In our visit to California, we had stops in many cities, sightseeing and visiting friends and relatives. In our LA stop we met friends in Orange County who took us to this Persian restaurant, Hatam, for dinner.
Persian cuisine has a rich feast in every meal with lavish dishes like Kaboobs, Khoresht-Stews, Polo rice with herbs, vegetables and fruits like berries, pomegranates, raisins etc. Hatam is an Iranian restaurant serving this exotic cuisine too.
Our friends who took us there are regulars to this restaurant and like the food and service of the restaurant. The owners actually welcome you in and check on you occasionally during the dining process. When one gets seated, the tables are served with fresh naan with butter and onion. But we skipped this step since we had a friend with gluten and nut allergies.
We started off with ‘Dough’ for drinks which is a refreshing yogurt and carbonated drink. For dinner we ordered family style to share and it was a feast when it arrived. We ordered Lamb Shanks, Bademjan, and multiple orders of Koobideh Combo.
The lamb shanks were luscious with juicy meat and were served with basmati rice mixed with dill and lima beans. The Dill Rice was delicious and is one of my favorites made with dill- an herb with many medicinal benefits. The Badamjan was a dish we tried for the first time on our friend’s recommendation which was interesting with sautéed eggplants in tomato sauce and beef stew. The Koobideh combos were skewers of charbroiled and seasoned ground meat kabobs and chicken kabobs served with charbroiled tomatoes and peppers and saffron rice. The chicken kabobs were scrumptious but the beef kabobs were little dry. The Albalao polo which was rice with dry cherries was another scrumptious delight.
The Restaurant though located in a strip mall, has a beautiful setting and ambience inside with large Persian paintings and Persian rugs and décor. On the whole it was a delicious dinner and excellent dining experience in the company of friends.
Cuisine: Persian, Iranian
Rating: ***.5(3.5)
Location: 25800 Jeronimo Rd., Suite 402 in Mission Viejo, CA 92691
Website: http://www.hatamcuisine.com/
Food Reviewed:
* Koobideh Combo
Combination of one juicy skewer of charbroiled seasoned ground beef and ground chicken served with charbroiled tomato and imported basmati rice, topped with saffron.
* Lamb Shank
Broiled lamb shanks simmered in our own home made sauce and served with basmati rice mixed with dill and baby lima beans, topped with saffron.
* Bademjan
Sautéed eggplant and beef stew cooked in special tomato sauce with a side of basmati rice topped with saffron.
* Albalao Polo– Persian rice with cherries
*Bhagali Polo– Persian rice with dill and lima beans.
* Dough– Yogurt and corbonated water drink
