Persian Palace (Iranian) – West Ealing

With a number of Iranian oriented restaurants in the area, Persian Palace is arguably the most well known; certainly the most expensive.

Having been around for quite some time, they recently decided on a face lift and renovated the place culminating in a beautifully decked out and spacious interior that’s warm and inviting.

Kashk-E-Badenjan – Sauteed aubergine, walnuts, garlic, whey and mint, £4, with Taftoon Bread, £2.50

This cold starter has a deep aubergine taste to it with flecks of walnut you pick up with every other bite.

Goes really well with the thin, crispy, and freshly made naan bread.

The chilli and yoghurt-type sauces were ok.

Soltani – Cubed lamb fillet & minced lamb kebab, £12

As with all Iranian restaurants, the mains are mainly an assortment of kebabs and other meats.

A few things wrong with this dish, however. While the main event – the lamb kebab – was well flavoured, it was, nevertheless hard and chewy.

What is more, while the menu said grilled tomato, what we got instead was what you see above – a simple salad!

And the rice just didn’t have that deep fragrance that’s so customary of Iranian rice; just yellow food colouring.

Quite disappointing!

Zereshk Polow – Braised chicken with rice mixed with barberries and pistachios, £8.50

Again, no grilled tomato despite being on the menu.

Although the rice with its barberries looked visually appealing, it simply did not marry with the chicken, which, we thought, might be down to the conspicuous absence of pistachios (we managed to find a solitary bit).

What was worse, however, was the added bonus of a piece of hair found in the rice, which promptly resulted in the dish being sent back for replacement.

So, second time round. Despite the chicken being well cooked, the were at least able to confidently conclude that the pistachios didn’t remedy the imbalance of flavours. The barberries were too strong for the subtly marinated chicken.

Baghali Polow – Lamb shank with rice made with fresh dill and shelled broad beans, £10.50

This was a tasty dish though. The dill flavoured broad bean rice was wonderfully fragrant, while the lamb shank was soft and tender, and simply fell off the bone.

But it was the addition of the meat flavoured stock that caused this plate of food to sing the high notes. Very tasty indeed!

Makhsus – Lamb Fillet & Minced lamb kebab, £13

As you can see, the dual selection of meats were succulent and full of flavour.

The minced lamb was rich and tender while being perfectly charred. The lamb fillet was easily better than the lamb cubes and rather good too flavourwise.

Conclusion: the Makhsus is most certainly a dish to consider.

Unfortunately, a strand of hair was also found in the above!

Momtaz – Marinated chicken fillet & minced lamb kebab, £11

Nonetheless, if you prefer chicken, then the Momtaz is the better choice to the Makhsus. For one, the chicken in comparison to the lamb fillet is lightly marinated, moist, and superior in taste. Secondly, it’s a tad cheaper too!

Tea, £0.90

Finishing the day off with some light traditional tea is what’s mandatory particularly after such testing meat dishes.