Let's start with Food we drive all the way from Pleasanton to come to this restaurant. It's nice it's cozy. It's not super fancy but the food is just outstanding a 10 out of 10 and I know my Persian food. Service is really good Ambience is good too Like in Real Estate restaurants are food. Food and food are the most important things. Tasty authentic not overpriced. Just great quality my family and I love coming here if you haven't tasted it and try it try it. read more

Dinner with a side of rude attitude. No thanks! If it were not for the food, and I could give 0 stars, I would. Not sure if they were having a bad day, and we came on the wrong night, but that should not be any excuse. I use to frequent their old location, and have yet to go back since they moved. First attempt at the new location, I tried to come with 2 girl friends for an early lunch on a Monday at 11am. Their hours say they open at 10:30am, but it was 11:20am, and their doors were locked and the people inside said they were closed. Second attempt was on a Sunday evening at 6pm. We were 2 families totaling 8 people. We told the hostess/server our party size, and almost immediately, she did not seem too happy about it. That is when the attitude began. We looked around, and noticed that there were about 2 or 3 other tables of 2-3 people dining, so it was not like they were busy. We were really taken back by her reaction and tone, which made us worry about the service the rest of the night. We got seated, looked at the menu, and let her know we were ready to order. We were curious and had a few quick questions, such as which is popular and which type of meat comes in the plate (because it did not specify), but her responses were very rude. She even tried to give an attitude saying we could not change what comes on the plate, when in fact we were just adding to the order. She was just so quick to try to find a problem to speak on that she did not realize it was an addition. I started to get upset. I truly tried to keep my calm, but it was really hard with the way she was speaking. Food took pretty long to come out even though they were not busy. Good thing we were not in a rush. We noticed that the people next to us ordered before us, but our food came out first, so we felt bad. Then when their food did come out, I believe something was wrong, so they had to wait a little more. Although the food was decent, the service ruined the entire experience. For that reason, I would not go back. read more

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Graduation day at Berkeley! My son being half Iranian wanted to try the Persian restaurant in town as part of the graduation festivities! So our family of four went to this establishment. At 1:45 PM, the place was at best half full. The waiter asks us how many in our party and then tells us there is an hour and a half wait if we didn't have reservations! Really?!!! Maybe you thought we didn't look like good tippers, but at a 3.7 stars rating I think you should try a bit harder to attract more patrons! With the cold and uninviting ambiance you should really do better with service! Please hire a professional to run the place instead of a condescending lying clown! read more

The food here is consistently great. We've only tried to go orders but the interior looks awesome as well. Service is friendly. Recommend 100% read more

I doordashed bagali polo and grilled chicken . Rice seemed so old as if it were made last week and heated multiple times . Chicken was very dry. I won't order from them again read more

Ordered the plate for two and the combo plate for an appetizer. The eggplant dish from the combo plate pretty much had no flavor, which is devastating. Everything else on there was decent. The filet from the plate for two was meh, no flavor, which was a big shock. Not even a chargrilled mark. The chicken was nice and juicy. The koobedieh was the best part, lots of flavor. The rice also had lots of flavor. The service overall was okay. The waitress -- not so happy. The ambiance of the restaurant was awkward. Overall, a hit or miss on the flavors. Most likely won't be coming back when I'm in the area. read more

Message to owner, Me and my family have been eating here since the restaurant was on Center St and miss those days. It was a true persian cuisine and atmosphere, unfortunately times have changed and so has the restaurant. Portions are smaller, prices are higher and your new waitress is super rude. As far as I know tips are based off of your Service to the customer and if have dropped the ball on providing good service. This lady had the nerve to stop my wife before leaving the restaurant and demanding a tip specifically a cash one, in your dreams I wanted to respond but walked out. I hope you the owner do not take this message as disrespect but as a true customer that cares about your business. Good luck to you as we will not be returning. read more

We had a craving for Persian food, so we tried out Alborz. Overall quite solid! The fesenjoon was particularly good, and the mirza ghasemi was quite solid too. The bread that was initially served to us was a stale pita bread, which wasn't great, but then they gave us the lavash bread, which was outstanding. It scratched the itch for us! read more

Amazing Persian food. Very nice service by the man at the front delsk. He also took our order. Everything we ordered was great. We got cholow Kabob and also chicken kobedeh kabob, mast Museer, doigh (yougurt drink) Sabzee paneer, warm bread and bastani. The food came out quick and everything g was super delicious. The kabobs were soft and juicy and the rice was perfectly cooked. The bread was warm and simply delicious. We were surprised how good the food was. The price was average for this type of food I hope they keep up the good quality of the food and the quick friendly service. read more

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Service was just okay, but our server mixed my card up with another guest's. When I pointed this out, it took her quite awhile to locate my card and rerun my check. When she brought it back to me, the receipt was reflecting someone else's name and CC number. She wasn't apologetic at all and finally got it right on the third try. Now I'm having to watch my account to make sure she didn't run someone else's charge on my card. Then to add insult to injury, I got very sick about 12 hours after eating there. It must have been the chicken koobideh because my other party had the beef and didn't get sick. I will never go back. read more

Absolutely delicious Persian food. Love the koobideh, in particular. Always give you lots of rice, too.

This was my first time trying Persian food. I was with my coworkers who recommended this place as many other places were closed in the area (it was around 3 pm on a weekday--so bonus points for being open). When we came inside, we were greeted very warmly and seated quickly. Truth be told, I let my coworkers do all the ordering as I was absolutely clueless about what to order. The waiter was also very sweet and helped explain different dishes and gave recommendations to us. In the end, we ended up ordering a number of dishes, including a dip, salad, and two entrees. Even though I wasn't sure what was what, everything was delicious! read more

Alborz - Maygoo - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

Persian Family owned and run. They have great quality Persian food, and for the quality they are actually very reasonably priced. The Aalborz Special is my go-to! read more

Kabobs were hard & not as good as the food in their Walnut Creek location. For 50$ per person, service was sub-par at best. Not worth the money. read more

I'm Persian and I don't recommend! The food is meh but the service is absolutely HORRIBLE. Make sure to review your check!!!! They will sometimes add what you haven't ordered. They tried that with $30 and refused to take it off. The waitress was so rude we didn't tip her after that exchange, then she chased us to our car demanding payment for a tip after charging us $30 for something we never got and she told us she would take it off. read more

We used to come here more often and there was a lovely and friendly older woman host. Yesterday the food was not as good. The young woman server was desultory and slow even after we said we had to leave for a performance. They had no sparkling water (listed on the menu) and no espresso (machine broken). In the women's restroom, the ADA stall was not functioning, and neither of the other two stalls had any toilet paper. I'm sorry to see this restaurant decline. read more

The Barg lacked flavor and was unsalted. The Kobideh was excessively oily and completely burned. It was a terrible experience! The establishment wasn't very clean either, as I found hair on my chair. Low quality Persian restaurant. read more

Attentive and friendly service! This restaurant has a nice upscale vibe to it, perfect for date nights or celebratory dinners. I went with a couple friends and we had their kabob koobideh and lamb shank. Oh my goodness, the lamb shank was soooo tender, literally fall off the bone, don't even need to chew tender. The koobideh was perfectly seasoned and juicy. Even the eggplant dip blew my mind! In addition to the amazing entrees, you get pita bread as an appetizer/pairing to absorb your sauces. Lastly, to wash it all down, please do yourself a favor and order a nice cardamom tea! read more

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I really wanted to like this restaurant but unfortunately it was one of the worst restaurants experiences of my life. All the cutleries, glasses and dishes were handled with a level of unsanitary hygiene that cannot be described. Our server had just cleared a table next to us and she used the same hand to individually touch every single spoon, fork and knife by the top. We ordered many dishes from Zaban, Koobide, Chicken, Ash to Tahdig. Every single dish that was served tasted stale and some had freezer burn. I am certain that none of the food was prepared that day or even that week. Granted that this was during the holiday and they probably had limited staff but this quality of food is absolutely unacceptable and a health concern. I ended up reporting this restaurant to health department. My experience was extremely unfortunate.I understand that having and managing a restaurant is an extremely difficult task, but I really hope that with a little bit of training and change in management, they can turn this restaurant around. read more

Had a nice dinner here after watching a movie at Bamfa. We didn't have a reservation but were seated quickly. We started with some water and ordered a tea and Joghurt soda. As entrees we chose the khoresht bodjeman and the fesenjoon. Food didn't take too long and was really good. The roasted eggplant was great as well as the lamb shank. The meatballs were tender and the sauce nicely flavored. The saffron rice was amazing, only the bread was a bid dry. Our server was friendly and attentive and it was a great meal overall. read more

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We were there to celebrate my dads birthday. I thought that it would be expensive but the selections specially the one shared by 2 was pleasantly surprised as it was plenty to share. Good & service was great! Will come back soon read more

The food is very delicious here! We ordered salad shirazi , chicken and beef koobideh, they are all very tasty with lots of flavors. The ambience of this restaurant is awesome, great decor and very spacious. The reason led me to this restaurant is because the owner Ayden provided a safe place for my daughter the other day while she was stalked by someone unknown, Ayden not only took her in right away, provided a safe shelter for her, but also calmed her down with his kindness. I have to come and thank you in person, Ayden! The good deed you made not only make this restaurant a good place to hangout and eat, but also symbols it is part of the community safe net. We should definitely support a great people and restaurants like Ayden and his restaurant. I just feel so grateful you are there when my girl needed the most. No words can express how much I appreciate you!!! Thank you !!! read more

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Worst Persian food I've ever had! I ordered tahdig topped with ghormeh sabzi, and it was ice cold. The tahdig was soggy, not crispy at all. I also got a barg and koobideh combo--while the koobideh was passable, it looked like someone had taken a bite from the top of the skewer. The barg kabob was absolutely terrible--the worst I've ever had in my life. It was completely inedible--no salt, no flavor, and an overpowering, unpleasant smell. To make matters worse, there was a fly floating in the white wine I ordered. Avoid this place at all costs! read more

If you're looking for a kebab with a side of verbal abuse, Alborz is the spot for you! The food? Decent enough. The service? A masterclass in passive-aggression. One waitress, in particular, stole the show. She made a whole production out of putting on latex gloves to, presumably, clear our plates. For a moment, I genuinely thought she was gearing up for a medical procedure--perhaps a colonoscopy? The vibe was anything but warm and welcoming. If sass and side-eye are your preferred seasoning, then this is your culinary paradise. Otherwise, save yourself the headache and kebab elsewhere. read more

I hope the owners take this as constructive criticism and improve the food quality because we do need good Persian cuisines in the area. I ordered Soltani. The kabob did not look grilled; my husband said it looked air fried. The meat had obviously been frozen and cooked slowly as you could see liquid had been oozing out of it. The rice was damp. The onioin, cheese and herbs were the best part of the food. read more

Alborz - I ordered well-done barg kabob. It doesn't look grilled, let alone well-done. - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

This Persian place was. Delight. Lovely place , excellent service , and the food was so good. We can't wait to come back. We had the sampler, shrimp app, sampler plate, and the baklava ice cream dessert. Heaven!! read more

Big party? Go elsewhere! Back in February, after looking on Yelp to find the best Mediterranean food in Berkeley/Oakland/Albany, we settled on Alborz for a birthday party of ten people including grandparents and a dear friend from out of town. What a huge, embarrassing mistake. On that night, there was only ONE WAITER in the ENTIRE RESTAURANT. We spoke to him about the issue and he said the OWNER/Manager, who was NOT ON SITE, knew about it. Our group received minimal service: one basket of pita for ten people & two mezze platters, late water refills, missing silverware, forgot our wine, no check-in, the list goes on. None of this was the waiter's fault, of course, but it had a terrible impact on the evening. I had hoped that the food itself would rescue the night; it didn't. When it finally arrived, there was nothing special about it. $300.00 later we left the restaurant feeling bad for our birthday girl whose party is now a family joke. If you have more than four people in your party, I recommend calling ahead to find out how many waiters are on staff that night. Stressing out a single waiter in hopes of increasing revenue is not cool. Thumbs down! read more

We had a disappointing experience here last evening. My friend had raved about his lamb shank with eggplant dish from a previous visit, so I tried to order it for me. The server brought the wrong food. After I realized it was not what I ordered and brought it to her attention she said that's what I ordered and walked away. I didn't want to escalate the problem but did not enjoy my beef with lentil. I will never return here again. read more

Thank you, this Persian food is so good. The koobedeh, yum and excellent rice... I really appreciate you providing this for us in Berkeley.

Gave me half a raw onion, a charred tomato,and 3 pieces of lamb no more than 30 grams of protein for $35. Definitely stay away, absolute scam. read more

Alborz took over Saturn Cafe's corner space. it's the same owner who was on center st. previously. infrastructure similar, tables, etc. upgraded. offerings: Persian, salads, eats: chicken koobiden (16.95) 2 big skewers of grounded chicken breast meat, with grilled vegetables, saffron rice, bread. -it's a massive serving of 2 almost 8" chicken koobiden skewers with a box full of saffron rice. chicken had subtle spices infused. no sauces came with it. -cooked fresh to order within 10 minutes. easily 2 meals (for most people) take outs: -easy parking. downtown is dead..... read more

Alborz - Outside standing sign - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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I decided to try this place out the other day. I'd walked by several times, the menu looked great and I was in time for their lunch special! I was greeted warmly by a tall young man and seated. I ordered the Aash Reshteh; a Persian noodle soup with veggies, pinto beans, fried onion and whey and it is DELICIOUS. It's thick, creamy and savory and the fried onion/whey combo is the perfect complement. I also ordered the Joogeh kabob which is grilled chicken marinated in lime, saffron and oil with a side of basmati rice and a grilled tomato. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the grilled tomato was very good. The rice was a bit dry and bland, even with the little cranberries on it. (Not a deterrent though. I didn't order this for the rice). The service was lovely. Fast, courteous, perfectly pleasant. The atmosphere is elegant and relaxed. I also went on a Monday at lunch by myself and loved it. I'm so glad i stopped by and look forward to coming back for the dinner experience. read more

Alborz - Aash Reshteh- the "cup" of soup is more than you imagine. More like a small bowl - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

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This was one of my favorite restaurants for over 15 years, starting with the San Francisco location and moving over to the center street location in Berkeley. There was immense hospitality offered by one of the older women who was a server and hostess, and the food was really on point. Fresh and vibrant salads, breads and appetizers. Savory grilled marinated Kabobs of various types and fluffy, well prepared basmati rice. After they moved around the corner close to the beginning of the pandemic things seem to have fallen off in the service department and the availability of things on the menu was also variable. I love Persian food and am a loyal customer based on the many years of positive experiences that I had, but hope that the management and owners are responsive when customers notice a distinct drop in quality. read more

This is one of my favorite places when I visit the Bay Area. I hope that my comments will be taken as constructive criticism. We ordered a Soltani and a chicken kabob. The meat was undercooked and the chicken was much overcooked and dry. The rice was cold in both dishes. And yes we started with a tahdig where nothing was crispy. It was a busy day as it was lunch time during the weekend. I really hope that this place goes back to its tradition of offering excellent Persian food. read more

Best Iranian cuisine in east bay. Food was well prepared and well seasoned, cooked to order. We ordered Tahdig with stew, stew tasted home cooked and fresh. Kabobs, we ordered Koobideh, Joojeh and Barg, were tasty although I preferred the Barg had more grill marks. The rice was fresh had hot out of the kitchen. Service was attentive. Prices are reasonable. I'll be back in no time. read more

Alborz - Great way to start! - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California

Service was great food was amazing Over all very good experience. If your in the area stop by they are one of the best

Disappointing Experience After Years of Enjoying This Place My family and I have been dining at Alborz for the past few years, and the food has always been great. However, my most recent visit was extremely disappointing. We ordered beef koobideh, chicken koobideh, Cornish hen, and the combo appetizer plate. While the meat was still tender and juicy as always, several issues with service and food really soured the experience. Firstly, our waitress, Daniella, who seemed new, was impatient while taking our order. When the appetizers arrived, the hummus was far too salty, and things only got worse when the rest of the food came. The salad had no dressing, so I asked for some, and Daniella brought out a side of watered-down dressing that tasted awful. After trying it, my wife and I both agreed it was inedible. When I mentioned this to her, she simply said, "That was the last of it," without any apology. To top it off, when I went to the restroom, there was a terrible sewage smell, making it hard to stay in there longer than necessary. Finally, when I got the bill, I noticed a 22% gratuity fee, even though the menu clearly states an 18% fee for parties of 6 or more. There were 5 of us, two of whom were toddlers sharing from our plates, and we also had a 3-month-old infant who was asleep in her car seat. Daniella counted the infant as a person, which I found ridiculous. She did eventually remove the gratuity when I pointed it out, along with the salad charge after I explained how bad the dressing was. I was ready to let it go until Daniella rudely commented on my tip, asking, "You're only leaving $1.60 tip?" I explained that I tip based on service, which was subpar. She then threatened that next time she would charge gratuity and I'd have to pay. There will not be a next time. I truly hope management looks into this because the food has always been good, but bad service like this can drive loyal customers away. Alborz used to have great vibes and friendly customer service, but this experience left a bad taste in my mouth. I won't be returning unless there's a serious change in staff and service quality. read more

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Berkeley!!! The food is so delicious and satisfying. I love the Turkish coffee and their rice with dill weed is phenomenal paired with any of their protein and wine selection. This place is a perfect spot for a date night or family night. Their appetizer became my favorite thing to eat in the morning now. Remarkably, Alborz changed the way I eat, incorporating additional onions, tomatoes, and herbs in my diet. Eiden and the wonderful lady gave us excellent service. I cannot wait to come back at least every month. You got me for life! read more

If you have any previous good experience with Persian foods, do yourself a favor and don't ruin it with dining in this place!

The koobideh with Zereshk polo (basmati rice with barberries and saffron) was so good! The koobideh was tender and juicy. The rice was aromatic, with the barberries adding a unique tartness. The bread was warm and soft. Everything was perfect. Don't forget to ask for sumac! Alborz's new-ish location on Allston and Oxford is right across from Gather and close to the Oxford Parking Garage. Their indoor seating looked very nice. They have two outdoor tables with an umbrella. Prices are comparable to Daryoush (a few blocks over on bustling Center Street), but Alborz has more indoor seating and a calmer outdoor atmosphere. If you're looking for something speedy and a little less expensive, then try Middle East Market on San Pablo. Overall, I highly recommend coming to Alborz for a nice sit down Persian meal. read more

Alborz - Koobideh with Zereshk Polo - Persian/Iranian Near Me - Berkeley, California