Yekta Kabob Counter, Takeout only — Restaurant in Rockville

This was our first visit, we both had Barley soup. It was exceptional!! Simply Fantastic! However, this was the first time we were served a dark brown color "joojeh kabob". This dish always served in a very nice light golden color. I had "koobideh" with bread. Tomatoes were still pretty raw and the kabob itself did not taste like as Koobideh normally does. In Addition they cut the kabob size down to a child portion size, while the price remained as an adult! It is a tradition for the Iranian restaurants to serve complimentary bread, butter and some yougar/sabzi khordan. We were charged a whopping $7 for the sabzi khordan that should have been as part of the tradition service. Generally speaking the menu prices were not balanced. Soup price could have been $6-$6.50, Koobideh could have been at $12.95, sabzi khordan at $3 , tea at $2,and all other items alike. Lastly if you suggest amount of the tip and leave out the 15% and start with %18, then the service provided needs to match to %18 too! I am sorry to say that we were...

Every time we come to the Rockville / Bethesda area, we almost always stop by Yekta Kabobi restaurant for lunch or dinner. This Persian restaurant is one of our most favorite restaurants anywhere. It feels comfortable and elegant, the service is excellent, and their food is delicious and reasonable.

We usually visit here for lunch, and for that, we typically order the following dishes:

Starter: Kashke Bademjan (Fried Eggplant with Fermented Whey, Onions and Mint) Sandwich: Zaban (Seasoned Beef Tongue) Lunch Special: Chenjeh (Marinated Certified Angus Beef® Strip Loin Shish Kabob) Dessert: Bastanee (Saffron Ice Cream with Rosewater and Pistachios)

We have never tasted something like Kashke Bademjan (Eggplant Spread) anywhere else, and it's addictive. Bastanee (Saffron Ice Cream) is simply amazing.

All other dishes we have tried are excellent, especially Lamb Kabobs.

A bonus: There is a Persian grocery store next to the restaurant. It is so fun to...

WARNING: this is not a sit down restaurant! It is take-out ONLY!! The google maps page is super misleading and it still looks like there is a sit down restaurant here. After driving 40 mins with family I was extremely annoyed to learn it was basically a glorified food truck.

There needs to be a clear “takeout only” on google maps and the old pictures of dining need to be removed. Kabob “counter” means nothing. What is a counter? Google labels it as a “restaurant” and there are 50 pictures of Persian food in nice plates — extremely misleading.

Persian food is terrible as takeout. Probably the worst cuisine to eat as takeout. Gets cold fast and smells terrible. There is no excuse to not bring back sit down service after Covid. This is an embarrassment to Persian culture.

The grocery store is fine, but it is separate than this “counter”. Do yourself a favor, go to Tyson’s corner or DC for way better...