Darya Restaurant

This place is as authentic as it gets. Run by husband n wife, it’s a hole in the wall sort of a vibe. Yet the food is as close to as ur iranian friends mom’s. The lamb kabobs melt in ur mouth. The shank was incredibly delicious. Their hummus was even decent.
I highly recommend this place. It was the first place we ate at when in denver n it was the best.

My wife loves her some Persian food. She’s been looking for a good one since we moved to Denver 5 years ago. We finally found it here. She says the food is exactly like what her dad makes.
All I know is the chicken fell off the bone and my dinner (Number 14) was delicious. We may start going there instead of cooking our own version.

The food was excellent and authentic. Three of us had the zereshk, lamb shank and sabzi. All were fantastic.

You will love this restaurant. It’s casual and has homemade style Iranian (a.k.a. Persian) food that is delicious. Options on the menu are halal and I recommend that you try Shole Zard (pudding)!

The Irani food here has the back home delicious taste! The spices and flavor were perfect! I highly recommend this place if you are looking for authentic Persian food.

Got a Persian Tea thinking it’d be iced tea (it’s on the same line) but it’s a small hot tea, on a hot August day. Oops! But it was tasty. The (4 glasses of) ice water was refreshing!
The Mast’e Mousier is yogurt dip served with what looks like store-​bought pita bread, and there wasn’t enough bread by half.
The menu says Zereshk Poloe & Morgh comes with chicken breast, thigh, and leg, but there was no breast and the leg (thigh and drumstick) was kind of sparse on the meat. It had kind of a nice seasoning. It’s served on a bed of saffron and basmati rice and it was light and tasty, and also has currants/​raisins. The dish also comes with a small house salad which is just standard bagged lettuce with ranch dressing.
Service from the older gentleman was friendly and helpful, and pretty prompt. There’s an adequate amount of seating and the space is decorated, but somewhat sparse (no music or anything either). It’s located in a no-​frills strip mall with a parking lot that bakes in the summer (no trees).
Seems like there are several other dishes that should be tasty to try, such as the lamb shank and various beef dishes/​kabobs. Dessert has triple scoop ice cream, or a sweet rice dish.

I loved this place .the lamb cooked perfectly and There sambosa is so good it taste like a real homemade arabic sambosa.

Do not go here. It is not authentic Persian food at all. there was teriyaki sauce on the chicken, they forgot to bring our salads, didn’t give us the correct type of rice, and the beef filet was a very low quality meat and overcooked, and had teriyaki on it again. The restaurant was empty, service was slow. I am Persian, and this was the worst «Persian» meal I have had.

I have to say that out of the few Persian restaurants in Colorado Springs and Denver this is a very nice place for dinner. The chicken kabob is delicious and the lamb shank is delightful. There are only 10 (5 tops) in the whole place so don’t bring a crowd without calling ahead first!

Been here many times, not once has it gone wrong. Same good food and service all the time. Good home made food feel. Good job Mrs & Mr. Hassan, keep it up.

Have been to this place many times. Literally a mom-​and-​pop place with food that is consistently good. Have tried a few things on the menu. The only one I didn’t care for was the lentil/​bean soup. I am not persian so not sure how authentic it is. The tea has been always free which is nice
Would give it 3 and half stars as its a little better than «A-​OK»

It was funny that I had just noticed this place on Friday while I was driving home. A friend picked me up for dinner and asked what I was in the mood for. Surprise me. Surprised I was as he drove to this exact location I had noticed earlier in the day.
I have never been to a Persian/​Iranian restaurant before so I was not sure what to expect. I really enjoyed having someone who knew the culture and spoke the language to talk me through it. I don’t often let people order for me, especially when I can’t understand what they are saying. I think I need to let people do this a bit more often! It was wonderful to say the least.
Hummus more smooth and fresh then I have ever had and a ample basket of soft, warm pita. Mast-​o-​Khiar which was very interesting as well. Doogh was an interesting taste and I am still not really sure about, but I was assured it was fabulous.
Dinner was wonderfully marinaded and grilled steak with saffron and rice and a grilled tomato. Also a small lettuce salad was served and a half a raw onion as well. It was just all so good, and so much. The only small thing about dinner was the tiny little tea cup.
I will certainly be returning with a bigger appetite and someone else to introduce to this great little place.

Over the years I have ate here very many times. More often than not the food AND service suck. Why do I keep going back? I’m Persian and there aren’t many Persian restaurant here in Denver
The Kobieda Kabob here looks good but it has NO flavor what so ever and from time to time it just sucks.
The chicken Kabob is the only thing that is always consistent here and is good.
$$ compare to the Gyro joints on Colfax you do get a Big Bang for your buck but some times the food is taste less and service sucks

Very dishonest people. I asked the owner not to put oil or butter in my food. I ordered for four people, however she sneekingly closed the partition in the kitchen and when I arrived home my food was dripping in oil. Obviously she either thinks I’m stupid or doesn’t want our business. I purchased 4 meals and they all tasted really bad. I’m Persian, I know what kabob is supposed to taste like. The first time I went there I swore I’d never go back, and this was the second time… the fact that she lied to me, just made me not be able to tolerate their disgusting food. Horrible service, horrible food.

Came here really hungry with my boyfriend because we saw that there was a lunch special fr $ 5.99.
Upon ordering the special, the lady who seated us went in the back and, eh… We heard the microwave about 4 times.
That’s all I’ll say :(

Best Parsian food.
Place: very quiet and clean.
SERVICE: Hassan and his wife are the best on cooking and serving.
Price: little expansive.
I like Mirza Qassmee (eggeplant), lamb shanks. Kobbedda sandwich. Do not forget to ask about tea. AMAZING.

I came to Darya with a Persian coworker, who had a hankering to see what Denver had to offer in his homeland cuisine. Being a big fan of Persian food myself, how could I refuse?
Negatives:
— No fesenjan on the menu (p.s. best dish on the planet)
— Gormeh sabzi is on the menu, but they tell you it takes a super long time (so why have it on the menu?)
– No liquor license, so no beer or wine
– My beef kabob was tough as nails
Positves:
– Mirza ghasemi appetizer was very tasty (curried eggplant w/​egg)
– Koubideh kabob was moist and tasty
Décor is slightly hole-​in-​the-​wall and a bit dated; The staff were nice.
But I have to be honest. Comparing this to all the other Persian spots I’ve tried around the U.S., it just doesn’t measure up.

I am actually torn between giving them a 4 and a 3. The owners are sweet and polite. And some of the grub is seriously good.
Mirza Ghasemi blew my socks off! Its so good as a dip for the very warm pita they serve you. Eggplants with Eggs! Now there is an eggplant that actually has eggs in it!
It was freezing cold after an early shower of snow, so when we got in we ordered some Persian tea. Fabulous! My Hubz did not even notice that he did not add sugar to it and he easily adds a couple of packets to his tea/​coffee [And he does not put on weight! some people! :|(]
But I digress. back to Darya —
We ordered two of their entrees — Baghali Polo & Mahicheh which they make weekends only. This basically is described as lamb shank cooked with Persian spices, herbs and onion. Served with specially steamed top quality basmati rice with lima beans and dill weed.
The other one we ordered was the Zereshk Poloe & Morgh — Chicken breast, thighs and legs cooked to perfection with Persian spices saffron, barberries (currents), Onion and raisons served with specially steamed top quality basmati rice.
The Baghali polo was the one I was hoping would wow me. But it did not. It was a perfectly cooked lamb shank. meat fell off the bones etc etc BUT it did not have any great flavors. And No lima beans in the rice or any dill weed. sigh!
the Zereshk poloe was very interesting. the berries that they topped the rice with were tart and very fun to eat with rice. this dish had a lot of flavor and was really good.
Very friendly service and we might go back for the kabobs. But not for the lamb shank!

In addition to Anthony’s Pizza and Thai Pepper II, the shopette on Dartmouth between Parker and Havana also boasts a lesser-​known delight in Darya Restaurant.
Run by an affable Persian couple, Darya offers some seldom-​seen (in this part of town anyway) morsels from the Middle East.
Hankering for a juicy kebab? Try the Kobideh — ground beef hand-​formed around a skewer, grilled and served with flatbread, a squishy roasted tomato and some buttery yellow-​and-​white rice.
Were you thinking of a lighter meal? Perhaps a dip, like Mast-​O-​Mousir (yogurt and shallots) or Mirza Ghasemi (roasted eggplants and eggs) is more likely to titillate you.
Ah, you want a stew. How about Ghormeh Sabzi, packed with a variety of greens and beans, lamb and dried lime? Or Ghaimeh Bamia, a similarly meaty mouthful for you okra lovers out there.
Any way you slice (or dip, or spoon) it, Darya has got you covered, Don’t forget a salty glass of Doogh (yogurt and mint drink — no alcohol here!) and a Sholeh Zard (rose-​saffron rice pudding, with a cute little cinnamon palm tree on the top) to finish things off nicely.

SUNDAY June 14^th 2009 :
Lunch time :
Drove to Darya Restaurant, with Hubs and my parents for a lunch treat after running around this neighborhood for some errands. Darya Restaurant is located in the Fairview Shopping Center on Dartmouth Ave between Parker Rd and Havana St. Its located a couple doors away from Thai Pepper II that I have visited recently.
When we first arrived we were greeted by a man. His name is Hassan Soleimani. He opened this restaurant since November 2005. He is friendly and very accomodating.
We ordered these :
1 set of Kabob Koubideh. This set contains one grilled skewer of seasoned ground beef toped with chopped tomatoes, onions and parsley with optional house yogurt sauce on the side served with hot bread.
3 sets of Baghali Polo & Mahicheh. This dish were of fresh tender lamb shanks cooked with Persian spices, herbs and onion. Served with specially steamed top quality basmati rice with lima beans and dill weed. From what we know this dish are only served on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
So we were lucky to sample the Baghali Polo.
First several pita breads were served. We ordered the Persian tea and 2 Apple Juice for my parents.
A plate of salads were given each to us while waiting for our main entrée to be cooked.
Unfortunately we Were NOT WOW by the Baghali Polo. My dad likes the dish he ordered which was the Kabob Koubideh I hope to return to try out other dishes stated in the menu provided Hubs are keen to try them out.
All in all good service, but OK food. After our lunch we are stuffed and another family were also there having their lunch.
Darya Restaurant & Hookah Bar
(Persian Cuisine)
10 890 E. Darmouth Ave
Unit 4
Denver, CO 80 014
Tel: (303)-750−4326
Fax: (303)-750−8532