For
some people, their first impression of a restaurant is how it looks, whether it’s
the establishment’s store front or an initial glimpse of the dining room. For
me, a more important impression is how the place smells, the sense that intrigues my nose about things to come. Upon
entering Darvish, it was the first thing that struck me – all the spices melding
together with a faint smoky meat scent. Sure, their colourful tablecloths were
nice, but that’s secondary.
Most
of the heavenly aromas must come from Darvish’s stews. When our aubergine stew
or bheymeh bademjoon ($16.99) was set
on the table, it certainly made me inhale deeply, a calm yoga breath. You
really can’t go wrong with a hearty dish spooned over the basmati rice, where
the tomato sauce has a hint of citrus thanks to dried lime, which keeps it light
while the split peas helps to thicken the sauce. The meat wasn’t immensely
tender for veal, but good enough. I only wished there was more eggplant
(especially since the stew was named after it), as the vegetable absorbed many
flavours and I wish there was more than one piece.
Make
sure to choose the saffron barberry rice if you’re getting a kabob as despite
looking regular basmati topped with cranberries, it's certainly more flavourful thanks
to being cooked in saffron liquid. You’ll need the extra spice as the kabobs aren’t
overly strong; tasty enough on their own but slightly plain without a flavoured
grain.
We
sampled a mixed kabob plate containing a skewer of koobideh and lamb ($18.99), I was pleasantly surprised by how moist
the koobideh (a spiced minced meat)
was as I find at most places it’s rendered into an overcooked hamburger.
The lamb was tender and with a bit of the onion and parsley mixture helped
augment its flavours and ensure there was no gaminess.
Overall mark - 7.5 out of 10
How To Find Them
Location: Toronto, Canada
Address: 508 Yonge Street
Address: 508 Yonge Street
Website: http://darvishrestaurant.ca/
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Gastro World's Grading System
- Anything under 5 - I really disliked and will never go back
- 6 - decent restaurant but I likely won't return
- 7 - decent restaurant and I will likely return
- 8 - great restaurant that I'd be happy to recommend
- 9 - fantastic restaurant that I would love to visit regularly and highly recommend
- 10 - absolute perfection!
Is That It? I Want More!
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