Juffair District Grills and Restaurant

Rating: Very good
Meal:  Dinner for 2
Price:  8.5 BHD
Payment:  Cash only
Dishes: Mixed grill, plus 2 half orders of additional meat, hummous, mutabel, tabouleh, iced tea, yoghurt drink
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No

Last night my co-worker and I stepped outside our hotel and walked about 1 block south to eat at the Juffair District Grills and Restaurant.  It appears to be a recently opened Iranian grill, sandwiched between a fancy looking Japanese restaurant (Kabuki) and a philly cheesesteak fastfood joint called Tony Luke's.  It is much more local looking than its neighbors.

There is indoor and outdoor seating available, but the nights aren't quite cool enough for me to be able to enjoy sitting outside.  We sat inside on the first floor, though there is apparently an upstairs too.

I ordered for us, getting the usual spread of dips:  hummous, mutabel (roasted, creamed eggplant) and tabouleh (parsley and couscous salad).  We went with a small mixed grill to sample the meats and ended up ordering another two half orders, one of the yoghurt marinated "meat" (probably lamb) and chicken.  There was plenty of free Iranian bread (taftoon I think) freshly made in a clay oven.  In addition they provided a plate with some fresh greens, raw onion, olives, and a greenish sauce that was quite spicy.  And yet  more:  they started out with a delicious small bowl of lentil soup!  

My friend ordered an ice tea, which they made up from scratch and he said was quite good.  I asked for an iranian yoghurt drink (not on the menu) and they said they would whip something up.  It was very good, but a bit sweet.  I prefer salty and they said they can do that too.  Actually, the more I drank it the more amazed I got at its flavor.  It was as if they had blended it with mint leaves or something and it had such a perfect rounded taste I didn't mind the sweetness at all.

This place is a great find and really good value.  It's not trying to be a fancy "persian" restaurant, but concentrates on grilled meats.  I would eat here all the time if I lived here.