Persian cuisine is easy to find here in London with lots of restaurants serving it all over town. I’ve been to quite a few now but I read that Mohsen at Earl’s Court was quite a good so that’s where I went for lunch yesterday. I find Persian cuisine difficult to describe as they serve quite a number of different things such as shish-kebab style meats, lots of dips and bread, salads with lentils, and various stew type dishes, and its definitely too cliché to deem it middle-eastern.

Having been to several restaurants specialising in Persian cuisine, I can at least confidently say that there are some consistencies between them. One guarantee is that I always tend to leave feeling extremely stuffed (especially if I have rice because the serves can be massive). If the restaurant serves rice you they will always offer butter (intended for melting into the rice), and there is usually some paprika floating around in addition to the normal salt and pepper. If you order bread (Taftoon), the restaurant will generally cook it freshly in a stone oven called a Tanoor, which usually sits next to the entrance. Though very close to the same process of making Naan bread, the Taftoon is slightly different in texture being a little bit thinner and probably more intended for scooping up dips and assorted items than absorbing curry sauce.

Mohsen is located up Warwick Road away with the closest tube station being Earl’s Court. It is exactly opposite the Homebase store that can be quite odd if you get the window seats, and the restaurant is quite big all round with outdoor tables out the back that would be ideal in warmer weather. The restaurant has nice tables and intricately decorated plates all surrounded several paintings and numerous articles from various magazines and newspapers surrounding it. The food on offer is quite standard affair, and though not necessarily as cheap as several others, the quality of the food was quite good. I went for a chicken and lamb kebab that comes served with rice with both being deliciously moist and with that char-grilled flavour that comes only with real care. The lamb was probably one of the better ones I have had, and was juicy definitely from the meat and not the fat that several other restaurants I’ve been to seem to serve. The saffron rice was nice and fluffy and there was enough to finish the meat off easily. The orange juice they serve, though slightly expensive at £3, seemed like they had actually squeezed it themselves fresh and was both tasty and had just the right amount of pulp. I literally had to roll myself out of that place after eating there but was pleased that I had been to. Overall it’s good quality and although for value for food, I would still prefer Madhi, is nice if you’re in the area.

Details: Mohsen
Found On: 152 Warwick Road, W14 8PT
Contactable On: 020 7602 9888
Highlights: Good quality food and nice decor
Room for improvement: Slightly strange location
The Kua Rating: 7 out of 10