Shahrzad Fine Persian Cuisine

by Shandy D.

My husband and I eat here frequently, and I think it is one of the best restaurants and best values in the Sacramento region.Quite simply, Persian food is delicious.  I was first introduced to Persian food while a grad student in Davis and ate frequently at Ali Babas (review forthcoming).  Since then, I was so happy once this restaurant opened.  Whether you are a fan of trying anything and everything ethnic and different (such as myself and my husband), or you like to "play it safe" and eat what you know, you will find something delicious here.I have two favorite meals at this restaurant.  The first is the Gheymeh and the second is the Lubia Polo.  Gheymeh is a delicious stew of the most tender beef in a tomato saffron sauce with split peas with a side of delicious, fluffy, basmati rice drizzled with saffron butter.  Lubia Polo is very tender beef cooked in spices (and I detect hints of cinnamon and cardamom) with green beans mixed with basmati rice in a light sauce.  Another delicious meal is the Zereshk Polo.  This meal consists of chicken breasts or thighs cooked in a tomato saffron sauce with a side of basmati rice mixed with barberries.  Barberries are a dried, tart berry and add such a wonderful flavor to this dish.In addition to the stewed dishes above, there are plenty of kebab dishes.  For those who are afraid to branch out into the stew category, get a kebab.  They do an excellent job cooking the meat, fish, or chicken.  As a matter of fact, hubby and I have taken our parents to this restaurant, some of whom are very afraid to try new, exotic dishes, and they loved this restaurant.   The prices here are great.  Granted,  the kebabs made with fillet mignon are a little pricier, but it's fillet mignon.  They recently raised the prices on the stews it seems, and they are now around $11.99.  Great deal.  You get a lot of food for that price.  I usually have leftovers to take home and eat for lunch the next day.  In addition, you always get a plate of herbs, homemade cheese, and pitas to start with.If you get a stew, order the Must (homemade plain yogurt).  Must is a must and it's a great condiment to the meal.The atmosphere is very nice and the service is excellent.  It's a great date restaurant.  And, if you come on Friday or Saturday, you can probably get belly dancing entertainment.

by Jeff B.

They are very different than most of the choices in Sacramento.  They get a little busy during lunch, but their food is always satisfying.  If you come during the night at 8:30 there is a hookah bar next door that opens up, and if you have never tried smoking flavored tobacco from a hookah it can be kind of fun, even if you don't normally smoke.  The parking can sometime be a problem if you come during the day time.  You can find a place but you might need to walk a little.

by angel v.

Yummy food. Koobedeh is soo good. Try it. You will love it.

by Tiffany K.

Loved the food here. Okay, so maybe I'm not a connoisseuse of Persian food, but I DO know GOOD food. This place came highly recommended by our Persian waiter-friend at Mirabelle Cafe as well as fellow Yelper Gerry K. Located in the "industrial" area of Sunrise Blvd, it's on the way to Costco and you pass up some tiling warehouses and a strip bar. (I think that's what you call it, it's not like a "strip mall"; it's a place where they serve alcohol and women are topless.)Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised by the elegant-yet-welcoming ambiance. The service was brisk yet friendly and answered all my questions about Persian food (I tend to ask a lot of questions at restaurants). The first thing that we received was a basket of pita breads, butter, and a plate containing radishes, feta cheese, fresh mint cilantro and a half of Spanish onion. Apparently you make little "sandwiches" as an appetizer. It was surprisingly refreshing!Spouse and I both ordered stews. I got the Fessenjoon ($12.99) described as "a sweet-and-tart walnut puree and pomegranate sauce, served over braised chicken". Delicious! Never had anything like it before. Don't let the color of it turn you off; as it's sort of a brownish color.Greg got the Gheymeh  ($11.99) "sauteed diced beef prepared with onions, and yellow split peas in a saffron tomato sauce, topped with slivered fried potatoes". You can really taste the saffron and the flavor combinations were unlike anything I was accustomed to, but had you wanting more. Both dishes came with a huge servings of saffron rice. Combined with the rice, both dishes were so filling, we had some left over for lunch the next day. Even if you are not familiar with Persian food (my only previous experience has been with dolmehs kabobs), it's worth a venture out this way. Next door is a bar/hookah lounge. Unfortunately I lacked energy to wait for it to open, but a mellow hookah would be a great end to a lovely Persian meal.

by Jeremy C.

My wife and I dine here quite often for dinner.  We use to go here so often that the waiter knew our order!  I usually have the filet migon over basmati rice with saffron.  And she has the trout with salad.  The filet migon is so tender, I cut it with a fork.  Only complaint is to go half rice and half salad, it's an extra $2 per order; totally not worth it, she just orders the salad and I order the rice and share.

by Chris B.

Tried a kebab dish here a while ago and wasn't terribly impressed.  To me, the food seemed underseasoned and somewhat dry.  I held off writing a review until a return visit.I must've ordered the wrong thing during my first visit, because a more recent trip here for lunch with associates from work turned out to be a great dining experience.  This time I had the lamb shank with tomato saffron sauce over rice with dried cranberries.  It was fantastic!  The lamb literally fell off the bone, and the tartness of the cranberries against the delicate seasoning of the rice was a perfect contrast.  Maybe the sweetest thing was that one of my colleagues picked up the check.It goes to show that you can find a silver lining in a cloud sometimes (the silver lining, in this case being Shahrzad, and the cloud, Rancho Cordova).

by Kevin H.

Excellent food and service.  Shahrzad is Rancho Cordova's best kept secret.  Flavorful, creative and perfectly cooked meats.  Lots of food for the cost (low/medium priced).   I took a group here once and they still talk about it.  Quiet, clean atmosphere with lots of space.  Family and group  friendly.  I hope more people try this place so they stick around.

by Cathleya G.

I sat next to an Iranian girl on a flight once and asked her where to come for Persian food in Sacramento.  She pointed me here.  Ridiculously huge portions.  I'm not a Persian connoisseur but I really loved this place, and when I'm craving something out of the ordinary (and I'm REALLY REALLY hungry), no doubt I'll come here again.  The service is very friendly and the myriad of dishes we tried were all excellent.

by N. M.Tiffany K.Wanda G.Sunny L.Gerry K.

The food is fabulous and so is the service. Moving here from S. Cali, the capital of good Persian food (and being Iranian myself) I was devastated that Famous Kabob (not bad for a local place) is the only good place to go for Cheloh Kabob. This is a bit of a drive but much better food. One star is taken away because it's a bit pricey, but it's not like I eat there every day so I can live with that. Last time I had their baghali pollo lucnh special and was blown away by how juicy and spciy their lamb was - YUMM! Oh and their house salad dressing is finger licking good.Loved the food here. Okay, so maybe I'm not a connoisseuse of Persian food, but I DO know GOOD food. This place came highly recommended by our Persian waiter-friend at Mirabelle Cafe as well as fellow Yelper Gerry K. Located in the "industrial" area of Sunrise Blvd, it's on the way to Costco and you pass up some tiling warehouses and a strip bar. (I think that's what you call it, it's not like a "strip mall"; it's a place where they serve alcohol and women are topless.)Once inside, I was pleasantly surprised by the elegant-yet-welcoming ambiance. The service was brisk yet friendly and answered all my questions about Persian food (I tend to ask a lot of questions at restaurants). The first thing that we received was a basket of pita breads, butter, and a plate containing radishes, feta cheese, fresh mint cilantro and a half of Spanish onion. Apparently you make little "sandwiches" as an appetizer. It was surprisingly refreshing!Spouse and I both ordered stews. I got the Fessenjoon ($12.99) described as "a sweet-and-tart walnut puree and pomegranate sauce, served over braised chicken". Delicious! Never had anything like it before. Don't let the color of it turn you off; as it's sort of a brownish color.Greg got the Gheymeh  ($11.99) "sauteed diced beef prepared with onions, and yellow split peas in a saffron tomato sauce, topped with slivered fried potatoes". You can really taste the saffron and the flavor combinations were unlike anything I was accustomed to, but had you wanting more. Both dishes came with a huge servings of saffron rice. Combined with the rice, both dishes were so filling, we had some left over for lunch the next day. Even if you are not familiar with Persian food (my only previous experience has been with dolmehs kabobs), it's worth a venture out this way. Next door is a bar/hookah lounge. Unfortunately I lacked energy to wait for it to open, but a mellow hookah would be a great end to a lovely Persian meal.If you're in the mood to try something new and different from the same old thing - you must try Persian food and it must be at Shahrzad! I will admit I am not the most adventurous person when it comes to different types of food. I have been to Shahrzad about 10 times now. Each time the food has been wonderful! It is fresh and spicy and delish. The service is friendly and efficient. Happy and cheerful. With any of the entrees you can have them give you half salad and half rice for a bit extra. I suggest this highly - the salad is to die for. They won't tell me the secret ingredients in the dressing! I like to have the chicken breast skewer - yum. yum. Okay, wait...I don't think I can finish my review because I have to go there now. Drats, It's only 7:45 am.This place was sorta difficult to find because other restaurants surround this place; nonetheless, it was worth finding this place. The decor is nice and the ambiance was good. The place accommodated large groups. We had about 12 people and there were other large groups in the restaurant. :) The place gives you complimentary  pita for the group. It was good for complimentary. The group orders and the food comes up like hot pancakes! :) I mean fast FAST! The portions are hu-gantic but you pay a little more for it. The quality is above par and worth trying. On a bad note, the ice cream we tried had too much rose water and it was difficult to consume.. :(. Overall, this place is definitely recommended to try.Pros: Fast, Decor, RoomyCons: Ice Cream, Kind of hiddenRating: 4.0 Flat :)This is my first visit to a Persian restaurant in the Sac area. I used to frequent Persian and similar types of restaurants when I lived in the Bay Area -- it's an aromatic, relatively mild, savory cuisine that suits my tastes.First, the staff at this restaurant is very friendly as one might expect; charming smiles abound. At least in my experience, the staff at most Persian restaurants seem friendly and here was no exception. Service was also prompt and attentive; in a nod to a recent Talk thread, it was well deserving of an above average tip. :)The food was average but deserving of additional trials. I went with something safe - shish kabob. While the taste was generally okay (not exemplary but not under par either; could have used a little extra seasoning), the filet for the kabob I had was a little tougher than I'd generally expect -- perhaps an edge cut of the filet? On a few pieces, my jaw actually got a little tired from chewing and eventually I would just force a swallow. But other pieces weren't so bad.I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and will return to try other items. I'm especially forgiving since the friendly service was favorable.One thing I would have liked was to see more combination offerings. I can eat surprising well for my size, especially when I'm exercising regularly. So, one kabob, depending on the day, may not be enough. It would be nice to have lunch entrees offer kabob combinations. Also, it would be nice to have some of their appetizers offered in side sizes (for example, would be nice to have a couple of dolmas along with the entree). The dolmas appetizer was too expensive to order alone.Although I was a little disappointed based on expectations set by all the 4-5 stars, I'll return for additional trials and the friendly smiles.BTW, anyone have tips on how to eliminate the taste of raw onions that are lingering longer than desired?

by Mitchell F.

I discovered Shahrzad with my girlfriend on our way to Tahoe for a weekend of skiing (Feb '07).  We loved the restaurant, especially since it seemed to be in the middle of nowhere and not terribly impressive from the outside.  The lamb fillet kebabs were absolutely AMAZING.  Perhaps some of the best lamb either of us have had in a long time.  We also truly enjoyed the grilled eggplant appetizer and the walnut/pomegranate chicken dish.  The yogurt Doogh drinks were not terribly exciting, but are perhaps an acquired taste.Only letdown was the belly dancer who came in right as we were about to head out the door.  She did a decent job I suppose, but it just seemed awkward to watch a somewhat overweight half-naked woman dance around a less-than-packed restaurant.  Not my thing, really.