Caspian Bistro and Gourmet Marketplace — Restaurant in Minneapolis

It’s a shame the staff is so horrible because this is a super cute place. My friends and I parked in their back lot, thinking they weren’t open, as we got out to walk around the corner one (unbeknownst to us) a staff member came marching up to me and my friends from the loading dock and starts out “where are you going?!” in a very forward and intimidating manner. I didn’t respond, feeling uncomfortable as I had no clue who this man, or the other two on the dock were and where they worked, and he continued to press, asking where we were going twice more, walking closer to me, before saying “I’m sorry to be personal but where are you going?!”. we then answered and he decides to talk (literally) down at us, telling us we had to leave, leaving us uncomfortable and scared. After moving our vehicle I went into the establishment to thank him kindly for letting us know we couldn’t park there, and ask that next time he not question people in an intimidating and creepy manner, rather just let them know this is Caspian parking, head that way to get to the restaurant and if you aren’t going to the Caspian, you can’t park here. This man then starts raising his voice and moving in towards me for having the audacity to politely thank him for letting us know we couldn’t park there and letting him know that how he went about was scary. I tried to explain that I was sorry for parking there and just ask that he be more aware of how he comes off to people he interacts with. he repeatedly tried to make me the villain, even though I admitted my wrongdoing. he refused to listen to me, continuously interrupted me, and unnecessarily escalated the situation in front of a table of 8 dining in their establishment. I apologized to the table once I realized this man would not hear a word I said, and left the restaurant. A situation I expected to be a 1 minute “here’s the thing”, “thank you for letting me know” turned into 5 minutes of this man aggressively...

Arrived at Caspian to great fanfare; my wife brought me but had not been there for many years. She had fond memories and used to eat there often.

The appearance at first seemed charming; wood floors almost completely worn through, and in desperate need of refinishing, and upholstery on the chairs that apparently is unchanged since my wife’s last visit.

Waitress apparently does not speak English. My request for club soda was met with a Coke Zero.

We ordered the vegetarian sampler appetizer. It featured the softest, mushiest rendition of falafel I’ve ever had; no crispy exterior here. The spinach pie may have come from a Costco box, unsure. The grape leaves were mediocre.

A house salad of iceberg lettuce and a tomato slice, with a flavorful savory oil dressing that needed salt were served.

I ordered grilled chicken breast; my wife the baked eggplant. The chicken breast was served in rolls, as if on a kebob, instead of a whole breast. The flavor was bland, and the chicken dry. I ate two pieces. The baked eggplant was ok, but lacked garlic.

The owner came over and in seeing how much food we had remaining, asked if we wanted to-go boxes. We declined. He did not ask if we enjoyed our meals, nor did he inquire why we were leaving so much of the food.

The waitress returned to our table for the first time, and offered a refill on my drink. The refill was welcome, that the refill was not offered at any earlier point during the meal was odd.

The owner returned with the full bill; again, never inquiring if we liked our meals.

A sorry experience from an ownership team that seems to no longer care about the...

Went here with a Persian friend of mine. Overall I think what probably soured the overall experience for me is the menu prices aren't updated. So I highly recommend you look at their online menu first. We were surprised when we got the bill, and that was overall a really disappointing experience.

We started with Tadig and a yogurt dip. The Tadig isn't a cakey texture it was extremely crisp almost like a cracker. I highly recommend getting it with the stew, since it is this texture. The bread was amazing and I got Kashk E Bademjan And it was really good, so good in fact I got the ingredients to make it at the front of the store. You can find a lot of hard to find ingredients that you wouldn't find at most market places. Mostly Kashk as well as sumac. My husband I believe got the kabobs. One was Beef and the other was Chicken. In my experience usually the chicken is extremely spiced to the point it is yellow with saffron. This was not the case, the chicken was dry but the beef was good. The rice wasn't very yellow either like traditional saffron rice rather simply there was a bit of saffron water added. We did pick up saffron ice cream to go and had some at home. It tasted amazing! I would love to give this place a better rating for the fact it is one of the few traditional Persian places in the Twin Cities. However the lack of transparency in the pricing, and the sub-standard chicken and Tadig does make this a 3 stars in my book. I am for sure going to come back, as there is enough good...