Didar Kitchen Is the Neighborhood Persian Restaurant Sherman Oaks Deserves
Saghar Fanisalek, chef and owner of Westwood’s Taste of Tehran, has taken her talents to Sherman Oaks with Didar Kitchen. Set on Ventura Boulevard, the homestyle Persian restaurant serves overflowing plates of flame-kissed kebabs, saffron-tinged rice, and soul-warming stews in a narrow dining room.
What to order
- The $55 Meat Me special feels essential for any visit to Didar Kitchen, with a spread of juicy chicken, spiced beef koobideh, and tender filet mignon kebabs paired with a full plate of rice, house salad, and blistered tomatoes. The special comes with enough kebab to easily split between two people: six pieces of chicken, four hunks of filet mignon, and koobideh almost too long to fit on the oblong plate.
- Herb-lovers will find their match with the verdant ghormeh sabzi, teeming with long-simmered beef, parsley, kidney beans, and the complex tartness of dried lime. The stew also comes vegan.
- Add at least one yogurt dip to pair with everything else on the table. Choose between the shallot-laden mast-o musir or mast-o khiar with threads of cucumber and mint.
What to drink
Even on warm days, a hot cup of saffron tea, gently sweetened with a sugar cube, is the way to go. Or go for the homemade, tangy doogh with sparkling water and yogurt.
Insider tip
The salad for the Meat Me special can be swapped for a small fee. Switch things up with a diced cucumber-and-tomato shirazi salad or the Didar salad crowned with feta cheese, grape tomatoes, and Persian cucumbers.
