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THE DISH: Menu a welcome discovery at Mehman Restaurant in North Vancouver

Mehman Restaurant operates in a highly competitive space on the North Shore. Persian cuisine is popular over here and offerings range from ultra-casual takeout to more formal sit-down.
restaurant owner

Mehman Restaurant operates in a highly competitive space on the North Shore.

Persian cuisine is popular over here and offerings range from ultra-casual takeout to more formal sit-down. In these pages alone, I have reviewed eight Persian-themed businesses and have personally come to deeply appreciate my education in this nuanced culinary tradition.

I had guests over for dinner during the holidays and it was a no-brainer for me to wow them with some takeout Vaziri (kebab combo), with its fresh and fragrant accompaniments of basil, purple onion, sumac, sangak bread and, for good measure, some creamy, tahini-heavy hummus.

Like sushi, however, the ubiquity of the cuisine sometimes makes it difficult to write about. There are only so many descriptors for dishes that have appeared in several of my columns before, and I sometimes struggle to discern the subtle familial, regional, or creative nuances that differentiate the same items from menu to menu.

Not so at Mehman Restaurant, a most welcome discovery for me this early in the new year. Mehman means “guest” in Farsi and the word is appropriate for this business on many levels.

First of all, it suggests that the guest enjoys a spot of primacy in the dining experience. This was most certainly my own experience as I entered Mehman a bit later than I would have liked on a truly frigid weeknight.

The place was empty (as were most businesses on Lonsdale, from what I could tell that night, the cold-averse North Vancouver population presumably seeking warmth at home) and the sole front-of-house staff member was tidying the place up, possibly in preparation for early closure.

In these cases it is not uncommon for me to encounter something approaching an eye roll from fatigued staff, but at Mehman I was warmly welcomed and the cleaning supplies were promptly stowed so I could enjoy my meal.

Mehman offers a small selection of Afghan dishes, which themselves seem to be respected guests on the otherwise heavily Persian menu. This guest cuisine was a big draw for me as I am woefully ignorant about Afghan food.

Based on my admittedly small sampling of it on this occasion, I have to say, I’m a fan. I tried something called Ashak, a delicate, refined and complexly understated dish of handmade dumplings filled with tender gandana, an Afghan leek with a fragrant, scallion-meets-citrus flavour, topped with a hearty, delicate lentil and tomato stew (not unlike dal), yogurt and chopped herbs. I was very impressed with the dish, which reminded me of ravioli, only made with lighter, suppler pasta.

I gather that Ashak is typically made during the holidays due to its time-consuming preparation, so it makes it that much more special that it is a Mehman menu staple and priced very reasonably at just $13.

I also tried a second main from the Afghan selections, Kabuli Pulaw with Lamb, a weighty, stick-to-your ribs dish of slowly braised lamb shank buried under a massive portion of seasoned rice, topped with raisins, strips of carrot and herbs.

The little side ramekin of lamb-braising liquid that was provided was wonderfully rich and tasty, a thoughtful accompaniment to an already impressive amalgam of flavours and textures.

Kabuli Pulaw is apparently the national dish of Afghanistan and it is clear to me why: it is at once complex and accessible, sophisticated and honest. With a few bites I detected a note of something very perfumed and pungent, which I suspect was rose water, an ingredient for which I have low tolerance, but one that this time didn’t overshadow the Kabuli Pulaw’s overall success.

My favourite dish of the meal, however, was Kashk- Bademjan, a traditional Persian appetizer of deep-fried, mashed eggplant topped with dark brown, fried onions and crispy, pleasingly bitter deep-fried mint leaves.

The dish was astounding in its depth of flavour, elevating one of my least favourite vegetables to unmatched heights. Mint takes on an entirely new dimension when it’s deep-fried, enhancing its fragrant qualities while introducing a unique savoury character.

This warm eggplant dip was served with triangles of soft pita bread, which I also employed to eat my second appetizer, an order of velvety smooth, sesame- and citrus-studded hummus. I now prefer the thoroughly blended, creamy approach to hummus that I encounter in most Persian restaurants to the coarse, “smashed chickpea” phenomenon that is de rigueur on many menus right now but feels like the preparation was interrupted by a power outage.

My sampling of two appetizers and two mains was $42 before gratuity and fed me for 2½ meals.

Mehman Restaurant is located at 1451 Lonsdale Ave. 778-340-0200 mehmanrestaurant.ca

Chris Dagenais served as a manager for several restaurants downtown and on the North Shore. A self-described wine fanatic, he earned his sommelier diploma in 2001. He can be reached via email at hungryontheshore@gmail.com. North Shore News dining reviews are conducted anonymously and all meals are paid for by the newspaper.