Darya Restaurant

Enjoyed a very lovely lunch for my auntie's birthday. Came here on a Sunday and I was pleasantly surprised. She loves Persian food and recommended Darya for lunch. Lovely ambiance, great service, and the food is amazing. To start, we had the borani appetizer which is eggplant with onion, garlic and herbs - soo good! I enjoyed this appetizer with the pita bread. Delish. For my main course, I went with the salmon which also comes with sautéed vegetables and rice. Overall, enjoyed the food as well as the experience. Our waiter was very attentive and ensured that we were well taken care of.

The menu is very comprehensive and has a little bit of everything you want in Persian food. At first we were a little confused because I wanted to order the 4 course menu for $59 pp incl. from the back page. But the waiter kept trying to talk us into selecting items from the regular dinner menu. Then finally I told him that we were there for my daughter's birthday dinner and that we might want to share some items from the menu. He didn't like that but agreed after we ordered two appetizers to split for the 4 of us. Well, the Darya salad is terrific and the yogurt dip is amazing too. The eggplant salad is also great too. Then my husband ordered the lamb chops and the waiter said they don't have them. I said that you have rack of lamb in the menu and that's from the same cut. He said that it might be so, but not cooked the same. Anyway, the first order of meat that came out was breaded and so tough that we couldn't eat it. So we called the manager and he took the dish back to the kitchen. After a few minutes he brought out a dish called Filet of lamb which was so far superior that there was absolutely no comparison. The second lamb dish was tender and juicy and flavorful and I don't understand why they didn't offer that to begin with. The manager also brought out a much better salad which was superb. So things really turned around after that and instead of wanting to rate the food a 3, it's now a 10. What a difference!!!!The ambiance is terrific, especially with the 3 piece combo that played the birthday song for our dessert. Nice touch. !!!We plan on returning but need more explanation for the menu next time. The lamb that was served the second time and the salad were terrific. We appreciate the effort the staff made on our behalf.

I was in Costa Mesa for a work trip and always love searching for local favorites when I travel. A local coworker and a Persian friend both recommended this restaurant to me. As soon as I walked in I felt like I had been transported to a world of luxury.The service was great. The food wonderful. Our server was a great guide through the menu. The decor is refined and includes white tablecloths and sharply dressed servers. Chandeliers, crystal and flowers on the tables.I ordered a glass of Shiraz, the Lamb Kebobs with rice and salad. The food was cooked perfectly and seasoned just right. I am a slow drinker, so the server came over to ask me if I was enjoying the wine and if not, he'd happily exchange it for me. That really impressed me!

Was craving some good kebabs and this place came highly recommended by a friend. Close to home so hey why not try it out. This place is a really cute and spacious dining hall right across the street from south coast plaza. Can't believe after so many years I didn't realize there was a whole line of dining options. Tried a few new dishes I haven't had before and now has become one of my favorite dishes. Definitely going back for more.1. Borani: delicious eggplant mash flavored with onions, yogurt, and herbs. Love the flavor. Sort of like hummus but made with eggplants. I can snack on this all day.2. SHIRAZI: love this salad, very refreshing. Diced fresh cucumber, tomato's, onions, and parsley dressed in lemon juice and olive oil. Can't go wrong with this refreshing appetizer.3. CHELO Kebab SOLTANI: ground beef and filet Mignon perfectly cooked medium served with grilled tomato's and what I believe is basmati rice. The meet was absolutely fabulous but the rice just took over the night. Didn't realize seasoning the rice with butter and a citrusy spice (believe it was sumac but not for sure) could taste soooo good. Best rice I have ever tried. Will confirm with my friend what this seasoning was again.4. Saffron ice cream: yum love it and was the perfect end of dinner

Last time I was here was over 20 years ago for a wedding reception. I figured it was time to revisit and I'm really glad I did! Definitely won't be waiting another 20 years to visit again, I'll try to put this on my regular rotation.I park the car and open the door and this wonderful aroma enters my nostrils. There's other restaurants around so I was hopeful but not sure if it was coming from Darya. We open the door and the aroma is definitely coming from here. Grilled meats and spices entice you you enter. From the first person we encounter at the reception desk to the last when we leave is outstanding service. Every single employee was friendly and the service matched the atmosphere. This is one gorgeous restaurant and it's kept spotless. It looks just as good now as it did 20 years ago.I love Persian food but since my wife can't have carbs it's not really something we can eat. Luckily you can substitute your rice for salad here making it low carb. Unfortunately when my wife and I saw the 4 course special our willpower went out the window and we went carb crazy instead.$59 gets you a choice of appetizer, salad, entree, and dessert. I assumed they'd be smaller versions but they were full sized portions. We shared a variety of things. Borani: deep fried eggplant, yogurt, caramelized onions, garlic, and herbs. This is one of the best dip style appetizers I've ever had. The caramelized onions and herbs made this a flavor explosion that I could not stop eating with the stack of lavash bread.Dolemeh: grape leaves stuffed with ground beef, rice, tarragon, split peas, green onions, basil, parsley, and herbs. I really enjoyed this more than Greek dolmades. They were served warm and the leaves much softer than I'm used to. I loved all the filling instead of most places that just use rice. This would be a great meal with a side salad or soup.Persian Salad (Shirazi). Chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, and parsley, topped with house dressing of olive oil, fresh lemon juice, and black pepper. Sounds boring yet it's exciting to the taste buds thanks to the acidity. Huge portion and since we got two of them with the combo we took half home to use with dinner the next day.For my main entrée I went with the lamb kebab. When it came out I was skeptical. Then I took a bite. The lamb was filet mignon tender and whatever their "Darya Sauce" is they marinade the lamb in was a match made in heaven. Truly some of the best lamb I've had in a long time. It came with half a plate of buttery saffron rice. Again, came here to avoid carbs yet gorged myself with them. My wife had the filet mignon shish kabob. I took a bite and it was as tender and flavorful as any high end steakhouse. She's usually not a fan of Persian cuisine but she declared at the end "we need to come back here again soon!".For dessert we both had Zoolbia and I ordered a cup of tea with it. Zoolbia is like a mini funnel cake shaped donut saturated in honey and rose water. It was insanely sweet but paired fantastic with the hot tea.Absolutely loved my visit here and cannot wait to return. Parking is easy since it's tucked away on the far end of the plaza with Morton's across the street from South Coast Plaza. It's the last Restaurant in the plaza. You've got Morton's, Corner Bakery, Royal Khyber, Antonello's and then Darya.

Outstanding. Food, menu options, service, speed, convenient parking. Looks like they have multiple locations near one other.

I met up with my friend from high school and we ended up here at Darya's at South Coast Plaza. Great spot with a cute outdoor patio with waterfall.Ordered up a bottle of J Pinot Noir from Monterey County. I ordered the Lamb Rice plate (medium rare).The meal was excellent. The meat was super succulent and juicy. The presentation was great.The service here is top notch and an enjoyable experience.Our party also had the Persian Dessert combo of baklava and a few other items I can't remember.

Found this place 2 years ago and we are regular customers ever since. Food is always great. Service is good whether it's for dine in or take out. Lovely ambience :)

Wonderful Birthday Treat at my Favorite Persian Restaurant The Best ! Thank you ! Also Special Thanks to our server who did a great service for us and super friendly. The food was tasty! I always enjoyed my visit . I've celebrated many of my birthdays here .

Wow what a feast!We started off with some shirazi salad. Very fresh and tasty. Lemon and olive oil with some middle eastern herbs in the dressing. Great on the lavash with a touch of butter.My friend ordered the grilled boneless chicken shisk kebab (some grilled veggies) and an extra skewer of koobideh ($10), which came with rice, greek salad and a grilled tomato. It was a huge generous platter!I ordered the veggie skewer plate, which comes with your choice of 2 kinds of rice (the zeresk polo is barberries, and the other kind was crispy onions, dates and lentils). The rice was outstanding! I also got an extra skewer of koobideh. My combo plate also came with borani. Think of a more elevated babaganoosh (egg plant dip with crispy onions, herbs, etc.). The veggie skewer had a satisfying amount of grilled onions, bell peppers, plum tomatoes too.Their iced tea is a different kind, has depth of flavor. Their hot tea is good too. We didn't want too much caffeine so our waitress watered it down for us.Service was pretty good for the most part.We also ordered Soltani combo platter to go too (for my friends kids). It has filet mignon and grilled chicken too. It runs about $38.This place was so elegant, warm and friendly.I am still thinking about our meal, plotting another return visit!!!