Reza's Restaurant
Category: Middle Eastern [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Andersonville, Edgewater5255 N Clark St
(between Berwyn Ave & Farragut Ave)
Chicago, IL 60640 (773) 561-1898
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 11:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
Fri-Sat 11:00 a.m.-12:00 a.m.
Sun 11:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Full Bar
62 reviews
Neighborhood: Near West Side
"Best delivery food ever! You get alot for your money too. If you order the special of the day, you get an entree, tons of rice, a small…" read more »
136 Reviews for Reza's Restaurant
Been back a few times since my last review. The food is always good and solid, the service has been great...,.it is back on my 'Where do you want to go to dinner at the last minute' list...yea!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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04/23/2007
OK, I have been here twice...
IT was the Best of times... I just went there for brunch on Sunday.… Read more »
the delectable vegetarian shami (falafel in pomegranate sauce) is my only reason to go here.
otherwise, I find Reza's very overpriced, so-so, and lacking a variety of quality options for vegetarians who can't eat their weight in hummus and baba ghannouj.
to be fair, the starters are nice (lots of salty feta, radishes, pita, and tomato-dill soup) and the entrees are huge--but how much dill rice and plain grilled veggies can one person eat? i'm not a fan of their taboule (ho-hum), or their hummus or baba (really bitter and weird aftertaste), so unless i order meat i always feel cheated. $15 for a vegetarian sampler is ridiculous, when there are so many comparable middle eastern restaurants within walking distance. the meat dishes, though more exciting, are still pretty darned pricy and i usually leave feeling ripped off.
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Oh my goodness, how does one NOT love this place?? I've been coming here since grade school and one thing that stands out is consistency. I've never done their lunch buffets and personally I wouldn't do a buffet but their lamb and chicken kabobs with the saffron and dill rice is killer! They give you grilled vegetables and a giant tomato to add to the already perfectly spiced lamb (tender by the way).
I enjoy coming here, getting wonderful service and bringing friends here knowing they'll love it too. They have two dining areas and the option of opening their giants windows during beautiful days is extra appealing. I don't enjoy anything vegetarian but their lentil soup makes me rethink my stance sometimes. Order the hummus as an appetizer and you'll get chunks of feta and little radishes along with a great homemade hummus beautifully presented.
The wait at night isn't horrible and you never feel rushed. I went next door once and I couldn't understand why they put almonds and pureed tomatoes on broiled chicken but I never strayed away from Reza's again.
They will do take-out service as I've done a couple times when i was under the weather and again everything is impeccably packaged and on time. It's a great Mediterranean restaurant flanked by a not so awesome one. Why else would they have two?
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good food horrible staff poor service through delivery and dine in try andies next door or the one downtown!!!
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I've been to Reza's three times. The first two times were disappointing. I thought the food I was served was just not that good. The meat was dry and the falafel was brick hard and horribly overseasoned. The third experience, had it been my only, would have earned Reza's five stars from me. I had some mushrooms that blew my mind away as did the Dolmeh Felfel. I think I'm going to give Reza's another shot myself based on that most recent experience.
Been there....over and over and over......went again this evening. I gotta say, I can always count on Reza's. Consistency. Period. You always know what to expect and are never disappointed. At least I'm not! I love the tabouleh, the string bean appetizer is delish; not too salty. They don't overcook their fish, which I think is a great compliment and feat for a restaurant of this size and volume. I suppose that they could serve more upscale wine, but then we'd have to pay more, right?
I like this place. Comfortable, welcoming and above all, consistent.
And in Andersonville, the free parking is perhaps what makes the decision even easier.
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There's a ton of reviews about this place already, so I won't go on and on.... to sum it up quickly:
Better than Andies (next door).
And there you have it.
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I am SHOCKED to see that anyone would rate this place a 5 star. No way, not even close. The place was packed when my friend's and I got here, and one of the reasons why we picked it was they advertise they are open till midnight.... HA! It was a Friday night, and I think we got there at 10-10:15 ish....and by 11 they were mopping and cleaning up. Which I think is totally inappropriate when you still have customers that are dining.
One bonus we were seated right away which was nice, and the open windows are really nice.... but beyond that, I would not rate anything else here better than average. We ordered Sangria which was OK... not great. However, while we waited for our food to be served and our drinks, we drank all of our water... and even though the waitress came back to the table our water was never refilled? Even though we asked.... are water refills not allowed???????
The food was ok, not bad, but again, I would say it was just average.
The waitress....when we saw her... was pleasant I guess, but how pleasant are you if you are not attentive to your customers???
It is large and the atmosphere is good... but nothing was enticing enough here to make me want to go back.... enough said.
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I came here for their lunch buffet. They had all the basic staples of a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern cuisine, but I didn't think it was all that great. The falafels were mush, the yogurt sauce wasn't that great; the kebobs were chewy and not flavorful (both the lamb and the beef); the spicy chicken drumettes weren't that much of a hit. I did like their little donuts for dessert, but that was pretty much it. Not going to come back here - I'd rather just go to Pita Inn in Skokie! Bleh.
Oh, high expectations, how cruel it feels to have you crushed to the ground! In this case, my husband set me up for failure. His great memories of meals here on business trips to Chicago a few years ago had me excited. And, I was truly starved of good Persian food and longingly recollecting my favorite joint in SF. So, really, this meal didn't stand a chance. With overarchingly impossible high standards to live up to, it was doomed from the start.
In a word, my experience was: tomato. Yup, tomato. Everything I ate was bathed in a curiously sweet, stunningly bland tomato sauce - from the rice, stuffed peppers, even some kind of falafel-type dumplings on the platter. As for the hummus and kashko bademjan, they almost made me wish they were covered in sauce, it might have been an improvement. Sorry guys, this wasn't for me. Maybe I'm just the wrong audience for a kabab haven.
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Let's start with the positives. We had a party of 11 and were promptly seated (with reservations...but still). The food was very good, huge servings and I think all but one order was correct.
Now, the negatives. They all have to do with service. We waited a long time for our drink orders to be taken, then an even longer time for our food orders to be taken, and we were out of water for the 2nd half of the meal. That's forgivable for a big party on a Saturday night, but guess what's not? The most rude server I've ever had.
Our table ordered a couple of the veggie appetizer samplers. It was good. For the entree, though, there are several more veggie combo samplers with different items on them. I'm not a vegetarian but wanted to try several things so I chose a veggie entree sampler. The server argued with me, saying it would be just like the appetizer, which was confusing since the only item the plates share is hummus. Then she asked why I would get that if I'm not a vegetarian (uh, because I'm paying for it so I'll get whatever the f### I want?). I got my sampler and it was delicious, especially the stuffed pepper, and as I expected the only repeated item from the appetizer was hummus.
Unfortunately I was very full and barely made a dent. When the server came to collect my plate she said, "I told you so." I wanted to punch her in the face. So the rudeness is what really makes this a 2 stars kinda place.
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Long have I wondered how Reza's and Andies can survive right next door to each other with such similar menus. As an Andies regular, I finally made it to Reza's to test it out and my eternal questions was finally answered.
While Andies excels at the basics of mediterranean cuisine; hummos, pita, lentil soup, schwarma, etc., Reza's knocks the entrees out of the park. Their braised lamb shank is huge, delicious and beyond tender. The fessenjen (chicken in pomegrante) was fantastic and the beef kebab was top notch as well.
However, the pita was store bought and the soup was awful.
I will be back again, but will be sticking to taboule and the lamb shank.
I used to go to Reza's at least once a week back when I used to work in Andersonville. The food here is absolutely amazing. There is so much flavor that you can't just pick out which one is the best. The meat is so delicious you want to go back for more. It literally crumbles in your mouth.I say go back because they have open buffet style lunch or you can also just have your order taken by a waiter. I also really like the bread here, I am not sure if it's Iranian bread? The prices are very reasonable and service is super fast and friendly.
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Went here tonight with a friend. Overall, we had a great time. I was a bit concerned prior to going because of the serious service issues that have been mentioned by numerous Yelpers....but we didn't experience any problem at all. Service was very attentive, timely, and not overbearing. I should probably mention that we went on a Wednesday night at 7pm, so this wasn't a Friday or Saturday evening rush.
The Broiled Salmon I had was excellent and not overcooked. Her Chicken and Filet Kabobs were awesome too. The couscous...well....not good at all. It was totally dry and without flavor or anything to distinguish it.
Overall, had a great time.
I went here for the Sunday brunch a few times which includes all the items on their menu. A bit expensive but you get to try everything, have as much as you want, and it is hot and fresh. The few times I just went for dinner the service was very good but I sometimes don't order the greatest dish (usually a special not on their menu). The delivery is good - hot and fast.
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I've been hearing about Reza's for quite some time and finally tried it last night. It certainly lived up to the raving reviews I've heard.
The place is huge and can easily seat large parties. I sat down and already had a yummy sangria waiting for me. The menu is rather large, and a bit overwhelming...but I don't think you can go wrong with any choice.
We started with baba ganish (however you spell the thing), hummus and tazhiki. My fave was the tazhiki. It was refreshing and full of flavor. Don't worry, I ate so much of the appetizers, I barely had room for the main course. Good thing I had some serious meat coming my way. I took about two bites of my entree and was finished. It was sad because my filet was juicy and cooked to perfection. They sauce that smothered my steak complimented it so well, and the sea bass was also delicious!
Unfortunately, I had no room for desert. Doggie bags! Just finished the leftovers today, and let me say...it was about as superb as the first go-around.
I was very impressed with my meal. Unfortunately, we did have some issues with the service. Our waitress was a bit slow at times and neglected to check up on us at all after we got our food. It was a busy evening, but it seems like this place always has busy evenings. No excuses for the poor service.
Overall, certainly worth trying. I would go back in a heartbeat to taste some of the other delicious options!
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Before tonight, I have only been here one other time. Before, I would have agreed with all the bad reviews about the service. However, tonight changed my mind completely. I LOVED IT!
Around dinner time, it took a while for us to find parking... but it was nice that we got seated right away (without reservations). Our waitress attended to us almost as soon as we sat down to get our drinks in... and we didn't have to wait long to order. She was very friendly and funny! I was looking around the place to see if other waiters were just as friendly.. and they were! The owner or manager of the restaurant also checked up on us to make sure everything was ok.
The food was AMAZING! The lentil soup was really good! I don't know why people are complaining about the kabobs because they were awesome... and you get ALOT. I probably got through 1/3rd of my plate until i was stuffed. They also have amazing desserts that you just can't turn down!
Everything about this place was great! Hopefully our next visit will be just as nice!
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The food was amazing! Actually I loved this neighbourhood as a kid because my mom would always take me to Swedish Bakery down the street but today I discovered this place through a friend. Huge portions you definitely get your money's worth. Friendly and prompt waitstaff and we didn't have to worry about refilled water glasses because our server brought us a pitcher. I only give this place 3 stars because at least my food wasn't hot enough and that's a big no no in my book.
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If I and my companera, the Vegan Lunch Lady, need a place to have a quiet, wonderful time, Reza's is the best place for it.
The neighborhood is great! I can go to Women & Children's books and get books by Molly Ivins or Marjane Satrapi, then head over to Reza's and enjoy my consciously minded literature and eat the grilled potatoes, mushrooms, and falafel.
I am sad that they now charge for the garnish of radishes, cheese, and parsley, which was always great to cleanse my palette of internalized oppression and prepare for a great meal and a great read.
Please to all you non-royalist Iranians and their supporters, the name of the restaurant is in no way a tribute to Reza Shah Pahlavi and his policies that were implemented after the CIA backed coup that overthrew Prime Minister Mossadegh in 1953.
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This is what happens to a good restaurant when the service is just bad. The food probably was a 4 quality. The vegetarian sampler appetizer was OMG good, but the service had my wife and I reconsidering our standard tipping policy.
We received no water when we sat down until we ordered it, when we did get water she left the pitcher for us to fill our own glasses, we had to wait about 10 minutes after being seated before the server came over to even say hi, received zero smiles throughout the meal, had to wait about 10 minutes after we last touched our plates for the server to approach us for the check/dessert/whatever, had to ask for more bread for our vegetarian sampler and even that seemed off-putting to our server, and never once was asked how the food was.
I understand a bad night, I truly do, but restaurants have to realize that their reputation is directly attributable to three things: (1) Service; (2) Quality of Food; and (3) the space/ambiance of a restaurant.
The service was so bad that I just can't justify giving this place more than 2 stars.
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By far the best sea bass I have had in a long time. My husband enjoyed his lamb shank very much. The grilled mushroom appetizer that they recommend is excellent, if you like mushrooms and the hummus w/ sesame bread was standard - just OK. The wine list had some good and very cheap (quality) wines that were way overpriced. Go with the by the glass option or just stick to reasonably priced beers. Our waitress gave good recommendations but she was extremely shy & soft spoken. It is a huge place with a very diverse crowd and an overall great dinner experience.
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I came here for a baby shower during the Brunch hours. The food offered looked amazing. I stayed away from the meat and rice for Lent, and buried my plate underneath veggie and fish options. I tried the smoked salmon but found the consistency too 'gooey.' The whole mushrooms were to die for, and the hummus and pita were warm and delectable. I was pleased to find a varied selection of fresh cut fruit, along with choices for beverage ( lemonade, ice tea, and juice). Along with the brunch each guest received a glass of champagne. Pastries and fried dough in honey were offered, and oh soooo yummy.
Just a couple oddities, the fresh shrimp wore their shells. The shrimp looked inviting, but I was in no mood to work with my food. The omelet station was there, burners and omelet filings were set up, but was not being offered throughout the time of the baby shower.
The party area was toward the back and was the perfect setting for 40 guests. It was a little hard conducting baby shower games since people from another party had to pass through to get to the food and bathrooms. Reza's had a separate table set up for the cake and gifts.
I believe the brunch cost $16.95 not including tax and tip. Sometimes the private lot gets full, so good luck with parking.
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I would love to actually review the food at this place, since it was so highly regarded by most of the yelpers, but alas it was not to be so. I went there last week with a friend. My friend actually worked at the downtown location, so he could not stop raving about the food. We sat at our table for 10 minutes without any attention from the waitstaff. I saw one server on a cell phone. I saw another one standing around looking bored, and I saw another server, actually working. We sat, hungry and thirsty for 10 minutes. Then we got up and went next door to Andie's, where we were attended to promptly.
Such a shame when service costs a restaurant its reputation and REVENUE.
I'll only go back if I'm on a diet or want to be ignored.
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This place is good. I have never went to their infamous Sunday buffet thing, but I want to one day.
I have only tried a few things from Reza's and it was pretty good. Since I don't know about many Persian/middle eastern places that deliver to me, Reza's is where I order from when I'm in that mood. I usually get the ground beef sausage-y looking thing with dill rice. It's pretty good.
My girlfriend once got a strange orange carrot rice and it tasted pretty bad.
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LOVE THIS PLACE!!! The service was excellent!!! They accommodated our increasing growing party very well. We've ordered catering from there too, the delivery was on time, excellent price for the quantity and quality of food!!!
Everytime I've worked with them, they've been very helpful, and kind. Check it out! It's well worth it!!
Yikes, I don't get why there are so many positive reviews of this dump. Cold falafels, mediocre kabobs and a giant a-hole of a waiter made this a truly awful experience. The food next door is far better, and less expensive. I think this place is skating by on it's popular name and awful commercials.
My very bff took me here for my birthday dinner. I hadn't been here in a while.
I love their grilled potatoes and hummus.
I had the scallop and filet shish Kabob with couscous. Huge scallops.
We ordered a carafe of sangria and it was the strangest sangria ever.
No fruit in it, it seemed that it was just wine.
They also seem to have changed their pita bread.
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Two words: Sunday brunch. Best Sunday brunch in the city, hands down. I don't care what other people are offering, this is basically like a Persian churrascuria except without the table side service. I mean, yeah, there are some other vegetarian things too, like falafel, grilled potatoes, Persian rice, babaganoush and hummus, etc., but if you happen to eat meat, you can get like 5 kinds of chicken and lamb, lox, cold salmon jumbo shrimp (like, the GOOD kind), and FILET FUCKING MIGNON. You also get a complimentary glass of champagne, unlimited amazing coffee and some other drinks. And if you have enough room, there's baklava! BAK-LA-VA! There were also some other ones, but come on, baklava. And $20 is not bad at all.
Otherwise, if you hit it up on any other night, it's still good, but I hate making decisions when there are so many choices. And being that it's a little pricey, you tend to not "go wild" when spending more in hopes you like what you get. Therefore, I stick with the Vegetarian combos because it gives me everything I want and still lets me mix and match, though the lamb shanks are amazing and if you're down with just eating that and some rice, it's still worth it. Either way, you walk out with a ton of left overs and food coma.
The food is amazing, no doubt about that! I believe Reza's is more Persian than the traditional Middle Eastern I am accustomed to. Subtle differences between the two cuisines are throughout including the use of warm lavash bread instead of pita. Also, they don't serve schwarma. Dining last night, my friend and I immensely enjoyed a plate of Baba Ganouj, Fattoush salad, baked feta with olives and tomatoes and chicken kabobs with dilled rice. All of it was quite delicious.
Service was just ok for me. Our server started out quite attentive but disappeared after he took our order. Also, the woman who sat us made such a big production out of how tall me and my friend were (i'm 6'4, he's 6'5). "Oh my GOD", she says as we walk into the restaurant, "you're SO tall!" Then later as we are enjoying our juicy kabobs, she comes over with larger plates so, as she so eloquently puts it, "you don't look like a couple of giants with these small plates". The whole time I'm thinking, 'can we just have a table for two and could you hold the order of shame please?'
I'll be back.
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Go for lunch or brunch! Reza's offers fabulous weekday lunch and Sunday brunch buffets. Their offerings are amazing for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike. I can't get enough of their Persian Salad, falafel, tomato-based lentil soup, white dill rice, hummus, baba ganoush, and who could forget the fresh bread! Many traditional meat dishes and a spread of fresh shrimp and salmon, too. Desserts and fruit included. On Sundays, they offer a larger selection of dishes and include eggs, danishes, fresh juice and coffee, and a complimentary glass of champagne.
In short, go with an empty stomach and clear your schedule for the rest of the day. Sunday brunch is around $20--weekday lunch is cheaper and nearly as impressive. I don't order anything but the buffet here because it's too hard for me to choose just one thing.
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Love Reza's, been going here for more than 10 years and I love the fact that such a great restaurant is a few blocks away! I only get one dish here, the Barg, which is a cut of filet mignon and it's delicious!!! The portions used to be gigantic, but my last visit left me a little disappointed since the portions seemed to have shrunk. Oh well, that always happens, people have to save money! Anyways, their dill rice and tomato lentil soup are amazing!! I think that Reza's is much better than Andie's and Noon-o-Kabab.
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This place needs my review like a hole in the head (there's already over 80) but I'll throw in my 2 cents.
Tonight I gave this food delivery place (grubhub.com) a shot based on the glowing review of Caroline (fellow yelper). Grubhub wil pick up food from various chicago restaurants and deliver it for you.
I hadn't eaten at Reza's before but after writing my review for the Greek Islands I was craving some Mediterranean food. Reza's fit the bill.
I ordered the cornish game hen in a pomegranate sweet and sour sauce and the vegan appetizer sampler. I LOVED the sauce on the hens. My BF thought it was only so/so but he must be smoking crack today cuz I was licking it off my fingers. LOL
For $30 the bag of food they sent us had to weigh at least 6 pounds,. They gave us an enitre sack of pita's for our sampler tray. I mean an ENTIRE sack of unopened pitas.
The hen came with Persian potatoes and I really liked them. They reminded me of a dish my mom used to make. Thick slices of potatoes dressed in olive oil and some herbs. Well cooked but still firm enough to hold up to the sauces.
I'll definitely be ordering from there again. I only give 3 stars right now because I can't give a full review based on carry out, but I'll be sure to update when I make it in.
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I don't get it. The one time I've been there, the food was simply mediocre and the service horrid.
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Filet mignon with a hamburger baked around it? What could be better? I remember thinking that it would be a good way to start an uber gourmet burger. But that would be blasphemy.
The food at Reza's is very tasty. The house soup is very flavorful, and their grilled potatoes are almost meaty! And to think that I passed this place by for a year because I saw the word "vegetarian" on the sign. Ha. My loss, now gain.
The only thing that I didn't quite like about the place was that it was loud and packed with tables. I wish it was more cozy and quiet. I had to listen to some very strange loud people next to me talk about some unsavory topics. But, oh well. It's not the restaurant's fault! And I'm sure that in the right circumstance, the atmosphere could be part of the charm.
I can't wait to try the other things on the menu.
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Their Couscous salad is awesome. The ambience, setting, layout of tables are enticing as much as the dishes. Dinner was exceptionally awesome, all in our group had a great time. I've heard of the Lunch specials(not tried yet).
Kashk-e-badamjan, Fessenjan, Koubideh are my favorites. A wonderful place to share the food. Enjoy the culture, relish the experience with the company.
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Review/Haiku:
My friend Kris was right
Get the lentil soup, dill rice
Learn from my folly.
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Lovely service, and even on a cold wintery night, the spacious dining room was cozy, warm and inviting. And as the dinner crowd filled in the room, it never got too noisy. Good crowd of eaters, not yellers!
The two of us shared a couple salads (Persian and Mediterranean), bread, falafel, chicken kabob, couscous, shami - it was all so wonderful. The great thing about eating at Reza's, I have found, is that everything on the menu goes with anything else - the flavors are so complimentary - they match so well!
A couple of nice drinks, and some lovely service by a dear calling us "dear" capped of a wonderful dinner!
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Reza's has a very healthy & tasty menu . Everything is grilled and less oily. I love their quail,salmon, shrimp and dill rice.
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Excellent Persian food -- I got the Vegetarian Special, and was delighted with the platter full of colorful, fresh, well-seasoned vegetable dishes. The lentil soup that I had as a starter was also incredibly savory. The dining area is very spacious, so you'll never have trouble finding seating here.
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An update- While the service has gone down over the years and the quality is not where it used to be, I did go recently for the saturday brunch and was happy. There was a lot of options such as chicken and beef kefta, the lentil soup, pita, chicken breast and desert. Also, our server was great this time around. In the past though I have had some really bad service and they have messed my order up.
