Pars Mediterranean Supermarket & Deli

Groupon led us to this establishment but tasty food keeps us coming back for more. The plates are generous and the meats are well-​seasoned. I was especially fond of the chicken kabobs. My kids also enjoyed the food — which is saying a lot! BTW, I don’t get the ‘supermarket’ part of its name.

Damnit cold rice for geeks sake.
The food is not that tasty at all.
I would expect little more for the price i paid.

I’ve had several delicious meals from Pars delivered to me at work, so when I needed to find someone to cater an office lunch for 40 people, they immediately came to mind. Kambiz was a joy to work with, working his magic to produce the food we wanted and actually come in UNDER budget. Everyone was pleased with the food, even first-​timers who had only ever heard about shwarma from the end of the first Avengers movie.
My personal favorites have always been the hummus and the lentil soup, but after getting a taste of the falafel yesterday I gotta add that to the list, too.
Consider them when you need to feed a large group. So much nicer than heavy pasta, pizza or plain ol’ sandwiches.

We ordered delivery through grubhub. I ordered a gyro with chicken. It was okay not the best I had to be honest. My husband ordered chicken shawarma but he instead got what looked like a kabob with only 5 small pieces of chicken over some rice. We also ordered a hummus which was the worst hummus I’ve ever had, lots of oil and garlic. A supermarket hummus was better than that. Also, we got half a cold hard pita bread for the hummus!!! Might as well not send any. This wasn’t much of a problem because after tasting it we didn’t even need more bread, we just had to throw it away. The food was overall lacking in flavor and for $ 30 I think it’s really not worth it.

Pars chicken is defiantly my favorite, it’s always juicy and flavored to perfection. Also if you like hummus, order some! It’s amazing

It’s the best Gyro and Hummus I’ve had yet in Austin. It’s not a supermarket. They don’t even have empty shelves. Last I checked that’s the first thing you need to have a supermarket. They have a stage so I’m guessing they have live music sometimes? Their website says nothing about that. And I don’t speak Persian/​Iranian.
Keeping Austin Weird I guess. Just seems like a misguided business venture.
Also, their City of Austin Health Department score has recently dropped considerably:
Date, Score
02/03/2016,73
04/08/2015,86
08/13/2015,88

Half and half review: my carnivore guy says the beef kebab was good, the rice was ok. The falafel was SO disappointing — way too big and not cooked enough –raw in the middle. The wrap was stuff full of raw onions but very few interesting veggies. No tahini sauce on it but instead a little white garlic yogurt on the top ¼ then dry. The extra order of hummus was YELLOW and tasted like they mixed in flour. Yuck. The pita bread was microwaved so it was hard as soon as it cooled off. We ordered a Greek salad and never got it. And, insult to injury, the way the payment is set up for debit, you are asked to add a tip as part of the payment process — when ordering at the counter! Sorry I tipped now…

I can’t attest to the entire menu but I’ve eaten here several times and everything I’ve tried so far has been delicious. Closest thing I can get in Austin to authentic Persian food (slim picking in Austin). I typically come here for my kebab fix. The beef kebab is delicious and chicken is always juicy. Also, my wife and I love the humus here. I’ve even ordered delivery through bite squad and it’s always been prompt and the food is warm. The interior isn’t fancy, but that doesn’t bother me, it’s the food that really matters. The staff are always super friendly.

Worst Mediterranean kabob I’ve ever had, beef is blend, chicken is dry, and I put the notes in the order said replace the rice with Nan, but it still came with soft disgusting rice. There is no potion to post the picture in the review, you will see what I got for $ 14+$ 5 delivery + tips. Totally not worth the price I paid!

So I though I would add that even though I received a refund in cash after the 20 minute delay on my order I later thought back and realized that I had paid with a credit card. I didn’t think any more of it but today I realized that they charged the credit card plus the tip that I added, yet they only refunded me the pre-​tip amount. I guess that they thought I would not notice. Still no message from the owners to attempt to make it right.

Everything we received was delicious. Kebab Lovers was delicious and the Shwarma Salad. Will definitely be back.

We ordered delivery through GrubHub. The souvlaki wrap was ok, but the meat was cold and tough (probably because delivery took over an hour and a half). The olive salad is just canned olives poured in a bowl. The gourmej sabzi (herb stew with steak pieces) could have been good, but there was only one very small piece of meat and therefore very unsatisfying.
Food and delivery was over $ 50, worth no more than $ 20 including delivery charges. Maybe the food is better when you dine in… and it’s hot and fresh. This was not. As for me, I wont return here.

Had an absolutely horrific experience with this restaurant. Used the Unilocal food delivery app to order from them tonight. Food took an additional ½ hour past when they said it would. When it did get here it was a minuscule amount and in disarray. The salad had fallen out and was all over the bag. The chicken was dry and the meat inedible. I will never order from them again

I ordered off of grub hub. The food was over an hour late, I called the restaurant and asked for a status. All they said was that it was on its way. 30 minutes later it finally arrived, the delivery man was very nice and apologized for the late arrival. I was very disappointed when I opened my food, (at this point I was starving too from waiting so long) my gyro wrap was dry (had no sauce) and cold, I had to re-​heat it in the oven. I didn’t even eat half of it, the taste was off. The salad was brown and didn’t look fresh. I’m very disappointed with the food, I’m sure they are great when you eat in restaurant but from now on I’ll be avoiding this place.

Ordered on grub hub tonight. Worst idea ever. Not sure if it was the restaurants fault or grub hub. Either way it was the last time I will use either one of their services. It took over 2.5 hours to arrive. When it did get here it looked like they threw the bag if food into a wall and then down the stairs before handing it over. Not only was the order completely wrong but it was inedible. Everything was mixed together in the bag and open. There was salad dressing covering everything. I asked for no cheese and there was cheese. Wife can’t eat cheese. My food was smashed and cold. I tried to communicate with grub hub about it but they took their time getting back. Then they called around 9 pm at night to talk. This was amazing well executed in the worst way. I’ll never order from grub hub again. I suggest no one else does either.

I got a groupon. I ordered carry out.
Ordering on the phone seemed fine. Despite the accent, the order taker seemed fairly coherent and understood English just fine.
The interior is certainly not «high class» but thats okay. I wonder if there is wifi? I see plenty of outlet space. Might be cool to screw around on the computer while eating and drinking.
Okay. Lets get to the food. I ordered several dishes. The kebob lovers plate. The meats were awesome. The rice was awesome. The pita on that, not so much. The tzaaziki sauce was great.
Gyro was great. Get feta on it!
The falafel salad? That came with a pita too. The pita on that one was a million times better. Wonder why? The falafel was probably frozen; Its not good.
Though this trip there wasnt out of the park awesome, I will return and try some other dishes.

I went to order online with GrubHub. There was no way to order bread. I called them to ask about bread. The guy didn’t understand me and I think he just hung up on me. I called back, and the guy either misunderstood me or lied and told me bread comes with the lamb platter. Not a good start when the person answering the phone is either dishonest or incapable of communicating in English. But, I was now in the mood for Greek food so I went ahead and ordered online.
I received the food in reasonable time. There was no bread with the lamb plate. The food was just okay. The Gyro was decent, but the lamb and rice were pretty bland. Overpriced bottled sodas were 16 ounce. Come on guys, why not the standard 20 ounces? You could easily include the sizes in your product description so as not to be misleading. I think they are being cheapskates.
They forced me to tip during online order. Tipping should always occur at delivery so I can base it on service! Overall, I was not very happy with the experience.

I like this place.
It is a solid enough limited menu Persian lunch spot.
Don’t count on getting Iranian goodies like fancy rice dishes with a crusty bottom or stews with sour fruits.
But they have nice pita sandwiches, decent salads and some decent soups.
Their flatbreads may be some of the best in town. Warm, soft and appealing.
Everything is usually good … and even better if you make liberal use of the sumac powder that is provided at every table.
The room is not a plus.
They are always upgrading it and improving it and adding a TV screen or a stage or new furniture … but nothing ever quite works.
It always feels like a fluorescent-​lighted hole-​in-​the-​wall with some decoration.
This may be one of the few restaurants I can think of in Austin, where investing in an interior decorator could provide a gigantic payoff.
The food is solid and reliable.
Pars deserves more of a following than it currently has.

The gf convinced me to go here, and it did take convincing with pluckers and so many other options. It took about 10 minutes but the food and service was top notch. Delicious!

Back in the days when ethnic restaurants were hard to come by, Pars was our go to place for Persian food. It’s been years since I’ve been back, and now I think I know why. During my most recent trip, I ordered four dishes, including two Persian stews, lamb shank and a mixed kabob plate. The portions were very generous. The rice was cooked nicely, but everything else was… under-​seasoned to the point of being bland. For me, Persian food should be aromatic, layered with spices. Here, I just didn’t find that.
There was nothing wrong with the food, but I wanted and expected more flavor. The service was excellent, but there are better places to get this cuisine around town.

The Chicken Shawarma is tasty and the sauce is incredible. Had the dolmas and they too were great. Overall decent medi food and timely. Will visit again and try more menu items.

The menu had Turkish, Arab/​Lebanese, Persian and Greek foods. Somewhat confusing, but the owner is Persian. Arabs do not have the letter «P» in their alphabet, so that’s a hint.
Anyways, the food was pretty good. My beef kebab was very tasty and authentic. Side salad was pathetic but the kebab made up for that.
Service was very friendly, even at closing time and with a table of 8 behind us. Very
Accommodating and willing to talk about the menu.
The ice tea smelled rotten so I did not drink it but the hot tea had rose in it and was wonderful.
Overall I recommend this place.

I have been looking for a second Mediterranean place to grab lunch. I had a Sharma chicken wrap, chicken was okay not great pita bread meh, price not great, and the baba ganoush was full of to much fake saffron in my opinion.
Go to Peace Deli up the road a little ways better food, fresher, more for your money, and nicer people/​atmosophere.
I hate to say it but I had better food from Halal trucks in NYC.

Meh…
Why am I the only person here during lunch?
Maybe because their hummus is dry and poorly seasoned, their pita is stale, and their food is overpriced. They also charge extra for the drink that’s supposed to be included in a combo.
The shawarma was tasty.

Good Persian food at a good price. Im definitely a fan and will be coming back regularly.
The khoresht fesenjan, a Persian delicacy, Is the best i have had in town. I’ve read other reviews here that ding them on this dish but i will stand behind my review since i have been to all the persian restaurants in town and can make a relative comparison. Their fesenjan is better like my mom makes. Dont just order that. You cant eat persian food without side orders. Its like Indian food in that the food goes together with other things.
Here is what i recommend for two people. Order one of the persian stews and a beef kebab dish or lamb shank. Order side combo pick three 2 yogurt dip and one spring green salad. Eat the sides as an appetizer and with the food.
Love the tea and convenience of ordering at the register. They are fast. Would be great for lunch if it were closer to my work.

Baba Ghanuj? Well, last time I checked, the main ingredient of that was eggplant — this was some tasteless mixture resembling yellow squash.
We ordered top salad with shawarma chicken with baba Ghanuj and extra side of spinach pie. Also used Unilocal checking offer and received 1 falafel.
Salad was poor, checked below average, spinach pie good and falafel again, below average. When I said that this is not banana Ghanuj to the waiter, he kept insisting that it is, which turned into a silly agreement, rather than offer us a substitute.
Overall, very disappointed, especially as we chose this place based on Unilocal ratings.
Ladies restroom was out of order too.
Very disappointed and do not recommend and won’t come back!

Don’t let the plastic-​covered tables fool you. The food at this place is pretty friggin awesome! I got the lamb shwarma salad and my honey got the gyro. The meat was pretty tender and the side of hummus was a little chunkier than I’m used to but very tasty! Don’t forget to try the baklava! SN: My rating is only based on the food and service. The décor was nothing to write home about, but it was clean.

My husband, son, and I came in one evening and got food to go. Unfortunately most of it was inedible. The hummus was very gritty in texture and sooooo salty! The falafel were soggy, cold, and soaked in grease. They don’t make their own pita bread or baklava. The rice was very under cooked and too hard to eat. The salad was limp and swimming in oil. My husband did, however, enjoy the kabob. It was quite over cooked and dry though. Something similar to jerky, but had good flavor.
Inside, the restaurant was a mess, oddly sticky floors, dishes piled up, etc. Overall we were quite unimpressed and can’t figure out why the high ratings are so prolific. Perhaps we came at an off time? No idea. But we will continue giving our business to Arpeggio Grill whose food is consistent and of far better quality.

Word of advice if you are even contemplating a visit… «No». I agree with all the other disappointed Unilocalers below, I am ALSO confused as to why this place has such high reviews. I ordered the Fesenjoon hoping it would meet its expectation of a $ 13 entrée. Two small pieces of old chicken in a bowl and a side of dark orange colored «saffron» rice that did not have any saffron aroma or flavor. Instead of eating here… take your money, put it in a bowl, light it on fire, and then eat the ashes. It will be more filling, much more fresh, and will have three times the flavor. No. No. No.

I almost hate to give 3 stars, because it seems like such a lukewarm rating. But really, it was just what the description on here says: «A-​OK.»
The service was good, and the best things were the baklava and the dolmas. The lamb meet in my gyro, however, was pretty dry and burned. Likewise, some of the pita bread was singed. They were out of coffee, and the tea was decent but was self-​serve in styrofoam cups.
Having eaten at many Greek restaurants in many different places, I can say that it’s definitely solid. But it’s also not amazing. I’ll have to come back and sample some of their other dishes.