Located just in the outskirts of downtown Santa Ana, off 1st and Oak in a dilapidated strip mall is this Persian restaurant. The parking lot is tiny and a bit cramped, so be prepared to either squeeze into a spot, or park off Oak Street.
Having read other reviews, I arrived early at 11:30 for lunch. I was immediately greeted by a nice older guy (I’m guessing the owner) who was just too friendly. He had me sit down and showed me the menu, and the prices were more than affordable and fair. In fact, his lunch specials were a steal!
I decided to go with the boneless chicken lunch special for $5.99, and added side order of a beef koobideh skewer for just $2.99 more. The food is made to order, so it took about 15-20 minutes for the food. From my table, I could see my chicken and beef sizzling on the grill.
Meanwhile, being the only person in the restaurant, the owner was chatting with me. As I said, friendly guy and acted like we were like long time BFF’s. He sat down across from me and chatted about Chinese people (he found out my ancestry was from China), and how he’s been working with the Chinese for over 30 years. Nice, but I really wanted to enjoy my lunch break in peace.
Finally my food came, and it was wonderful! The chicken was a bit skinny/ skimpy but hey for $5.99, what do you expect? The plate was not overloaded with rice, but just enough, and it was fluffy and aromatic. The beef koobideh was juicy and moist. With my diet coke, the check came to $10 and change before tip.
I ended up boxing my food to go, as the guy was still chatting with me and I didn’t have the heart to tell him to get lost. I think I’ll go when there’s more people, or, just order to go… but I will be back for lunch again.
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