Vanessa's 5 Star Reviews

This place seriously hit the spot! I got the koobideh kabob with rice, grilled veggies, some fresh flatbread, and a side of hummus—and everything was delicious. The kabob was super flavorful and juicy, and the rice was perfectly fluffy. The grilled tomato and onions had that perfect char, and the hummus was so good. There sauce they have is hot. Perfect little kick —loved that. Portions were generous, prices were fair, and it had a chill, welcoming vibe. If you're into Middle Eastern food Darban’s is worth checking out. I’ll definitely be back!

Loveeeee all the food here. My Persian go to spot. I get the chicken kababs. Friendly family atmosphere. This is a houston staple restaurant I bring all my friends too. Great service as always

Loveeeee all the food here. My Persian go to spot. I get the chicken kababs. Friendly family atmosphere. This is a houston staple restaurant I bring all my friends too. Great service as always

Loveeeee all the food here. My Persian go to spot. I get the chicken kababs. Friendly family atmosphere. This is a houston staple restaurant I bring all my friends too. Great service as always

Loveeeee all the food here. My Persian go to spot. I get the chicken kababs. Friendly family atmosphere. This is a houston staple restaurant I bring all my friends too. Great service as always

An incredible experience! Delicious kaleh pache with toasted bread, side of onions and lime! Got chai for free. Just wow! Amazing service, and such a beautiful restaurant!

An incredible experience! Delicious kaleh pache with toasted bread, side of onions and lime! Got chai for free. Just wow! Amazing service, and such a beautiful restaurant!

I've been going to this establishment for over 15 years. The food is excellent, is Halal, fresh, tasty, and you get much value for your money. It's a no frills restaurant that has been around for d…

Love the food and have good service overall I love it a bunch of fun love this place so much

Best of the best Persian food OG place since 1990's. Tastiest kaboob and chicken you will find!

I felt in love with Darband Shishkabob on my first sight. As soon as I walked in, the atmosphere gave me a very pleasant feeling that this Is the restaurant to share the Houston pride to my foodie …

AL _rageh

The prices are cheap and reasonable. The food is average, but you get what you pay for.

jawad rehman

I was passing by and was informed it was the oldest persian food establishment and had to try. Here are the things I ordered. 1. Hummus with fresh bread. - it was delicious. Right consistency and flavor. The bread was fresh and delicious. 2. Chelo Kebab - It was as expected. The kebab was juicy and the rice was cooked just perfect. It was priced reasonably also. Will definitely come back to try other items on the menu.

T HA

Darband Hillcroft – Houston, TX ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ One of my favorite spots for Persian food in Houston. The chicken kubideh (kabob) is $14 and the beef barg is $15—both flavorful and served with fresh bread. Prices are excellent across the board: baklava from Graves is only $2 for two, and if you dine in, you even get free hot tea. Plenty of space inside and good parking outside. Specials are worth checking out: • Chicken Soltani – boneless chicken + chicken kubideh with rice & bread ($12.45). • 3 Meat Special – beef kubideh, chicken kubideh & lamb chenjeh with rice & bread ($16.45). • Lunch plate (12–4pm) – boneless chicken with rice, bread, and soda ($13.45). The lamb shank and zereshk polo are also great. People usually eat quick and leave, so tables turn fast. Tips: • Don’t miss the free bread & tea when dining in. • Chicken kubideh and beef barg are must-tries. • Grab baklava to end on a sweet note. Darband – Great flavors, generous portions, prices you’ll love.

P Charles

Sometimes you gotta change it up. Was heading to Kandahari because let’s be real-it’s the best place in this plaza. But I said holdup, first Persian grill in Texas?!? Let’s peep that real quick. During Ramadan, it was cool to see folks who had been fasting all day break bread with their loved ones and atmosphere was welcoming. Food was a solid 4/5. Staff super nice and food was coming out very quick despite it being time to break fast. If you're coming for the meat alone, I'd say the kabobs and shish are very good. The 3 meat platter is a great starter dish. Meat portions aren’t crazy (that’s good, left room for Kandahari). However, the rice and bread, they can have that. I felt like the rice and bread were so much of a let down, they should have left them off the plate. Wasn't all that. Might need to put more effort into that or take some notes from Kandahari next door because their bread and rice are bussin! I’d def come back though.

Tas A

Such a nice cute Persian restaurant. Loved everything. All the food. So clean. The guy at the cash was so nice, so helpful and patient with us. They have such nice art work. All from Iran. The food is good too. Most of them is dry. But the flavors are top notch. And they offer free tea at the end of your meal. And the mist important the price is so reasonable compared to the other restaurants. Must try.

+6

Arrived just before closing but no worries, they were happy to serve us. Always yummy!

I love this place. Been going for more than 20 yrs before their renovation.. prices were cheaper then. I always order the number 5 , chicken kabob plate.

Easy simple and good. If you are looking for no frills Persian food with great flavor you've come to the right place! I was craving just meat and rice and that's what I got! The lamb was cooked to …

Sarah Ali

I’ve enjoyed Darband with my family for my entire life, and have lately been giving them the benefit of the doubt. But this time was the last straw, the quality has gone down considerably. We dine in and takeout—this time we did takeout, came home and found our meat and vegetables far too burnt. Regardless of whether we’re dining in or taking out, the food should be of quality. You can only char so much before it becomes inedible and also bad for your health. I tried the #10 when we usually get the #6, and felt like I was eating leftovers. A sliver of chicken (most of which again, was inedible) with a dry piece of ground beef kebab. For nearly twenty dollars? Absolutely not worth it. Have had far better chicken kebab/tawook, but sad that I will now be looking for alternatives to their once delicious beef skewers.

Sora Yunus

This is our family’s first place we loved in Houston. Customer since 2004. The best price and food. 10 of 10 was till approximately 2018. Now its worse place no taste. I asked for the and the girl took the water from inside ( i guess from the sink ) poor in tea maker so infront of she made a tea - was warm not even hot a little bit. The plate with green used to be full w feta cheese lime parsley cilantro. Now plate is almost empty seems they gave me left over. Only bread was still same fresh hot delicious. Decided not to come here any more.

+6

Fazlollah Madani Sani

Shish kabab was not tasty. I don’t think they marinate their meat at all. It was smelly and smelled like meat. Ghorme sabzi was good. Doogh was good too. I tried to use the bathroom, but it was so gross and dirty that I couldn’t. Surprisingly, they use disposable plates and cups even in the restaurant for some reason. Not environmentally friendly at all.

Noticed they had to cut down the portions to keep their prices reasonable. This affected the overall experience.

Craving kabob? This is a good and fast fix.\n\nRice is terrible. But kabobs are good! Good service, good tea and good bread.

shuk faizi

I am a customer coming here for a long time. This place either needs to review their quality of food and atmosphere. The food I order was lumb chunk over bread but added Rice. The kebab was very small peaces and no taste at all. The rice was salty looked like sprayed salt on it because it was different with each spoon of rice.

the worst restaurant in my life. the food tasted horrible. I ordered chicken breast with rice. the breast was cut unevenly and was dry and tasteless, more likely tasted like cardboard. the service su…

the worst restaurant in my life. the food tasted horrible. I ordered chicken breast with rice. the breast was cut unevenly and was dry and tasteless, more likely tasted like cardboard. the serv…

the worst restaurant in my life. the food tasted horrible. I ordered chicken breast with rice. the breast was cut unevenly and was dry and tasteless, more likely tasted like cardboard. the servic…

Never again. I've been a customer since the early 1990's. It's been my go-to for delicious food for both dine-in and takeout. Over the years, it didn't matter who was behind the counter/register, I…

This place used to be really good but now the meat was as thin as an onion slice. I got bigger tomatoes than kabobs. Food is dry and doesn't taste as good as before. You can tell they are trying to…

This place was very hot and uncomfortable to dine in. bread was cold and had no taste, almost not cooked. I had two stews, very bland. Paper plates. \nI left this place very unsatisfied.

I wish they had more veg and even vegetarian meals. Gosh, I wanted to love this place, but when the majority of everything on the menu is catered to meat-eaters, it makes it harder for those who do…

Never again. I've been a customer since the early 1990's. It's been my go-to for delicious food for both dine-in and takeout. Over the years, it didn't matter who was behind the counter/register, …

Never again. I've been a customer since the early 1990's. It's been my go-to for delicious food for both dine-in and takeout. Over the years, it didn't matter who was behind the counter/register…

When I visited the restaurant, I was surprised to see hot meals being served on plastic plates. It is widely known that using plastic for hot food can pose health risks. Rather than prioritizing convenience, I believe customer health should come first. I hope the restaurant will reconsider their choices.

Not worth it. Probably the worst Persian food I have ever eaten and it came on Styrofoam plates, you cant even use the utensils properly without cutting into the plate. Better off going to the other Persian restaurant nearby, Reza Persian Grill.

mrchicochihuahua

This is the generic version of Persian food. Tasteless and pricey food. Humus appetizer was bland and watery. My plate had 3 different meats that tasted the same. My friends chicken plate was dry, tough and tasteless. Poor and unfriendly customer service by people behind counters. I asked for butter and I was given the butter with no eye contact and response. Everything is served in styrofoam plates and cups. No thank you’s whatsoever or a friendly smile. Red flag was the emptiness of customers. Will never return. Only reason for the 1 star was the bread.

Kylo Ren

Darband used to offer excellent food at excellent pricing. I've been here countless times and have had two terrible previous experiences. This third time again was the same. The guys working here are somewhat rude, the atmosphere reflects the 30 year old decor. This is the third time in a row the food has been terrible. The kubideh is slightly wider than a regular yellow highlighter, low on the flavor scale and smaller than what they used to serve. I also ordered the wrapped chicken and beef which had a chunk of chicken fat. The chicken was closer to a thin rope around the beef. Darband is the oldest Persian restaurant in Houston, but there are far better options like Reza. The photos on Darband's site are not accurate of what you will receive. My photos have a highlighter and a ketchup packet as a size reference. The butter that is used to serve with the rice has been switched with low quality packets of margarine. They have run out dill rice the last two times. If you eat here, pay attention to the total as I've had to correct the guy several times for overcharging me.

+2