By: Sunny Walia

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Taste of Persia is a local hole in the wall Persian restaurant in East Side San Jose, serving authentic Persian dishes like kebabs, falafels, subzis and a variety of other meals.

This restaurant also serves deli and American sandwiches, You can find it off Eastridge and the Tully Corners plaza. Taste of Persia is located at 2011 Tully Rd, in between Hankee Chinese Restaurant and Vision First Eye Care. 

There aren’t many Persian restaurants in this area. A lot of them are located outside of San Jose in cities like Saratoga, Sunnyvale and Campbell. The location is pretty interesting as well, being surrounded by Mexican and Vietnamese restaurants, but rest assured the food impresses.

The Beef Koobideh Plate 

Photo Credits: (Sunny Walia) 

The dishes I have tried so far have been the beef koobideh plate, the beef kabob sandwich, the Bomb sandwich and the Steak Bomb sandwich. What I can appreciate about a place like this is it has authentic Persian dishes, but they also have American sandwiches, being a restaurant everyone can enjoy.

The beef koobideh I had was very flavorful and cooked well. There’s a lot of times where I have koobideh and it’s cooked well, but the seasonings and taste are lacking. This koobideh has a nice char to it, and I could really taste the flavor in the meat. The rice that accompanied it was alright, it wasn’t the best rice I’ve had, but it compliments the dish well. 

I didn’t know what to expect when I ordered the sandwiches, but I was pleasantly surprised. The kebab sandwich had tomatoes, lettuce and a chipotle sauce, which all went really well together between a sub roll. 

The Steak Bomb Sandwich 

(Photo Credits: From the Business Owner on Yelp) 

The Bomb sandwich and the Steak Bomb sandwich was also a surprise. The Bomb sandwich had sausage, mortadella, chicken jambon, mushrooms and melted cheese. The Steak Bomb sandwich had steak, mushrooms, bell peppers, grilled onion and cheese. These sandwiches were very satisfying, the vegetables were fresh and watching it come out of the kitchen piping hot made my mouth water. It seriously competes with other places that serve similar hot sandwiches. 

I asked Hamza Jaleel, who’s a senior here at Silver Creek High School, if he would try this place. He’s also Pakistani and has Persian heritage. He said “I love Persian Food, and I’ll definitely try it out.” 

This restaurant is in its soft opening, and unfortunately I don’t see many people whenever I go there. If you enjoy or want to try Persian food, or even if you enjoy American subs, then I would definitely recommend trying this restaurant out.