For loyal customers of Ravagh Persian Grill, the wait is finally over. After a year-long renovation process, the Persian grill that has fed families and friends in Roslyn, for decades has reopened its doors.
Everything from the kitchen and the dining room to the basement and the parking lot was renovated.
“We saw a need for this,” said Masoud Tehrani. “We did [the renovations] basically to respect and honor our customers and make a place that they can be proud of.”
Tehrani’s family has owned the four grill locations since 1998 – with two in Manhattan and two on Long Island.
“[The grill is] an American dream come true,” Tehrani said. “[My family] came here and the Americans took us in. We are very, very honored. The restaurant, personally to me, is a success story. It’s really the American dream.”
The original plan was to just remodel the exterior of the building, which was expected to take about four months to complete. Unexpected challenges, like waiting for permits and unknown damage to the interior of the building, elongated the process.
“Originally, we didn’t mean to do anything to the inside, but after the exterior, we had no choice but to do it, which we are very happy [that we did,]” Tehrani said.
Changes were also made to the menu. The look of the menu was updated to fit the new look of the restaurant and new food items were added. An updated version of the Lamb Koobiedeh Kabob was added to the menu. The kabob is a part of the lunch menu and now features a better cut of lamb as well as white basmati rice, grilled tomato and onion. The Sambuseh was also updated. It is now crispy fried dumplings stuffed with chickpeas and herbs and served with spicy chutney.
There are also two completely new items that were added to the menu including traditional Persian meatballs and a beet salad. The meatballs, which are listed as Kofte Mamani under the appetizer section, features ground meatballs with rice, lentil, apricot and walnut and is topped with barberry and fried onions.
So far, the grill has had no trouble combining the needs of traditional and modern tastes thanks to the simplicity and freshness of Persian cuisine. Persian cuisine typically uses salt, pepper, onion, garlic and saffron.
“It’s very simple. It has been proven that everybody enjoys it,” Tehrani said. “Everyone who comes and tries it gets hooked to it. I think that’s the reason: the simplicity and the freshness of the ingredients.”
The grill is a family restaurant, with Tehrani, his son, wife, daughter and daughter-in-law all overseeing the quality and freshness of the food.
“Everybody is involved in [the grill] to get the freshest possible quality and freshness to the customers’ table. So, we’re very proud of that,” Tehrani said.
Ravagh Persian Grill is located at 210 Mineola Ave, in Roslyn Heights.
