Berenjak — Restaurant in Los Angeles

TLDR: great vibe, service and food, but outrageous prices.

We went to Berenjak last night. It was amazing. Legit 80s and 90s Persian pop music playing the whole time.

To start, we got the black truffle salad olivieh, and it was so delicious, though the portion was a bit small, but it was truffle so ok. It didn’t come with bread, which was a little silly, so we had to order taftoon bread separately for $8…for a single taftoon bread! Thats $28 for a small starter.

For mains, we got the Koobideh Kabob, which was very tasty, but only 1 skewer and no rice, which is wildly expensive for $28.

We also got the Tikkeh Masti Kabob, which was absolutely amazing, never had a kabob like that before. Insanely tender, seasoned perfectly. But again, no rice and only one skewer, which is steep for $42, but it’s filet, so I guess.

The fact that neither kabob came with rice and we had to order that separately for $10 per person (for a small portion) was a bit ridiculous. Each kabob did come with a tiny piece of sangak bread underneath, but I see that bread more as a garnishing. It’s not like you’re going to roll up the kabob and eat it like a shawarma. That’s not how Persian kabob is done. It’s supposed to be served with rice. A whole big PILE of aromatic, seasoned basmati rice. Here you pay $10 for a small portion of that per kabob.

The decor and vibes were excellent: it’s located in an old warehouse, very cool. The service was great too. Only drawback was the price: everything was so expensive.

Honestly, the vibe, service and food were fantastic, but I won’t go back with these outrageous prices. I enjoyed this restaurant A LOT, but I also felt like the prices were...

I had high hopes for this place based on the hype, but honestly, everything besides the service was a huge letdown.

The appetizers were tiny—like, barely five spoonfulsfor what they’re charging. And don’t expect bread to come with them; it’s an extra $7-10 which feels like a rip-off.

The khoresh gheymeh bademjoon was just sad. For $32, you get one eggplant, one tomato, and zero protein. I get that it’s a meatless dish, but that price for basically a veggie stew is wild. A Persian stew that is made without meet should be advertised as sich on the menu.

The kabobs were even worse. A $40 kabob plate comes with no rice—tack on $10 for that and another $7 if you want zereshk. So, a joojeh kabob with rice ends up at $57, and it’s not even impressive. The chenjeh was so undercooked it was practically bleeding on the plate. According to the other reviews rice is not included because the founder's childhood memories included restaurants which served kabob with no rice! That's just bizar.

Cream caramel tasted like smoked wood!!! Who makes smoked cream caramel?

Overall, this place is way overpriced for mediocre Persian food. You’re easily dropping $150 per person for portions and quality that don’t justify it. There are so many better Persian restaurants out there with way better value and taste. Save your money and...

Berenjak has some of the best Persian food I’ve ever had, but the service and policies left much to be desired. Why offer reservations just 15 minutes before the kitchen closing time? By the time our table was ready after the previous party, the server mumbled a quick hello and told us we had “10 minutes” to order—creating a sense of urgency and making us feel like we were inconveniencing her and the kitchen.

The fact that skewers do not come with rice is ridiculous. And yes, I read the founder’s story posted on another review. I’m also quite sure that those original restaurants didn’t serve alcohol or charge outrageous prices for a single skewer of chicken kabab—so either stay true to authenticity or adapt accordingly. I’ve visited hundreds of Persian restaurants, and never have I had a kabab dish that didn’t come with a starch. Perhaps there’s some confusion that this is a steakhouse?

Overall, the ambiance at Berenjak is beautiful and the food is delicious, but the pricing and policies just don’t justify...