Shamdooni is described as a warm, authentic Persian restaurant in downtown Montreal that consistently delivers generous portions, flavorful dishes, and good value. Reviews highlight authentic favorites such as dizi, ghorme sabzi, fesenjan, joojeh, koobideh, baghali polo, tahchin, and ash reshteh, with rice often praised as well cooked and the meals feeling homemade and comforting. The service is frequently praised for friendliness and hospitality, with staff going the extra mile, including sharing homemade bread and tea, and even delivering orders during busy times. The atmosphere is described as cozy, unpretentious, and family like. While most feedback is very positive, a few notes mention slower service when busy, some dishes not meeting expectations such as tenderness of meat or balance of flavors, and occasional issues with wait times or accuracy. Overall the restaurant is regarded as a gem for traditional Iranian cuisine at affordable prices, offering a memorable and homey dining experience in the city.
Such a wonderful place for dinner. The food is some of the best Persian food I've ever had. They even have things that I've never tried before, like Kalam Polow. It's such a cozy & inviting atmosphere & the music is amazing too. Everyone should go there at some point.
This was the best Iranian restaurant that I have ever been to anywhere, & I am so excited to come back the next time I am in Montréal.
Everything we ordered was phenomenal from the Kalam Polo, to the Kookoo Sabzi Wrap, Ash Reshteh, & Ash Dooq. I also liked their Torshi. If I lived here I would be here every single week!
While I gave this place a 5 star review, I still wanted to share a few more thoughts. Overall, the quality of the food was very good for the price. We went as a group & ordered tahchin, baghali polo with lamb shank, karafs stew, & zeytoon parvarde.
I really loved the chicken tahchin. It came with a small bowl of chicken broth that you could pour over the rice, which made it even more flavorful. The chicken was well seasoned & tasted great. The presentation was also beautiful, topped with fried almonds & barberries.
The lamb shank was well seasoned too, but the taste was just average in my opinion. I have had better elsewhere. The karafs stew was well cooked & nicely thick & settled, but it had a seasoning, maybe a hint of cinnamon, that I did not enjoy as much. That is just my personal preference though.
The ash e dough was delicious & tasted exactly how it should. Unfortunately, the zeytoon parvarde was not my favorite as it had a slightly bitter taste.
A restaurant that brings the best of homemade Iranian cuisine to Montreal's food scene, affordable, high-quality, with generous portions, & always tasty & fresh. The presentation is beautiful; what they create is truly art on every plate.
I'm really disappointed with the service. It seems like there's only one person handling everything; taking orders, managing payments, & seating customers at the same time. My friend & I had to wait about 20 minutes just for someone to take our order. The service throughout the meal was very slow, & some items were either delayed or completely forgotten. This really affected our overall experience & I hope management takes this into consideration in the future.
Mar 28, 2026
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I can confidently say that Shamdini is one of the best Persian restaurants I've experienced-& I say this as a Persian myself.
The food is truly authentic & absolutely delicious. Every dish is rich in flavor, perfectly balanced, & clearly made with care. From the quality of the ingredients to the way the food is beautifully presented, everything feels thoughtful & refined. You can tell they take pride in what they serve.
What I really appreciate is the variety. Whether you're vegetarian or a meat lover, there are plenty of options to choose from, & everything I've tried has been consistently excellent.
The restaurant is also very clean, well-organized, & welcoming, which makes the whole experience even better.
If you're looking for real, authentic Persian cuisine that's actually'Persian-approved,' this is the place.
I would never be willing to eat at this restaurant again. Unfortunately, the environment was not very pleasant, & the quality of the two dishes we ordered was very poor. It was quite obvious that the food was not fresh, which was really disappointing.
In addition, the staff's behavior was not very professional, & the constant movement of employees around the restaurant was quite distracting & made it difficult to enjoy the meal.
If the food had been good, these issues might have been easier to overlook. However, compared to many other Iranian restaurants in Montreal, this place is unfortunately much weaker in terms of quality. I do not recommend this restaurant at all.
Mar 16, 2026
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I visited this restaurant during a weekend evening. It's rare to find a Persian restaurant that I like. I liked the food & the staff are nice & welcoming. The quality of the materials used is quite good too. I'm overall satisfied with my experience. (I hope they can eventually invest in the interior design a bit.)
I have to mention that cooking Persian food takes more effort than most people think. Considering the circumstances I think the price is justified.
