Persis Biryani Indian Grill — Restaurant in Cedar Rapids

The good things first: The food was good and came out quickly and very hot. It was obviously fresh. Definitely worth a try.

There were a few things that weren’t great.

The woman serving was also managing calls and pickup orders. She was not friendly and hardly spoke to us at all. I’m assuming she was busy and possibly stressed, so it might be worth having more than one customer facing employee on a Friday night.

We never got refills on our drinks. My partner got a spicier dish and really enjoyed it, but had to stop when he ran out of water. I gave him mine hoping the woman serving would stop by soon, but she never did. He eventually had to go up to the counter to request to pay because she was too busy with pickup orders. Again, another person working would have helped.

The atmosphere wasn’t my cup of tea. It felt cold and sterile. More like a surgeon’s OR than a restaurant.

Both my partner and I agreed that we would order for pickup instead of dining in as the food is good, but the atmosphere and service...

Right away I was struck by the light and comfortable atmosphere!

My appetizer: Samosa Chat - Fascinating and delicious! Great blend of flavors, and the hot/cold combo was fun. Try it! It was filling though, so plan to bring some entree home if you’re flying solo.

My entree: Goat Dum Biryani (Medium) - Beautiful, first of all! New flavors popping out from bite to bite. If you get goat, you should expect to get your hands involved as some meat comes on the bone- don’t just “dig in” and chomp down blindly. That said, it was cooked tender so it came right off the bone nice and easy! Another review says it’s seasoned well, and they’re right! Great flavor, and the spice level was pretty perfect for a spice lover. Could take more if I had to, but it had the ole nose running!

Only reason it’s not 5 stars was that I did have a bit of a longer wait than I expected with a mostly empty restaurant, but they were humble and apologetic!

Definitely going back to explore the rest...

Persis Biryani Indian Grill is the breath of fresh air we needed in Cedar Rapids during the mess of a year 2020 has been. Having opened during COVID-19, they seem to be taking the necessary safety precautions (masks/sanitizing/social distancing) to ensure proper handling of food.

Being a vegetarian and someone who doesn't enjoy super spicy food, I love the fact that they cater to your taste by modulating spice levels as needed. For instance, their Mild spice level is mild for real. Big fan of their Gobi Manchurian, Veg/Egg Dum Biryanis and most Paneer Veg Entrees.

Being centrally located on 1st Avenue off Collins Road, it is much easier to carry out food if you live in Marion/NE Cedar Rapids. Even though they opened couple of weeks back, their time to get food ready, quality of food, order accuracy and wait times are spot on.

Overall, if you are in the area and want to try authentic Indian food, Persis will most definitely not disappoint. Would...