Experiencing Yaas Grill House

I’ve enjoyed Persian food all over the North Shore over the years, though one of the restaurants that I hadn’t visited was Yaas Grill House. The family has operated their restaurants for almost 25 years, they set up their first restaurant 2 years after immigrating to Canada from Iran, the whole family worked in the restaurant which was located in a different locale from the beginning; after a few years past, they needed more space, eventually moving to 1629 Lonsdale and then adding another larger restaurant 4 blocks North at 2077 Lonsdale 2 years ago.

Cooking the kebabs on the hot charcoal grill

Clay oven

Ehsan Oveisi, owner of Yaas Grill House joined us for dinner while my friend Nikki and I were experiencing his restaurants and the dishes, he explained that it’s Iranian cuisine that we are enjoying and that Persia only represents a small area in Iran, thesedays people say it’s Persian food as it’s easier to explain without going into the many regions of Iran and the dishes that originate in each region. All of the meat at his restaurants are Halal as that is what the customers want.

We tried many of the restaurants dishes, some served to us as platters and others as the dishes are normally served. After a tour behind the scenes in the kitchen I learned how the Kebabs are made this gave me a better understanding of what I was about to eat.

Ground beef and ground chicken kebabs

Steak and bone-in Chicken kebabs (top in photo) and mixed herb stew (on top)

Roast lamb

Eggplant stew

Salmon and Boneless chicken kebabs

Barbary rice

Fava bean rice

plain saffron rice

Lamb shank in a tomato sauce

Celery stew

Eggplant dip

Baklava

Tea

Started off with the Ground beef and ground chicken kebabs, which was then followed by several of their signature dishes, the Steak and bone-in Chicken kebabs, the delicious Mixed herb stew, Roast lamb, Eggplant Stew, all 3 dishes were very good, the Salmon and Boneless chicken kebabs (my favourite kebabs); a selection of 3 rice dishes, the Barbary rice (lentils and raisins), Fava bean rice and the plain saffron rice, some of their specialty Tandoori bread; followed by the Lamb shank in a tomato sauce; along with these two outstanding dishes, the Celery stew (loved this dish) and the Eggplant dip (loved this dish). We finished of with some Baklava and tea.

You can find their restaurants at 1629 Lonsdale (oldest location) and 2077 Lonsdale (newest location), find them online here and follow on Instagram @yaasgrillhouse

By: Richard Wolak

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