked a waiter for more - who never came back. We asked waiteress for more sauce - who never came back too. We patiently waited 5 mins whilst our food was getting cold and decided to go to the counter and ask for it and were told to sit down and that someone would come over with the sauces. We then asked another waiter for another fizzy drink - who too, never came back. We then asked a waitress, who returned with our drink. We finished our meal that was bland, the portions were very small and stingy.

Waited 15-20 minutes and nobody approaches us to take the plates, see if we were okay or wanted anything else - because we wanted to oredr tea (Just under £6 a pot). I decided to get up and go to the counter and speak to the manager. I pulled him to the side (out of the sight of customers) and was discretely trying to talk to him to explain our situation and he apologised and said sorry we are very busy. My response: You're busy and are approaching other tables but nobody once attended to see if we were okay or wanted anything else. He said "please take a seat (looking behind him at his seated customers) and said ill bring you Tea and Baklava on the house" - him looking back made me angry as i wasn't causing a scene and was quietly trying to explain my frustration and he was trying to mug me off by telling me to go sit down.

I would not recommend anyone going to this place - the food is cack - nothing special. Bland food with a dollop of Chilli Sauce that is extremely overpriced. Ended up Spending £62 with them - what a waste. WIll never be returning!

Also, No parking - paid £1.70 and hour (£6.40 in total) in a...

I'm a big believer in giving restaurants second chances as 'off days' happen, but I feel really annoyed that after three visits over the span of around 10 years, Persian Riverside (formerly known as Narenj) is still really bad. As someone who is half Persian and has eaten Persian food frequently for over 30 years, everywhere from Toronto to Tabriz and many places in-between, Persian Riverside would be what I consider as one of the very worst out of hundreds of Persian meals I've had.

I am fairly certain the starters were out of the tin. Watery and tasteless Maast-o-Musir, which should be made of thick, strained yogurt and packs a punch. The salad looked about a week old and the grilled tomato was mushy (it was well past its best!)

Meagre portions too! I've never seen such a small portion of rice outside of the Persian fine dining arena.

The only thing I could say was acceptable was the Joojeh on the bone. Not amazing but not terrible.

It's always a worry when a chef can't get koobideh right. This is a Persian staple and the one at Persian Riverside really misfired.

I'm annoyed that despite a re-brand and a social media campaign they still haven't got it right. I've heard from many people that the place is dead often, no atmosphere as they just can't get bums on seats.

The service was ok, a bit lumpy but not terrible. The big red flag is when one of the waiters asked if I wanted chips with my kabob and then confused when I didn't want chilli sauce with it. Neither chips or chilli sauce are traditionally offered in a Persian restaurant.

We ordered a salad that never arrived, but in hindsight, I'm glad.

There are a ton of much better Persian restaurants in the borough and I hope the products improve. I'd be ashamed of serving up such diabolical...

Highly Disappointing Experience

My party and I visited Narenj Restaurant last night, and I'm afraid I must share the unfortunate experience we had. It is rare that I feel compelled to write a review, especially a negative one, but in this case, the impact of the situation necessitates it.

First and foremost, all four of us ended up with food poisoning. After consuming our meals, we were inflicted with severe nausea and vomiting that has persisted until the present time. As frequent diners, we are all certain that the sickness we've experienced has been a direct result of the food we consumed at Narenj.

Upon recognizing our condition, we reached out to the restaurant to report our situation and were met with a complete lack of concern or empathy. We were abruptly hung up on, which we found highly impolite and inappropriate. This is not the level of customer service one would expect from any establishment, let alone a restaurant where food safety is paramount.

In light of these incidents, I can't help but question the overall hygiene standards and customer service quality at Narenj Restaurant. I urge future patrons to exercise caution when considering dining here. As for my party and me, we will not be returning, and I cannot recommend this establishment based on our unfortunate experience.

One thing I've learned from this is the importance of a restaurant's transparency and accountability towards its customers, two qualities Narenj Restaurant seems to lack, at least from our experience.

I hope this review helps future diners make informed decisions, and I hope Narenj Restaurant takes the necessary actions to address...