Urban Gate

Pretty good here. My server was friendly and quick. She came around just enough to ensure my water was filled.
Got the lamb shank. It was so tender, fall off the bone tender. It had enough flavor and was delicious. My food came out quick. They gave an ample amount of rice too. It was good, I may come back when I’m in the neighborhood.

This place has been coming up lately. Much better Persian food than I remember. Only negative thing I can think of is it sometimes takes forever for out food to come up. I’d recommend.

I want to begin by saying that the food was very good. However, the service i received here was some of the most aggressive and sarcastic I have ever witnessed. I came here with my family to celebrate my uncle’s birthday and it was clearly peak time when we arrived. The restaurant were understaffed which can be a stressful situation for the staff on shift. Our waitress, however, seemed to decide to take this out on us.
We began by ordering drinks and water. She returned with the water and then the aggression began. It started slowly; When taking our orders, she rushed us and was very annoyed and pushy, rolling her eyes if someone hesitated for a moment. We tried to order starters. She interrupted us on each one, not letting us order them until we answered her as she demanded «Starter? Starter?» to which we replied «yes, as a starter». We then also ordered the main courses. After a long wait (half an hour to 40 minutes), the waitress returned with our main courses. We asked where our starters were but she did not seem to care. She took great offense when she tried to shove the main courses down on the table and we explained that we didn’t want them before the starters. Puzzling, as this was after she had insisted on making a big point of needing to know that they were specifically starters. She exasperatedly stormed off with the food.
When the bar drinks that we had initially ordered finally came, they were thrust randomly in front of people at the table. One of the drinks was wrong. There was no chance the waitress, who ignored my father as she walked off, was going to help. Instead, we went to the bar and a helpful chap behind the bar assisted us and took the time to explain that they were understaffed and apologized about the delay. This was the first bit of customer service we had received all night.
When the starters did come, they were great! We had the Kashkeh Bademjan and the Shalot yogurt with flatbread. Very tasty, would recommend giving them a try for something unique instead of more usual choices.
The hostility resumed again when the waitress returned with the main courses and sarcastically demanded «Is this OKAY now? Are you READY for them NOW?».
The main courses were excellent; distinctive and unique. We had an assortment of barg, soltani, and koobideh kabobs. Some people tried the rice with dill and fava beans which added another level of character to the food. In spite of having been sitting under a heatlamp for so long, everyone complimented their food, which shows just how tasty it was. The meat was succulent and the portions were very generous. Each kabob had it’s own quality.
Part way through the meal, after finishing his drink, my father asked for the wine list. The wine list never came. I would have assumed this was simply a mistake because of the rush but the crowd had died down at this point and, at the end of the meal, the waitress did return. She made a point of ignoring my dad and asking my aunt if she wanted another drink. We opted not to stay for coffee or desert at this point and my father paid the bill.
It is hard to fully convey in a text description of the sequence of events, but apart from all of the above-​described behaviour the waitress demonstrated aggression and annoyance throughout the night through her body language, tone, and disposition.
The fact that there were delays due to short staffing is understandable. We did not actually complain about this at any point. The waitress’s attitude was unacceptable I have served as a waiter for many years in the past and I know what it’s like. We were undemanding, polite and, frankly, quite patient with the treatment we received. We didn’t want to escalate things because we were there to celebrate my uncles birthday birthday in spite of everything. I do understand how stressful things can get when it’s busy, but part of any job is to maintain professionalism. This is especially true when one works in the hospitality industry. People are able to prepare food at home or simply order take out. Part of the appeal of going out, especially to a place with a nice interior like Urban Gate, is to enjoy the ambience. Being treated impolitely as if you are a loathsome nuisance totally ruins that and is not something anyone wants to pay money for. This experience undermined what is, I must reiterate, great food. I suggest that if an individual working as a server finds the existence of customers irritating or does not have the ability to treat them in a courteous manner, that they should seek employment that does not require much interpersonal interaction. Unfortunately they not only ruin the customer’s experience, but will also affect the reputation of the establishment at which they work.

The overall service and standard of food is not great. I order the same pasta dish every time and more often than not I get the wrong order. The severs are not the friendliest. Sometimes I have to argue with them, as half the time I am charged for veggies and the other half I am not. After getting my meal wrong for the last time I had to ask for me meal to be compensated at which point he sever just looked at me and left, the manager finally showed up and gave me a gift card for not even the full amount of my order. That is beyond insulting and overall business practice. Now that I have used my gift card. I will NEVER purchase take out from this establishment again.
Very disappointing.

We had dinner at the restaurant today. The service was very good, friendly and fast. We ordered the koobideh and Jujeh, and it was dry, the rice was ok minus. Nothing tasted bad, just not memorable and we won’t be back. It’s too bad because I really wanted to like this place, I normally love Persian food.
We also went to the grocery store to get pita. Maybe they usually have better pita and ran out… but I only saw the same kind I can get at Superstore. The bakery sweets looked and smelled good.

The chicken tahchin is awesome! Keep a drink on hand though, because it can be a little dry. Still delicious.
The grocery store, however, is my favorite. I’m so happy that I’ve been able to procure rose jam, rose water, and a variety of tea from this shop. Rose products have been so difficult for me to come by and I’ve had to make them myself– which I don’t mind, but it can be a trial when pesticide-​free rose petals are nowhere to be found in the area.
Will be returning.~

So I’ve seen urban start from the ground up, the owners r very passionate and have the problems of any small business with staff, I find it unfair to judge the quality of food and grocery with wether u got personally assisted to your liking yes the food quality in the resturant changes but to find loyal cooks is a big issue as I’ve seen throuout the years I worked the resturant industry. I know the owners try very hard to produce quality to the best they can. Love this place and always will from the bakery to the butcher and produce selections are far none to any place I’ve seen thanks payman and beta for everything u have worked so hard on to bring us. It’s a great addition to our urban jungle

This place is located very near my building and I’ve only just tried it recently ! I have never tried Persian food before and I was blown away! The menu is amazing with many options to satisfy anyone. It is a good mix of dishes and the Cajun pasta … WOW. My friends and I thoroughly enjoyed 6 dishes and dessert! The server was so friendly and when the appetizers didn’t arrive on time, she comped one of them for the mistake! For a first time experience, I must say it was a great one. Even the coffee is smooth and no aftertaste! Our group and I were very pleasantly surprised and will be returning again and again !

You know what, it’s funny you would think with all the reviews a business would improve, but it’s absolutely appalling. The service here deserves its own caliber for horrendous. The food has gone downhill in quality and the owner is an absolute nightmare. We will not be returning.
I seriously suggest the better business’s bureau association come pay this place a visit. If your going to ignore the customer complaints maybe someone with some authority best come in here and shake things up. The only reason they’ve managed to stay in business is because they are the only Persian restaurant and grocery store of its kind. Someone intelligent and well serviced be smart enough to open within the same area. This place would sure be out of business. And in good time they deserve to be shut down!

I don’t live in the area but i love coming here for the Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo. Came in on Friday and i want to thank Michelle for her excellent service :)
Great food, nice atmosphere.
Cant wait to come back!

The food is fantastic! The Persian dishes are all very tasty and delicious. I am giving the restaurant 3 stars for the food.
However…the service has ALWAYS been terrible. We are always waiting for someone to acknowledge us waiting to be seated. ALWAYS! Then… We sit down & we are sitting waiting on the server to get our order of drinks. Then… We are waiting for her to come back to get our meal order. Then… You have to wait even longer for the food!!! It’s always a waiting issue for everything so the service really is awful.
To the owner— please have that talk with your employees. People talk and they all are saying the same thing. Your food is delicious and lovely but your service from start to finish is truly awful!!!
After our meals– we always go next door to do our grocery shopping. It is convenient and fabulous! We always get their fresh breads from here with our teas. Great prices!
Hopefully, you guys can change your service from terrible to unbelievably great!!!

The owner of this restaurant is so cheap! They dont even give you an onion to go with you chelo kabab! The other day i got some meat from the deli section and they wouldnt supply me with some ice to keep my meat cold in This hot weather and they charged me $ 2 for a tiny bag of ice for the $ 50 worth of meat i bought! Horrible customer service. The owner is super rude and kicks customers out if they complain about anything and asks them to not return there anymore. I wouldnt recommend this place to anyone. Its not like their prices are very low for them to be this greedy about things like that

So I’m just visiting canada and decided I wanted persian food and my family recommended this place. Parking in the garage was a little difficult because the spaces were so close to each other and it was very busy for just a Wednesday night. We walked through a persian grocery mart first which led us to the persian restaurant (they Are attached to each other). The food was great — the service could have been better since I was without water for so long and had to remind the waitress twice —but to be honest everything else was solid. They had American and Persian food there. American club music plays and the setting is very classy. Black booths and decorations and all. They also have a bar area too. This place is for people of all ages — ok to being family, a date, or some friends!

This is the best Persian food in Greater Vancouver. Nice ambiance, friendly staff high quality ingredients make this place a great place.

I wish that there were more stars available only for this persian food treasure.
They have the best persian food that I tried outside of Iran and believe me I’ve been to so many of them from europe to north america.
Everythind is perfect in this trendy casual place with lots of screens, from their amazing presentation of foods to their tastes and for sure the high quality service.

I went there today, I liked the restaurant decoration & style (very high end & luxury).
I liked the food & the friendly service. Would definitely go back again.
Very reasonable price
U can park near the mall’s and walk for few minutes, or there is a parking spot near the restaurant

Restaurant good, grocery ripoff.
It’s cheaper to eat at the restaurant than to grocery shop at the store. $ 5 eggs? $ 4 bag of chips? Every single thing for sale in here can be bought for way cheaper at target or superstore. Avoid this place UNLESS it’s past 10pm or it’s just pouring rain out and you want something close by. They sell a lot of Persian import foods which is fine but I wanted to try a new tea and they actually had expired boxes for sale from over a year ago.

They have a selection of Middle Eastern and Western food. We both decided to go for the AAA NY Steak because we felt like having a meat-​heavy meal (as usual). :P We both ordered it medium but it came out more like medium well. The steak itself was moist and not too tough but it was kind of bland. It definitely needed a lot more seasoning. The mashed potatoes were fine. I usually like the veggies on the side but I found these ones to be a bit too oily.
The food wasn’t really impressive and the prices are on the high end here. The actual interior is pretty nice though and the service wasn’t bad. There’s also seating outside (if you want to enjoy the nonexistent sun).

I’ve eaten at the Urban Gate perhaps 10 times now, with my most recent experience being take out.
I really like their Persian dishes, and usually order one of them when I go. My favourite is the lamb chops — very well cooked and the flavours are great. The kabobs are also very good — I think I’ve tried all of them now. Not a big fan of the dill rice, but that’s personal preference. I do wish the kitchen would learn how to grill their onions, though. Every time I go, I’ve asked for my onions to be grilled «well-​done, but not burnt». Just about every time, they either burn them or the onions are practically raw (I think they were done right just once — and they were perfect!) other than that, the food is good.
The value is also pretty good, as I can usually get two meals out of one entrée here.
I’ve also tried the pastries from the store counter, and I really enjoy the baklava. I like the roll variety over the square one, but they are all quite good — even better when they’re cold!

Kitchen was really slow (30 minutes).
The got the salad dressing wrong after all that delay.
However, when it did arrive, the dip was very very tasty, and the salad dressing, although not the right dressing, it was really light yet flavorful.
I would go back and I recommend this place. Just because of the good food.