Bandar Grille

Thank you for your review, but we do not believe your judgement is fair. Bandar has been awarded Best Ethnic & Persian Cuisine 1996-2008. We have a classic historical design & in regards to the article in the back of our menu, for us it is very valuable because it is our story and it never gets old. more

Extremely disappointing experience dining at Bandar. The service staff have ghost like attitude and never write anything down adding insult to injury. The food lacks care and has steam table qualities shouting from it. \r It is apparent from the pricing of both dinner and wine list menus that rent is very high at their location. Some how the restaurant feels its customers have to pay its high rent and get none in return. \r The place looks tired and on its last limb. An old article in the menu is a perfect example that Bandar remains in the past.\r This was restaurant week in San Diego. When are you going to step it up? Pros: Location. In the GasLamp Quarters Cons: Sub Standard Food and Service, Pooe attitude more

The waiters, hostess and busboys are all very rude. There are no apologies for poor service, long waits for food. For example, drink refills are allowed but higly frowned upon and take about 45 minutes to arrive to your table after you ask 3 times.. After your second drink refill they will impolitely notify you that the next one will have to be paid for. No smiles, lots of attitude. Pros: easy to walk in and get a table Cons: service, service, service more

I went to Bandar for the first time on my birthday. It was a horrible experience and I would never recommend it to anyone. The food was dry and tasteless. And the service was the worst I have ever seen. And it is extremely overpriced for some nasty food and horrible service. Pros: nothing Cons: tasteless food, horrible service more

The people that have rated this restaurant 5 stars must either be friends of the owner or just plain crazy. The food was okay but not worth what they charge for. I've been to lower quality persian restaurants and I have to say that they are a step above Bandar because of the cheaper prices for the same food and the servers knew how to at least flash a smile. I certainly didnt appreciate being overcharged on the bill either - I ended up paying more for water than my actual meal. I understand that 18% tip is standard for larger parties but I dont really enjoy servers taking advantage of a tip that they never even earned. Anyways, if it isnt obvious enough, I would never go back to this restaurant nor would I ever recommend it to anyone. Pros: ambience Cons: service, prices more

I would like to regale you with the tale of our own BANDAR experience. It was absolutely horrible. The food was alright, it was really expensive and the service was nothing to write home about. What we are here to report is the water racket that they have running in that restaurant. After we were seated, the server came up with two bottles of water, an Evian and a Pelligrino asking if we preferred sparkling or flat water. Our colleague asked if we would have to pay for it. The server did not answer the question, but proceeded to fill all of our glasses and kept the bottles coming all night. At the end of the meal, he even set down a freshly opened bottle of pelligrino on the table, just in case we were thristy AFTER our meal. When the bill came, we found that they had charged us $50 for the bottles of water they kept bringing out. What a scam. May I also add, that the server never filled up my water glass. He would always skip me, and it hurt my feelings. This was not bandars fault, but while settling the bill somebody I didnt know at our table kept passive aggressively accusing me and my other colleauge for not paying our share of the bill, and Im convinced it was because we were wearing polo shirts. Pros: They didnt scorn me for sneaking in booze Cons: everything else more

This establishment, if you can call it that, was not by any means the best cheloh kaboby (persian restaurant) I've been to. The service was almost not present. The food, well lets just say that the service was so bad that we couldn't even get a chance to taste it. When we walked in we were informed that the kabob had ran out. This is the equivalent of going to In N Out and them not having any burgers. After this fact was learned, we asked if they could give any dishes on the house, since we had had reservations since 9:00 a.m. and we weren't told that they didn't have any meat until the moment we walked in. After this, the owner went on some random fit about how we had disrespected him and his daughter. Honestly we were totally shocked and in awe that someone could be so crazy and RUDE. SO WE WALKED OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pros: good location Cons: poor service! more

We were in town for labor day weekend and tried to have all of our friends at a late night dinner at the gas lamp district. we reserved this resturant at 9:00 AM in the morning and called them multiple times to confirm. We had 15 families from out of town with their kids, a total of 45 people (15 kids of all ages). We waited until 9:30 to sit down and after we got all the kids in place, they told us they don't have half of the menu and they are almost out of food. Our kids were hungry, we were frustrated but kept waiting to see if we could order other types of food. There was one waiter for 45 people, they took 30 minutes to bring water, no bread, no side dishes, not even a simple apology for having us wait until 10:00PM with no food and still no service. So I got up to tell the owner if they could remedy the situation. I asked the young lady who is the owner and she said, I am. So I started telling her that the performance of her team was unacceptable and that they were just not on the ball. As I was talking to her, she looks at me and says.."" you can't talk to me that way, I am a lady"". I was confused and frustrated by now. I am looking at this young teenager who clearly is way over her head, does not have enough people, does not have food. Took a reservation for 45 people at 9:00 PM and an hour later can't even serve water and the only thing she can do is hide behind, ""I am a lady..."". I told her that she should bring some complementary food out and do something to make the situation better. By now I am speaking in my stern and serious voice, directing her. At this juncture an older man standing outside who seemed like another customer also comes out and says, you can't to her with that voice. She is a girl. confused, I ignore him and go on. He gets mad and starts screaming. I was very surprised and walked away. Later I found out he was the owner and the girl was his daughter. We left the place quickly and went back to our hotel. Clearly not professional. Pros: great location in Downtown San Diego Cons: badly managed by family members who scream at customers more

A group of about 45 people and I decided to eat at Bandar's, and what we experienced almost soured our entire vacation. We had reservations for 8:00 pm. We waited for an hour after 8:00 to be seated. We were also greeted with the unfortunate news that the restaurant had no meat to serve us! Persian Cuisine is defined most often as ""Chelo Kabobi"" The most important attraction is Kabob. Our party of 45 was told that there was no kabob to be had after waiting an hour to be seated. After hearing the news and being seated for 20 minutes without any service, one gentleman in our party politely remarked to the hostess that it would have been convenient to have notified us of the lack of any meat tonight, or to serve us some complimentary appetizers. The hostess, clearly intoxicated with a power trip, began wheeling out empty rebuttals loudly to our party, ""YOU MAY NOT SPEAK TO THE OWNERS DAUGHTER LIKE THAT"" None of us understood, we had merely made a suggestion, and our behavior was by no means out of line. Reactions of the owner to the same suggestion were tasteless and uncalled for. He began screaming insults, in front of the 45 men women and children. His tone was rude, his comments disgraceful and his overall demeanor reminded me of a tactless man with no idea of how to run a business. As his temper escalated it was all too obvious that he intended to fight. We did not wait to witness the spectacle he was making of himself. All 45 of us picked up and left, while the less than classy hostess/daughter was left mumbling barely audible excuses such as ""i only meant for that one guy to leave, not everyone"" To think that we would actually pay for absent food and service. In sum, if you would like to be greeted with a childish barely dressed hostess, and a savage owner who cannot even present real Persian cuisine to you, go to Bandars, otherwise settle for another Persian restaurant that can accurately represent all that the words ""Fine Dining"" and ""Persian Cusine"" entail. Pros: zero Cons: They were out of meat, they failed to tell our party of 45, we were made to wait to be seated until 9:00 after making reservations for 8:00, read the review for the owners debacle... more

Bandar has very generous portions, and two big eaters could not finish a main course and an appetizer. The... more

Bandar has very generous portions, and two big eaters could not finish a main course and an appetizer. The service was fast and attentive. Food w... more

I eat here regularly because it is the best Persian food in SD. The service can be spotty, but the food is excellent. Certainly not as good as some of the Persian food available in LA or OC, but the meat is almost never overcooked and lunch is a good deal. The soltani is a great bet and big enough to share if you get an appetizer. Pros: Best Persian food in SD Cons: Service is just so-so more

I do have to say that from the first time I ate at this restaurant Ive returned numerous times. The food is excellent as well as the service. Its a great place to eat with your loved ones, especially if you're trying to look good for someone. You really don't have to know the food to be able to say that its good. Pros: the food and service is divine Cons: its a little high in price. more

When I read the reviews saying this is a top Persian restaurant I wonder how much they must have paid to have good reviews in several magazines.\r \r Generally speaking the food is just plain, tasteless and like the other posts the wine glasses are filled only in half. Besides I found the service to be well below average, if not terrible, so I don't see any reason to go again to Bandar or to recommend this place to anybody.\r \r \r \r more

I was incredibly disappointed with this restaurant. I went here on a Saturday night, and it wasn't packed - should have been my first clue. I've been looking for good Persian food, and this is not it. The mast o moosier was watery, the gormeh sabzi had zero flavor - just boiled veggie mush with beans and it was extremely oily for some reason. Not even a hint of lime. Even the rice was oily. Plus, it didn't come with any tahdig. My wine glass was barely filled (less than a quarter of the glass, I was shocked), but they had no problem charging the full price.\r \r My biggest complaint, I was overcharged for the incredibly bland food. The price on my tab was about $5.00 more than what was listed on the menu.\r \r This restaurant is over priced, has poor value, poor food quality, and they try to rip you off on your way out the door. Bandar is terrible. Go someplace else to eat. Pros: It's in the Gaslamp Cons: Food is bad, poor value, stingy with drinks, over priced, got over charged more

I really like Persian and Middle Eastern cuisine, and have been looking for places in San Diego to replace what I recently left in L.A. Seldom do I feel ripped off exploring new restaurants. Unfortunately, Bandar is my rip-off experience; an over-priced disappointment. Note that the prices on the menu are NOT what will show up on your bill. The food was..... mediocre, and over-priced for what you get. The wine portion was the smallest I've received ever (seriously). Not recommended at all.\r \r I've become convinced that the ""Best Restaurant in San Diego"" award is a paid for title. Surely there is a better Persian/Middle Eastern Restaurant in San Diego. Bandar is not hard to beat. Pros: Location in Gaslamp Quarter - Fun area, But LOTS of other restaurants Cons: Price, food quality more

If you want the best tasting persian food then come here to Bandar. Try their Khoresht Ghaimeh for an appetizer and then their chicken Kabob. Great food, sometimes there is a wait to get it. Recommend sitting outside. Cons: Plates are large more

What a fabulous find! The appetizers were so delicious. They have a combo plate where you can try 4 of the appetizers. A unique twist to the standard hummus (which they also have on the menu) is the hummus guacomole. What a wonderful combination! I also enjoyed the shallot yogurt dip, and the best was their eggplant dip drizzled in yogurt. We ordered 2 more servings of the eggplant appetizer because it was so good! It had lots of garlic, a touch of olive oil, and it tasted almost meaty. \r \r By the time the main meal of kabobs arrived, we were all stuffed from the divine dips. We were shocked at the size of the kabobs. They were HUGE! Each piece of meat was atleast 2 oz. As you know most kabobs have bite size pieces, but this was no usual kabob. The chicken was infused with saffron and spices that make my mouth water now just remembering it. The filet mignon kabob was the BEST filet mignon I have ever had and I've eaten a lot of filet mignon at some of the best restaurants in LA. This surpasses them all hands down. I don't know what they marinated the meat in but it tasted so amazing and the beef was so tender, it melted in my mouth. \r \r The only thing I wish was that Bandar was in Los Angeles because I was only visiting San Diego and I really want to go back to this restaurant on a regular basis. This place was just excellent. The service and atmosphere were great too. There is a parking garage across the street too for convienant parking in the gaslamp district. Pros: The most delicious food ever and the prices are very affordable for the amount of meat you recieve. Cons: You will leave stuffed! You may have to roll out of the place. more