Shahrazad Market & Restaurant — Restaurant in Salt Lake City

I ordered takeout from this restaurant, and the had a disappointing experience. I ordered the Shahrazad Special (steak, chicken breast and ground beef skewers), hummus and pita, and baklava. The meat was luke warm and dry; while the salad was saggy and old. I didn't like how they just threw everything in the same container without separating them. The baklava didn't taste fresh, as the flaky pastry top was stall, and the nut/syrup portion was hard. The front end of the restaurant is a middle eastern supermarket, where the shelves are stocked with various ethnic foods, spices, and snacks. There's a Halal meat section, displaying fresh meat, and frozen prepackaged sliced meat. I bought beef burger patties (4 in a packet), where when I went home and grilled them, it dripped black blood-who knows how long it was in the store for. Also they sell expired products for half off, like what’s up that. Overall, this is one of the few Halal stores in SLC.

Update: We decided to give their restaurant another try, after the disappointing takeout experience. This time we ordered Mixed Kabab Platter (chicken breast and ground beef skewers over rice, and salad), and my buddy ordered the Seasoned Goat Meat Platter (served with yellow rice and salad). We both agreed that the food was good. The chicken breast cubes were well seasoned, and the ground beef skewer was flavorful. The goat curry tastes “tomatoey”, and the goat was really soft and tender (baby goat I think)-it was really good. What a world of difference in experience sitting in vs taking out.

Update: We went there for takeout today, and ordered the Shahrazad Special and the Lamb and Kabab. The lady with the tattoo in front was very rude when she took our order, and tried to sell us only one the Shahrazad Special with a separate lamb skewer, when we asked what meat is missing from the Shahrazad Special(lamb skewer). I later over heard her telling another customer that today was a busy day and they ran out of food. This was confirmed when we went home and saw the small amount of rice. She should've just told us, and we'd order one plate and something else.

When I was paying for the food, I asked her for some tzatziki sauce, in which she rudely replied "sorry that's only for sit in customers". Also some of the meat was charcoal burnt, in addition to the less rice because they ran out due to a busy day. Honestly, the Shahrazad Special is overpriced for the amount of meat and rice they give. I recommend getting the King Platter from Shawarma King, which gives you the best bang...

I so deeply wanted this restaurant to be great, but sadly, it has gone very far downhill since I first visited (with Persian friends) in 2013. The portions were generous, perfectly cooked, and service was great. The second time I visited the chicken was dry, portions smaller, service very haphazard. But I thought it could have been an 'off' night, so I recently tried it again. Utter fail. The chicken tasted gamey/spoiled, and very dry. I took the plate back to the counter as our waitress seemed to have become invisible. The woman at the cash register looked at me like I'd grown two heads, and brusquely took my plate. There was some loud exchange in Farsi, and she came back with another plate of chicken. I told her it tasted spoiled, and she shrugged (!) and said, "...you wanna order another dinner? It take a few minutes..." So I asked what was freshest, and she said "Chicken"!!!!! Ok, no. I tried to order lamb, but was told it was for a party.

The appetizers were great, if smaller than before. But when we got our bill, there was a charge for 2 chicken plates, and a lamb plate! After getting those uneaten dinners taken off the bill, it was still $28! Just for 3 appetizers. Prices don't always correspond with what you'll see on the menu, soa big problem there.

I used to see many Iranians here, but not so much now, and they seem to get preferential treatment.

There is a reason Mazza remains at the top of the heap, with fresh, flavorful, authentic food served with style and flair. The owners here should pay Ali a visit to see how middle eastern food is done right all the time, not just when the owner "feels like it"!

Bottom...

I won't be reordering from this restaurant. I recieved my order in a timely manner, and the food was okay, however the driver accidently dropped off someone else's order instead of mine. I called the restaurant, and rather than politely telling me to contact the driver, he started yelling and complaining about how the driver messed up. He spent more time pointing fingers than helping me fix the situation. Personally, I dont care who's fault it was, I just wanted my correct food. And being yelled at for something that wasnt my fault and raising his voice, was something I find to be completely unnecessary and unprofessional. I ended up hanging up on the man, because he literally would not stop complaining and yelling. Following this, I called the driver and he came back and was very nice and apologetic for the situation and gave me the correct order. He mentioned the restaurant verbally told him which order was which, but nothing was written down. After seeing the other persons order (which was quite large) and mine, I can see where he got confused keeping it straight. Ultimately, I find the restaurant acted unprofessionally when talking with me, and could have easily avoided this confusion by labeling the bags. But I will not be ordering from them again, because yelling at a customer over something that is not their fault, is completely...