Food: ☆☆☆

Service: ☆☆

Ambiance: ☆ ½

Cost: $$

Must try: Chicken Kabab, Kashkeh Bodemjan

I have been mourning the closure of Persian Tea Room in Queens as really good authentic Persian food is so hard to find. However there is a glimmer of hope at a surprising little food spot in Williston Park called Miraj – Healthy Grill.

This Persian cafe serves up some really decent fare, which evokes shadows of food that once was at the Persian Tea room.

At Miraj the chicken kebabs are unbelievable! Super succulent and delicately spiced – this was clearly the winning dish of the night. My favorite appetizer was the eggplant…

The biggest disappointment was their pita bread, which was coarse and tasted like bad store bought stuff. It really is a pity because with really good pita the appetizers would be just stunning. The lamb kebabs and the beef kubideh were just okay but the chicken really reigns supreme.

The service is painfully slow. I recommend getting there early especially on weekends because once the rooms fills up – they just cannot cope with the crowds. Also I find the later you go the less tender and juicy the kababs get. We went at 10 PM one night and the food was close to abysmal.

The digs are drab with deep hues of burgundy and reds. The room is filled with a clientele that is primarily Middle Eastern which tells you that the food served here is really up to the mark.

Here is some of what we ate: