Caspian Grill — Restaurant in Austin

I wanted to like this place, I really did. Persian food is delicious, rich in flavor-layers, and fresh. My experience last night, however, was a far cry from what I was expecting. The eggplant dip with yogurt was tasty, but it was served with lukewarm "bread" that was something more akin to a tortilla from HEB than the type of fresh flatbread I would have expected for the price tag. My friend ordered chicken kebabs which were well-seasoned, but his rice (which accounted for 60% of the food on his plate) tasted, to use his words, "like an old person." I'm not sure I share those sentiments, but it did taste like it had been in the rice warmer too long and was generally bland. The lamb shank I ordered was extremely tender, but it, too, had been sitting in a warming drawer too long and was dried out on the edges and had grown bland and one-note in its own way. And it was served with the aluminum foil still wrapped around the end of the bone. I get that this is utilitarian for cooking the meat, but it seemed a bit odd to see at the table. The rice for my dish was tasty and was accompanied by a small bowl of aus jus which I assume had cooked off the lamb. Had it not been 70% rendered fat I'm sure it would've had nice flavor. The small accompaniment salads on our plates were ok, but again, nothing that special -- just a pile of iceberg, sliced onion, cucumber, vinegar and cracked pepper. The atmosphere is cold and semi-uninviting. It feels so cavernous and disjointed. It took almost 10 minutes for our server to come to our table, too. I might try it once more, but only if someone else insists. I honestly believe if the food were fresh it would be good. Maybe we'll chalk it up to a slow Tuesday evening? Maybe we'll chalk it up to a new server? Certainly, if I hadn't plunked down twenty dollars it would have been a lot easier (and more enjoyable) to swallow. At least the...

if you’re used to a normal/ high level restaurant or Persian food stay away from this place. I have never seen anything like that before. You have to go to the register to order what you want and then pay and TIP before they give you food. You have to pick up everything yourself and clean after you ate like Macdonald. Took a lot of time to get our COLD food. Nothing is okay about this place and the most ridiculous part was their plates. They give you very cheap paper plates. I was there with our group including my husband and his guy friend, we ordered two fries, one for me and one for his friend; they only brought one large plate of fries and we had to share our plate!! Me and my husband’s friend!!! If you picture it, it doesn’t look good! He didn’t eat anything out of respect. With the fries the gave us 4 little to go ketchups (same ones you get for free at any fast food place), one of our friends asked for a bottle of ketchup and they said we don’t have a bottle of ketchup for some reason do you want more than those 4 I already gave you? Exact words” ma be dalayele khodemon nadarim ketchup bozorg shoma bishtar az on 4 tai ke dadam beheton ketchup mikhain?” Are you kidding me? Are you counting how many to go ketchup you gave to 8 people!!!!!!???? And my friend said “NO”, he got so mad but didn’t say anything. I don’t even call this an acceptable customer service!! What type of question is this? When we say we want a bottle of ketchup you don’t understand those 4 little ketchups was not enough for 8 people?! Everything was exactly like a fast food except their cleanses ( everywhere was dirty because no one was working there other than 2 people we saw, not even one server) if we wanted fast food we would go to a good one we chose “restaurant” for a reason!!! Stay away from this place throw your money on the ground but...

My wife and I happened to drop by the Caspian Grill today for lunch. Nestled in a small shopping center, it is a gem. The freshness of the ingredients and aromatic spices was evident throughout the meal and enveloped you in a cloud of exotic flavors and aromas. I had the Mirza Ghasemi since I love eggplant, however, I was totally unprepared for the potpourri of flavors and delicate fragrances emanating from this delicious entree. It was accompanied by salad which was very fresh and the most delicate rice. My wife had the Lentil soup, which I wanted to try but did not order concerned about the saltiness one normally encounters in lentil soup- however, I soon learned that I should had definitely had it. My wife gave me a taste and it was not your usual lentil soup; fragrant and deliciously, I will definitely try it next time. Then came dessert. We had let the waitress order for us and having had wonderful results allowed her to make dessert suggestions. We opted to try both home made delicacies: the Baklava was superb, made with the same care as the main dishes, no overbearing flavors and delicately sweet and fragrant, and accompanied by fresh cream; the Saffron ice cream was heavenly, equally concocted with fragrant saffron and rose water and ladened with pistachios. I honestly will return, hopefully many times. I checked out the wine list for future reference and can tell of the wide selection of wines that will complement the dishes I tried. Should I finish by saying that I highly recommend the Persian Grill. And by the way, the staff is very courteous and friendly and the decor is casual with a welcoming feel. The cardamon tea topped off a...