27 Westbourne Grove, W2 4UA
Before I begin writing about Sadaf, a comfortable and unpretentious Persian restaurant, it is perhaps worth noting that I am a carnivore and take overt delight in this fact. I also adore Persian food, the portions of which are enough to push me into the sumptuous arms of a food coma.
One final, final thing before I continue: vegetarians, or people with small appetites, should stay away from Persian restaurants as it will split your sides and your eyes but, to a meat lover, this is a dream cuisine.
Prior to the mouthfuls of meat one should warm up on the wonderful array of starters. I find it best to order the mixed starter, whereby one can choose four dishes on offer, and some freshly baked bread too, which is the best I've eaten in a Persian restaurant.
I tried the Persian yogurt, a Russian style salad and Kashke Bademjun and Mirza ghasemi, two sensational aubergine dishes that go off in the mouth like a taste grenade whereby in no time I found it impossible to stop using the bread as a sort of miniature spade to scoop the tantalising tastes into my awaiting mouth.
For the main course one could either choose a stew or go for chunks of marinated meat. And so, being the veracious carnivore that I am, I went for the latter.
I was fortunate enough to sample every type of meat that they have on the menu (all of which are marinated from 12-24 hours before being slowly BBQ over charcoal) I must say it is exceptionally hard to pick one that stands above the rest, each type of meat being as succulent as the other. With this in mind, and if I were there with another, then I would order the mixed grill, whereby one can sample all of them. But, if my back was against the wall and I had to choose my own main dish and, if we consider that the aubergine starters go off in the mouth like taste grenades, then the lamb chops are atomic bombs with a sonic explosion - they are divine, there is no other word for them.
And so, if you want to get away from minimal and unsatisfactory portions, if one is a lover of meat in all its many forms then, by god, go to Sadaf for dinner for the love of lamb chops alone. You will not be disappointed.
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