Tuanjiehu’s strip of restaurants, the ‘Middle East Mile’, has expanded. ‘Mile’ may be an exaggeration but Persepolis joins fellow Persian Rumi, Lebanese-Syrian 1001 Nights and Turkish Mum, further bolstering the hub of major players in the city’s kebab game.

The main appeal is the patio, where a small stream winds through the seating area. A collection of low tables, designed for intimate conversations drawn out over a hookah, runs along the perimeter. Like its neighbours, warm evenings will bring in the crowds. Inside, Persepolis feels like 1001 Nights, although its blue and white colour scheme evokes a less garish, almost Adriatic atmosphere, were it not for the decidedly Persian paintings and shisha pipes.

We’ve heard much hype about the head chef, who used to cook at the Iranian Embassy, but our lunch falls a bit flat. It’s satisfactory, but no knockout. To begin, we spread a pulp of eggplant with garlic and yogurt sauce on a delightful flatbread, whose lone downfall is the need to order it separately.

The main attraction here is the meat. Offerings from the grill ramble over ten menu pages and range from grandiose mixed plates for 350 RMB to less monstrous servings of kebab for under 100RMB. The Turkish lamb doner kebab catches the eye of our table’s Brit – the taste of a classic British Saturday night out – but the package of tender lamb shavings in bread is nothing to inspire poetry.

The homemade Persian-style bread with ground lamb is a huge proposition: two long lamb skewers, a quarter of raw onion, half a charred tomato and grilled peppers. It feels too big and brash to fail but, thanks to its tasteless meat, it does just that.

Persepolis might not live up to the hype built around it, but with a killer patio and satisfactory grub, it’s a welcome addition to the area.

Address: 1-3 Gongti Bei Lu, Chaoyang District 朝阳区工体北路1-3号

Source: timeoutbeijing.com