Kookoo Restaurant and Lounge — Restaurant in Washington

Step inside KooKoo restaurant and prepare to be absolutely amazed! I only had one night in DC and decided to go here and I left simply blown away! This is easily one of, if not, the BEST Persian restaurant in the entire country!

And I say this as someone who has been to all of the major ones in DC (DMV), and across the country, and can say that this is by far the most authentic one that I’ve been too. This is because the chef and owners are present, and make every single dish with 100% focus and love. Every item was extremely flavorful, starting from the appetizers (mirzaghasemi, sambousa, kookoo) and then the stars were the entrees. The lamb shank and fesenjoon are honestly exceptional! The lamb is fall of the bone, very aromatic, and has a few subtle but flavorful additions like cinnamon which take it to the next level. And let me tell you, the fesenjoon is the best that I’ve ever had. It hit the perfect balance between tart and sweet which is extremely difficult to achieve.

I got a chance to speak to the owner throughout the meal and quickly learned that all of this is a result of careful thought, passion, and pure heart. The food is made exactly the way a traditional Persian household would (mamanpaz).

The restaurant is also spotless inside, has traditional Persian music playing in a calm, but fun ambience. Every dish had a unique addition that made it memorable (the chili sauce on the side added a kick, the tamarind pomegranate dip for sambusas really complimented the filling). Nothing was overwhelming, it was balanced between aroma, seasonings, salt,and the chef really lets the high quality ingredients do the heavy lifting.

The prices are also beyond fair for the quality and portions (literally half the price that I’ve paid at some of the other Persian restaurants in DC). I have gone to the “best” Persian places in DC, and can tell you that this is far more authentic and justified at its price.

There is nothing bad I can say about this place, it was easily the best meal I’ve had in the region and I can’t wait to go back. I came straight from the airport here as it’s conveniently located right by the train station and it was the best decision.

Don’t question it, take my word and come and try it yourself. Get the lamb shank, fesenjoon, and a few appetizers to share and thank me later! I would say you should go out of your way to come here, it’s...

I don't really drink coffee or tea, so I basically came here for the crepes.

I was trying to kill time in Columbia Heights, and walked by this little cafe. I looked through the glass doors and to me, the place screamed sugary sweet, which is just what I like.

I ordered the Lemon Sugar crepe. Keep it Simple!

The sweet crepes come with a free scoop of vanilla or chocolate ice cream. I asked for the vanilla ice cream. As the employee scooped out the ice cream, she commented that the ice cream was unexpectedly soft, but I told her that's how I like it. I think it's better for ice cream to be too soft than too hard. Or not. Despite the softness of the ice cream, it still tasted like it had freezer burn, and was rather tasteless.

My Lemon Sugar crepe came sprinkled with powdered sugar (naturally) and was topped with whipped cream and a lemon slice. My first bite into the crepe, I thought I was eating an unbaked fortune cookie, which isn't so bad, but where was the lemon flavor? The lemon flavor arrived during the second bite, and lasted until the last bite, and it was quite refreshing. Lemon flavored sweets somehow have a way of making me feel less guilty about what I just consumed.

My main complaint about the crepe was the lemon slice on top, which was warm. It didn't seem like the crepe was warm enough to warm the lemon slice that much. Did they warm the lemon on the stovetop along with the crepe? Hmmmm....I don't know what the deal was with that lemon, but biting into a warm lemon slice is pretty horrid, and instead of serving me ice cream with freezer burn, they should serve me a frozen lemon, so even if the crepe warms it a little, it will still be cool by the time it gets to me.

Even though my crepe was just okay, I really liked the space here, particularly since it was almost empty. I like to enjoy quiet spots every now and then. I would gladly take the yellow line from Crystal City up to Columbia Heights just to get out of my place and chill here for a while.

p.s. I really like that they have an Easy Bake Oven on display, though I don't like how this reminds me how I never had...

I am sorry that my review isn’t a positive one, and I really don’t want to be harsh. This is just constructive criticism that will hopefully help this restaurant improve.

We ordered beef and chicken kabab (kobideh and joje) as mains, and kashk-e-bademjan and Tahdig as appetizers, but unfortunately none of them were good. Kobideh should be a soft, juicy kabab, but the one we had had a hard texture. It’s not always easy to get the right cut, but an 80–20% ratio usually gives a good texture, and hopefully they can make improvements.

The joje also wasn’t soft. Joje is traditionally marinated with saffron for flavor and some form of acid—usually lemon juice plus yogurt. Otherwise, it ends up being just a grilled chicken breast without much flavor. This chicken didn’t seem to be marinated in saffron at all; it looked yellow from turmeric instead. That’s like making marinara sauce with ketchup—it’s just not the same.

The bread that was served was cut into pieces and clearly left out or old, since the edges were stale. The Tahdig was also disappointing—it tasted like leftover rice that had lost its crispness. As for the kashk-e-bademjan, eggplant absorbs a lot of oil during cooking, and if the oil is old or hasn’t been changed, you can easily taste that. Unfortunately, that was the case here.

I really hope they can make...