Satisfying Persian Cuisine
Esfahan is a newly-opened Persian restaurant in between San Bernardo and Plaza de España (nearest metro stops: Plaza de España, Noviciado, Santo Domingo). They specialize in authentic home-style Persian cuisine: that means spreads, salads, stews, and skewers of deliciously-spiced meat (they're called "kebabs" but have nothing to do with the fast-food Turkish snacks found all over Europe).
Here's what we ordered:
Starters: Panir - this is a feta-style Iranian cheese that's served with olive oil, tomatoes, cucumbers, and pita bread and was salty and delicious, perfect to go with the house rosé wine (yes, they serve alcohol). I did see that our neighbors ordered the appetizer platter with a variety of dips, spreads, and olives and it looked enviably good. I'd suggest it!
Mains: We chose a savory lamb stew which, while good, was not exceptional. The chicken stewed with apricots, saffron, and caramelized onions, on the other hand, was out of this world. It was sweet, and savory, spicy all in one and I couldn't help sopping up all the sauce with our side orders of fluffy basmati rice and pita bread.
