Jasmine Taste of Persia

Great taste, mostly consistent food, great price. They need to tidy up the place a little.

I did not enjoy my dining experience here. We had ordered a salmon platter and veggie platter. The salmon platter had three small strips of salmon but was nearly all saffron rice and a tiny salad. Eating it was just rice. My wife seemed to like the falafel platter ok but for the price that they charged (which was higher than was listed online), I thought it was outrageous and will not ever be coming back. There’s just way too many better places in Watertown.

Delivery took an hour longer than quoted time. When speaking with the restaurant the conversation consisted of (yelling) YOU DONT LIKE YOUR FOOD, WHY NO LIKING YOUR FOOD.
After several rounds of this, my plight in asking for it to be delivered was finally understood. I’m not sure why I bothered, should have cancelled. When it arrived it was cold, the driver asked me if I wanted the manager to call me. I said no, because my desire to go through another conversation where I’m yelled at was minimal.

This place has good food and the prices are reasonable. I love their hummus that comes with the yummy pita bread. I’ve tried several of their plates like the grilled salmon and the chicken Kubideh which are really good. I tried the beef meal once but it wasn’t fully cooked but it might have been my mistake since I didn’t mention about making it fully cooked. We eat here and also many times asked for home delivery almost every 2 weeks. The portions are huge specially the amount of rice they give you. Definitely recommend this place!

Small place that can sit about 20 people. Not fancy. The food is fresh and the service is really friendly. We were 5 people and we ordered several things and then all shared. The yogurt with cucumber and mint and the hummus and the eggplant and the cucumber salad were all yummy and served with pita. The chicken with pomegranate and walnus sauce was new to me and very taste. Meat kebob was well spiced. The ocra wasn’t at all slimy and the vegetarian platter had an excellent selection including warm stuffed grape leaves, green felafel and several different salads. Everything came with more fluffy rice than we could possibly eat. Some of us had a salty yogurt drink and some had Turkish coffee. We shared an order of baklava cut 5 ways. It all came to $ 100, $ 20 per person. And we were so sated that we didn’t have to eat for the rest of the day, or maybe the rest of the week.

I had Grilled Salmon, it was so good, may one of the best I had around Boston.
I strongly recommend you try it.

I’ve only ever eaten in once, and the reviews that indicate that the restaurant’s interior leaves a lot to be desired are spot-​on. My husband and I ate in last summer — there was piecemeal air conditioning, the table was a bit rickety, and it was not glamorous. But the food is delicious, and it’s our regular delivery standby if we’re not in the mood for pizza.
Our normal order is the chicken kabob, which comes served with rice, tomatoes, pita and hummus. It never disappoints, and I usually add on the barberries for extra flavor — well worth it. The last time we ordered, I decided to be adventurous and order the lamb kabob instead, and it was also great: tender, juicy, and delicious.
Delivery is free and generally pretty prompt — whatever time GrubHub gives us, they are reliably at the door on or before the given time.

I’ve been coming here for almost three years now and the food is always so yummy :) I love their hummus, it’s so simple but always hits the spot! I also like their baba ghanoush.
My boyfriend and I usually split the veggie combo platter and my boyfriend’s mom loves the salmon kabob platter. We’ve also tried a stew once, it was something with walnuts and pomegranate seeds in it – it tasted great and it’s something I’ve never found anywhere else. We’ve also liked the okra stew (khoresht bamieh, I think).
That being said, I think they’ve gotten a bit more expensive over the last year. If I remember correctly, I think we’ve payed almost $ 20 for the combo platter last time we were there, which seemed like a lot, considering it was just veggies.

We went here for our anniversary dinner since we were looking for a nice zabiha place. The décor is nothing great but the food was amazing. We got the eggplant app, and for entre we ordered jujeh kabab chicken sultani and chicken waziri. Everything was done to perfection and the taste delicious we will definitely be going there again

OMG! it was an awful experience eating there.
1. First of all, when we asked the waitress if she speaks Farsi she got mad (I have no idea how it could be interpreted offensive). Then she treated us like that till when we left the resturant.
2. There was a window air conditioner on the counter and it was the only one for the entire resturant. Guess what. It was like you are eating in hell (93 degree outside)
3. Our waitress brought us some water and it was also hot.
4. The table was broken and not clean.
5. I had a Ghorme Sabzi. It was nothing like Persian Ghorme Sabzi but a combination of near-​raw cube beef, plus some sort of vegetables. It was one of the worst Ghorme sabzis I’ve had so far.
I don’t even know why I agreed to pay $ 14.99 for that plate. I hope they reconsider both food and the way they treat costumers.

I went here with a friend for the first time tonight. It’s a very small place, and it was a bit grungy. I had the beef shwarma, which I enjoyed. We also shared the hot eggplant and mint appetizer and a plate of hummus. The hummus was bland, but everything else was well seasoned.
Our waiter was attentive, without being overly so, and he was great about regularly refilling my water glass, which I appreciated.

Jasmine isn’t at all fancy, but the food is yummy! The standout dish was Khoresht Fasenjan, a chicken stew with pomegranate and walnut sauce — absolutely delicious. A real «WOW» for the taste buds. We also had chicken kebabs with shirin polo (sweetened rice), which was very tasty though the chicken was a little dry; the vegetarian plate with humus, falafel and grape leaves, which was very good; an eggplant purée called kashik bademjan, which was excellent; and a spicy pickle appetizer called torshii, which was very good. Service was friendly.

We ordered takeout from Jasmine on Foodler, and it was fantastic! I ordered the Shirin Polo with Chicken (Saffron rice with carrots, orange peels, barberries, almonds & pistachios). It was to die for! It is very rare that I go to a restaurant, order something, and never want to change my choice because that particular dish was so good! I was a little bit turned off by the prices of these dishes compared to other restaurants in the area, but based on the quantity of food and quality, it is worth it!

Excellent food in a very friendly atmosphere, really recommend for families & couples. The food is freshly prepared, with plenty of dishes. I really recommend the meat stew & the soup. Fresh Laban drink is an excellent start for your meal.

4 stars? Please!
Yes, there are a few things on the menu that are good. Some of the appetizers are great. However a few of the dishes that we took were quite mediocre.
Furthermore, almost EVERYTHING in this restaurant — from the furniture, the bathroom, even the folder that the bill comes in – is broken. Looks like some old store which was hacked into a restaurant. And I don’t mind that too much… what I DO mind is $ 20 dishes in what is basically a glorified grocery store.

My friend took me here, said they had great food. He warned me it was a dive, but I didn’t expect it to be so dirty. Flies were everywhere, and when I opened my menu there were stains all over it and a piece of onion fell out. We waited 10 minutes for someone to show themselves, but nobody came out. My friend rang the bell on the counter and a guy who barely spoke English came out. He said waiter, waiter, no waiter, so we walked out.

Surely this place has changed ownership since the previous reviews were submitted.
Our party of four had intended to dine at Red Lentil, down the block, but the wait was over an hour so we ducked into Jasmine, instead, when we saw the list of ‘Best of Boston 2011″ award emblazoned on the exterior wall.
It was empty. I should have known better. When we entered, the waitperson was in the process of spraying down and wiping off the tables with an obnoxious-​smelling cleanser. We should have left then. But we are longtime friends who had converged on Watertown from various points outside of the city and our main purpose was to see and hang with each other.
Cut to the chase. The ONLY positive thing I can say about our experience with Jasmine was the friendliness of the waitperson. She was sweet and attentive and when it was all said and done, I left my share of her deserved tip in cash intending for her to pocket it all.
We ordered a variety of appetizers and khoresht fasenjan to share. Frankly, I make better INCLUDING the fasenjan which properly made is fairly involved. It was lousy and, while palatable, certainly not memorable. The falafel looked like ‘road apples’ and was dry and bland. The baba ghannoush, hummus and kashk bademjan were tasteless oily pools of mush. When we requested ice for our water, we were told there wasn’t any ice but that she «would go down the street to get some if we wanted it».
I’m sorry but this place is in shambles what with the exposed fiberglass overhead and the dirty orange extension cord draped along half way up the wall. When I stood up to make my way to the restroom (which was dirty and in disarray), I saw that the top of the food storage case was covered in dust.
I’ll stop, now. You get the idea. To sum it all up: NOT!

I adore Persian food. This establishment is a treat! The basmati rice is absolutely wonderful. I enjoy meeting a client here for lunch because the food is great every time and very affordable so you can try a few things and not break the bank.
I have always found the waitstaff to be quite friendly. I guess if you are friendly and kind to them they will be kind back. I don’t know how one might respond when confronted with a nasty customer so it is hard to say some of the other people who have left comments about the unfriendliness.
I lalways make a point to take out some hummus to have the next day with some pita chips! A nice refreshing snack. The extra 5 percent discount when paying cash is a great little perk. Ask for he discount when dinning here!

Nestled along the windy part of Mt Auburn street, this Persian «Mecca» may not quite deserve quite such a moniker.
The appetizer of four large falafel balls is simple. The ground chickpeas are seasoned heavily with garlic and chive. Despite the generous use flavor additives, these balls are hard, over fried and dry. Even adding large quantities of tahini sauce does not fix them.
A mountain of fresh basmati rice topped with saffron seasoned rice arrives and is used as a bed for several meaty lamb chops. Despite their thickness, the chops are prepared to medium rare but lack any serious flavor — this is neither good nor bad — it’s simply a portrait of the flavor of the lamb itself.
Several charred varied color peppers and onions adorn the plate.
Service was friendly.

Eating Kubideh in Watertown
On a whim, I decided to contact someone to meet up for lunch. The person I contacted is a hard-​working, friendly housewife that I know who likes to use the Unilocal website. She has a hard-​working husband that looks like Bob Vila (He is a guy who used to appear on American TV and likes fixing houses). She said to me that she wanted to eat here. She is also older than me and has children than are significantly younger than me.
We met up, sat down at this place, and talked about a variety of things. These topics included American 1980’s culture, the rising problems of the mental health of children in the USA, and a small country in Southeastern Europe called Armenia. We took advantage of this lunch special in which the main dishes are under $ 10.
The friendly housewife that I know suggested that I should order a Kashk Bademjan as an appetizer. A Kashk Badenjan is a purée, which is a mashed blend of eggplant, onions and a Persian style cream. The smell was slightly pungent, but I really liked the tasty flavor, and it goes very well with the pita bread and some freshly cooked rice.
I ordered a Beef Kubideh, which is minced ground beef with Persian style seasoning that is cooked on a kebab. It came with rice, salad and hummus. The beef had a nice and juicy flavor, The meat portions were fairly small, but one whole lunch special is enough to fill up a hungry stomach. The hummus was actually great. It tasted like it was freshly made and it tasted well with the salad and pita bread.
The friendly housewife that I know and is older than me got a Chicken Shawarma, and she said to me she thought it was good. Service was okay, it was a little difficult to get the server’s attention. The location is pretty good, it is located on a decent main street with a lot of different shops and restaurants.
Overall, this is actually a nice and wonderful place to get Persian food, especially in a place like Watertown. I would highly recommend coming here for a Saturday morning lunch, since the prices are under $ 10 and the portions are really good. If you want a good introduction to Persian food, I would say that this is a good choice because I thought I had a good introduction, thanks to the friendly housewife that I know.