Persian — Gastrology

Location: 751 Doncaster Road, Doncaster
Phone: 03 9078 5350
Link: http://www.kolbeh.com.au/
Cuisine: Persian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern
Overall Impression: 6.5/10

Serving unique and exotic Persian food, Kolbeh is a welcome new addition to the Doncaster/Templestowe dining scene.

We started our meal with a lovely assortment of dips served with freshly baked bread. The dips were packed full of flavour and wholesome.

All of the main courses were delicious.

The chicken fillet was tender and juicy, the lamb shank was bursting with flavour and the curries were rich and hearty.

Each main came with a very generous amount of perfectly cooked long grain rice.

For dessert, we shared saffron ice-cream with faloodeh (sweet noodles in rose water ice) and some Persian sweets. It was a lovely end to our meal.

Kolbeh reigns supreme over all the other Persian restaurants in the Doncaster/Templestowe area. The menu features a variety of competitively priced Persian food of a good standard. The wait staff were friendly and helpful. This may have been our first time to Kolbeh, but it certainly will not be our last.

Location: 420 Thompson Rd, Templestowe Lower
Phone: 03 9852 3302
Cuisine: Middle Eastern, Turkish, Afghan
Overall Impression: 3/10

J and I believe that this site is cursed. Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed several restaurants try their luck on it. Every single one of them have failed in a span of a couple of years. Ali Qapu is the new tenant on the site. Curious to see how this restaurant fares with its counterparts, J and I decided to visit the restaurant last weekend.

The restaurant was running at its full capacity. Every table was full and the restaurant was bustling. We were thankful that we had made a booking.

Persian Dips $15

This “platter” literally consisted of stale pita bread and 3 extremely average dips.

Stew: Dizi Sangi $22

Stew: Khoresht-r Gormeh Sabzi $21

Both of the stews we had were incredibly underwhelming. The flavours lacked punch and any depth whatsoever. It was one disappointing dish after another.

Juje Kabab $21
"It is an ever popular marinated chicken kabab in minced onion and lemon juice with saffron then grilled over a fire. "
Although we were spoilt for choice in terms of picking the worst dish of the night, there was general consensus that this dish would take the cake. The dish consisted of plain rice served with overcooked and dry chicken pieces. The chicken was clearly underseasoned. There was not a single hint of salt. The chicken tasted like it had merely been dipped in some lemon juice before being put straight onto the grill.

Persian Tea and sweets

Although hardly revolutionary, the night ended on a somewhat pleasant note with a few Persian sweets.

Even though Ali Qapu was packed during the night of our visit, it is unlikely that there will be many returning customers. The novelty of being one of the only Persian restaurants in the neighbourhood quickly wears off when the food fails to satisfy. To the restaurants credit, the the menu is very well priced and the staff are very attentive. However, the lack of emphasis on the strength of flavours of the dishes served are a problem. If the "cursed" site does nothing to run this restaurant into the ground, its menu (as we tasted it) certainly might.