Simurgh Restaurant serves a selection of Persian dishes cooked with lots of herbs and a variety of different rice dishes. Catering for private parties of up to 50 guests is available upon request.
Simurgh Restaurant Picture Gallery
All In London Review
Simurgh may be in tourist trap London, but the food is authentic
Being on Garrick Street means this Iranian restaurant is on the corner of Theatreland and tourist trap London, so we’re questioning how authentic the cooking will be. But before we get onto the food, there’s the décor, which must be the most ornate of any Persian restaurant in the capital. There are large murals, colourful lanterns, and carvings that imitate the bas reliefs of Persepolis, Iran’s lost city. Thanks to carefully positioned dim lighting, it doesn’t look OTT.
A mezze selection of five starters is £14.95, for which you get small bowls of salad olivieh, a rich salad of chicken, potatoes, eggs and gherkins in mayonnaise, green olives with a tangy paste made with walnut and pomegranate sauce, a garlicky aubergine and tomato dip, yoghurt with cucumber and mint, and lightly spiced mini lamb meatballs in saffron and tomato sauce.
Apricot and spinach stew with yellow lentils is hearty and very sweet, while the duck fessenjoon is a complex sweet and sour stew made with ground walnuts, pomegranate juice and cinnamon, creating a thick sauce the duck meat has simmered in. A less common dish is the chicken and young grape, where a whole leg of chicken has been stewed with aubergine, tomato, ginger and sour grapes. All three dishes come with three mounds of rice: with saffron, herbs, and cinnamon, making them extremely generous portions for their £12 price tag. There’s also a dollop of salad leaves on the side with an incongruous bright yellow dressing that looks like French’s mustard. But that’s about the only concession they make to tourist palates. And possibly the eye-catching décor.
Reviewed by Leila
Published on Jun 4, 2014
Useful Tips from AIL Users
Chicken Banana is awesome if you like it sweet, and the safron and rose water ice cream was a nice and refreshingly different desert (if you're not used to Iranian cuisine, of course, otherwise I am told it was very nice and authentic).
User Reviews
Kat from London
Sep 12, 2018
Wonderful little restaurant with warm and friendly staff and absolutely marvellous food.
I was so impressed by my Chicken Banana dish that I decided to go back once a week and eat all their dishes!
The well-rounded aroma accompanied by a perfect side salad and three different types of rice absolutely blew my mind.
Such high quality food is hard to find in London. Please go try for yourself :)
This is was a serious health & safety matter, but what I found most disappointing was the relaxed attitude of the manager.
He did apologise but also added that "human error happens all the time." It seemed like such an unprofessional thing to say, especially when you in a business that prepares food for customers to eat and foreign bodies such as glass is a serious concern for the health and safety of the customer.
He did waive the cost of my main, but continued to charge us for the rest of the meal. He is in his every right to do so, but it was his lack of professionalism that really concerned me.
His staff seemed more empathetic and had a better approach than the manager.
It was a shame as up to that point, I was enjoying the food and the atmosphere. That experience has really alarmed me and I would not go back to Simurgh again.
We'd reserved a table for a pre-thetre meal and it was a lovely experience! The food was nice and the waiters were very polite and friendly. Very good service- starters, main course was all on time, did not have to wait long. The minty yogurt drink was refreshing. Very much wanted the dessert but were so full after 2 courses! We did try the Persian tea at the end and it was pleasantly relaxing!! The music, ambience- perfect!
Lovely food and brilliant show at the theatre later- a wonderful evening!!
Had a night out with my husband.The staff was very friendly and helpful..Warm welcome,good knowledge of the food and dishes and a fantastic night of belly dancing.
Had starters Masto mousir and persian prawns for starters.
The chicken kebabs in the main course called joojeh were tender ,succulent and tasty.
So was the lamb cooked with yellow lentils (Lamb and Lime)
To top it all the Persian tea (same as turkish tea)was very good..
Overall a good place to eat out..
Maneesha
What an absolute gem! Lovely little restaurant, conveniently located near Covent Garden and Leicester square. Oozing charm and atmosphere. Incredibly friendly and helpful staff and the food! Amongst many memorable dishes (there were 7 of us)the Duck and Walnut stew really stood out. The best I have ever eaten - and I have Iranian friends who are excellent cooks! Also noteworthy were the Gulf Prawns - huge and succulent - and the Chicken and Banana stew - like a gorgeous savoury banoffie pie!! Each dish was complimented by a wonderful rice dish and a gorgeous tasting salad. We are still drooling over the Lazy Pumpkin desert! Highly recommended - I am definitely going back!!
We had a very similar experience to the other user. We turned up for our booking for 8 people at 9pm on the dot to find he had given it to a party of 6 girls. The manager tried to tell us to sit down at a table for 6 people and wouldn't listen to us when we asked what about the other 2 people. We asked if we could get some drinks on the house whilst we waited for him to sort it out and he refused. He brought the bill to the table for another party who were having dessert, but still wanted coffee, to push them out. The manager started to become pysically abusive towards my sister and a friend when we tried to sort out the booking and find out what we could do. DO NOT GO HERE
Persian friends of mine had invited us to this restaurant and had booked for 7 people. At arrival, we found ourselves in a tiny basement area near the toilet. One table for 4 was on one side and one table for 3 on the other. When we complained, the manager started shouting and pointing at us. We decided to leave. But it got worse when the manager grabbed to push us out. It has definitely destroyed our belief of Persians as hospitable and friendly people. If you like to be abused, do not hesitate, go to Simurgh.
