Shahrazad | Persian & Middle Eastern Cuisine — Restaurant in Milwaukee

My wife and I came here (first and only time) on an early Sunday evening and it wasn't busy... getting the hint already? The service and atmosphere really set the stage for a very impressive meal. They have obviously spent some time and effort with the decor and finding smart & friendly staff. The staff mentioned they had been around for 20 years. For dinner, we started off with water and French Roast to pick us up after a long day. Then we chose Falafel garnished with lettuce and a pickled root veggie for an appetizer. A salad with house dressing for myself and lentil soup for my wife. For the main course my wife had chicken kabob, and I had a 2 type Persian Beef plate that the waitress recommended. Review: We love our coffee and could tell the French roast served to us here was old or reheated 4 out of 10. Not the best way to start off the meal. We thought the falafel looked appealing but fell short of anything impressive, a 5 out of 10, just OK. The dipping sauce seemed Americanized and boring. The lentil soup was appealing and flavorful 7 out of 10; I thought it to be better than the Shiraz's soup. Now the salad was POOR! It's the middle of summer and they couldn't even use in-season tomatoes and the other ingredient was plain Ice-Berg Lettuce, 1 out of 10. CHEAP! Using cheap ingredients will destroy a restaurant's reputation!!! huhhh. House dressing was fine. The Kabob (chicken) was good, It was cooked perfectly and we enjoyed it, 7 out of 10. Now, the rice that came with our meals was supposed to be Basmati, and the waitress confirmed it. However, this rice was so plain and blan (and texture resemble instant rice), it tasted nothing of acceptable quality (it was probably the cheapest they could find). This may just be my preference (I love and eat MANY types of foods and am NOT picky), but the Persian beef was a FAIL. I asked the waitress to bring what she recommended. This can backfire (as it did tonight) or I can find something wonderful. In this case it happen to be one of the most expensive items on the menu at $20. I view the waitress's decision as a way to increase sales and not customer satisfaction. The seasoning tasted JUST LIKE seasoning at the bottom of a Cheesy-ranch potato-chip bag, or the dried salty cheese mix in the macaroni box!! How upsetting....especially for $20. I've been more impressed by a 50 cent taco!!!!! Conclusion: I've been to many (and local) Mid-Eastern / Persian restaurants and this is by far the worst! I always say that good food can make up for bad service, but not the other way around. This restaurant appears to have sacrificed their future business for short term profits. Another example of a poor business model where they've lost passion for their purpose! Gordon would make a show of this...

I wasn’t going to write a review, but I feel a responsibility to warn my fellow humans. $43 for a combo dinner, falafel, “rose water” lemonade and baklava all to go. When I got home, the baklava was missing so I planned to go back and get it. My sons had started eating the food and were saying it was so bad they couldn’t swallow it. My daughter said the lemonade tasted like someone spit in it. I tried it and it tasted like it had run through moldy tubes. Next, I tried the falafel and had to spit it out because the sauce tasted rotten. Then I tried the chicken with some tomato sauce and had to split that out due to a disgusting foul taste. The chicken tasted ok by itself but was slightly undercooked and flavorless. The “shawarma”, which had the appearance of dead worms, smelled rotten. The other meats were salty and dry like they had been made much earlier in the day and then microwaved. The flavor was strange: somewhere between rancid and lemon. Even the pita bread was a disappointment. Instead of fresh ( the employee I talked with assured me that they make everything from scratch), it was served in the plastic bag it’s packaged in from a Chicago bakery, not too fresh.

I decided to take the food back and explain to the employee (should’ve asked for the manager but highly doubt it would’ve made a difference based on other reviews) that it was inedible. I told him that he forgot to give me the baklava as well. I was VERY polite, giving him ample opportunities to offer to make it right... he never did. Didn’t even offer a second piece of baklava, just kept saying they’ve never had complaints before, etc etc. I ate the baklava later and it was alright, earning the 1 star. Bottom line: DO...

Delicious food, good service, lovely atmosphere (I did my best not to get up and dance to the music)! What we ordered: Lentil Soup: when they say "PERFECTION" in the menu description, they are not exaggerating! Creamy, savory, a touch of smokiness, if I have to die, dump me in a vat of this soup so I can drown in it. Yalenjee: Not Greek dolmades! These grapeleaves are fried! AND SOOOO flavorful, packed with seasoned rice and yumminess. Squeeze the lemon over it, you will not be sorry. SHAHRAZAD COMBO: which has a LOT, we split it between 2 "big eaters" and we couldn't finish! Kabob, tender with a nice charr Kefta, THE STANDOUT STAR! we both loved this one, particularly with a little lemon on it Taouk chicken was mildly seasoned with a hard char that gives you a real flame grilled, out in the country type feel Shawirma, gently seasoned, perfectly cooked Baklava: rich walnut filling and flaky pastry. I loved that this version was not dripping with syrup and oversweet. It was light on top and dense on bottom, not too spicy but you can taste the cinnamon. we also split one between us. This was a very satisfying meal, we are already daydreaming about what we will...