Caspian Grill

We stopped here on our first trip from Dallas to Austin after a 4-hour drive. Unfortunately, it was a really bad experience. We ordered beef koobideh with rice—both were very poor quality, and the koobideh was the worst I’ve had. We also got zeytoon parvardeh and found a small piece of plastic in it. When we told the manager, there was no apology or sense of responsibility, which was disappointing. I couldn’t finish my meal even though it was 4 PM and I was very hungry. The mast-o-musir wasn’t good either. The only positive was the lentil soup (adasi)—that was good. Overall, I don’t recommend this place. It’s worth taking the time to find another restaurant, especially if you’re visiting and hoping to enjoy the local food.

Outstanding Persian Restaurant— A True Gem! The food arrived hot, beautifully packed, and bursting with authentic flavor. From the perfectly spiced koobideh kebab and fluffy saffron rice to the crispy golden tahdig. Even the appetizers, like mast-o-musir and kashk-e bademjan, tasted freshly made and delicious. Portions were generous, pricing was fair, and the customer service was friendly and efficient. If you’re looking for a takeout experience that delivers bold, traditional Persian flavors right to your home, this place is a must-try. I’ll definitely be ordering again!

We are new to Austin and were so excited to find this iranian food restaurant. It didn’t disappoint, the food was fantastic and the owner and chef both were super friendly and made us feel right at home. We had ash reshteh, kebab and appetizers. Everything tasted amazing. Ash reshteh, mirza ghasemi and akbar jooje were specially really good and are a must.

The food was all amazing! The owner Shaun was soooo awesome educating us in history and answering questions! The beet salad was sooo good! Everything was well worth the $$. A wonderful experience

I got the vegan Ash Reshteh and it was one of the best bowls I have ever eaten in my life. I could have easily eaten a 2nd or 3rd bowl. My husband ordered the Mix Koobideh and raved about how flavorful it was. The owner was super helpful with suggestions and super friendly, too! Such an easy 5 stars, no question! Great spot for vegans and meat eaters alike!!!

We stopped in to place a takeout order and were helped right away. We ordered the chicken kabob with saffron rice and the koobideh (ground beef kabob) with saffron rice. Both were delicious, but the koobideh was definitely my favorite. Overall, a great experience!

This was my first time trying Persian food, since most places were closed for Christmas. It was pickup only, but the man at the front was incredibly kind and took the time to explain the menu to us since we weren’t very familiar with it. He even offered us tea and let us try their rice pudding, which was delicious. Everything felt very welcoming, and I’ll definitely be coming back. Thanks to the kitchen and staff for the kindness and great experience.

Our family has been here a few times and we can’t say enough positive things about the food at Caspian Grill. Our favorites are the lamb shank, koobideh, shawarma, and cornish hen dishes. The owners are gracious, super sweet and communicative. We came for dinner during their prep for a large event and they were kind enough to provide us with tea during the wait. The food quality is impeccable; it is always served consistent and fresh, with generous portions of the sauce, meat and rice. Please be patient here as they prepare everything fresh and is a family run business.

Best Persian food in town. very good service and prices reasonable. If you're looking for a phenomenal dining experience, look no further than Caspian Grill. Their menu is a culinary masterpiece, offering an incredible selection of persian dishes- it's truly a must-visit destination for any Persian food lover.

This was a big surprise for my wife and I. We enjoyed the food immensely, especially the unique flavors and good quality. Shawn is one of the owners and always quick to explain and describe the details of the Persian menu. Nicely sized portions allowed my wife to take some of her Schwarma home and have it for lunch the next day. There is a lot of variety and choices. I would say one reason to drive any distance to visit this place is the saffron ice cream. It was a great surprise and put big smiles on our faces. I cannot stop thinking about it so we'll be back soon to enjoy it again.

Food: 10/10 fresh, authentic, great portions & absolutely delicious. If you are looking for Persian food in Austin - you have to add this to your list. It is a very clean & quiet restaurant, and the service is A+. It's a little further away from the city but totally worth the drive. Especially because there really are no other Persian restaurants besides one other. Service: I wish I got her name but she really went out of her way to answer all our questions, make us feel heard, and give great recommendations. What we ordered: zereshk polo with chicken, joojeh kabob ( grilled chicken skewers ) koobideh ( beef kabob ) and khorosh sabzi. Wish I took photos to share but high recommend all of them. We ended it with an order of tea and lots of sweets! Dessert: big time - this restaurant has a bakery next door. They share a wall in the middle, but the server allowed us to go checkout what we like at the bakery full service of coffee, lattes, or any type of pastry and then order it to be served to our table. I'm not sure if they are one entity but bakery's name is : Elissa's Bakery. Desserts we ordered: mocha cake, carrot cake, puff pastry and pastry puff. We all shared and finished them in one sitting! The dessert variety is great because they provide Persian desserts or normal bakery sweets. We had such a good time that I forgot to take photos of all our orders but I remember loving the stand that the teapot sat on to keep the tea warm. That's the only photo I have to share! Looking forward to coming back again. Thank you!

We love caspian grill! The kabobs are amazing and everything just tastes so good we've eaten here many times and is just so good

Absolutely delicious Persian food. We have been twice now and haven't been disappointed. They offer large portions and the food comes out quickly. The staff is very friendly and helpful. We can't wait to go back again!

Let me tell you something...Persian food is one of my favorites and moving from California a couple years ago, I had yet to find a good Persian spot. Until I found Caspian Grill! Absolutely amazing, everything we ordered. We had the torshi, gheymeh with zereshk polo, and the baklava with saffron ice cream for dessert. Hands down the BEST baklava and saffron ice cream I've ever had. Our family will most definitely be visiting again. Great service and very kind servers.

22$ for a shawarma wrap and a coke. Over priced and with a paper plate was not all that nice. The ambiance looks like it be nice but the rest is terrible. Pay upfront then sit down. Does not feel like a restaurant.

Owner was very nice and recommended things to make the meals better. Great place for a Mediterranean/Persian meal!

I had really high hopes for this place since it had great reviews. The food came super late and cold, but that was because of traffic, etc. That's fine. Understood. But it was being delivered to a hotel. There was no utensils so I had to go down and get some plasticware. It just looked unappetizing. Shirazi salad was super salty. The tag did was dry and so was the baklava. The baklava was dry while swimming in sugar water. I also ordered the lamb shank. That was decent however the sauce that came with was all oil. Maybe it all was an unfortunate accident. Who knows.

The food is always fresh and tasty. Their prices are a bit high for this type of food BUT, their kabobs are large and juicy versus the other Persian restaurant in town's "see through thin" kabobs for a couple of dollars less. Caspian is the best Persian restaurant in the Austin area from a taste and presentation perspective.

Caspian, tucked away in a nondescript strip mall by Research Blvd, is a hidden gem that offers an extraordinary Persian culinary experience. I recently had the pleasure of savoring their chicken and beef koobideh, and I was blown away by the authenticity and mouthwatering flavors. The ambiance, adorned with Persian artifacts, adds an inviting charm to the dining experience. But what truly steals the show is the remarkable food. The service was prompt, and the pricing was more than fair for the exceptional flavors delivered. Caspian is highly recommended and a delightful revelation for anyone seeking an authentic and delectable Persian feast.

Delicious food, very helpful and friendly service. Would definitely frequent more if I lived closer. Perfect hole in the wall with surprisingly good selections.

Great Food Great Service Recommended 100% If you didn't try their Kashke badenjan you missed it

Ok so it's in a little strip mall and looks incredibly unassuming from the outside. Indoors though, it's a vibe! Cozy and cultural with super friendly staff and delicious food. They do indeed have Halal options if that's something that you need. Many options for vegans and vegetarians too. We ordered our food to go and only had a small wait, which was great, but it feels like this spot should be busier than it is. All that being said, Persian Biryani, get it! Hot, fresh, delicious, and made great leftovers for my lunch the next day. We'll be back to try different dishes at some point. Worth the drive if this place is a little out of the way for you.

Shawn was AMAZING! Fantastic service and his recommendations were spot on delicious. We are already discussing our next visit.

The food and service was superb. We enjoyed our conversation with the one of the owners during our visit. We will definitely go back. Our plates were empty, that says it all.

Great little place in a strip mall. Authentic persian fare, taddig was delicious with tomatoes and lentils. I ordered the beet/feta salad which was unique and delicious. We had the eggplant on bread, Persian yogurt with cucumbers; our entrees consisted of the hen which was absolutely delectable and mixed kebabs. For dessert I had the saffron ice cream which was an experience in and of itself! Never had anything that tasted so incredibly unique. The food here is a definite must try, even the Turkish coffee had a twist, a secret ingredient that elevated the taste. It is a basic place, no china, plastic forks and knives, but I highly recommend it.

Good selection of Persian dishes and plates that will please picky Americans. The lamb shank was truly incredible. Fall-off-the-bone tender meat that was only mildly gamey. Not much to look at on the outside: it's in your generic strip mall (but hey free parking). But the interior is homey and you forget the highway is right outside. I loved this place. As a non-Persian, this is the best Persian food I've had in Austin

Incredibly disappointed. I was excited to give this place a try considering the high ratings. First, it is incredibly tacky that the food is served out of styrofoam containers. I understand that this helps save clean up time but if I'm going out to eat, I don't want a "carry out" container. It kind of dampens the eating experience. I asked the cashier for recommendations and she was very adamant against suggesting anything at the risk of me not liking the food. Her efforts were fruitless considering that I was still underwhelmed and disappointed. I ordered the Turkish Coffee and Chicken Sultani & Rice. My food was super bland. I could tell that it had some spices on it but the taste was super weak. Also, there is no way food that is so bland and comes served in a styrofoam container should cost so much-this isn't fine dining. I was also disappointed with myTurkish coffee. The coffee had a strange distinct taste that reminded me more of an herbal tea than of coffee. Overall, I'm unimpressed and I don't recommend.

Seriously the most delicious Iranian/Persian food in Austin! Bonus points for being one of the few halal restaurants in Austin. Despite offering self service instead of full service dine in February 2023, I would still go here just for the moistness, heartiness and taste of food. Must orders: lamb shank/leg, koobideh kebab and tea. Each main comes with a small salad, yellow rice, and pide. Since Caspian grill is located in a strip mall, parking is quite easy. No need for reservations, but you can call ahead to have your order prepared in advance, then eat it there or at home. Unfortunately no pictures for this post since we were extra hungry!

Service were great. The food was delicious my friends and family loved it! They were eating vegan without realizing it. It was the best lunch! I plan to come back over there again.

The food here is outstanding and we've loved everything we've tried so far but it must be said that the prices are way out of line with the lack of table service, paper plates, and to-go packaging for everything. Covid was long enough ago that it's time organize the restaurant again and hire staff (if needed) so it doesn't feel like you are eating in a well decorated storage room.

Food is okay. Had to pay over $20 for a plate of shawarma. Service is non existent since everything is to go but still had to tip. Ambiance is nice. Way too expensive, maybe 20 pieces of small chicken slices. 30% lettuce 69% rice. 1% meat. Literally eating a bowl of rice . Update: as I am eating the bowl of rice I had to switch it to 1 star. $20 bowl of rice

The place closes at 8. We came in at 7 and she told us if we eat there, we'd have to leave by 730, so we ended up just getting a bunch of take out. I didn't like that they are so strict about that; normal restaurants are willing to let people dine in until close time at minimum and a lot of them let you linger there a little bit past close time. This place says nope you're out by 730 even tho they close at 8. Kashke Bademjan: Roasted eggplant infused with onions, garlic, walnuts, mint and goat yogurt; served with pita bread: This one was OK. Not too much flavor Vegan Mirza Ghasemi: smokey eggplant infused with garlic, tomatoes, onion, and mint; served with pita bread: This one was probably my favorite. Lots of strong garlic flavor and tasted great over basmati rice. Pita bread was hard by the time I ate it :/ Tah Digh: Crispy/chunky rice on the topped topped with vegan Gheymeh: The stuff on top was tasty, definitely very flavorful but I personally wasn't a fan of the crispy/chunky rice- too crispy for me. But the top stuff tasted really good on normal basmati rice. Pita bread was hard by the time I ate it :/ Persian Lentil soup: This was my least favorite dish. The stuff on top was pretty tasty but there wasn't much of it so the whole dish itself kind of tasted flavorless Saffron ice cream: I liked the flavor of the ice cream but I'm not a fan of nuts so I didn't like the nuts in it.

Absolutely amazing experience. My fiancée has extremely high standards when it comes to food and she was looking for a particular dish. We ordered a handful of delicious items none of which we're disappointing. Everything was very full of flavor and the people working seem so lovely!! They have a sign saying they are very short staffed so I think everyone should give this place a shot

The khoobideh here is always juicy and cooked correctly, it's very difficult to find especially since most of our babas char the kabobs at every mehmooni. I hope one day you will add khoresh karafs to your menu, the closest restaurant that makes it is in Houston and you make better khoresh than them.

Their customer service is awful!!!! And the guy who answers calls is rude! I won't recommend them to anyone!!!

They rock for sharing Iranian cuisine with Austin. I accomplished my mission of supporting small business today: yay and hooray! I see they devote a section of their menu to vegan items. Bravo! I purchased some lentil soup online. I deem the online ordering system easy peasy. The website said it was available the second I ordered. I walked there and they gave me the meal without hesitation. I don't eat lentil soup everyday, so you can call this a treat. The soup was hot. I tasted lemon or lime in there. It satisfied me. I want to revisit this establishment and order other items.

Delicious food, fantastic service! The highlight of the meal was the saffron ice cream!

This is the best Persian food in Austin! Very accommodating to food preferences, have vegan, and gluten free options. Recommend the beef and chicken kabobs and the eggplant and egg appetizer. We will definitely be back! Be warned they close early. We got there at 7:30 and they closed at 8 on a Friday and cleared the tables by 7.

My husband and I recently began eating more vegan food and noticed their sign driving by. We both had the vegan Persian Biryani and it was delicious! Everything everyone around us was eating looked wonderful too. Hospitable service. Make sure and try it!

Really good food. I got the Cornish hen and it was really tasty. Big portions as well.

Very good service , delicoiuse food , they are very nice , I highly recommend you guys to try here very good Persian food

Best tasting and healthiest food in town, and for the portions are plenty, you will not be disappointed with this place, don't sleep on this restaurant for real...

The food was amazing! The vegetarian options were so filling and so delicious. My daughter and her boyfriend loved there food and most importantly my mother-in-law an expert on good Persian rice (being Persian herself) LOVED the rice! thank you!

Flavorful and well seasoned Persian dishes such as Beef Kabob, Chicken Kabob, Dill Rice, Ghormeh Sabzi, Tah Digh. I ordered it to go so I can't speak on the service or ambiance but the food was great!

Food was great even though everything came out in to go containers. Go support this local business.

Really tasty food, i love it, very good service and nice people are working here, quality is outstanding

The Caspian Grill is a hidden gem just outside of downtown Austin. This locally owned Iranian restaurant is truly worth visiting and has wonderfully authentic Persian food. The Kashke Bademjoon was a perfect blend of spices with delicious garnishes. The garlicky delight left you craving more and more. As for entrees, each option was so tender and delicious without any taste of gaminess that I was constantly going back for seconds and thirds! The kabob koobideh was my personal favorite. The Joojeh kabob was also tender and juicy and left a decadent saffron and buttery taste in my mouth. Of course, no Persian dinner would be complete without Persian ice cream! This sweet treat is one of my favorites, and the Caspian Grill surely did not disappoint. The ice cream was especially creamy with fresh chunks of sweet cream and reverted me back to the homemade ice cream of my childhood. An overall 10/10 experience, and the owner Dr. G was incredibly charming and welcoming.

We were craving some Persian food and soon found Caspian Grill not too far from Domain/Uptown Austin. We ordered the Mirza ghasemi, Tah digh, Lamb shank, Lamb shawarma wrap, Caspian flatbread and Baklava. No surprise the lamb shank and shawarma were winners but the Caspian flatbread was a secret star. We wanted to dip every last pita in the mirza ghasemi. We will be back!

Friendly staff and quick service. They have a delicious Ghormeh Sabzi. My husband loves the Kabob.

I ordered via Grubhub to try it and the food was amazing!! The eggplant flatbread appetizer brought tears to my eyes with the fresh herbs and overall deliciousness. I've had the entrees and are also fresh and wonderful. Admittedly, this was my first time to try Persian food and I am ADDICTED. Please support this unassuming restaurant as they cook with LOVE.

Great menu although way too much rice. Love all the selections from appetizers to kebab to stews. Wonderful taste of Iranian cuisine.

My base review is below. That review was also five stars. This is just a COVID update. The Caspian Grill does a lot of amazing grilled meat and chicken. Now that COVID is here, The food that you get is takeout. Middle Eastern/Persian grilled dishes won't survive the ride home. What is a poor lover of Iranian food to do? Order their casseroles. Their braised/stewed dishes are even better than the grilled meats. And the desserts are to die for. Samuel C. Tip. They offer a number of plain grilled vegetables on the side. These vegetables are nearly raw - by design. But with a char on the outer portions. Try some of those in one of their home stews. And when the pandemic is over You can try some of those next to their grilled meats. Life is good.

I'm telling you... true flavors of wonder and excellence... delectable dishes filled with spices of exotic origins lovingly made into foods with glorious taste! We finally were able to bring my in-laws here... and the inside decor has changed substantially! They have updated, remodeled and improved... the location looks beautiful. We started with several aps... most of which I can't spell... but all of which were delightful! Rice with a stew topping that was bold in flavor, a yogurt dip for pita that was tangy and rich, a bowl of pickled veggies, and a plate of herbs and feta. Every flavor unique and every bite an explosion of new found excellence. For our main course I got the beef kabob and chicken kabob combo with saffron rice. Tender, juicy and heavenly... it was better then ever! My boys each had beef kabob that they ate every bite of. My wife had beef kabob as well and she raved about it. However the true test was my father in-law... being from Iran it was his judgement I was interested in. We had brought him here because it was his bday... and he loved everything! It was a true testament to the authentic flavors of the food. We ate, we enjoyed immensely and we left more then satisfied. I highly recommend this wonderful eatery. Branch out and try some real Persian food. You will not regret it! Seriously... put this location on your list... you will not be disappointed!

I got take out from Caspian Grill. The food was amazing as good as homemade. The portions were generous and I was helped to my car.

Me and my boyfriend were in Austin for the day and wanted to try something new. This place was absolutely DELICIOUS!! Their vegan menu is extensive and everything was incredibly flavorful. All of the employees were very kind and helpful. The next time we are in the area we will definitely stop by!

Sadly disappointed! Tasteless food!!! Prices are high! Quality of food: Not good. Wishing for a truly good kebab

I daydream about their beef koobidehs every single day. They serve a really generous amount of rice but even then it's never enough for how good everything tastes. Their kashke bademjan and lentil soup are also so so so good. Amazing service every time and very relaxed environment. 10/10 for everything. I can't wait to try the rest of the menu :)

*Disclaim er, this review is on the customer service, not the actual food since I haven't had a chance to try it yet. Recently, I called close to closing without realizing it and the person on the phone mentioned that they can still make the food for me. Me having been in the restaurant industry for years and years, it's really annoying to have people come in right before closing. I didn't come but I appreciated the gesture. I will come sometime to try out the food though. Kheylie Mamnoon, doostam!