Anar, 349 Portobello Road, London W10 5SA. 8/4/12
http://www.anarpersiankitchen.co.uk/about.asp
She said: Having fallen in love with Persian food recently, I had frantically searched online for recommended restaurants in London and Anar in Notting Hill popped up so I booked it for a Sunday dinner. We rode our 'Boris' bicycles to the nearest docking bay at the top of Portobello Road expecting a short walk to dinner; I would have re-thought the walk if I knew we'd be going through the butt-end of town passing crazy people talking to themselves and shouting at each other forcing us into the road to avoid becoming part of the social mix. When we finally arrived at a pretty little converted corner pub and wandered into a stylish intimate room with exposed brick on one side and gold painted wall on the other, expectations were high. The service was friendly and there was a good range of vegetarian options but unfortunately the food was underwhelming. It was all a bit bland. The pomegranate salad lacked anything Persian about it (bare mixed salad with some bit of pomegranate); I had a courgette main dish but all I remember is that it just tasted like a fried courgette. I was then gutted to have paid a gratuity on the credit card machine when prompted ('do you want to add a gratuity') because the service was friendly and prompt - only to realise after the bill had included service - so watch out for that one. Shame really as this would have been a good find if the food was any good.
He said: we each grabbed a Boris Bike and as we pedalled along Hyde Park I was really psyched for our meal at Anar. We'd been to a few Persians in the last few months and liked each one more than the last. Anar is at the butt end of Portobello Road, far removed from any cycle ports; I guess Boris didn't want to chance the vandalism. The restaurant itself is like an oasis in a concrete desert; I guess pioneering gentrifiers will only go so far. The first impression is really great -- corner site, in old pub, front painted black with gilt lettering in Farsi, lots of windows, cool interior complete with statement wall paper, and typically Persian warm and welcoming staff. We got there early, only beaten by a gaggle of Iranian women for whom this was probably a late lunch, rather than dinner. The menu read well with a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar. I had to have Ghormeh sabzi, a spinash stew here made with mushroom, and we shared kashkeh bademjan, borani, and anar salad. All of them were good enough, but kind of 'meh, nothing special': the stew lacked the vital sour note of limes, the kashkeh had almost no walnut kick, and the anar salad used really boring, hard cheese, not the creamy feta/goat cheese you'd expect. Let's remember that this salad shares its name with the restaurant (which mean Pomegranate, by the way) -- you'd think this would be the best dish in the joint. It's a shame, I really wanted to like this one. Unless you live nearby there's no reason to go out of your way.
http://www.anarpersiankitchen.co.uk/about.asp
She said: Having fallen in love with Persian food recently, I had frantically searched online for recommended restaurants in London and Anar in Notting Hill popped up so I booked it for a Sunday dinner. We rode our 'Boris' bicycles to the nearest docking bay at the top of Portobello Road expecting a short walk to dinner; I would have re-thought the walk if I knew we'd be going through the butt-end of town passing crazy people talking to themselves and shouting at each other forcing us into the road to avoid becoming part of the social mix. When we finally arrived at a pretty little converted corner pub and wandered into a stylish intimate room with exposed brick on one side and gold painted wall on the other, expectations were high. The service was friendly and there was a good range of vegetarian options but unfortunately the food was underwhelming. It was all a bit bland. The pomegranate salad lacked anything Persian about it (bare mixed salad with some bit of pomegranate); I had a courgette main dish but all I remember is that it just tasted like a fried courgette. I was then gutted to have paid a gratuity on the credit card machine when prompted ('do you want to add a gratuity') because the service was friendly and prompt - only to realise after the bill had included service - so watch out for that one. Shame really as this would have been a good find if the food was any good.
He said: we each grabbed a Boris Bike and as we pedalled along Hyde Park I was really psyched for our meal at Anar. We'd been to a few Persians in the last few months and liked each one more than the last. Anar is at the butt end of Portobello Road, far removed from any cycle ports; I guess Boris didn't want to chance the vandalism. The restaurant itself is like an oasis in a concrete desert; I guess pioneering gentrifiers will only go so far. The first impression is really great -- corner site, in old pub, front painted black with gilt lettering in Farsi, lots of windows, cool interior complete with statement wall paper, and typically Persian warm and welcoming staff. We got there early, only beaten by a gaggle of Iranian women for whom this was probably a late lunch, rather than dinner. The menu read well with a good mix of familiar and unfamiliar. I had to have Ghormeh sabzi, a spinash stew here made with mushroom, and we shared kashkeh bademjan, borani, and anar salad. All of them were good enough, but kind of 'meh, nothing special': the stew lacked the vital sour note of limes, the kashkeh had almost no walnut kick, and the anar salad used really boring, hard cheese, not the creamy feta/goat cheese you'd expect. Let's remember that this salad shares its name with the restaurant (which mean Pomegranate, by the way) -- you'd think this would be the best dish in the joint. It's a shame, I really wanted to like this one. Unless you live nearby there's no reason to go out of your way.
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