Caspian

Rating: Very good
Meal: Dinner for 2
Price: 6400 yen
Dishes:  Soup, eggplant dip, yogurt drinks, kebab, lamb shank
Payment: Credit cards accepted
English Menu: Yes
Smoking: No (yes outside)

Caspian is the first Iranian/Persian restaurant I've found in Japan since being here 8 years.  I've known about it for a while, but it's in an odd place that we almost never find ourselves, so I haven't been able to get it yet.  But yesterday was a Friday and my son and I had to go to Costco, so I thought we should drive a bit further to try this place out.

Dough

It's very nice inside, spacious, and has a totally different feel from most restaurants in Japan.  The staff appear to be Iranian and the dishes are legit.  They even have dough, the Iranian version of laban/ayran/lassi and it's salty!  Also, they have their own parking lot, with only 3 spaces, but still that's 3 more than most places!

Soup

There were so many great looking dishes, though sadly fessenjan was not among them.  My son had the basic kebab, which wasn't terribly expensive, and I had a lamb shank which also seemed well priced.  Of course, we ended up buying a few other things that elevated the price by the end, but it was worth it.

Eggplant dip

I did order a shisha, but I removed it from the price above.  This was a serious disappointment, I do not recommend getting their shisha.

Lamb shank

The food was all good, but under spiced, especially in the salt department.  Luckily there was salt on the table so that is easily rectified.  The lamb was super tender, falling off the bone, and the sauce was delicious.  The bread was great, thin, but still chewy, freshly made.  My son's kebab was pretty good, and it looks like they have some very interesting more expensive kebab options I'd like to sample next time.

Kebab

I'll definitely be returning with my wife when she gets back from her trip.