Saffron Kabob House

Saffron Persian Cafe on Hillcroft @ Harwin has become Saffron Kabob Houe and added an Afghan menu while retaining most if not all of the Persian menu.

The Afghan menu closely parallels that of Afghan Cuisine on Highway 6 in Sugar Land which, by the way, I recently revisited and enjoyed. There is an update of my review of that restaurant here and my old review of Saffron Persian Cafe is here.

Kasra Persian Grill

9741 Westheimer @ Gessner

Kasra was the first Persian restaurant I ever tried a year and a half ago or so and I left somewhat disappointed. Uncharacteristically I had gone without doing any prior research to refresh what I had read in reviews and I was overwhelmed by the menu. Maybe I just made some bad choices that day, or maybe not.

I had tried the torshi, an appetizer described as various pickled vegetables. I love pickles so I thought I couldn’t go wrong but it turned out to be a relish consisting, I think, of minced carrot, broccoli, slivered garlic, onion, herbs ad spices and oil, with a characteristic Persian twist - lots of lemon. I couldn’t finish the small portion. (I have since been advised there are thousands of variations of this home-cooking staple, but I haven’t tried it anywhere else). The taftoon, the Persian version of a flatbread, I thought was rather boring, thin, like a saltine without the salt. I had also tried the doogh, the Persian yogurt drink. Once again, I like yogurt drinks but this variation has the addition of carbonated water and I thought the carbonation overpowered the yogurt making this a yogurt drink for people who don’t like yogurt.

My entree had been more successful, the Beef Kubideh, minced beef, onions, garlic, etc., but rather bland until, half way thru the meal, I discovered the ‘Persian spice’ on the table which really helped. The waiter, who really tried hard, couldn’t come up with a translation for the spice so just called in ‘Persian Spice.’ I have since learned it was sumac, a ubiquitous offering, always on the table at Persian restaurants. I have also read it is customary for the restaurant not to add any to the dishes so the diner can add it to taste.

The real star of the meal was the white basmati rice with saffron which I could not stop eating despite the fact it was a very large portion. I grew up in Brazoria County, Texas, home of the TexMati rice brand and where rice is a major crop, and I love rice but this was the most spectacular rice I had ever had.

It was a long time before I ventured into one of our city’s Persian restaurants again but recently, having a little more experience under my belt at Bijan, Café Caspian and Saffron, I decided it was time to try Kasra again - I really wanted to like it.

This visit was more successful although not without it’s own disappointments. For some reason, they were unable to serve Tah Digh, the crispy rice which I wanted as an appetizer. I settled for the Lentil Soup and while it was good it was nothing special. Lentils can either be very boring or, with the right seasonings, exciting and this tended toward the former. In addition the taftoon, a much smaller portion than before, had been delivered cool; I suspected it had been baked quite some time before.

But the entree this time was spectacular. Though I saw the ghormeh sabzi and zereshk polo being served at other tables (at Kasra, the zereshk (barberry) is served in a separate bowl to be ladled over the rice as one desires - it can be added to the basic white basmati rice with saffron on any entree for an extra charge) I went instead for the Shishleek. In online discussions of Persian cuisine this is usually described as grilled lamb chops but at Kasra it is chunks of beef tenderloin, cooked to order, and chicken breast accompanied by the white basmati rice and grilled vegetables, which included tomato, onion, bell pepper and zucchini. None of it needed any sumac but I used some anyway and came away very satisfied despite the minor disappointments in the appetizers and bread.

There doesn’t appear to be much difference between the Persian restaurants in our city; prices and menus are comparable at Kasra, Bijan, Café Caspian and Saffron (I’ve also been to Darband Shishkabob which did not impress and is just a kaboberrie anyway). One dish may be better at this restaurant, another dish at another. Kasra and Café Caspian are both table service but not that much more elegant than Bijan and Saffron (Bijan offers both counter service and table service, Saffron is counter service only).

I will continue to investigate them all as there are many more dishes I’m interested in trying.

Saffron Persian Cafe

5711 Hillcroft # 82



As mentioned in a post under News, this place has changed ownership and become Saffron Kabob House. There is now an Afghan menu plus a Persian menu. I have not visited since the change so the following review may be useless.


I’ve noticed this restaurant many times driving by and wondered about it but never remembered it when trying to decide where to eat until a few months ago. It’s located on the second floor of the Plaza Center at Hillcroft at Harwin and is easily missed. I was surprised when I walked in to find it’s a counter service place, although a very nice one. In such an out of the way location I expected a white table cloth restaurant.

There has been some minor difficulty understanding the person at the counter and the menu board is huge; I recommend studying the menu on the website before going so you’ll have an idea of what you want. Don’t overlook the signboard next to the cash register with the daily specials listed; also, there are signs in the window indicating that Ghormeh Sabzi and Gehmeh are available on pizzas now, which they claim is not available anywhere else in Houston.

The sabzi is very generous here, with parsley, cilantro, mint, onion, radish, feta, lime and walnut. Apparently with a paid appetizer you also get a complimentary pot of hot tea (very good) and a cup of Aash Jo, a barley soup with texture like corn chowder. And of course there is the taftoon, the Persian version of a flat bread, which is thin and somewhat crispy. Among the appetizers available their version of tabouli is very, very, very lemony.

Appetizers are hardly needed, however, as portions are very generous. I’ve not only never yet had room for any dessert, I've usually wound up taking about half the meal home. I’ve had the traditional Persian stew Ghormeh Sabzi here, at Bijan and at Café Caspian, and I like the version here just a bit better, owing, I think, to a more restrained use of the dried lemon and maybe a little more fenugreek. The Gehmeh, pictured, however, is better at Bijan just down the street. The version here is dominated by tomatoes and you can hardly taste the split yellow peas; it reminds me of a pot of chili made by someone who loathes the taste of chili so tries to kill the taste of it with way too much tomato.







The best thing I’ve had here, indeed, the best dish I’ve had at any Persian restaurant in Houston, is the Zereshk Polo, basmati rice (polo) seasoned with saffron and topped with barberries (zereshk) and served with a quarter stewed chicken. Persians have several very outstanding rice preparations and this is one very, very good one. I haven’t tried this at any other place yet, but I will.


Side note: the best version of Gorhmeh Sabzi I've had was in my own home. I found a cannister of the dried herb mixture (Sadaf brand) at Phoenicia Specialty Foods and tried this on my own. The aromas which filled the house while the dish was cooking really enhanced the enjoyment.


Saffron Persian Cafe