Cuisine:

• Middle Eastern
• Others

Bandar Restaurant Description:
Former Iranian architect Behrooz Farahani fell in love with California over 20 years ago and moved his wife and daughters to San Diego; thus was born Bandar, the first---and possibly still the best---Persian restaurant in the Gaslamp. Bandar sports elegant décor, but spotty service distracts from structural spectating. Before you order from the beautifully corduroy-bound menu, know that all dishes arrive with ample quantities (start thinking about how to utilize the leftovers). Could it be that super-sized portions are supposed to make up for a lack of grace and (sometimes) attitude from servers? We recommend you start with the cucumber and yogurt dip infused with mint and dill, the herbs a subtle prelude to more intricate flavors to come. Take a spoon to vegetarian soup dense with lentils, garbanzo beans and Persian noodles; it whirls in a mélange of herbal texture. Lamb locks up several prominent spots on the menu, highlighted in several preparations. Cut away chunks of boneless lamb tenderloin from kebabs and team it with its charred tomato and pepper companions or sink a fork into shank meat so tender it falls away from the bone and into an eggplant, yellow pea and cooked-down tomato concoction. What misses: the usually majestic saffron rice as golden as the ancient desert. The orange-colored imposter, an unwelcome substitute.


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