Toranj — Restaurant in Los Angeles

Save yourself the trouble, and go to Raffi's in Glendale instead. From the lack of parking to the terrible service at Toranj, you can count on a much better experience at Raffi's. I went to Toranj for lunch during a slow hour (not many customers), & it turned out to be a 2 hour experience because of the non existent service. I had to ask for everything multiple times, and to add insult to injury for this painfully slow experience, a random kitchen staff closed out my bill with the charge machine starting tip at 18%, while he watched my screen to see how much I would input. When I asked for bread (that I previously had asked for 3 times during my dining experience) that never came, I was told "to go" bread would be .99 cents. If I was able to enjoy it with my meal, it wouldn't have been "to-go." That is really petty, especially given the price point for not providing table service. I will not be returning. The food is pretty good, but when you pay for a nice meal at a restaurant (with table service), someone should come around at least once or twice, & not have the customer constantly flag for help multiple times, only to be ignored. Interestingly, customers who spoke Farsi seemed to have no trouble with the service, despite arriving after me. Raffi's food is better, and provides a more outstanding experience. This place needs new management and structure. If you're really craving Toranj, save yourself the trouble and order take out instead. The "service" isn't worth wasting your time or...

Food was great but service was terrible. Let me be specific. We as persians usually have tea after meals, so I jokingly asked the waitress for 5 teas and suggested it should be on the house since it's our first time. She immediately called the manager/owner who came and said, she will not entertain the request because if she does that for us, she has to do it for others as well. so far, fair enough. the issue starts from here when she went on saying this is allowed in Iranian culture but not here and this is what got me fired up.

I then told her, as a waitress, I can understand not to entertain the request but as owner, if it were me, I would not only bring 5 teas with pleasure but also will add more since it would be considered as good gesture to gain our business for future. I also told her that she should not have opened a persian restaurant if she is not willing to respect its culture. It's not like we were asking for free lunch, just 5 teas.

I also told her if she were smart, she would have jacked up the price on the ice-cream we had for desert and provided the free tea.

Only our way out, I pointed out to her that she should have taken some customer service/PR training before opening a restaurant since customer service especially in US goes a long way. Just wanted...

Not sure why so many positive reviews, the food was okay, not spectacular. And the waitress needs a lot of training. She is sweet but disappears right after serving the food and does not check in to ask how customers are doing. The portions are smaller than other restaurants. The Ghormeh-Sabzi had very little kidney beans and taste was bland. They serve one slice of bread that gets finished in 10 seconds. A bit petty with portions, and you feel unsatisfied leaving. And at the end they hand you iPad to pay, sign and rate your experience - felt like you were at Denny's all of the sudden.. Here, the waitress stares at you to the point you almost feel guilty if you place a bad review. A waitress should never hawk over a customer to wait for signature, tip and review. That's why the iPad is a bad idea, and drops the class. You should leave the bill at the table and ask the customer instead if there is anything else they wish to order, and walk away, let the customer settle in a little and review the bill in peace, don't rush. Waitress needs training for sure. The seating and decor is nice, but the chairs are all fabric, likely get stained easily, and more suitable for home furnishing than commercial restaurant.. It has potential but needs...