Darvish

Light dinner, so I’ll reserve my final judgement for next time. Family friendly and run by a family make this a great place to experience Persian food. My meal was well made and tasty. Nothing earth shattering, but solid Persian. Next time I’ll have a proper kebab.

This was my first visit to this restaurant and as a keen restaurant goer who likes to try different foods of the world. I found this place extremely disappointing in fact the worst place I have ever been to. I walked inside and the lady there was oblivious to the fact that I was there. We weren’t asked if we wanted our jackets hanging. We weren’t offered a food menu which I had to pick up myself. No one asked us for drinks.
My first restaurant where wearing white trainers and jeans are the norm. Absolutely no sense of professionalism. After sitting down I found a plastic cover on top of the table obviously to keep cleaning costs down. The place could do with a bit of a refurb. Although the pictures and trinkets placed around are good and reflect the kind of restaurant it is.
Ordered the food which didn’t take long but came to us in three different instalments which I found unusual as it was only a table for 2.
Anyhow as we were hungry started eating but found the chicken was cold from the inside and had to send it back to be reheated. We weren’t asked if the food was alright.
After eating we weren’t asked for coffee, tea or desserts. My partner went to the ladies room and found a lock was non existent. To top off the night whilst I was waiting for her to come back the lady came to me and said if you have finished could you clear the table so we can sit some more people despite the fact there were several tables empty. By this point I had had enough. She even sat them down on a dirty table. So now I understand why this place is not even half full on a Saturday night at 8pm. I shall leave the rest for you to decide.

Fantastic, friendly and interesting
A cheap, BYO restaurant that only takes cash, this is one of the most interesting food experiences I have had for a while in the UK. The food is Persian and so is a combo of mediterranean, greek and morroccan. The doogh (a salty fizzy alka seltzer like drink) is worth a try as well. There is a lot of garlic in the food so make sure you have no big meetings the following day! A 3 course meal was £15 a head!
The staff are very attentive, super friendly and lovely.
Highly recommended

What a lovely place to celebrate ma soeur’s birthday!
we stuffed our faces with starter, main and dessert, tea and doogh (salty, fizzy yoghurt drink, not too dissimilar to alka seltzer with mint in!) for £15 each!
The starters were lovely.
The veggie mains were a little tasteless, although alexis disagreed, so maybe it’s the start of my cold that is hitting me today. I think the carnivores enjoyed their food… there was a little bit of chicken left over that Count Merlot snaffled up appreciatively when we got home.
The icecream was HEAVENLY
The extra dessert for Alexis’ birthday was EVEN BETTER! Seriously! if i knew that their carrot cake was that good, i would be in there all the time.
The last time i came here was maybe 4 years ago and as i remember there was a LOT of meat and various forms of barg! Things seem to be a little more in balance now re portion sizes. Still stuffed to the gills though!
that being said, there are three things that i think it is important to know about this place
1. It is BYO booze
2. they don’t accept credit cards
3. They’re resurfacing the road outside right now and a PT cruiser cannot mount that curb.

Very friendly, attentive waiters, great food, relaxed atmosphere. I would definitely go there again

Just wanted to add to the Darvish love. This place deserves to be crammed to the rafters every night. Lovely, tasty food and run by nice people. I discovered this place through my sister and her Iranian then boyfriend who always said Darvish is the Persian place to head to.
For the décor, think café with additional Persian folk art decorating the walls. An impression of textiles in general from the covered seating. Homely, not aiming for luxury but very comfortable.
The food is fresh, simple, flavourful. A feature of Persian cooking is liberal use of fresh herbs, and a characteristic sour/​sweet taste from preserved limes and pomegranate: and it’s all about good rice. The main menu divides roughly into stews and grills, which can be served with rice, salad or delicious (and dangerously moreish) flat bread. All delicious.
You can bring your own alcohol or sample the amazing range of teas. They’re served Persian style, small glass teacups and saucers and a large pot of fresh tea. Soft drinks available to purchase too.
Dessert isn’t a big feature of the menu, but it’s worth asking if the homemade icecream is on offer. Made with cream, cardamon and saffron it’s like a particularly good kulfi ice. Totally recommend.
I like the service which tends to be low key, efficient and friendly. There’s a nod and a smile without making a big fuss. Last time we were in I saw the owner arrive, put on an apron and get to assisting the staff in the kitchen as they were busy.
A final mention has to go to the ever present tv above the door. I’ve noticed this in a few Persian places (also in Safran in town) and while I can’t say I totally love having Iranian music television accompanying my meal, it has given some good value in terms of mystifying music video.

This is a great little place we found just round the corner from us. We go quite a bit early evening for food as it is convenient, cheap and very tasty. Darvish describe themselves as a traditional Persian tea house, but as I mentioned we tend to go for food rather than tea.
It’s a small, intimate place and the staff are very friendly. There is not a great deal of variety on the menu, but I think it is better to do a small selection well than a large selection badly. Starters/​side dishes include salads, vine leaves, pickles, etc and are all reasonably priced at less that £3.50. All the starters we have tried have been good. The main courses tend to fall into two categories: kebabs and stew/​sauce based dishes. The kebabs are excellent; the meat seems to be good quality and it is cooked on a proper charcoal grill, plenty of it too. The stew/​sauce dishes are also good and there are some nice veggie alternatives. I would recommend the Deezi Makhsoos Darvish — a traditional Persian stew. It comes with various instruments including a masher and the waiter will be pleased to show you how to prepare the dish in the traditional way. The main dishes come with either saffron rice or naan bread.
There is a great drink I always get called Doogh; it’s a yoghurt based drink with sparkling water, dried milk and salt. Sounds a bit strange I know and in fact every time I order it the waiter seems a little concerned that I won’t like it. I have to reassure them that I’ve had it before and I love it.
Probably a bit out of the way for some people, but definitely worth a visit, particularly if you are into your Mediterranean/​Persian food.

I visited today with my family, there were 8 of us so we booked a table first.
The place was friendly and cosy, decorated with lots of interesting things to look at. The staff were all very friendly and the owner was happy to explain all about the food to help us choose.
We went for three courses, the portions were nice and generous, its great for sharing things as a group, or if you wanted just one course, you could fill up nicely. And the prices were very reasonable too!
The food is full of flavour and not loaded with grease and butter, there are some ‘saucy’ dishes but the best ones were the different kebab meats, cooked on the flame grill.
The kitchen was open fronted so we could see our naans going into the oven.
Its a lovely little place and doesnt seem to have the recognition it deserves.
The owner felt the location wasn’t ideal, but I think more places should open in Harehillls and make it a place people go to for lovely food!

During the 3 years I have resided in Leeds, I have bought 1 take-​away from here back in the days when I lived on The Calls and had the food delivered. My Partner and I enjoyed the food but as we rarely had take-​away and lived far from Harehills (where the restaurant is situated there are no pre or post meal bars within the vicinity to make an evening of a visit) so we never dined and experienced the tea house.
Fast forward 2 years, I live very close and an Iranian has just moved to Leeds and into my house share. Therefore, it goes without saying that a visit was inevitable! My other new Housemate who is Indian joined us too.
I ran into the restaurant on Saturday afternoon and booked a table for 8pm. We arrived just after 8 pm and had a lovely table by the front of the restaurant. The décor is very traditional with painting and artefacts of Iran. I wasn’t keen on the small TV above the door but it turned out to be a godsend as the Iranian male wasn’t too bothered about joining into the conversations. There were 3 other tables dining (2 British customer and a table of assumed Iranian’s). it was enough to create a decent atmosphere but also to ensure we had plenty of attention.
The restaurant does not have a licence to sell alcohol as in advance I had purchased some wine to match the flavours of Persian cuisine. There is a £3.00 corkage fee which I would of disputed if we would have bought numerous soft drinks but we only had saffron tea and coffee to complete the meal so I believed the charge as justifiable.
The food was delicious and I polished off the boys main meals too. We ordered 2 starters between 3 and these came with 2 massive freshly made Arabic knobz bread, followed by 1 stew and 2 kebabs between us and rice.
The price was £38.00 in total and we left a tip.
I am due to make a return visit with my Boss on a Wednesday at the beginning of April!

For something a little bit different, relaxed and cheap this is a good place to start. After my wanderings through Europe took me to Iran I have been in search of a place where I can conjure up images in my minds eye to try and remember my experiences there and I can certainly do that here.

With the busyness of Roundhay Road just outside its door and half its windows unceremoniously obscured by parked cars, it would be very easy to miss the tiny oasis that is Darvish. It wouldn’t be advisable, though, as this Persian gem is one of the best places in Leeds to fully immerse yourself in a different culture. A restaurant and tea-​house, Darvish serves up mouthwatering Persian cuisine featuring fresh, doughy breads, heavy spices and tenderly cooked vegetables, while the tea side of things is well covered with a range of scented and spiced teas served from some amazingly kitsch-​looking teapots. The room is warm and cosy, with carpet-​covered seating, Persian art around the walls and a large central kitchen, while the atmosphere is very welcoming and especially good for families. I went with a friend and her small daughter, which is often a cardinal sin in restaurants, but here it was obvious that they relished having children around; a fact which is obviously well-​known, since many families had brought young children along. Bring your own bottle and enjoy a long, sociable evening meal, or drop by during the day for a reviving cup of tea.

Having just found Darvish’s restaurant online, i feel i must write a review. Im an English woman with 3 children, my first 2 children from my marriage to a Persian (Iranian) man. Im very used to cooking and eating Persian food and was very excited to see a Persian restaurant opening up near to where i live, as before, we had to go to London or Manchester. So the first time, my friend and i went to try it out. My friend said ‘Tea House’? I said I know what you’re thinking but they wont just be selling tea. Iranian people dont do anything by halves. From the moment we entered, the atmosphere was warm, and friendly. The customers seated were a mixture of English and Iranian, couples and families — Persian people are VERY family orientated as a race, very warm and friendly, eager to please and extremely generous. When they say they are going out, they mean the whole family from the elderly grandparents to the newborn. The owner, who greeted us with a big smile, seated us and gave us a menu (in Iranian and English). Oh good i said to my friend, they have some really nice things on. There was a traditional brick oven to make bread (naan) in and the aroma was delightfull. They dont sell wine or any other alcohol, but they are not opposed to u bringing your own. Persian staple is rice, lamb, chicken, and fish, which is always marinated. The food is ‘herby’ rather than ‘spicey’ which allows you to taste all the lovely ingredients. And their kebabs are ‘to die for’! If you’ve never had kebabs Iranian style, you have’nt lived! Seriously! They use alot of things like corriander leaf, dill, fennel, oragano, basil etc, chick pea, split pea, lentils, red kidney beans to name but a few. We were introduced to the owners wife who works alongside her husband and is also Persian. We ordered a starter called ‘Salad Olivia’. Its potatoe with chicken, egg, peas, olives pickled cucumber binded together with olive oil and mayonaise and its my favorite dish. It was excelent. So were the main courses. We’ve been loads of times. Its a regular outing with my children aged 7 yrs, 18yrs and 21yrs. The food is all made on the premises and is as traditional as you could get. I, myself have been in the catering trade for 20 yrs and this understated little gem of a place, squeezed into a parade of other shops, is well worth trying out. Its clean, portions are generous, and is very inexpensive! I would suggest parties larger than 4 or 5, pop in or phone to let them know you’re going, as its quite a small place, then you know there will be a table waiting for you when you arrive. Parking is quite good. There is the front terrace to drive onto straight off the main road or side streets. Go try it. You wont be disappointed.