1001 Nights Iranian Restaurant
One night down, one thousand more to go
- Roma (Linha Verde)
- €€
- R. João Villaret 11, 1000-297
With the end of winter now so close, your authors found themselves full of one wine too many following the year's first sunny afternoon spent in the park. Drunk on the sunshine and grapes, the yearning for falafel led to a swift Big Tech sponsored internet search and without any need of a magic lamp, our wishes came true.
Faced with the back of the train line of Roma, 1001 Nights Iranian is in a building which feels more like a community centre than a purpose built restaurant. However considering the multiple large tables occupied by families of three or more generations, and the significant number waiting to queue for a table, clearly, it is a community loved space.
Thanks to requiring just the two seats, we managed to sneak in ahead of some of the queuers, saving us from the disappointment of a near miss. Without a moment to spare, we went straight in for a bread and mezze from the starters to get things going. This bowl of Mirza Ghasemi is nothing short of divine. The unctuous flesh of charred aubergine, elevated with a slap-around-the-face hit of garlic and smoothed with a tomato sauce. These are dips of Crown Princes.
The falafel main, provided three perfectly crisp and nutty falafel, with more of the excellent Mirza Ghasemi and a bowl of spinach borani, adding yet more awesome garlic flavours, this time tempered with yoghurt. Meanwhile the less cultured of us on the other side of the table followed their base instincts and took on a mixed grill. The Bakhtyari Kabab (consisting of one Joobe, one Koobideh Kabab), delivered a really, really, reallllly juicy lamb kofte with one gloriously satisfying chicken kebab. Both dishes come accompanied with a stonking portion of rice and some token salads
This really was great Middle Eastern food, a person could easily dine here for as many nights as they advertise.
Drinks: 1 beer, 1 Sharbate Zaferani (Traditional Persian drink made with saffron)
Don’t forget to order: Honestly, all the dips and a couple of breads would make a mighty meal. Definitely always get the Mirza Ghasemi.