Herby Restaurant – Persian Cuisine – 397 Danforth Ave, Toronto, ON M4K 1P1
Country: Iran    
Seating: Indoor seating with a couple of tables outside in the warmer months. 
Dinner guests: Dani P, Pornstar Sam, Suited Sebastien, T$, The 4th & The Cowboy 
Must-try dish: Fesenjan Stew
The high: The menu has a wide range of Persian dishes to pick from that represent the entire country. 
The low: There was only one server that night for a full restaurant so things were a little slower, but she was still friendly. 

Set among a string of Greek restaurants on the Danforth, Herby dishes up Persian cuisine to the neighbourhood. Lunchtime tends to be quieter but the majority of the tables are occupied for dinner, and there’s a takeaway option if it’s a stay-at-home type of meal. 

Like many Persian restaurants, the dishes are sharable. Since we were a larger group, each person got a small portion of every dish to taste in order to sample as many things as possible. Some of these dishes were easier to share among seven people, while others were tougher because of the smaller quantity, but we got there in the end. 

A round of appetizers were promptly ordered while the menu was perused for the second round of dishes.

• Kashk e Bademjan: This chunky eggplant dip is a flavour party in your mouth. The eggplants are grilled giving it a smokey taste mixed with walnuts, garlic, and mint oil. It’s creamy and perfectly paired with the warm bread that accompanies the dish. 
• Shirazi Salad: Persian food is always a win because of the fresh ingredients and vegetables. In this case, the cucumbers, tomatoes and onions are seasoned and dressed in olive oil and lemon. Can you ever go wrong with such a thing? 
• Marinated Olives: These kalamatas are special because they blend sweet and savoury elements together with crushed walnuts, pomegranate paste, herbs, and spices. They’re pretty addicting even for the non-believers in olives. 
• Mast o Moosir: This fresh yogurt dip is made up of shallots and spices, then served with bread. 
• Mast o Khiar: Are you familiar with Greek tzatziki dip? The Mast o Khiar is very similar but with a twist, and it can be used with the meats in later courses. The ingredients include yogurt, cucumber, garlic, and herbs. It’s topped with rose petals, which was a pretty touch. 

The key to this dinner, and many Persian dinners for that matter is that sharing is the strategy. With a group of this size, ordering two of each dish may have been a better idea than ordering one of several dishes. But that’s up to you and your dinner companions. 

Stews are a staple in the Iranian diet. They vary in protein, herbs, and spices, so they each have their unique qualities. It can be beneficial to taste two or three next to each other to notice the difference. 

In this case, we ordered only one since a couple of them were not available. The Fesenjan is always the star of the show because of the perfect marriage of sweet and savoury ingredients – braised chicken, crushed walnuts, and pomegranate molasses. If you’ve never had it, your mind will be blown! 

We focused heavily on the barbecued meats which were easy to share and tasted incredible. Here’s the lineup:

• Tava Kebab: A blend of beef and lamb mince with spices pan-fried with chopped tomatoes, and red onions. This one’s presented halfway between a skewer (or traditional kebab) and a stew.
• Chicken Koobideh: Kebab with minced chicken, parsley and feta
• Baghala Polo & Lamb Shank: If you like lamb then you’ll love this piece of meat that falls off of the bone. Beautifully seasoned and braised lamb shank, served with lava beans mixed rice, dill & saffron

Many of the dishes on the grill are prepared in the same way but with varying meats. If you’re a meat lover then you can’t go wrong with any of them. 

A group dessert tasting took place starting with the Persian Baklava Cake, which is baked with saffron and rose syrup. It’s worth getting because of the flavour combinations that compliment each other. However, the Saffron and Pistachio Ice Cream is also worth a try as it’s presented with crushed pistachios, rose petals, and jams on top – the Persian style of a sundae. Saffron in dessert is less common in the western world so getting a taste of these delights evoked a love affair. 

It’s clear that Persian cuisine is gaining popularity in Toronto as more restaurants are opening up and the diners are from a variety of backgrounds. It’s a tough task to not find something for everyone on these menus, so if you haven’t tried it before, then go have a bite! 

Eat with you soon, 
Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)