SilkRoad International Market — Restaurant in Reno

Saw this on "hot and new resraurants" search and knew we had to get some while out and about after Whole Foods Oyster Friday! We showed up at around 7 pm, the afternoon sun shining in made the market open, bright and inviting. It was also hopping considering the time! Behind the counter and shelf of condiments, is their little seating area. At the moment not much ambiance or atmosphere, but the tables were all taken and the kitchen was working hard to deliver food. The store is filled with Middle Eastern, Persian, and Indian (I'm sure I missed some countries) spices and dishes. There are so many I've never heard of, so I have some research to do! They also offer some home goods, a good array of candies, nuts, dried fruits, drink and even have a butcher block area! As always, super excited to broaden my food horizons, as I've only had Persian/Iranian one other time, and I absolutely loved it.

You order at the check out counter where they have their small menu posted. The (assuming) owner is welcoming and friendly and enthusiatically answered my questions about the menu, proudly claiming everything is made fresh to order. I ordered the Adana [ground lamb] kabobs ($14.99) and the whole chicken kabobs ($13.99). Both come with rice, salad and bread. Lastly, I had to try their Qabuli Palaw ($15.99), an afghan style rice with afhan spices, beef, raisins, and carrots.

For us, it kept well on the 10 minute drive home. Opened the Styrofoam boxes to amazing smells and still hot meat and the meat was INCREDIBLE! The minced lamb kabob was so moist and juicy, full of delicious aromatic spices with a tiny hint of heat. The chicken had some of that lovable crispy char with the typical saffron based marinade. Then that rice... a huge surprise. I was curious how the sweet raisins would go with what is known to be a savory dish, and I LOVED the pops of sweet juxtaposed with the savory rice and salty braised beef all in one bite.

Meal was easily a 12/10. The owner was awesome and sweet, asked me how to pronounce my name, as he wanted to get it right. It was easy to see they want to please, and introduce their food to new people (aka yt me lol).

You must support this amazing new business! I feel so lucky with the growth of Reno, to be exposed to more and more cuisines and palettes. To have essentially a hole in the wall delicious middle eastern dinner out of styrofoam to an upscale, french cafe dinner in the same city, a day apart, is freakin awesome! Especially for someone who can't travel easily at the moment. I grew up in rural Nevada, so my only exposure to food diversity was the Chinese restaurant offering general tso's chicken while the staff served themselves a family meal with completely different dishes they served us. There is nothing wrong with that, but I was so limited in flavors that I have come to crave as an adult. Anyways, go explore, taste and share with loved ones and friends. Grab these dishes for a pot luck bbq, or a well rounded lunch, and I know you won't be...

DISCLAIMER: my rating is only based on the Ghabeli Polo. I had a prior experience with the kebabs that were not pleasant. I tried them the second day that they opened and let’s just say that they had “a lot” to improve! so to support them, I am excluding that kebab experience from my rating, I should probably try their kebabs again to see if I get disappointed again or not, but haven’t mustered the courage yet. BUT their Ghabeli dish certainly didn’t disappoint, the meat was tender and delicious and the rice was amazing. I do remember though that Ghabeli requires a lot of caramelized onion in the carrot stew, so they certainly need to improve...

Amazing hidden gem! I had the pleasure of meeting the owners today and let them know I wanted something non-standard from the menu. They did not disappoint. I was served with an incredible sampler dish with pretty much all their dishes to feast from. The meat was incredibly tender and fresh and the pilaf reminded me of my time in Afghanistan. In addition to the food being top quality the owners treated me as if I was family. I can’t wait to be back….Also, I was reading some other reviews on here from people complaining about their prices being too high. That’s absurd, I felt the price was extremely reasonable, especially for the quality...