What's New Restaurants: Persepolis in Sanlitun

Among the flight of prized Middle Eastern restaurants beside Tuanjiehu station is an Iranian novice named after the ancient capital of the first Persian Empire, Persepolis. In a patch of land where one crowded hookah-filled patio can seem just as good as any, this newcomer has certainly staked its territory with confidence.

For starters, the new furniture on the terrace certainly adds a shine that its tired comrades can’t match. Inside, raised ceilings crisscrossed with royal blue paint cap colorful, cheery, Persian-style décor in just the way you might imagine a restaurant in Iran would look. Cerulean tiles, light brick, and traditional Persian paintings lend a backdrop for belly dancers (Fri-Sat, 8pm). During a sunny lunch hour, ornate blues and golds shimmer on decorative place settings. A cactus-stemmed grail glimmers, its canary yellow rice pudding spiced with saffron and cinnamon greeting diners in the foyer. 

It’s a dessert, or a starter should you give in so soon, on a well-rounded menu whose dishes are the by-product of talented, former Iranian Embassy Chef Ahmad Mirrokni. Thus, the Persian staples are all there, the lamb tenderloins, walnuts simmered in pomegranate sauce full of meatballs, lentil soup, and even a fair selection of yogurt and basil-based beverages. For the untrained, gulping down the salty, minty yogurt drink is arduous, but the manager would assure you that for Persians, yogurt is analogous to a Coke in a Big Mac meal. For culture’s sake, do your best to hide your puckers, and pair sips with a lamb kebab. It will, in fact, save you from stomaching a dry serving of pita. Persepolis has many strengths, but bread isn’t one of them. That is, unless it’s drowned in a heaping pile of grilled eggplant.

Persepolis
Daily 10.30am-10.30pm. 1-3 Gongti Beilu (opposite Zhaolong Hotel), Chaoyang District
朝阳区工体北路甲1号兆龙饭店对面

Photo: Joey Guo