Caspian Grille

This is by FAR the best falafel in the area if not in all of the Philadelphia area. I have tried pretty much everything they have to offer and must say I have never tasted something I didn’t like. The tabouli is some of the best I have ever had, I can eat a large container to myself. French chicken salad is in my opinion the best chicken salad in the area. The hummus, baba and guac are all top notch as well. Fresh and basic with great flavor.
They have another location in the Flourtown Farmers market which is a great spot for lunch. Ali and his son are very very nice people which makes the whole experience of going in ever better. Give them a shot, you will not be disappointed!

A very nice man named Ali is the proprietor, and his little shop of Iranian food is a real «find.» When we left Chicago, I did not think we would find ethnic ME food, and then, lo and behold, here comes Caspian Grill. Unpretentious and unassuming, Caspian Grill has a friendly informality that says «see you tomorrow». And I did. With my Wife. And then a month later with my son. I have had the lamb platter a few times, which comes with a very fluffy rice side dish, and a fresh and tart cucumber salad. The yoghurt sauce, an essential ingredient when eating lamb in the Near East, is home made. Ali also has home made Iranian desserts which are different than super-​sweet American counterparts. Now, I dream of Isfahan when I drive by CG, and the great food of Iran.

My wife and I went here right after we closed on a house. We wanted to celebrate and since we love middle eastern food this seemed like a decent choice. It turned out to be much better than expected.
I ordered the Salmon platter. Not everyday that I can get Salmon over abed of Persian rice like this. Oh and the Persian rice! Raisins, Apricots and of course that delectable taste of saffron. Loved it! Yes it was a bit pricey but hood salmon will always be a bit pricey and be totally totally worth it. It is noteworthy that this did come with a side of greek salad.
My wife ordered the chicken gyro. Said it was a really good sandwich. She really liked the tzatziki
sauce on it. The chicken was filling and flavourful.
Last but not least, please do not be put off by the ambience. What this place might lack in terms of fancy painted walls and decorative food is more than made up for by the warmth radiating from the people who run the place. Hospitable to the core!
We will definitely be back.

Excellent food and service. Will be visiting again frequently! Falafel and Caprese Salad is to die for.

Got a gyro platter from the Flourtown farmer’s market location. Holy crap was it amazing. There was a ton of food and it was all delicious. I can’t wait to eat at the restaurant. The greek salad is so fresh and delicious, I wish I had bought a whole container of it. My girlfriend does NOT like potato salad, but she couldn’t get enough of it from Caspian Grille. It’s hard for me right now to not go back and get more food from them, even though I am completely full.

Amazing selection. Including oil free/​salt free dishes, vegan, meat, gluten free etc. the owner is so special and makes you feel welcomed instantly.

Vegetarian paradise. So many delightful choices. The owner was patient and encouraged us to try many items before purchasing. While we liked some much more than others, overall this place is a gem. Next time we venture this way, we will be back!

This has been a go to place for us for many years. The food is consistently good to excellent. Aside from how warm a person Ali is, the atmosphere, if you’re looking to eat in, isn’t great. The guacamole is as good or better than any I’ve had. They make it fresh everyday. The platters are good size portions with great side dishes.
I’d go pretty far out of my way for the food here. My son who lives in NY makes this a first stop when he’s around, and has asked us to bring things to him even though he’s surrounded by Middle Eastern food options.
This isn’t a fast food place. The dishes are genuine and they use top ingredients and spices. The bread pudding is exceptional. You’re always welcome to ask for samples.
I’m lucky to live close by.

I tried most of this place plates they were amazing and five stars for the delicious food thanks to Ali.

The owners and staff are great, the food is even better. My family stopped by on a weekend an hour before closing and we were warmly welcomed by Ali, the owner. He clearly loves what he does, and he does it very well. We got a quick synopsis of the huge variety of dishes in front of us, and were served promptly. The lamb shank is to die for; it falls right off the bone and is served with a very tasty broth. We also had the chicken curry, lamb kabob platter and chicken kabob platter. Everything was flavorful and tender. Definitely order the sweet Persian rice. Great experience, we will be back!

First time and it was amazing! I got the salmon platter and my boyfriend got a gyro. The stuffed grape leaves were delicious! We will be back! Very nice owner!

Sweet people. The old guy is a very grateful person and always tries to throw in just a little something for free, even if just a sample. The food is good. The koobideh is pretty freaking good. Some things are better than others, but not for the price and kind-​heartedness that you get!
I will always go back to a place with good food and great service.

Never had a bad dish. The chef is very personable and his cooking is amazing. Great flavors and good prices too.
Repeat customer :)

Love love love this
I had in a long time. and they made everything just how I like it with no hesitation!

This is the first time that Unilocal has failed me. Let me just start by saying that the owner, Ali, is EXTREMELY sweet, warm and welcoming, but for the price I paid, I could have had better food, and ambiance which comes with service (I didn’t have a waiter, just the guy who coked the food at the counter)
This place is basically a persian prepared foods deli with a grill for kebabs. The deli case is a little dark, and I questioned how long some of the foods were sitting there for. I agree with another Unilocaler who said they would rather have not seen it. A lot of the food looked good and we didn’t get sick from anything so I’m sure certain things were fresh.
We went up to the deli counter to order and had the following things:
Koobideh and lamb with a skewer of chicken which came with rice and a shirazi salad.
The meats were good, but 27.95 for a plate at a deli is UNACCEPTABLE.
The usual dish without the extra skewer was 21.95, so to charge $ 6 for a skewer of chicken, in my opinion, was not worth it.
I ordered the chicken kebab which I had to send back, because it wasn’t thoroughly cooked.
We also had the hummus and 3 bean salad which were both very good. We had 2 soft drinks, 2 teas and a baklava to go and the bill came to $ 60. I have no problem paying this amount for a 2 person lunch, as long as its from a place that has ambiance, and a waiter. For this amount, I could have gone across the street to the Persian grill for more food and ambiance.
I have been to many persian restaurants in the past, but this just didn’t cut it. The food was mediocre. If they had better prices, I would have probably given it an additional star for the food, but since I felt ripped off, I had to take the star away.
Proceed with caution. I don’t have anything against delis, or prepared foods, but don’t charge me center city dinner prices for cafeteria lunch in the burbs.

The food here so tasty! I’ve been here a few times and never was disappointed. Whether you’re going for Indian, Persian, or even Mexican food, you can’t beat this place. To top it off, both of the guys who work there are salt-​of-​the-​earth folks.

I have to be honest, I might’ve had too high expectations after reading Unilocal reviews. Don’t think of this place as a restaurant; think of it as a deli with tables and a waitress. The food was hit or miss… there was a corn salad that I enjoyed. I got the lamb shank that was pretty flavorful, although one of the main flavors was salt. The falafel was nothing to write home about, and the baba ghanoush inexplicably had a bit of a sting/​bite to it (we worried this was because it wasn’t as fresh, so we refrained from giving any to our baby).
I can’t say that the food isn’t fresh as there were no ill consequences experienced afterwards, but with everything laid out deli style in a darker environment, you just don’t get the sense that the food is fresh. They’re better off hiding it in the back somewhere so no one knows any better. I’m pretty sure the food went from the deli case into the microwave and then onto our plates. Now, a lot of places do this, but I’m just letting you know so you have the right expectations going in that this is not a «cook to order» joint.
Prices are also more like a restaurant than a deli.

This place is an original spot consisting of Persian delicacies. It’s more of like a deli with some tables inside. Now I’m not a huge purveyor of food from the Middle East but I have been to a few local spots.
I didn’t find this place to be a spot to head out of your way to visit. Yes the salads were fresh but overall I felt the whole experience was expensive and lacking. The least expensive platter was $ 12 and was essentially a couple pieces of meat and white rice. Upgrading rice to another dish would have been an up charge. The platters came with a choice of cold deli salads. There you were limited to cucumber salad, tabouli and one other choice, any other salad would have been an upcharge. It also came with pita which seemed a little flat and yogurt.
I guess after having been to Zahav recently and Smileys in Manayunk those serve as the benchmarks for the best high class and quick stops for middle eastern. Hummus in University city isn’t far off the mark either.

The men. The beards. The legends! Ali and his father, the owners and culinary masterminds behind the delectable flavors at caspian grille, are way too humorous, personable, creative, and just plain kind, to be, in fact, human beings.
So the younger of these two Caspian Grille Unicorns greeted us with a friendly, professional grin as our troope of five walked through the door. He explained that all of the recipes they had were their own delicious twists on traditional Mediterranean dishes. For instance, i tried their spanokopita, babaganoush, and their very own recipe for black bean hummus — my goodness, i swear i would have dropped to my knees in utter bliss if that were socially acceptable. They have all types of fantastic recipes native to so many places — India, Iran/​Persia (however you like to think of it), Greece, I could go on. Shockingly, even though they’re incredibly diverse, everything. Was. Delectable. I cannot emphasize enough how amazing each and every dish is, here. And the phenomenal customer service will make you[r stomach] feel like a culinary VIP. Oh, did i mention you can freely sample whatever you’d like?
If you’re thinking about trying this place out… Stop thinking. Just go already. Personally, i recommend their lamb shank as a stew with pita on the side, by far the best thing i tried there. I also loved their chicken tikka masala, which is fantastic, even though i definitely didn’t expect it to be! I had the Caspian Chicken (a dish with chicken and a helluva lot of other yummy things!) in a wrap, which Ali made with lettuce, tomato, and a generous helping of their black bean hummus. Goodness, was that filling and to die for.
Thank you so much for taking such good care of us for our meal, giving us a wonderful dinner experience, and being just plain awesome, Ali! You and your dad are the best! I hope you have tons of customers and become super famous — goodness knows you guys deserve it!

Got some kebabs with my pal today who just so happens to be Persian so her suggestions were fantastic. We got the ground chicken and ground beef kebabs and the owner was so nice to substitute our rice for grilled veggies.
When we dropped in to pick up the owner was so sweet and saw me eyeing up the pomegranate molasses and offered me a taste of a few items where he used that particular ingredient. He kindly chatted us up and even sent is home with some delicious rice pudding with the most lovely hint of rose water. The pick up experience was great but the food was even better! So flavorful, so tasty!
They have some random burritos and stuff on the menu… Skip it. Go for anything Persian or Middle Eastern and you wont be disappointed. The interior of the restaurant is not unlike a pizza shop, but don’t let the looks fool you, the food is great.