Darband Fifth Avenue Grill

Delicious!
We always get kobideh and chicken kabobs. Shirazi salad. Lavash. So good. Unique flavor. Seasoned well. Fair price. Authentic. The atmosphere is busy downtown SD. You can see the planes through the buildings. Very cool.

I’ve been going to this place for last 10 years I don’t think any Persian food place (quality wise) can come close to this place ‚
I mean it of, lovely crew, hard working and caring
People, I truly recommend this food,

The rice was amazing, the beef was out of this world. We had two different cuts of beef, and they were both awesome. That’s all you really need to know. It’s a fun little place. The owner was super nice to us. Would definitely eat here again!

Very delicious food! Their prices are kinda pricey but the food was so tasty! I would come back again for sure! Don’t forget to enjoy a cup of tea free of charge. The place is kinda old but not bad! The service was good!

For about $ 15 you get two skewers some roasted vegetables and a pile of delicious basmati rice. You can engorge yourself til your heart’s content. If you’re a light eater, you could reasonably split an order between two people.
We had the salmon and the ground beef skewers. Both were really good. I recommend dousing everything in the yogurt sauce they provide.
I got a mango lassi in a bottle. It was good, but a little thinner than I expected with some tiny mango chunks.
There was a line the whole time we were there from 2 PM-​4 PM. This place is busy! I think the owner was taking orders. He’s very friendly and will give you recommendations if you need any.

I love Persian food, I used to live in Glendale (little Armenia) and I love going to get some of Persian food there!
1. The always pack it on
2. They grill everything
3. Always flavorful with that Persian spice (saffron-​ish and that charbroiled tomato)
Darband satisfied all 3. Sure it cost a bit $ 16 for a chicken and koobideh combo platter but that thing also weight 5 pounds. We got it to go and they pack in some pita bread and radishes. They even give you a saffron-​ish flavor bag if it’s not flavorful enough. The chicken was cooked rice, mine wasn’t dried. The koobideh (ground beef) was just how I remembered it except this was a tad bit dry but wasn’t enough to ruin it. The saffron rice was excellent! I love love that grilled tomato!
Place is a hole in a wall or shall I say hole in the ceiling. Look up and you’ll see it. They also sure had many cameras…(why??). The counter guy was a character, very friendly, talkative and interesting. We had a great combo with him while waiting for our to go orders.
Off the beaten path but well worth it. Every time I want a piece of Glendale, I’ll come this way.

My experience with this place has been inconsistent. I’ve had lunch here 3 times now. Beef kabob the first time, Salmon the second, and the lamb shank with dill rice the last.
With the kabobs the portion was very small, 3 pieces each. However, the quality of both the beef and salmon were excellent and very well cooked. The lamb had quite a bit more meat so I was good with the portion size on that.
The three flaws of this place is (at least during lunch) portion size, blandness of the food, and cost (about $ 15 for lunch). For that little food I should be paying half that. I really wanted this place to be the place for me since it’s next door to where I work. Somewhere I could go regularly for lunch, get good food, and not break the bank doing it, but this is not that place for me.

Whereas most Persian restaurants tend to have fancy décor, this place is much more casual. You order at the counter, and pay at the end. A jug of water is brought to your table, and you can benefit from the free hot Persian tea you can get from the tea station. The food tastes homemade and is solid. Good portion size and flavorful.

The food before my Entrée and the entrée were delicious. It’s a bit pricey too. However, they had customers outside and they were smoking. Right near the door entrance/​exit of the restaurant. That was a downer.
Other then that the food and the service was good

One of my favorite places love their customer Service parking is a little hard being that it’s so close to downtown but so worth the walk of parking is a couple blocks

Best and biggest home cooked portions on san diego for persian food. Fun terrace seating makes for great people watching. The chicken deserves to be world famous. They pay attention to every aspect of the preparation. In a word — fantastic

I have eaten at Darband about 20 times over the last 3 years. I have also had Darband cater a family event. All I can say is that the food is consistently great!
When dining in or getting food delivered, I usually get the chicken kebob plate that comes with basmati rice, grilled tomato and grilled peppers and onions. I also order the masto musir which is served with naan. My understanding is that the shallots used in the masto musir are actually imported from the Middle East. Nothing like authentic food!
Even though the restaurant itself leaves a bit to be desired (i.e. the décor), I can confidently say that Darband IS the best Persian restaurant in San Diego.

During my very short stay in downtown San Diego my boyfriend and I just needed a quick bite without eating fast food. We went ahead and trusted Unilocal and stopped by this restaurant since it was walking distance.
The place isn’t the most glamorous but considering its downtown most other places weren’t either. I had no idea what to order but trusted Unilocal on this as well as got the kabob wrap.
It took a while for us to get our food. Once we did we decided we felt more comfortable eating in our hotel. The wrap was delicious and light. The meat was cooked well and the veggies complemented it nicely. The restaurant did not have any special sauces just Tapatio but that seemed to work well too. Just half of the wrap was enough to make me comfortably full.

took my (white) boyfriend here because he was craving Persian food and my dearest mamaan is 9 hours away so she couldn’t cook for us… but the kheimeh didn’t disappoint at all. he loved it. I got the grilled mixed fish and we shared some noon panir sabzi as an appetizer which is his absolute favorite. their dessert options were fantastic. just expected the restaurant to be a little nicer if the prices were a bit up there. casual atmosphere though

This was an authentic Persian experience. The food was outstanding and the portions were large enough to share. We ordered the daily special, which was a fried fish dish and we also ordered a small side of hummus. No complaints.
The restaurant is what it is, so if you’re not into other cultures then you probably won’t like it. I read a complaint about smoking and yes people smoke on the patio and hang out. That’s what makes it special. If you’re not into that, then go somewhere else and leave this gem for us to enjoy.
I was hesitant to leave this review simply because I didn’t want to share this place with anyone else. I’m glad I finally found a place with great Persian food and delicious baklava.

Awesome persian food!
I usually go with the combo plate, includes beef, chicken and koobideh – which is a meatloaf type meat, in kabob form, usually consisting of lamb meat. The meats are delicious! Succulent and tender with great flavor. Tons of delicious rice and some roasted veggies on the side. Plates are pretty big, so sharing might be a good idea.
Tons of great appetizers to choose from as well! Definitely try a few. Free tea, just watch out its strong! Pour a lil tea and the rest add water.
Tons of persian men sitting around playing backgammon, fyi.
Some outside seating as well.
If I’m in the mood for Persian food, then this is where I come.

Truly the best shish kabob I’ve had in San Diego! The service is impeccable. We called in an order to dine-​in an hour prior closing time. The food was ready when we arrived.
For starters, we ordered Hummus with lavash bread. Followed by the Darban Special Combination Plate: 3 mixed skewers of boneless chicken, seasoned ground sirloin, and chunks of tenderloin with sides of grilled vegetables. The meat were very tender and juicy — perfectly cooked… The barberry basmati rice was so delicious!
5 stars for the spectacular service and great food!

The wife has been wanting to try this place for a while now. We finally went here.
The food is really good. I prefer the ground beef kabob because it’s a much louder flavor than the beef or chicken skewers. The rice was really good as was the eggplant appetizer and the lavash bread. The gentleman behind the counter picked up right away that we were first timers there and made great suggestions for what to have. He then took the time to show us the coolers that are all self serve and you pay after you have eaten and gotten the drinks you wanted to through out the meal. The hot tea is free and it’s very strong, he also explained to us that you fill your cup ⁴⁄₅ full with hot water and then add the last ¹⁄₅ of tea and it comes out about rights. They do have ice if you prefer cool tea instead of hot tea. There really isn’t wait staff so to speak they will bring your food to your table and they keep an eye on tables that need cleaning but that’s about it, you need to go to the counter for desert or ice or stuff like that. This is fine with me I don’t mind.
All in all I thought the place was great and we like the over all feel of it with the older gentlemen playing backgammon and just hanging out. We will definitely be back.

I love their baklava! Not overly sweet, has the perfect crisp, and not stale or anything like a couple that I’ve seen elsewhere.
Popped in to get take out for dinner and was amazed by the smell. Wasn’t too hungry to start off with but the aroma got my mouth watering.
The restaurant itself is on the small side but it’s cute. There’s a small parking lot next to it but there’s also street parking (free after 6pm).
There is a self serve tea station you can get your refills from. There’s a fridge next to that with all kinds of bottles drinks and they also have a display where they have all the desserts. Didn’t get a good look but I remember there being pomegranates, some chocolate mousse, and tiramisu. On top of that display is where they keep the baklava.
I ordered the lamb rack for me and the darband special for my bro and of course 2 pieces of baklava.
I get home, unpack, and notice the take out boxes are STUFFED WITH FOOD. I mean… the box barely closed cuz the rice they packed in there expanded the bottom or something.
Anyway, great dinner and dessert. got leftovers for dayssss.

Best Persian food in San Diego !!! Big portions. Fast friendly service and great price!