Parsian International Market and Deli

by Will R.

When ever I get a craving for some decent Persian food I hit up this place, no need to go downtown or to LA for places like Sadaf Orchid (unless you're looking to bump up your ambiance)... I go purely for the food and to stock up on some mid east goodies (Doogh, non carbonated with or without the mint, tons of middle eastern breads)...Get the Sultani, sure it's a bit higher priced compared to the rest of the menu, but the portions are huge (across the board) and you won't be disappointed (They have plenty of dishes that fall into the $8-$11 range too).It's also very much family style type cooking...Whenever my Mom comes into town we hit this place a few times and it gets my Persian seal of approval.

by Jamie L.

Love this place, both for its menu items as well as its grocery items. I've been here three times, and each time, I discover something else I like about the place. My husband and I are big fans of the fresh bread, which is big and round and flat and chewy and leathery (in a good way). Great with hummus or baba ganouj. You can get giant packages of all sorts of spices for $1.99, and a variety of imported goods, including Iranian CDs. The homemade yogurt dips are excellent (though kind of expensive!) and the kabob is tasty. I think the people who work there are also very friendly, and take pride in their store. I prefer this place to the Balboa International Market, though they are different enough from each other that I still go to both.

by Kristi M.

A co-worker introduced me to this little gem of a restaurant/market. When we pulled up to what used to be an old McDonald's building I have to admit I was fearing that my lunch was going to take a turn for the worse, boy was i wrong!  The portions are huge, so if you are looking for the after lunch work coma, i highly recommend.  I had the chicken kabob plate which comes with a type of flat bread, basmati rice, and a cucumber-ish salad.  They also have beef, veggie and other similar combos.  The hummus is great as well.  Inside there is a small store with all Persian foods, spices, kinck knacks etc..  They have a small patio too, a perfect lunch spot i'm adding to my rotation!

by Luna L.Zinzan R.

I go here for all my Persian food, and I like to take friends for lunch and dinner. You get a lot of food for your money and everything is always delicious. It is so much cheaper than the other Persian restaurants and you get just the same if not better service and quality of food. Not only is the food good but the products you can buy are awesome too,  i love the breads that they prepare daily and if you are brave enough to try the Doug ( I'm not sure how to spell it but the Persian yogurt drink) which i love but most my friends hate :pI am surprised to see so many negative reviews. I have never had a bad experience with food here and I eat here once a week. I think the reason people complain about it is because they go for the "easy" stuff like chicken kabob. Iran and Persia is mainly a high desert, folks and there are not that many rivers there. The food is DRY. The food is not spicy because spices don't grow in semi-arid lands.Try the stews and think outside the bun/wrap! Why do people go to ethnic places and then chicken out to eat what looks the most familiar? Be adventurous and try stuff!  Persian Ice cream, Store-made flatbread (Naan-e-Sangak), Cornucopia of nuts and seeds, kookoo, yogurt dips, Lebni cheese, Ak-mak whole wheat cracker bread. If you must eat the chicken, squeeze a lemon over it or melt some butter on it. Or use the tzatziki or Lebni or other yogurt dip. Do something.If you feel I am pontificating, note that I am not Persian, I am just adventurous. Unless you risk some, you don't gain much. This place keeps on making me happy week after week. The owners are very friendly (you pay after you…

by Nora S.

Very, very good Persian food for much cheaper than Persian food normally is.  We only tried a couple of the stews.  Those were really  tasty and even better than some of the fancier sit-down restaurants.  Plus, I was able to buy some hard to find stuff at the market.  Staff was super friendly.  I made some Persian food this weekend with the items I bought at their market.  Turned out very good!

by Karolin M.

I like this place. Its a good place to go when you are in need of some home style food (especially if you're middle eastern!). I've only ever ordered the Fesenjoon but it's pretty good (not how my mum makes it, but what they hey.. !). The serving sizes are very decent and plentiful. They tend to throw in a salad with most of their meals it seems also. Mind you, their selection of drinks in the fridge tends to be lacking, so anyone who prefers 'diet' drinks will be out of luck 9 times out of 10.The seating isn't much to talk about also. There's only a few random tables and wobbly chairs to sit on at the back of the store, but they do accomodate and bring your food out fairly quickly if you decide to eat in.  If you go during the week, be prepared to be the only person if not, just one of two sitting at the tables. The prices are very decent for the meals ($7 - $14), but when it comes to the actual grocery items, they're definitely priced up anywhere from $3-$10 more than if you were to buy them from other persian markets.Overall, good, tasty, take out food.

by Steve B.

I am a big fan of cultural delis. I have to to say I probably eat at this Iranian Deli 1-2 times a week. Can't get enough of the combination #1, beef kabobs. Great Market!

by Luna L.Zinzan R.Adam M.Britney C.

I go here for all my Persian food, and I like to take friends for lunch and dinner. You get a lot of food for your money and everything is always delicious. It is so much cheaper than the other Persian restaurants and you get just the same if not better service and quality of food. Not only is the food good but the products you can buy are awesome too,  i love the breads that they prepare daily and if you are brave enough to try the Doug ( I'm not sure how to spell it but the Persian yogurt drink) which i love but most my friends hate :pI am surprised to see so many negative reviews. I have never had a bad experience with food here and I eat here once a week. I think the reason people complain about it is because they go for the "easy" stuff like chicken kabob. Iran and Persia is mainly a high desert, folks and there are not that many rivers there. The food is DRY. The food is not spicy because spices don't grow in semi-arid lands.Try the stews and think outside the bun/wrap! Why do people go to ethnic places and then chicken out to eat what looks the most familiar? Be adventurous and try stuff!  Persian Ice cream, Store-made flatbread (Naan-e-Sangak), Cornucopia of nuts and seeds, kookoo, yogurt dips, Lebni cheese, Ak-mak whole wheat cracker bread. If you must eat the chicken, squeeze a lemon over it or melt some butter on it. Or use the tzatziki or Lebni or other yogurt dip. Do something.If you feel I am pontificating, note that I am not Persian, I am just adventurous. Unless you risk some, you don't gain much. This place keeps on making me happy week after week. The owners are very friendly (you pay after you… In my continuing mission to eat at every ethnic market with a grill, today's stop was Parsian International Market and Deli.I have a long history with Persian food - many of my closest friends are Persian, so I have spent many happy times sharing and learning from them, and being fed by Grandmother...Today's special was chicken koobideh - a ground chicken kebab. This is a dish that can tell me whether I'll be making a return trip (it's like ordering octopus or squid in a Greek restaurant). Too often this is a dish that can be rubbery and dry - this was perfect, like my friend's granny used to make.I will definately be working my way through the menu here.Special note: The market is also small, but very well-stocked an includes items not often carried by other Persian markets in the area - they also had a nice selection of hard-to-find Turkish items as well, which was a pleasant surprise.I attended this restaurant based on the fabulous reviews it received on yelp and frankly, I have a bone to pick with you yelpers, who give stars out so haphazardly.  This is the 3rd time I've gone to a highly reviewed place and the results were not only unsatisfactory, but abysmal.  A Persian friend of mine was in town visiting from Texas and I wanted to impress him by taking him to a eat great Iranian food. So after reading the reviews, I insisted on this place.  Big mistake!  I didn't want to finish my plate even though I was pretty hungry.  The food was cold, bland, and the meat was very dry.  My friend, of course, told me that this was the worst Iranian food he's ever had and was disappointed that this was my first experience with it......Let down by fellow yelpers again.  :(  C'mon guys, we're here to help each other find those underground gems of the city, as cheesy as that sounds, it's true. On a positive note, the market was pretty cool, with a wide selection of Iranian foods and spices.  We did purchase some baked goods (which were really awesome), and a few other things.  The prices were ok, but not overly cheap or anything.Overall, go there for the market, but not the deli.

by Erin D.

Thank you Yelp!  I looked up a place to eat in Kearny Mesa for lunch and hit this hot spot.  Delicious food, a great market, and very nice owners.  The bread was ridiculously good too.  I need to go back to try all of their soups, the descriptions sounded amazing.

by A R.

I've reviewing the food offered at the market.  So far, I've had it twice and noticed two things negative: meat is consistently dry and has already been cooked once (meaning they re-heat it and brush some meat juice on it--don't call BS because I watched the cook do it).  The rice definitely needs a topping of zaffron for flavor, but with plenty of somac, it can be made to balance out.  At least the pricing is not outrageous, but in Orange or LA county, you can get better quality.  San Diego's Persian places are much more expensive than either of those places, and the quality is not quite the same.Everything else of this quaint little place is awesome.  Halva, Bourani, and all the stuff I like to buy is ready (either canned or through the multiple friglets they have there).It is interesting because there seems to be more Persian men that frequent the place...hardly any Persian women.