Darbar Persian Grill

It was the best iranian restaurant that I have ever seen in Canada. In this restaurant, everything was
good but the price of wine was so expensive.
I recommend this restaurant to all the iranian.

Excellent service; tasteful and authentic food. Staff are very friendly, polite and professional. Very relax and clean environment.

This is my favorite Persian restaurant in Toronto. Everything is perfect here from food to service and atmosphere. If you like to treat yourself to a high quality meal this can be an excellent option.
If you’re not Persian and it’s the first time having Persian food go for Barg and you wouldn’t be disappointed.

I hate to give such a low rating to fellow Persian restaurant, but my last visit was a total disappointment!
Last weekend, my parents and I had a random craving for Persian kabob, and the closest place to us that was open at the time (it was near 8 o’clock pm), was Darbar. I checked out the reviews on Unilocal,and was so pleased to see such high ratings. I gave the OK on the restaurant, put the directions on my GPS, and off we were to feast on some yummy Persian food!
We entered the beautifully decorated, and dim-​litted restaurant, and were made to wait for about 20 mins. No problem! I’d gladly wait an extra 20 mins for some good Persian kabob, but my parents and I definately regretted the wait after the dinner.
We were seated at a table near the back of the restaurant, and our kind waiter named Dana greeted us with the menus, and lit the candles on our tables. Such a romantic atmosphere!
We looked at our menus, and decided on getting an appetizer to share, which was the Ghormeh Sabzi on Tadig (herb stew with chunks of stew meat and red kidney beans, over crispy bread and rice from the bottom of the pot). This was such an odd concept for us, because Ghormeh Sabzi is typically served over rice, and Tadig is accompanied on the side as a well-​loved treat. So, definately had to try it out.
We also placed our orders for our entrees at the same time.
I had requested the Vaziri kabob dish, which consists of a skewer of Jooje kabob (chicken kabob), and a skewer of Koobide kabob (ground meat kabob), with rice. I had initially asked if I could swap the rice for salad, as I’m trying to cut down on carbs, but that could not be done for some reason. So, I settled for the delicious saffron rice.
My parents both ordered the Soltani dish, which included a skewer of Koobide kabob, and a skewer of Barg kabob (steak kabob).
We had also ordered a pitcher of Doogh which is a herbed yoghurt drink.
During our long wait, we slowly filled ourselves up with the provided bread, feta cheese, walnuts, parsley, and raddishes (a typical Persian spread) which was arranged on the table.
Our doogh and appetizer finally arrived, along with the entrée meals.
The appetizer was not brought to us before the entrée dishes, which was unnerving! The timing is very important for customers who place orders for appetizers, because they expect to munch on them BEFORE recieving their main entrees.
Well, c’est la vie, and everyone makes mistakes! So we decided to try out some of the appetizer before digging into our main dishes.
It was as you expect ghorme sabzi to look like over tadig, but boy oh boy was it delicious! The ghorme sabzi was full of flavour, the meat was so tender and juicy, and the tadig was crispy and buttery in flavour. If I could rate the appetizer alone, it would receive a ¹⁰⁄₁₀ from me! But unfortunately, you judge a Persian kabob restaurant for its kabobs, not the appetizer.
We set the appetizer aside, exchanged different pieces of kabobs, and dug into our kabobs.
The first thing I noticed from the kabobs were that they were too salty! All of them had a salt over-​load, and it was even noticeable to my mom, who is a salt-​fiend! The koobide kabob lacked in overall flavour, while the jooje kabob looked like it had a great saffron marinade on it by the rich colour, but was just OK in taste. Such a let-​down!
Although, the barg was overly salty as well, it had a really faint but pleasant, onion taste to it. The buttery saffron rice was also nice, and cooked to perfection. I commend the chef for their good rice-​cooking skills!
The saltiness of the food made us very thirsty, so we poured doogh for eachother to drink.
The doogh was essentially just yoghurt with herbs. There was a lack of carbonated water/​water in the yoghurt to make it more liquidy in texture, like a typical doogh drink. So, I requested for some water.
Dana had brought out a plastic bottle of water, poured some in separate cups, and left the rest of the small bottle on the table. It was unusual to witness that, but we immediately poured the water into our other cups.
The portions were big, but the taste was lacking.
At the end of the meal, we got charged over $ 200(including the water), for a super long wait, and some really salty kabobs.
I wouldn’t recommend this place to non-​rich people, who don’t enjoy salty foods.
Though, I may consider going back for the delicious appetizer (the only good thing on the menu that we had tried).

Excellent Persian grill. Ordered the chicken breast and mint tea.
The rice is light and fluffy, the chicken breast juicy and succulent. They offer two charbroiled plum tomatoes for your rice.
Servers are extremely friendly and attentive. Great for the whole family or a date.

I love this place. Very good food and very good service… I’m Persian and i can compare Darbar to Tehran restaurants

Really good place for the food but what i loved was the service. I was waiting on my friends to arrive so I was sitting at the table all by myself. The waiter brought me over tea while I was waiting (on the house~~~)! So Persian! That little act made me so happy i really enjoyed the food

The Persian food here is phenomenal! Ever since we found out about this place from our friends who live in the area, we have been coming every time we are in town. After having been to many Persian restaurants that are hit or miss, it nice to find a place that consistently serves quality food. The service is exceptional and the ambience is warm and relaxing.
I am deducting 1 star because the cups of chai were the smallest I have ever seen for $ 3 and on our last visit we sat in the back for the first time where the tables were way too close together/​claustrophobic.

We were visiting Toronto and stopped by darband to get some food… It was clean and nice… Also staff were really friendly
Kale pacheh was really good
Ash was really good too

Unfortunately I have to say this was well below my expectations. The parking was easy and we found a spot in front of Darbar. Though we called in advance and made reservation but when we got to Darbar, no one seems to know about the reservation for few minutes before we were sited. The staff were friendly and polite. The service was ok overall, there is room for improvement! We were left on our own for a while at times. The drink menu was not brought to the table till we asked for it. The ambient was nice for a small restaurant. The space was limited and it felt like there is one extra table in the room. Our table was so close to the next one that the back of my chair was hitting the next table.
Started with appetizers (kash-​o-​bademjan, mast musir and gheymeh on tahdig). The appetizers were very good and tasted good. Everyone seems to like them except few comments about portions being small. The tahdig was too hard and had to wrestle with it to cut it to smaller pieces. I ordered Merlot (Wolf Blass). The taste was off and there was sediment at the bottom of my glass!!! (wonder if the bottle was opened recently?!!). For main dish we ordered Torosh Kabab and Vazieer Kabab. Let me tell you the food was disappointing and at best average. The Torosh kabab was not eatable. The meat was not marinated long enough and you can smell and taste raw meat which did not taste good when mixed with pomegranate paste). I have to send it back and change my order which I have never done before. The Vazieer kabab was ok. The kababs were slightly dry and once again the chicken was not marinated long enough.
As far as pricing, I have to say the prices are on the higher side and overpriced.

Good food, the service was amazing. Zohreh (our waitress) was great.

The best persian restaurant in Toronto. Amazing food, great service and professional staff allthough the prices is a little bit expensive… overall 4 stars experience

No reservations.
Prepare to wait if you show up.
Place looks like a bar that is now decorated for fine dining but can’t quite make it. So it’s half trying to be fine dining but really it’s –at best– a lounge.
Good date place and good for family if you don’t mind waiting.
Try the Baghali Polo & beef Koobideh (OMG! SO YUM!)
don’t order the white fish — it’s horribly dry.
the lamb shank is excellent.
Sabzi Kookoo — A cutlet made of spinach, dill and cilantro is good but nothing to get excited about.
The Persian tea is yummy but not like the regular chai. Try the baklava — they make it in house and it’s much softer.
I heavily dislike the bathroom and it’s always questionable when a restaurant does not invest in the bathroom.
The prices tend to be a bit on the high side so be prepared. Considering there’s much better places, I wouldn’t come back here.
xoxo
M.

Arguably one of the best persian foods you can in Toronto. however, we noticed extra salt with the meat so if you are careful about your salt intake I would avoid the restaurant. Pricier than most persian restaurant and disappointed with no live traditional musics. I am sure the environment would benefit from live music. Also the seating area is cramp due to high demand. Overall a friendly team of survants.

It’s like going over to you Persian aunt house for dinner. Family run, excellent service. Try the stews!
Somehow the prices went up, still good but pricey.

Best persian food in Ontario
Such a nice team and great ambient
Ask for Juicy Barg Kabab

This is the best Persian restaurant for a date night. I came here for a second time. There were 2 birthday parties here and they played Persian happy birthday songs. The service was as amazing as my first visit. The staff was very well mannered and attentive. I love the décor and the food is simply delicious. I tried the Kabab Torsh and Kashke Bademjan. The kabab torsh is very different from other Persian restaurants. It doesn’t have that walnutty taste, instead it’s simply marinated in plain sour pomegranate sauce. They make their own yogurt drink with walnut powder and it’s quite thick and very delicious.
What they can improve on:
The feta cheese amount for the complimentary appetizer was too little for two people. Also, their bathroom needs more attention in terms of looks and décor. I’m not trying to sound cheap but they charge $ 1 if you ask for water. Isn’t that supposed to be complimentary everywhere?

The best Kabab Barg I’ve ever had in Canada.
The best service, polite staff, cozy place.
I’ll recommend you this place.

I stumbled upon this place when we were looking for a different restaurant in the avenue/​yonge/​eg area. I should add this is my first time trying Persian food. Rolled in an hour before close and they were happy to serve us.
This place deserves the high ratings. Service is amazing. I believe this is a family run shop, but our waitress was very helpful in explaining the menu, knowing it was our first time, and extremely courteous. I was recommended the barg by a friend and it did not disappoint. You get a giant bed of basmati rice (which I inhaled) and the biggest slab of veal I have ever seen. The meat was super tender. My girlfriend had the fesjani (sp?) and it was good too. I’ll admit it was a new flavour for us; think of a sweet chicken stew, but typically I’m pretty adventurous and enjoyed it. I also recommend the grape leaves appetizer.
I’d come here again. It’s also reasonably priced for the amount of food you get. I also tricked my mind in telling myself that I worked out, so eating a huge slab of protein is good for me.

Amazing food, amazing service, ultra courteous and professional staff !
You don’t have to be a Persian to dine here, you’ll simply gonna love it !
Their Barg (fillet) Kebab is arguably one of the best I’ve had anywhere in the World!
And I travel to many places and eat at many different fine venues !
They have my full seal of approval !