Shandeez Grill

An amazing authentic high quality food! Loved every bite and the appetizer they bring for everyone. The Kababs and Tahdeeg with half Gheyme and half Ghorme were absolutely delicious. The great taste was completed with the fantastic pastries which were authentic Persian as well! Absolutely loved everything! Highly recommend!

Extremely disappointing experience – never again We came to Shandeez last year and the food was decent, which is why we decided to give it another try this year. Unfortunately, this visit was an absolute disaster from start to finish. I ordered Koobideh, and it was shockingly bad. It had no koobideh flavor at all and, on top of that, it was served cold. Completely unacceptable. We also ordered Mast-o-Moosir, which was overly sweet and barely had any moosir in it. It tasted nothing like it should. We ordered Chicken Soltani as well. The chicken was extremely dry, and the kabab barg was also dry, stale, and tasted old. This is not the quality anyone expects from a Persian restaurant, especially one with this reputation. But the worst part was the billing practice, which honestly felt insulting. After paying with a credit card, we noticed a note on the receipt saying that if you pay cash, it’s cheaper because you don’t pay the credit card fee. So instead of pricing their menu honestly, they quietly charge customers extra for using a credit card. That is ridiculous, unprofessional, and shady. Overall, the food quality has gone downhill badly, and the pricing policy is just plain stupid. This place has clearly changed for the worse. I will not be coming back, and I strongly recommend others think twice before wasting their money here.

My favorite thing here was the different Kabab. The beef kabab, and steak kebab were my favorite. The chicken was good as well. I got the Khoresh ghormeh sabzi which was delishously lemony i poured it on top of my white rice. I also got the baba ghanoush, and mirza ghasemi appetizers. I used my pita bread for my appetizers, and to scoop up a few bites with my rice & sabzi. The persian ice cream is life changeing, so delishous. I also enjoyed cakes, and other deserts from the bakery which is next door, but you can walk in through the restaurant, there being no door or wall in between. Another time i came here, and got the soltani which was excellent as well.

Came here for Preservation Austin's Legacy Business Month and wow this place was great. The service was incredibly nice, helpful, and quick, cannot commend them enough. All of the servings were large and full of flavor. Everything we ate was delish! Highly recommend the kabobs, the mixed combo was a great pick to try different meats. It was nice and quiet inside, made it very easy to have a conversation. Will be returning!!

It was good experience, kabab Barg was soft and juicy, the Zereshk polo served with JooJe kabab, which was also delicious. The waiter was a nice Turkish guy ver polite and helpful. We recieved complementary Tea at the end and a welcome appetizer of cheez and bread! I loved the cheez it Tasted like Lighvan cheez back in Iran, too bad the waiter did know the Brand! Overall every thing was nice.

Food was absolutely fantastic. Servic was great, too! Our host (and server) was very nice and attentive. The place looks okay, clean, but not too fancy. I would come back solely for the food.

I have never eaten Persian food before & it was absolutely delicious. I went with a friend who eats there regularly & said I had to try it. I had the chicken kabob salad, wrapped grape leaves, & some sort of eggplant appetizer. I will definitely go back

Loved this Persian restaurant! Food was amazing and came out fast. Persian dessert was delicious and all the food was generous portions and such delicious and juicy kebabs and rice was perfectly made. Service was wonderful and staff very friendly. We were traveling from north part of US and searched for Persian restaurant and made a detour to try this place, so glade we tried it. Bathrooms were clean, and there was plenty of parking space. Also, it’s attached to a bakery called Elisa Pastry, where we got macarons! Make sure to check this place out!!!

Today is turning out to be a plant based day with a fruit parfait for breakfast. For lunch I decided to have hummus, which was made with a blend of tahini sauce, chick peas mixed with fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil. The hummus was thick with a perfect flavor profile. I packed half to go as it was a large portion. Amar was an amazing server! He immediately brought pita bread, cheese and butter to the table. He pretty brought water to the table pretty quickly along with a to go container and bag. Pretty chill vibe in Shandeez Grill...

The best kabobs in Persian style i have found in austin - flavor packed, tender, served with fluffy rice absent the oily coating found elsewhere. The joojeh kabob was phenomenal (bone in Cornish hen) and basically its all good. Reasonable price point given the quality ($18-25 entrees) since lunch at chipotle is $20 these days! Attentive service and a clean decor round it out for me. Give this spot a try you wont regret it.

We came for a late Tuesday lunch and shared an appetizer and an entrée plate. Upon sitting down, we were greeted with a complimentary appetizer of pita bread, walnuts, butter, and feta cheese. I understand that the plates were refrigerated, but I would have preferred the walnuts to be dry. That said, it was a generous offering, and the feta added a nice punch to start the meal. I had seen Tahdig online and was excited to find it on the menu, so we decided to order it along with a kebab plate to shae between the two of us. The Tahdig was definitely an adventure! The rice was very crispy and remained so even with the two large portions of sauce/topping on it. I preferred the Gheymeh (split pea stew)--the sauce was mild in flavor but packed with texture, pairing well with the crispy rice. The Ghormeh Sabzi (peas with spinach and leek) was a bit too sour for my taste, but I appreciated the opportunity to try it. We didn't end up finishing the Tahdig, but having it on the menu with two sauces to sample made the experience more enjoyable than just judging the dish at face value. As for the kebab plate, the Koobideh and naan were quite decent! The dish included two kebabs, four pieces of naan, onion, and roasted tomatoes. The beef kebab smelled great and was juicy. The onion added both flavor and texture, while the roasted tomato helped balance out the richness of the meat. We shared the plate between the two of us, and it was very filling by the end of the meal. We didn't finish the appetizer but did finish the entrée plate, leaving us satisfied. The restaurant's interior is traditionally furnished--don't let that deter you! The server was very friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable about the menu. The restaurant is also adjacent to a bakery. I was too full for dessert this time, but the cakes looked delicious, and I'll definitely stop by next time!

Overall experience was wonderful.... Me n my 96yr old grandmother came for our weekly Friday lunch dates and for decided to try this place and it didn't disappoint The waitress was very sweet kind n attentive (not overbearing like some places) The inside was super super cute n posh at fist we felt like we were underdressed but as soon as we sat down we felt welcomed n right at home They have beautiful chandeliers and a rose at every table Complimentary pita with butter Walnuts n feta as soon as u sit down We ordered the ground meat IT WAS AMAZING!!!!! Extremely soft and full of flavor Even asked if they could add some crispy rice and they did no problem! But when they say fluffy rice !!!! It's fluffy!! We were full from that but we can not wait to return and try the Persian ice cream I've been craving since ever seeing this place They also have a little bakery with beautiful desert! Lots of parking, easy to find, super cute windows and clean clean bathrooms

Incredibly delicious Persian food. We ordered takeout and everything was perfect. Generous portions with lots of flavor. We will be coming back!

Excellent food, wonderful owner and staff. Elisa bakery is also located next door with mouth watering tastes

Shandeez used to be our go to for years and years. The last time we ordered (2+ years ago) it was not the same. We have not returned until today for another to go order. I ordered the family meal for 4 with all ground beef kabobs (kubideh). They were quite thin not substantial (but juicy and tasty). We were 2 adults and 2 kids and we also ordered an appetizer and it was not enough food. (we had plenty of rice left ) This was my family. Had I ordered this for guests or 4 adults I would have been embarrassed because we wouldn't have had enough food. There were no grilled tomatoes or herbs provided and the pita wasn't fresh. Their feta cheese was authentic and they gave us walnuts and butter. Unfortunately I can't recommend what we ordered. I recommend they change the description of this item on their website because it will not feed 4 adults. It came with five kebabs, two containers of rice, a small piece of onion, some feta cubes, walnuts, and some pita. I think if they increased the number of kebabs, this would feed four people. I did not enjoy the kash benejan appetizer. It was quite sour.

Excellent Persian dishes as experienced historically. However, I no longer see the complimentary appetizer of pita bread, walnuts, butter, and feta cheese which was a disappointment was considering the entree prices have gone up. Will go visit the restaurant again in the future? Of course I will.

Excellent food and service. Husband had the lamb shank and it was very tender, melt in your mouth. I had chicken kabob salad and it was delicious.

Excellent service and incredible food too! Highly recommend you make a reservation as many people know about this local treasure! If possible save room for dessert!!!!!

Tanmay's scale: - Scrumptiousness: 4/5 - Service: 5/5 - Ambience: 5/5 - Cleanliness: 5/5 - Value for money: 3/5 - Vegetarian friendly: 3/5 - Parking: 5/5 We had veggie kabob and falafel plate for our lunch. Falafel were tasty, and well plated. However there were no kabobs in veggie kabob plate. It was a few grilled veggies with rice and hummus. It was a good experience.

The food is good. Chicken Soltani is juicy and delicious. Lamb Shank is so tender but the broth is not flavorful. The ambiance is nice. Customer service is good.

Very good Persian food with a variety of authentic dishes (as far as I, not having been to the Middle East) can tell. They have some Greek style standards like Gyros and Tabouleh but I think the real point of the restaurant is the Persian dishes - different kabobs, stews and other items that you might not see every day. Menu is fairly large and quality of food is high.

I came here last weekend with a friend and the food was not great. I tried the lamb shank which had virtually no flavor and the broth tasted like hot water. The shirazi salad was okay but definitely not worth 8 dollars for the tiny bowl. Overall, the food was not worth it for the very high price point. I can't believe I spent almost 40 dollars for just the meal and a salad, will not be back.

Great food and service! Food tastes authentic and homemade. I recommend the koobide plate, the ghormeh sabzi and the gheymeh pollo.

Wont be coming back! Food it super overpriced and bland and had to wait forever for a simple meal.

This is a Five Star Review on a menu I normally hate. I absolutely adore Persian food. It is one of my favorite cuisines on the planet. But I am very fussy about my Persian food. I want genuine complicated exotic Persian dishes. I want Rice with a beautiful crust burned into the bottom. I want elaborate stews with tart berries mixed in with the meat. I want tea with sugar balls the size of an egg that you hold in your mouth. I want soup made with lamb tripe. Most of the famous Persian dishes have ingredients that you only get in the Middle East. In contrast - Shandeez uses plain ordinary American ingredients. Much of the menu involves gyros and gyro meat. Nearly everything else uses items you could buy in an HEB. These are Persian recipes adapted for the American Restaurant Supply Industry. This normally puts me in a sour mood. But Shandeez is a five star place. * * * Why does Shandeez get five stars? Because they somehow find remarkable versions of these simple raw ingredients. The ingredients may be obtainable in an HEB - but THEIR versions of those ingredients are not. Their versions are better, much better. I was immediately and totally in love. * * * Of special note: a) the best feta cheese in Austin that is not Phoenicia Deli's French feta cheese. b) the best pita bread that is not Phoenicia Deli's own pita bread ... and in the case of Phoenicia you sort of have to eat yours the same day. c) superior Gyro meat d) high quality olives. e) great great great raw onions * * * They give you a free starter of pita bread, butter, their special deal feta cheese, raw onions and walnuts. Frankly, you don't need anything else. I could eat basket after basket after basket of that combo. I virtually never put butter on pita bread. James Beard claims the best sandwich he ever invented was white bread, butter and raw onion. You can make that sandwich yourself off the starter plate at Shandeez. It is just as good as James Beard says. But that feta cheese is going to be hard to ignore - and the walnuts add all sorts of interest. * * * Servings are huge here. One appetizer can easily be a meal for you. They have an appetizer of kalamata olives, feta cheese and the pita bread. I would look at that one very very seriously. But we did the smoked eggplant appetizer. It was utterly insane. I had a gyro salad That item is straight off of the American menu list - here called Greek, rather than American. The salad looks small but isn't. The amount of gyro meat looks ungenerous but it isn't. It turns out that there is layer after layer after layer of gyro meat, with the greek dressing, lettuce and tomato cutting the gyro perfectly. I would have that dish again in a nanosecond. My vegetarian wife adored her grilled vegetables with hummus. The couple we were with got lamb and chicken kebabs respectively. Their plates were huge with vast amounts of rice, good grilled tomatoes and first rate kebabs. * * * Simple grilled meats make up most of the menu although there are a teeny tiny number of stews. My gyros and my co-diners kebabs suggest that grilled meat will do you just fine at Shandeez. * * * So save your elaborate Persian dishes for great cities with large diaspora Persian populations. You can eat like a shah in Los Angeles or London. For the simple Persian pleasures of life, it is hard to beat Shandeez. Now lets have about ten more of those baskets of bread, butter, onion and feta cheese.

I had lunch here with my family twice previously service was very slow but food was acceptable. The third visit this past weekend was not a good experience. The cheese served with pita bread was poor quality, when we asked for "Sabsi" we were told that they don't serve that. All the varieties of kabobs were mediocre and dry. " Zereshk Polo" was too sweet with no other flavor. My family were very disappointed and I don't think that we will come back again.

Best middle eastern food in Austin. I've had a lot kabobs in my life. Persians and Iranians make the best. Kabob was fresh and tender!

I reallllllly wanted to like this place. We stopped by for a late lunch and ordered chicken shawarma Greek salad & chicken shawarma plate. The plate came with one skewer which was disappointing for a $20+ price point. Not to mention it wasn't very flavorful. Same for the skewer on the salad. The greens were wilting and dressing tasted soured in my opinion. Everyone likes things flavored a little differently, but for me it's a pass. Highlights were the ambiance was sweet and somewhat romantic in an unpretentious way. The waitress was lovely and very tentative but the food did take a bit long. Give it a try and see for yourself, definitely has potential

The food was excellent !! The sweet girl serving us explained everything well. The makhloot was a must try. Overall very satisfied with the food.

Well, having read some great reviews, we were ready to try this restaurant. We were a bit disappointed. I ordered the lamb kabob and while it was well seasoned, the meat was very tough. Service was a bit slow but the server was pleasant. Prices are on the steep side but we knew this before we went and expected the quality of the meat to be better to warrant the price. Overall, an OK experience but I don't think we will go back.

Food here is great! One of the few Persian places in town. The kabobs (and kabob platters) are delicious. Shirazi salad was very tangy. Kashke Bademjan was good. There's also a French bakery attached. Service was lacking a bit when we've been, and ambiance was ok but was loud due to other guests' children whining for a long time (which the restaurant can't do much about this). Normally it's more quiet. Definitely recommend for Iranian food!

Bad location, low quality service, ok food, very high pricing. Will not come back and they will not be in business for long.

Horrible customer service. Koobideh kabab was very dry and tin. server was rushing us to finish our food.

Hands down this is my all time favorite meal !!!! These fine folks know what they're doing and do it exceptionally well..... anytime I get the chance I stop by and enjoy their fine dining experience

Food: great! Yummy, tender, and flavorful chicken and meat. Service: v. good Ambience: need some update and renovation

Wow!!!! Wow!!!! Reallly good Persian food. The BEST rice I've ever had. Munching on a Cornish hen skewer with grilled tomatoes, rice, sumac, butter, feta and I couldn't stop "ummmmmmmmmmm"ing!!!! New favorite find!

Truly a 5 star place. The food is SO DELICIOUS! I got the chance to check this place out and it was so lovely and actually unexpected. Usually I feel like I get into the usual rut with mediterranean food all seeming a little bleh but this restaurant was divine. I could have eaten the pita starter with walnuts and cheese alone. I definitely recommend splurging and trying everything- we had the vegetarian platter and split the kabob plate which was perfect to get a real taste. Food is amazing, service was great and the restaurant itself was very nicely set with an upscale bistro touch. 10/10

Everything i tried at this place was AMAZING!!! everyone was so friendly!!!! best MIDDLE EASTERN food EVER!!!! highly recommend it!

The food is amazing & the service is stellar! I love how intimate it is--we love having birthday dinners there.

We have been going here for over 7 years since we moved to Austin. The quality of the food has been going down hill over the last few years. We plan to look for different Mediterranean food places in the future.

Great food within walking distance from my former apartment. Their gyros are really excellent, and it's BYOB!

Having grown up with an Iranian mother, I am particular of where I eat Persian food. Usually I have to travel to Houston for the experience. However, the one place that I have found and enjoyed in Austin is Shandeez grill. The food is always good, and the atmosphere is welcoming and comfortable. While I have learned from my mother how to make a wide variety of Persian dishes, it is much easier to simply go to Shandeez and sit back and relax and enjoy. The owners are Persian and are usually there working. Next door (and accessable through the restaurant) is a bakery serving Persian and more traditional high quality desserts. I highly recommend Shandeez for anyone who wants to try Persian food.

my first time trying shandeez from uber eats, and it did not disappoint. everything was so delicious. I wasn't sure if the ice cream was going to be worth the price but when I took that first bite I was in shock - the rose water and saffron in it was just heavenly...I will definitely pay the restaurant a visit soon :)

Absolutely delicious food and great service! Kheyli khoshmazeh bood! It felt like I was back in Tehran for a moment!

I'm from LA but recently moved and have been a regular at raffis for the last 10 years and this place has been the closest I have found. Love the yogurt with shallots and beef koobideh. Will be coming back for my Persian cravings

Shandeez used to be our fav spot for the last couple years, we came like almost every other week as a family until recently! The prices are skyrocketed and the service seems can't keep up with the prices! Usually there's only 1 server who handles the calls, take out orders and then service the table. Last time we took our guest from out of town there with 2 little kids there and got surprised with the bill $198 which is normally just around $130 for what we normally ordered. Looked at it carefully, they have marked up the price like side salad was $4.99 now $7.99, family platter used to be $49.99 now $69.99 and on top of that, they automatically added surcharge of 25% bill since we are 3 adult and 2 little kids who are 2 &3years old who barely ate anything. So, it was the last time we went there. Now much happier with a new place which is way more affordable and the food just as good!

Ordered take out. Got the dolmades, side of gyro meat and tatziki with pita. All the food was alright however was really annoyed that only one piece of pita was included that was cut into four small triangles to go with the enormous amount of tatziki sauce. Aka not enough pita. Kind of ridiculous considering they charge 8$ including tax for it.

Placed order mixed kabab plate, Rice was so good and beef kabab and "Average " Great customer service!!

Shandeez is a hit! This came highly recommended from my Pilates instructor in MHK, Akara R. Her family lives in Cedar Park and she said they love Shandeez, and they are Persian, so I knew it was a must-try. Eric R. and I were in the area and decided to grab a late lunch here today. When we walked in, the restaurant was completely empty. Eric R. called out to see if they were really open, and suddenly a chef and a server popped out of the back and said hello. We ordered a pot of cardamom tea which was wonderful for this chilly day. I knew I wanted the gheymeh (beef stew with split peas) with eggplant. Eric R. wanted some sort of kebob plate, so he went back and forth with the very patient server until he settled on the soltani, which included chicken and ground beef kebobs. I also wanted to try the sour barberry sauce for the rice, which she put on the side for us. We were given warm pita and a plate of feta, mint, parsley, onion, and walnuts to start. We are this with sprinkles of sumac that was in a shaker on the table. It was soooooo good! The food came out hot and in abundance, beautiful saffron basmati rice for each of us. Everything tasted so good! Eric R. was worried that chicken breast would be dry, but it was marinated and juicy. I tried both of his kebobs which were great. I loved my stew - it melted in my mouth and the eggplant was plentiful. The barberries added a nice tang to the rice. We were stuffed so we had to take everything left to go (so we can enjoy it again later of course!!) - we were given a tea refill too during the meal. Others did show up including a food pick-up service, so it got a bit busy for a mid-afternoon time. I would definitely return to try other dishes on the menu! I will note that I am in love with Kasra, a Persian restaurant in Houston that was the first place I ever bumped from 4 to 5 stars on yelp, and my standards are set to that place.

I got food to-go from here. It took quite awhile but the hostess was very kind. I got the fesenjan. The fesenjan was pretty good and not too sweet. The rice was decent as well. It's not the best I ever had but it was good. I haven't really tried much else but it seems to be a nice place to eat.

This review will be very similar to Caspian Grill because honestly I ordered almost the same things lol. They have flavorful and well seasoned Persian dishes such as Beef Kabob, Chicken Kabob, Dill Rice, Ghormeh Sabzi, Tah Digh. I also ordered it to go so I can't speak on the service or ambiance but the food was great! The one other dish I got was yummy eggplant appetizer.

Abstract: I'm not Iranian nor have I ever been there so I don't know if it's "authentic" but it's certainly tasty. I'm from the Bay Area and ever since my Iranian coworker introduced me to koobideh I've been seeking them out ever since. I've tried a ton of Persian restaurants in the bay and was super excited to find one in Austin. We ordered two orders of koobideh plates for takeout. The location is strange but once you walk inside it's roomy and romantic. The servers were nice and they were fairly quick. I came in on a Saturday for lunch takeout and there was only two table occupied. The meal came with two tomatoes (I think the round one not sure what they're called but it would've been more flavorful if they had used Roma), a huge heap of saffron rice, and two skewers of koobideh. It was also accompanied with some unleavened bread, raw onions, butter, sumac and Thai basil. It didn't come with cheese which is what I'm used to in the Bay Area. The rice was moist and fluffy, the tomatoes were nicely charred, and the koobideh was delicious although it could've used a bit more onion in my opinion. I would come back here again for a sit down meal.

You can tell that Aalborz Persian Cuisine is surely missed. This restaurant is super stingy when it comes to Feta Cheese. Alborz would bring you bread and at least 4 pieces of Feta Cheese. They ration the feta cheese like there's a shortage on feta cheese worldwide. You know it's sad when I look forward to going in Houston or Dallas to get a real Persian restaurant experience.

Hummus delights me, so I enjoyed ordering hummus and pita bread online. The online ordering didn't cause problems, so I approve. When I arrived, I got the order when I walked inside: I didn't need to wait. Off the bus line by about a mile, but I am willing to walk to eat from a place I never ate from before.

I ordered after reading great reviews to try this out, Falafels were like little rocks, and the oil had a lot of smell

Came here for dinner. The service was great all around let me start with that. The wait was very long however, to sit was about 20 minutes but for our food it was about an hour and there's not that many tables where I feel it should of taken that long. The food was good but by far nothing spectacular, especially for waiting as long as we did. The ground beef kabob was good but I've had middle eastern cuisine from California to New York in Brooklyn and it was very underwhelming. The cook was good but the flavor was almost non existent besides the char flavor. It was also very thin from others I've had. The chicken kabob cook was GREAT, very tender and juicy but again lacked flavor. The tzatziki with flat bread was great! Could use more mint, it was very cucumber forward. The Gyro was our least favorite the texture of the meat was just not it, very mushy from others I've had. The flavor was also odd, lamb gyros are my thing and I've had a lot of them and never had any close to the flavor it has here. Could be preference but it was our least favorite, as in we wouldn't order that again or recommend it. I will say the feta they had for the Iranian/Palestinian "platter" was phenomenal. Honestly probably my favorite part of it all. Overall someone could try this place and by preference love it but it did not meet my standards especially for the wait.

I LOVE middle eastern food, so when I was looking for a dinner spot and saw this pop up for delivery, I was all in. My first order was fantastic--chicken kabob over shirazi salad with a side of the eggplant appetizer. Everything was flavorful, fresh, delicious. So I was really disappointed with my second order a couple weeks later. Not only did it say 40-50 minutes before I placed the order (which suddenly jumped to 90 minutes once I hit the order button--and would not let me cancel), but then my order arrived and was wrong. I got a refund for my missing item, but it left me wondering if this is just a better place to go to, rather than order from.