If I could give them negative stars I would. This is the second time I have ordered for take out for a gathering and have called hours in advance. At pick up time they never have the food ready and never communicate in between that they won't be able to be ready in time. Always have to wait an extra 20-30 minutes . The customer service is horrible and they cut corners to make a buck where ever they can. The manager was not helpful and rude. My last time coming here and ordering from them! read more

The food here is great and the service is exceptional The hummus is good Also the pita is crispy and the dishes of food are huge The desert is good Defiantly try this place out read more

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Asalamalakum , This restaurant has very poor costumer service the food dry and very unauthentic Persian cuisine. The staff were rude and refuse to give refund for untouched food. Their egg plant very sour and minty. The only ones who think this is good are non-middle easterners bc their meat is very dry! read more

Delicious food! Really kind and welcoming staff! The tahdig was delicious--we ordered the one with both gheymeh & ghormeh sabzi (which were delicious) and the tahdig never got soggy! Great portions and I love that they have Diet Coke. Wish I lived closer--I'd go there all the time! read more

Heidar Baba - Middle Eastern Near Me - Pasadena, California

This is absolutely my favorite Persian restaurant! I will travel great distances for their Koobideh. The grilled vegetables (tomato, onion, green chile) is deliciously seasoned and a great addition to the soft and hot Basmati rice. They have a great pricing structure, and if you are lucky to come between 11 and 4pm, you can get the lunch prices for a good amount of food. I also recommend the chicken kabob, lentil soup, salads, and Persian tea! This place is wonderful. The best tip I can give you is to go to this restaurant when you have plenty of time because some times the servers can be rather slow. read more

Heidar Baba - Koobideh lunch special - Middle Eastern Near Me - Pasadena, California

This place ALWAYS delivers. The portions are HUGE as well. My favorite thing they have is the tahdig with the two stews. Hands down my favorite. If you like good persian food definitely check this place out! read more

I was really excited to eat here after a 7 mile hike per positive yelp reviews and the fact that when we called they were so kind and accommodating to me and my group of 14. However as soon as we arrived is started to go down hill. First thing is first, it took us over 30 minutes to order and pay while receiving attitude from cashier. Due to knowing how stressful food service is and the fact they were accommodating us we brushed it off. After ordering we were informed we can sit and that our names will be called when food was ready. We waited a long time to get our food and 3 people were not informed their food was ready but was placed on the side of the cashier, but the food was hot so we brushed it off again due to us trying to be understanding. However I was the second of my party to order and I had not received my food. I went up to the cashier and saw another bag of food on the side I thought maybe they forgot to call my name like the other 3 people from my table. I asked cashier if that was my order and was told no. After waiting another 5-10 minutes I went back and asked if my food was almost done due to my whole party of 14 already receiving their food and I did not. The cashier then informed me that it was my food and that she had lost the ticket but it was my food and it was ready. After taking my order out of my bag I noticed that fries were missing. I went back and informed her I was missing fries and was given attitude and told she'll bring it in 2 minutes. Once I started eating, with hope that the food would be worth all the bad service, I was severely disappointed. The rice has no flavour, the seasoning on the koobideh was horrible, and the kashk e bademjan, my favorite dish, had no salt! I love Middle Eastern and Persian food, it's one of my favourite cuisine due to its flavours, so you can imagine my disappointment that salt, the most basic seasoning, was missing in "flavourful" Persian restaurant. My fries were also barely fried and also had no salt. In fact the whole party did not enjoy their food and me and 1 other person threw up directly. Me and my friend that threw up and 1 other person who couldn't eat their food at all were able to get a refund, after a arguing with the cashier and a rude customer, who had the support of the cashier who was yelling and trying to shame us because we did not like the meats, not because she's had it before( she doesn't eat meat) but because others said it was good. The only reason I am giving them 2 star instead of a 1 star is because we finally got our refund and their yogurt was good. read more

We came for Mother's Day. It's the most amazing, delicious, family run restaurant and they treat you like family too! We had the steak kabob, chicken breast kabob, chicken thigh kabob, and some other meat roll thing that was lamb I believe. The kabobs, especially the chicken thigh, was the best I've ever had! Came with a charbroiled tomato and pepper and it was all so yummy, that we ordered all the same for takeout the next week! I can't recommend this place more. The service, the deliciousness, and the prices were all perfection!! read more

After a 7 hour hike, my friends and I came to the decision to eat out. Long story short, the place was absolute trash. The food was NOT seasoned. Costumer service was TERRIBLE!!! Idk who gave them this rating bc this experience was an absolute no go. I DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS PLACE TO ANYBODY!! NOT EVEN TO MY WORST ENEMY! Have a good rest of your day :) read more

Heidar Baba - Outside - Middle Eastern Near Me - Pasadena, California

If you are looking for authentic, flavorful, fresh, and delicious halal Persian food, Heidar Baba is the best! I highly recommend their spicy koobideh kabobs (chicken or beef), which are juicy and so tasty! Their portions are huge and will provide excellent leftovers. Each entree comes on a bed of heaping, fragrant Persian basmati rice. Pro tip: ask for the Zereshk Polo (barberry rice) with the spicy chicken koobideh plate. The tangy sweetness of the barberry rice perfectly complements the savory, juicy goodness of the kabob! I also love getting the Maast-o-Khiar (cucumber yogurt) as a side with kabob dishes for the cool and crunchy texture it adds to the entree. So far everything I have tried here has been delicious (including the fries!). Since my mouth is watering as I write this review, I am certain I will be back again soon! read more

Heidar Baba - Middle Eastern Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Was looking for a good takeout option, and this place didn't disappoint! Ordered the Soltani (Barg/filet mignon + beef koobideh) and the Lamb Soltani (lamb filet + lamb koobideh). The beef was nicely grilled and tasty. But the lamb was next-level! The lamb filet and the lamb koobideh were both so juicy and delicious. This sounds strange, but I was also really surprised by the rice, which was quite flavorful. Usually rice is just a nice side dish but they add a little something special here. The portions were generous for both dishes, though I guess that might be expected with the price. Be ready to EAT or make sure you've got someone to share with. read more

In the mood for chicken kebab so we stop by this place since we got Lucky , found a spot on the street right in front of the restaurant . Order boneless white chicken kebab . OMG when it came out it look like it could feed 2 or 3 person. Well depends how much you eat. Also come with salad or soup which I don really care. Bread and with humus. Great taste , fresh , delicious Basti rice and big portions. $16.95 each I think I paid. Anyway took home half of it . read more

I have been at Heidar Baba a couple of times. Although food is awesome (with a wide variety of options), but the service lacks good customer service and punctuality. It used to be impressive before, but have been going downhill for the past few months. Hope they fix this ASAP, before they keep losing their loyal and regular customers. The fact that they serve halal food might be one of the few reasons I will go there again. Or maybe I'll just go there for take-out orders. read more

Absolutely positively AMAZING. You HAVE to try this place when you get the chance! The food is always fresh, mouth watering and CONSISTENT!!!! You will NEVER taste a more juicier or tender lamb shank anywhere!! Honestly all their meats are cooked to perfection! Have been coming here for years with the family and it is a highly recommend place!! Service is also friendly and that's always important for me. read more

Heidar Baba - Middle Eastern Near Me - Pasadena, California

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So far I like the spot for homemade cooking for one whom lives in a STUDIO @StandleyApart.?Meants?$WITHbnoKitchen&NOgheat!?$

I met my friend for dinner at this place and she drove all the way from Long Beach by expecting the foods to be as good as the middle eastern foods in other locations. The beef and lamb spicy koobideh was not spicy and dried. The maste khiar was runny and plain also and the superking Ja jig is a lot better taste. My friend was trying to order dolmeh on the menu and the lady said they didn't have it and when I did it's on the menu and she said it's only in the menu. I ordered Rack of lamb to take home for my husband and I'll report it by tomorrow after. The only thing was good is the presentation of the foods on the plate and the restaurant ceiling decors is good. Lastly, the lady took our water glasses away eventhough we were still at our seats and chatting and the restaurant was empty. read more

Yummyyy! And it's in Pasadena! Arggh! Their veggie kebabs are amazing. And they have mushroom burgers for the vegetarians amongst us.

Honestly, it's pretty good food from what I remember .. Upick in Pasadena is much better in comparison (at least to me). The hummus I received form Heidar last time was made last minute with clumps of garbanzo beans not fully blended and no seasoning... read more

I've tried lots of dishes here, and I can tell you their specialties are the chicken and rice dishes. The grill master gets that stuff done right every time. You're gonna find yourself waiting for your meal (the meat is not undercooked and finished off like at some fine establishments, yeah, they really do that) the old man knows his stuff. His apprentice is not bad either. Once it arrives it's served piping hot, please wait a minute or two, I know you're a monster, but give it time. Make love to it. So eat the white stuff, or the dark, or ground...either way it will be juicy and plump. Try the rice mixed-in with herbs and/or berries. It will add a whole new dimension in taste sensations. read more

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I was in Iran and lived there for 5 years long ago and greatly developed my taste for authentic Iranian food. Dining at Heider Baba reminded me the same great taste of Persian food that I enjoyed in nice restaurants in Tehran. The service was incomparable. I could tell with the first bite the quality of fresh meat. I would highly recommend Heider Baba Restaurant to develop your taste to the most fresh and real tasty authentic food. Keep it up Heider Baba! Two thumbs up. read more

Heidar Baba - Middle Eastern Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Order Delivery Chicken Kebab Entree (Dark Meat ; Big Portion Rice) , Chicken Kebab A La Carte (Dark Meat) , Beef Koobideh A La Carte. 1st Time Try ; Very Good Taste. Enjoyed. read more

I love Persian food. I love the fact that they are Halal. I also like the fact that they give the mother of all portions for their entrees. My favorites are the chicken kabob and Zereshk Polow. Services could have been a little better considering that there were hardly any guests there. read more

The food is always good. The portions of food are gigantic. You can easily share an entree with someone and still have left overs. The chicken is seasoned well and the rice is wonderful. I eat it till it's all gone. Great Persian food ! This place is definitely in my rotation of places that I return to on a regular basis. read more

Pretty darn good Persian food for Pasadena!! I've tried the barg (filet steak), koobideh (ground beef) and jujeh (chicken) kabobs. All were tasty, juicy and fresh. Like most Persian places, it all comes with grilled tomatoes, raw onions and pitas or lavash (flat bread) and butter. Order the family style for take out and you'll eat for a week! Service is great! They are very nice and super friendly. Definitely coming back...preferably for take out though...parking. read more

Everything I've tried here has been really good. This is our go to spot for middle eastern food in Pasadena. The koobideh is probably the best I've tried in the Pasadena area. The chicken kabob is really good as well. I also love the barley soup, which is a meal in itself. When you order the plates it's really big enough for two people. Even their hamburger and fries are excellent. It's an old school burger with steak fries, but it's big and the beef is juicy and tasty. The service is good for the most part. Sometimes the servers are overwhelmed, but they are always friendly. We even had their food catered and it was a lot of food for the price. I definitely recommend this place. read more

Usually love the food but the service and the food have both suffered greatly recently!! I've gone in a couple of times for pick up recently- ordering for my whole family... and the food doesn't taste as good as it used to. Really hope they'll make some improvements - I'll try again soon. read more

Absolutely love this place. The meat is perfectly cooked, seasoned, and marinated. The Barg (steak) is a must order, and the white meat chicken is tender, juicy, and absolutely delicious! Also, they offer all their kabab a la carte in case you don't want rice, so this is the perfect spot for a delicious low carb lunch or dinner. The muste khiar (cucumber yogurt dip) is one of the best I've had as well. The restaurant is well kept with lots of booths and some nice Mediterranean music playing. Great for dates, family dinners, or groups of friends. You can't go wrong here. This is my wife's new favorite place to come, and although it's about a 35 minute drive for us, it is always worth the trip! read more

Heidar Baba has been on my radar for a while, as I've been quite curious about Persian/Iranian food. It might be sort of surprising that my first visit was so delayed, since this place is just across the street from campus. The reason for the delay was because I've been on a sushi craze lately, so I didn't really get a chance to drop by, until there came a day that I was short on cash and remembered that this place had posters for $6.95 lunch specials plastered onto its windows. While just one visit to a single establishment is certainly not enough to judge an entire type of cuisine, I like what I've tried so far from here and with more than justifiable lunch prices, my patronage to Heidar Baba will definitely be recurring. Other reviewers who've mentioned large portion sizes have hit the mark: a single lunch combo alone is enough to feed two people. I selected the lamb koobideh combo from the lunch special menu, which included basmati rice and a salad. On top of that, a meal includes a complimentary side of pita bread and a platter of pickles, basil, a yellow pepper and a pat of butter. It's great that a free starter is included, but let's just put it this way... if it had cost even just a dollar, I would not have ordered the pita and platter. The pita was cold, dry and bland... Not great, and the other stuff on the plate didn't do much to help its cause either. Perhaps I'm only complaining because I'm not used to eating pita bread without hummus, (though that would have made eating it immensely more enjoyable), so try not to roll your eyes while reading this, if I come off as ignorant and oblivious to some cultural eating tradition, i.e., having pita without hummus. You'll have to excuse my unworldliness. I won't count the pita and other meze against them however, seeing as both were free of charge. On a different note, I'm happy to report that the lamb koobideh and basmati rice were phenomenal! While the difference between kebab and koobideh is still not quite clear to me, I thoroughly enjoyed the lamb koobideh. Warm, tender, juicy, flavorful--every quality a meat lover could ever ask for. The only problem? The lunch combo comes with just one! You would think that after a lifetime of eating rice nearly every day, you would hardly be impressed with being served rice as a main dish at an eatery--and for that matter, you'd be sorely wrong. From what I've experienced, Heidar Baba may serve what is my favorite basmati rice. The grains of rice are nice and long, and portions are huge, though truthfully, I use this word too liberally; huge is an understatement. I enjoyed every spoonful, as the rice was clearly well-cooked, made evident by its wonderfully soft texture and subtle but savory seasonings. I can't really comment on the salad, as I left it barely touched after I was done with the rice and koobideh. It was fresh, I suppose. The lettuce was crisp and the lone broccoli was a nice touch. You have a giant's stomach and should seriously consider starting your own Man vs Food series if you're not full by the time your plate is clear. There was no shortage of tables, with the majority of customers coming by to pick up their orders for take-out, rather than dining in. Not that this place is inhospitable; I found nothing wrong at all with the atmosphere actually. But for most, time is a luxury and most people would rather spend their lunchtime doing something else, I guess, based on the amount of students and businessmen I observed walking in and out. So don't let all the empty seats stop you from coming here. Plus, it's nice to be eating in a peaceful and quiet setting every once in a while, isn't it? With all the transient customers, it's understandable that the servers would give less attention to people dining-in, and even less to anybody not considered a regular. Nevertheless, I was kind of annoyed at how difficult it was to get a server's attention, especially since a couple of workers seemed to be more engaged in their own conversations than their jobs. It took a while for me to get refills and the check. For the most part though, the servers were amiable, even if a bit neglectful. If you have yet to familiarize yourself with Persian cuisine, Heidar Baba is an excellent place to start. With such inexpensive prices and enormous portions, you'll miss out on a great opportunity to do so if you decide to skip out on a visit. read more

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Heidar Baba is currently serving a crispy chicken burger and it is sooooo good!!! They're only serving for a limited time, but hoping and praying it becomes a regular menu item!!! You all have to try it! read more

Overall fine experience. Nothing to rave about and probably wouldn't return, but it's good if you are hungry and want to experience Persian food. Food: Ordered the Soltani which had ground beef in a skewer shape and filet mignon. The filet mignon was tender and flavorful, but the ground beef left much to be desired. I will say that the portions were huge, which justifies the $25 since you can split with another person. The meal was just really bland, and the rice wasn't a great quality. It came with two grilled tomatoes and a side of soup, which were fine as well. Service: Slow even though there were barely any people seated in the restaurant. Had to flag down the waitress several times. Ambiance: Lots of seating and huge tables for larger parties. read more

Not the best Kabob considering the price, their portions was big enough, salad was delicious.

Ash-e jo : same as you would eat in Iran. So rich and flavorful. Gheymeh bademjoon: Same . Guys this is truly prime Persian food . Service , meh ... but I still don't mind because the food is soooo good :) read more

I love Persian food. My partner is Persian and he cooks the best Persian food. This place is OK. I found the Khoobideh to be overcooked and dry and the Gheymeh watery, and not cooked enough. But being the only Persian place in Pasadena, it is good for a lunch time fix of Persian food. It does not compare to the Persian restaurants on the Westside! read more

Heidar Baba - Gheymeh stew and Persian rice. - Middle Eastern Near Me - Pasadena, California

I'm a big lover of Mediterranean food where its been my comfort food since college. Looking for a place so I can dine in and celebrate my quarantined 30th, I happen to find this place near PCC. I ordered the Zereshk Polo and my boyfriend had the lamb koobideh. And good Lord.... The portions were massive!!! I felt the need to turn into a cow to acquire 3 more stomachs! The barberries over my saffron rice were perfectly tart and sweet, which made the large portions much less heavy. Unfortunately the chicken breast was cooked on the drier side. But the lamb koobideh was well seasoned and the usual gaminess that can make or break lamb meats was nowhere to be found. All in all I would say the food here is above average to most Mediterranean places and is a good option for a Mediterranean quick fix. read more

I had not been to this restaurant for several years. I recently went back for dinner. The quality of food has improved significantly. The quantity of the food is excellent. Service was excellent. I will certainly try to go there more often read more

There aren't many places near Pasadena that compare in quality and taste to this place. Their eggplant served w warm pita awake your senses. Their Ash soup will comfort and soothe you. And they are generous with their portion of Olivieh salad, which goes amazing w their lentils soup. Their Chelow kabab melts in your mouth and the zeresh pollo is to die for. Their chicken kabob is juicy and tender and full of flavors that awaken almost all aspects of your tastebuds. Their bed of rice a fluffy delicious cloud sun kissed by the saffron God. Their portions always enough for a little lunch the next day. Try everything or anything on the menu. You won't be disappointed. read more

I'm pretty picky about Persian food, but this hit the spot! A little pricey but one dish can easily be shared. I'd go back since I don't mind eating two days in a row. Cucumber yogurt is delish! read more

The food portions are great. I ordered the Lamb Soltani kabob plate, which came with TWO plates of basmanti rice (yes, one for each person!). This plate came with the Barg (tender cut of filet mignon) and Koobideth (ground beef kabob). The meat was flavored so well. For $27, we got plenty of food for two people and ended up with enough leftovers for lunch the next day. These combos also allow you to choose your choice of salad or soup of the day. The only downside is that service is pretty terrible. We sat at a booth for about ten minutes before we saw anybody come out to greet us and give us menus. All in all, we had to be very patient because there just wasn't anyone to help us (to order, to ask for more water, to pay). I'll probably come back, but wish they'd work on the service. read more

I love this place. I have been coming here with my family for years. The meat is so savory, the appetizer is quite appetizing, the rice is tangy and delectable, and the service is wonderful! They don't take decade to make your food like some places, and their Persian food is as authentic as it gets. I especially love the Spicy Koobideh and the White Chicken Kabob. They have the best halal Middle Eastern food in SoCal! read more

Customer service is all above and beyond specially when you running a restaurant business you should be give perfect service otherwise even if your food is fabulous my experience here was ridiculous I ordered a plate of chicken salad without rice and I get the dish but without any bread when I asked for bread twice I answered I'll bring it right away but unfortunately I didn't see any bread and even no body ask me for any further service I wanted to have desert with tea but no body pay attention to me it's weird and non professional specially for restaurant that has been in this business for long time I wish the best for the owner and his business but I guess I won't repeat this place again read more

Heidar Baba - Middle Eastern Near Me - Pasadena, California

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