“A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou.” Omar Khyam, 1048-1131

If only we had stuck to these wise words……A visit to Caspian, 12th February 2016

 Friday night was Persia night and saw us heading towards “Caspian”, a Persian restaurant that came recommended by various friends. It is situated in Burnt Ash Road, not too far on a Friday night, and everybody was looking forward to it.

Bit of an adventure getting there; as we drove towards our destination we could see the flashing lights which would herald the presence of our boys in blue, and we wondered whether said Caspian had been raided for drugs. But no, nothing as exciting as it was merely the fact that the chippy next door had been the scene of a “rumble” (street slang as used by a local urchin)  and the door had been kicked in. Caspian was fortunately open for business, and shining brightly in the inky darkness of a South East London Friday night.
 

The waiter was second generation Iranian, and his voice was rather polished and refined; it was his parents restaurant, he informed us.  The whole restaurant felt welcoming, we took our seats, perused the menu and began to choose. We thought beer might make an appropriate drink to wash down the food to come, but the choice was limited-Peroni or Peroni; no alternative. In retrospect, maybe we should have asked for a jug of wine?

For Gannet 1 and spouse it was always going to be a difficult battle for the restaurant to win; thanks to a generous friend, they had experienced many a delicious Iranian feast, and Gannet 1 was really looking forward to Iranian rice-meltingly soft on top, infused with saffron and crunchy towards the bottom. It was not on the menu, and her spirits drooped slightly as a result.

The starter was easy-mixed Mazeh was chosen and subsequently materialized very quickly-various tasty delicacies appeared, although the presentation was not up to other venues that had been visited. Some thought the smokey aubergines a bit too smokey, and Gannet 1 wondered whether the central portion of  Salad Olvieh resembled Heinz mixed salad; didn’t stop her tucking in, though.

But the bread was to die for! Soft inside, slightly crusty outside, warm and absolutely delicious-we asked for more and thoroughly enjoyed it! 

The main courses arrived-afterwards we thought we had probably chosen badly, passing over the kebabs to choose the “specialties of the house”-various stews which came served with “saffron covered basmati rice”-not quite as nice as the crispy rice that Gannet 1 was coveting. 

However, we tried:

Zereshk Polo chicken cooked in saffron, lemon juice and onions

Ghorme Sabzi- lamb with kidney beans and dried limes (rather strange colour when it arrived)

Fresenjan- Chicken with ground walnuts and pomegranate juice ( A bit too sweet, we think).

And Geymeh- aubergines in a stew.

Unfortunately, none of the main courses was served with any vegetables or salad, which we saw arriving with the kebabs our lucky neighbours had chosen. The kebabs did look rather good, as well.

 We filled up quickly (yes I know, too much bread, but it was lovely) and didn’t have a desert. 

And how did we score?

Value-8/10 meze was £14 for the four of us, and the main courses were about £8-10.

Authenticity-9/10 yes, very. The menu appeared authentic and did not appear anglicised in any way. Staff were the real thing as well.

Ambience –7/10 bright, no mood lighting, although we felt that this was very much in keeping with Middle Eastern restaurants in general.

Taste-6/10-difficult as the taste was probably authentic, bit too sweet at times. (Gannet 1 thinks could have been better…..)

We thought we probably wouldn’t return, although may well seek other Middle Eastern venues as the year progresses.

But good luck to them, we believe it’s a great adventure for the family.

(And this is what true crunchy bottom rice looks like-highly recommended!)