SFReview
photo credit: Lavash
Lavash
Included In
Lavash serves solid renditions of classic Persian stews, such as fesenjan (chicken with walnut and pomegranate sauce) and ghormeh sabzi (beef, herbs, and kidney beans) as well as various rice dishes, including a crispy tahdig that brings lots of great texture to anything else you order. With its small cafe feel, it’s also the kind of place that will create a heart design out of your kabob rice when you’re eating there. The restaurant faced significant hardship even before the pandemic in an early 2018 fire that necessitated an almost two-year closure. Fortunately, it’s currently open for limited indoor and outdoor dining on weekends as well as takeout and delivery during the week.
photo credit: Lavash
Food Rundown
Koobideh
The koobideh looks like a burger on a stick, but there’s actually a subtle blend of ground beef and lamb inside. Somewhat less tender and juicy than some of the other meat options on the menu such as barg (prime rib), this is a good one to split.
Shiraz Salad
The Iranian culinary triple threat of cucumber, onions, and tomatoes gets a citrus kick here with a lime-spiked olive oil dressing. Unless you have an aversion to those ingredients, shiraz salad should be part of your order.
Mast-O-Musir
You wouldn’t want to only order this creamy yogurt-like lebni as it’s not a meal in and of itself. But mast-o-musir is a refreshing accompaniment for all of the chicken, meat, fish kabobs, and stews that will inevitably hit your table.
Sabzi Panir
This simple starter plate of feta, herbs, walnuts, grapes, and small lavash squares is also a common breakfast in Iran. If you don’t eat it all right away, you can use it as digestion-promoting palate-cleansers in between other dishes.
Tahdig With Gheymeh Bademjan
Tahdig is the coveted crispy rice layer at the bottom of a pot, and Lavash offers it as a small portion topped with any of the restaurant’s koresh. There isn’t really a wrong selection here, but we enjoy the textural interplay between the tahdig and the potato crisps, yellow split peas, lean beef, and eggplant in the gheymeh bademjan. It’s a good option to have as a side dish to your meal.
Ghormeh Sabzi
Out of all the stews on the menu, ghormeh sabzi is the most energizing option–others might tempt you to take a nap under the table. You’ll get a bowl with a mix of fresh herbs, kidney beans, and lean beef in a light broth punched up with the secret weapon you’ll want to buy later: sun-dried lime (limoo amani).
Taste of Persia
If you’re a party of two who really loves meat and don’t want to think too hard about what to order, get the Taste of Persia. The combination includes joojeh (saffron-stained and lime-blessed chicken breast and thigh meat), barg (thin and juicy prime rib slices), koobideh (a blend of ground beef and lamb), grilled tomatoes, onions, and peppers with two plates of saffron-swirled basmati rice, raw onions, and lime wedges. It’s pretty much all you need to eat here.
Kotlet
The kotlet is a duo of naked hamburger patties lightened with potatoes and herbs. It’s a sauceless starter served on top of salad and may be too dry for some. We suggest you liven it up with mast-o-musir and make bite-sized sandwiches with some lavash.
Barg
The king of the meat kabobs at Lavash is barg, which is thin slices of prime rib that you’ll probably eat too quickly and want to keep all to yourself. They’re kissed with saffron and plucked off the grill with slightly pink centers for maximum juiciness.