This location was a terrible experience compared to Walnut Creek and San Francisco. The service here felt openly discriminatory — one staff member greeted only white customers while ignoring Indians and Muslims at nearby tables. It felt like we were not welcome.
On top of that, we could hear a lot of coughing from the kitchen and bar area, which is unacceptable in a restaurant. The food was no better — the potatoes with the lamb shank were undercooked.
This place does not represent the quality or hospitality of the other locations, and we will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Ashkan Moghaddam
Message to owner, Me and my family have been eating here since the restaurant was on Center St and miss those days. It was a true persian cuisine and atmosphere, unfortunately times have changed and so has the restaurant. Portions are smaller, prices are higher and your new waitress is super rude. As far as I know tips are based off of your Service to the customer and if have dropped the ball on providing good service. This lady had the nerve to stop my wife before leaving the restaurant and demanding a tip specifically a cash one, in your dreams I wanted to respond but walked out. I hope you the owner do not take this message as disrespect but as a true customer that cares about your business. Good luck to you as we will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Lilian Gerch
On June 22, 2025, it was the day my mother passed. My daughter and I had my aunt's and my cousin's support at the hospital. Later that evening after we left the hospital, my cousin wanted us to join him and my aunt for dinner and we headed to Alborz in Berkeley. Fantastic Kebab place. Dinner was delicious. I ordered the Koobideh, which comes with 2 skewers of kebab, rice, and a tomatoe. My daughter ordered the Sultani, which comes with one meat skewer and one chicken skewer, also with rice and a tomatoe. I have taken some photos for you to see how beautiful the platters are. Service was awesome as usual. My daughter and I have dined at Alborz before and we have never been disappointed. There is also music playing while dining.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Paul Moderacki
Delicious Persian style food. The Combo Plate (appetizer) included tomatoes, cucumber, humus, olives, onions, herbs, dolma, feta cheese & Kash bademjan. We ordered three house specials: Gheymeh Bademjoon, Fesenjoon (with meatballs) and Zereshk Polo with baked chicken. Each entrée was served with Basmati rice topped with saffron. Each portion was generous and we all walked out with leftovers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Al
The food was overpriced and low quality. The meat was decent but lacked seasoning and had too much fat. The meal was worth $7 at most, yet I paid $30. The portion was small—just a cup of rice and a single tomato. Service was mediocre, nothing memorable. Overall, I won’t be returning. This place sells an idea and atmosphere, but the food is an afterthought.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
niusha r
Worst Persian food I ever had! I ordered tahdig topped with ghorme sabzi which was sooo cold, tah dig was saggy and ghorme sabze was super cold. I also ordered barg and koobideh, koobideh was ok but barg was terrible. Not eatable, no salt, no tase, just terrible. If you ever come to this place, just order koobide
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
fateme abbasi
I had Fesenjoon here, it was sweet for me,i also tried Kashk e Bademjoon, that I really liked
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kashk Bodemjan
Vlad Sokalsky
Alborz: where the kebabs are tender, but the service leaves you chewing on confusion.
We arrived with high hopes, but the experience quickly took a turn. A waiter, clearly channeling their inner diva, decided to put on latex gloves very demonstratively—I assumed to clear our plates. However, the precision and attitude suggested she was preparing for a colonoscopy rather than simply tidying up.
The food itself was decent, though not enough to distract from the lack of attentiveness and the side order of attitude served alongside. By the time our plates were finally removed (sans gloves, I might add), the mood had shifted from celebratory to bewildered.
Bottom line: the food may have hints of Persian delight, but the service adds an unexpected splash of theatrics. Proceed if you’re hungry for kebabs—and drama.
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 1
eric kullmann
Today was my second time eating here and it was even better than the first time. I brought two well traveled friends who also appreciate good food and they both were impressed with the food. The staff has always been very friendly and professional. The portions are plenty for a single plate meal for people who like to eat. The lamb is perfect and falls off the bone. Try the turkish coffee with desert if you have never had any.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Ehsan Kamalinejad
Alborz at Berkeley has been one of my favorite restaurant till recently. I used to get their Koobide at least once a week. But since several weeks ago the quality of their food has deteriorated very badly. I'm not sure if they have changed their chef or their meet source or something else. Last time I ordered, it was so bad that I had to throw it away. But I loved the old food so much that I thought I should try another time. No, it was the same terrible Koobide. I called the restaurant to talk with the owner but couldn't reach him/her. So I leave this review here, hopefully it gets his/her attention. I will update if things change. For me this was the last time I order from this restaurant unless things change.
We had a craving for Persian food, so we tried out Alborz. Overall quite solid! The fesenjoon was particularly good, and the mirza ghasemi was quite solid too.
The bread that was initially served to us was a stale pita bread, which wasn't great, but then they gave us the lavash bread, which was outstanding.
It scratched the itch for us!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Jon Doe
My elderly mother in law and I stood at the door for ten minutes without being greeted. The two servers were obviously busy, but no hello hi one moment, nothing. They walked by several times didn't acknowledge us at all. My mother in law cant stand for too long so I noticed the seats in front empty and we have sat there before. I asked the guy if we can just sit there. He said rudely "one moment" and proceeded to go about his business ignoring us. Took another six minutes until the lady came and sat us down. I have never ever complained a day in my life. And food is always great I come here alot the other young guy that helps us is always on point. However the lady that was serving us was VERY RUDE. I asked her if we could order after we were waiting for over 20 minutes. It was a long 20 minutes being that we already knew what we wanted when we arrived. After about 20 minutes of her being busy,I asked her nicely if she could take our order. She was VERY RUDE and replied snarkly with attitude um in a minute. I have worked retail and all she could have said was yes ill be right back to take your order. No she was very disguisted with me asking her that question after I could see she was busy but walked by many times to do things like replace bread or bring a lid. I don't know why the owner would only have two servers at such a busy time, but there is a way to manage customers who are waiting and not be rude like you could care less if costumers walk out. After awhile I noticed she was rude to everyone. I understand you are busy and you boss understaffed you, but now I'm not sure if I ever want to return. The food is not cheap to be treated like we were at mc donnalds and with no accountability.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
Mansour Azizi
I have been going Alborz last 8 years Clean atmospheric and delicious Iranian foods and kabobs awesome
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sharareh Shahrokhi
The best Persian Kebabs in the area. It's a little bit pricey but it's worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salad, Tah Dige Gheymeh
yadegar Ss
The worst Tah dig. It was completely buried and black with a lot of oil.
This location was a terrible experience compared to Walnut Creek and San Francisco. The service here felt openly discriminatory — one staff member greeted only white customers while ignoring Indians and Muslims at nearby tables. It felt like we were not welcome.
On top of that, we could hear a lot of coughing from the kitchen and bar area, which is unacceptable in a restaurant. The food was no better — the potatoes with the lamb shank were undercooked.
This place does not represent the quality or hospitality of the other locations, and we will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 3
Service: 1
Message to owner,
Me and my family have been eating here since the restaurant was on Center St and miss those days. It was a true persian cuisine and atmosphere, unfortunately times have changed and so has the restaurant. Portions are smaller, prices are higher and your new waitress is super rude. As far as I know tips are based off of your Service to the customer and if have dropped the ball on providing good service. This lady had the nerve to stop my wife before leaving the restaurant and demanding a tip specifically a cash one, in your dreams I wanted to respond but walked out. I hope you the owner do not take this message as disrespect but as a true customer that cares about your business. Good luck to you as we will not be returning.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
On June 22, 2025, it was the day my mother passed. My daughter and I had my aunt's and my cousin's support at the hospital. Later that evening after we left the hospital, my cousin wanted us to join him and my aunt for dinner and we headed to Alborz in Berkeley. Fantastic Kebab place. Dinner was delicious. I ordered the Koobideh, which comes with 2 skewers of kebab, rice, and a tomatoe. My daughter ordered the Sultani, which comes with one meat skewer and one chicken skewer, also with rice and a tomatoe. I have taken some photos for you to see how beautiful the platters are. Service was awesome as usual. My daughter and I have dined at Alborz before and we have never been disappointed. There is also music playing while dining.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Delicious Persian style food. The Combo Plate (appetizer) included tomatoes, cucumber, humus, olives, onions, herbs, dolma, feta cheese & Kash bademjan. We ordered three house specials: Gheymeh Bademjoon, Fesenjoon (with meatballs) and Zereshk Polo with baked chicken. Each entrée was served with Basmati rice topped with saffron. Each portion was generous and we all walked out with leftovers.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The food was overpriced and low quality. The meat was decent but lacked seasoning and had too much fat. The meal was worth $7 at most, yet I paid $30. The portion was small—just a cup of rice and a single tomato. Service was mediocre, nothing memorable. Overall, I won’t be returning. This place sells an idea and atmosphere, but the food is an afterthought.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 2
Worst Persian food I ever had! I ordered tahdig topped with ghorme sabzi which was sooo cold, tah dig was saggy and ghorme sabze was super cold. I also ordered barg and koobideh, koobideh was ok but barg was terrible. Not eatable, no salt, no tase, just terrible. If you ever come to this place, just order koobide
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
I had Fesenjoon here, it was sweet for me,i also tried Kashk e Bademjoon, that I really liked
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kashk Bodemjan
Alborz: where the kebabs are tender, but the service leaves you chewing on confusion.
We arrived with high hopes, but the experience quickly took a turn. A waiter, clearly channeling their inner diva, decided to put on latex gloves very demonstratively—I assumed to clear our plates. However, the precision and attitude suggested she was preparing for a colonoscopy rather than simply tidying up.
The food itself was decent, though not enough to distract from the lack of attentiveness and the side order of attitude served alongside. By the time our plates were finally removed (sans gloves, I might add), the mood had shifted from celebratory to bewildered.
Bottom line: the food may have hints of Persian delight, but the service adds an unexpected splash of theatrics. Proceed if you’re hungry for kebabs—and drama.
Atmosphere: 2
Service: 1
Today was my second time eating here and it was even better than the first time. I brought two well traveled friends who also appreciate good food and they both were impressed with the food.
The staff has always been very friendly and professional.
The portions are plenty for a single plate meal for people who like to eat.
The lamb is perfect and falls off the bone.
Try the turkish coffee with desert if you have never had any.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Alborz at Berkeley has been one of my favorite restaurant till recently. I used to get their Koobide at least once a week. But since several weeks ago the quality of their food has deteriorated very badly. I'm not sure if they have changed their chef or their meet source or something else. Last time I ordered, it was so bad that I had to throw it away. But I loved the old food so much that I thought I should try another time. No, it was the same terrible Koobide. I called the restaurant to talk with the owner but couldn't reach him/her. So I leave this review here, hopefully it gets his/her attention. I will update if things change. For me this was the last time I order from this restaurant unless things change.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 1
Service: 2
Restaurantji Recommends
We had a craving for Persian food, so we tried out Alborz. Overall quite solid! The fesenjoon was particularly good, and the mirza ghasemi was quite solid too.
The bread that was initially served to us was a stale pita bread, which wasn't great, but then they gave us the lavash bread, which was outstanding.
It scratched the itch for us!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
My elderly mother in law and I stood at the door for ten minutes without being greeted. The two servers were obviously busy, but no hello hi one moment, nothing. They walked by several times didn't acknowledge us at all. My mother in law cant stand for too long so I noticed the seats in front empty and we have sat there before. I asked the guy if we can just sit there. He said rudely "one moment" and proceeded to go about his business ignoring us. Took another six minutes until the lady came and sat us down. I have never ever complained a day in my life. And food is always great I come here alot the other young guy that helps us is always on point. However the lady that was serving us was VERY RUDE. I asked her if we could order after we were waiting for over 20 minutes. It was a long 20 minutes being that we already knew what we wanted when we arrived. After about 20 minutes of her being busy,I asked her nicely if she could take our order. She was VERY RUDE and replied snarkly with attitude um in a minute. I have worked retail and all she could have said was yes ill be right back to take your order. No she was very disguisted with me asking her that question after I could see she was busy but walked by many times to do things like replace bread or bring a lid. I don't know why the owner would only have two servers at such a busy time, but there is a way to manage customers who are waiting and not be rude like you could care less if costumers walk out. After awhile I noticed she was rude to everyone. I understand you are busy and you boss understaffed you, but now I'm not sure if I ever want to return. The food is not cheap to be treated like we were at mc donnalds and with no accountability.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 1
I have been going Alborz last 8 years
Clean atmospheric and delicious Iranian foods and kabobs awesome
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The best Persian Kebabs in the area. It's a little bit pricey but it's worth it.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Salad, Tah Dige Gheymeh
The worst Tah dig. It was completely buried and black with a lot of oil.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 2
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