Shiraz Grill, Whitchurch Road, Cardiff Persian restaurant review

When is a kebab shop not a kebab shop? When it’s a Persian grill house hiding in plain sight.

To the casual passerby, Shiraz Grill on Whitchurch Road gives off the same impression as any other kebab shop.

With its plastic signage, bright lighting, functional decor and a layout dominated by a takeaway counter with just a trio of tables for dining in, this seems like the kind of place to come for a mixed doner and chips.

But, Shiraz Grill is an entirely different beast.

This Persian grill house’s plasma screen menu features exciting sounding starters like mast moosir (shallots mixed with yoghurt) and panir sabzi (mint, tarragon, basil, radish, feta and walnuts). In the grill section, options include lamb liver, chenjeh (marinated lamb neck fillet), and sea bass.

The friendly chef saw us gawping at the menu for an age and talked us through the different cuts of meat on offer. We settled on one lamb and one chicken dish.

Whilst waiting for our starter, we were brought generous baskets of fresh herb salad. The potent mix of basil, coriander and mint was delicious dressed with a squeeze of orange juice (I’m not sure if that was the correct protocol or not). It certainly made a nice change to the usual kebab shop offering of lettuce, cabbage, cucumber, tomato and onion.

To start, a whopping bowl of kashk bademjan (£4) was one hell of a dip. A thick mix of aubergine pulp, garlic, whey and walnuts topped with crispy onions made for an addictively earthy, smoky and herby flavour combination.

We dolloped it liberally over a pair of pleasingly soft and stretchy complimentary warm naan.

Both our mains were presented on ornate platters, elevating our understated surroundings into a banquet fit for royalty.

Saffron chicken, aka joojeh (£10.50), saw a skewer of juicy, fragrant and char-licked meat accompanied by a gargantuan portion of impeccably fluffy rice as well as sweet and soft grilled tomatoes and lightly bitter green peppers. Perched on top of the rice was a couple of packets of butter, in case you wanted to lux things up even more.

Soltani (£15) combined two different types of lamb. Kubideh, which was made with super juicy and well-seasoned minced lamb, was definitely the standout of the pair. Barg, made with lamb loin fillet had very good flavour but a fair amount of chew.

Chilli sauce was bought in but it had a really good fiery heat and punch of acidity. I think I might try and pick up a bottle for my kitchen table. 

Whilst Shiraz Grill might look understated, this is a lovely Persian restaurant. From the warm welcome to the spotless interior and prettily presented food, it’s a welcome addition to Whitchurch Road’s diverse array of restaurants.

Whilst they don’t serve alcohol, it’s handily located just a few metres over the road from Pop n Hops. So, you can also have a few halves of excellent craft beer before or after dinner.

The Details:

Address - Shiraz Grill, 200a, Whitchurch Road, Cardiff, Wales, CF14 3NB

Web - https://shiraz-grill.co.uk/

Amo's Cafe, City Road, Persian cafe review

One of the reasons I love City Road is the staggering number of different national cuisines available within a single kilometre.

From Southern Indian and Greek to Lebanese, Omani, Irish and Chinese, City Road has it all.

Amo’s Cafe is a fine example.

This cute little Persian cafe serves dishes such as chicken joojeh kebab (£10) and aasheh resteh (£6), a vegan noodle and herb soup which they only serve on Saturdays. However, if that doesn’t float your boat then they also serve chicken tikka wraps and fried breakfasts.

Whilst the gent on the next table enjoyed a restorative fry-up, we tucked into a lunchtime Middle Eastern feast.

Homemade doogh (£2.50) was a creamy and tangy yoghurt drink with a good hit of salt and waft of dried mint. It certainly straddled the sweet-savoury divide and was a good accompaniment with our main dishes.

Ghorme sabzi (£8.50), a comforting Persian lamb stew, had a lovely green herbal fragrance and punch of spinach. It was packed with tender pieces of slow-cooked lamb and soft kidney beans.

It was lovely spooned down with a massive plate of light grained yet buttery rice.

A long-cooked lamb shank (£12) looked a bit dinky in size but it had plenty of well-flavoured flesh which teased off the bone. It was served alongside excellent dill-fragranced buttery rice which was given a lift by a good squeeze of citrus.

But, the clincher was a bowl of lamb broth which was heady with meaty roasting juices. It was a lovely dip for the rice but equally delicious drank directly from the bowl.

A fresh naan bread (£1) was soft, bubbly and crisp in places. It was nice to see business collaboration in action as it was purchased from the bakery next door shortly after we placed our order.

We had a lovely lunch at Amo’s Cafe. It’s the kind of place which makes City Road so unique and really adds to richness of Cardiff’s food scene.

The Details:

Address - Amo's Cafe, 141 City Rd, Cardiff CF24 3BQ

Web - https://en-gb.facebook.com/AmosCafeCardiff

Telephone - 07745 906846