New York has a talent for turning a quick lunch into a small expedition. You leave home thinking you want something easy, and suddenly you are following a recommendation down a Brooklyn side street because someone promised you a sandwich you have never heard of. That is the kind of curiosity Āzar is betting on.
The Persian street grill opened November 7 at 740 Driggs Avenue in Williamsburg, led by chef and founder Soroosh Golbabae. Its menu is built around three words—kabab, loghmeh and sandwiches—and one particularly appealing idea: a loghmeh is a morsel, a bite-sized portion designed to bring several flavors together in one satisfying mouthful.
A Persian idea, made for the New York pace
Golbabae has cooked at New York Persian restaurants including Sofreh and Eyval. With Āzar, he is taking a different route from the long, leisurely meal. The restaurant’s counter-service format and compact menu give the concept a street-food rhythm, while its use of lavash-style flatbread and Persian fillings keeps the food connected to a culinary tradition that is often experienced around a family table.
That translation is the interesting part. A cuisine does not become less meaningful because it is served quickly. The challenge is to make the format accessible without flattening the flavors or the story behind them. Āzar’s menu gives diners a few entry points: grilled kebabs, sandwiches and fillings that bring together meat, herbs, pickles, fruit, nuts and slow-cooked vegetables.
There is more than one way to build a bite
Eater NY’s opening report describes a koobideh made with grilled ground lamb and beef, saffron butter, sumac onions, grilled tomatoes and fresh basil. Another option, chicken fesenjoon, draws on the Persian combination of pomegranate and walnut. The vegetarian kashk bademjoon takes a different direction, built around slow-cooked eggplant and kashk, a cultured dairy ingredient used in Persian cooking.
These are not interchangeable fillings with a different sauce poured over the top. They point to distinct textures and flavor profiles: smoke and spice, sweet-sour depth, creamy eggplant and the sharp lift of herbs or pickles. The loghmeh idea asks the kitchen to make those elements work together in a single bite. It is a small format, but not a small ambition.
There is also a design story in the room. The restaurant’s visual language includes a stainless-steel counter and amber glass blocks, details that nod to the everyday food spaces Golbabae remembers and admires. It is a reminder that the feeling of a restaurant is built from more than the menu: materials, light, movement and the way a guest orders all help tell the story.
Why this opening is worth watching
New York’s Persian food scene is growing more visible, and Āzar joins a city where diners are increasingly curious about regional food traditions and the people carrying them forward. The restaurant’s compact model also raises a practical question for independent operators: can a focused menu and a smaller footprint create a sustainable way to introduce a cuisine to a new audience?
We would love to hear more from Golbabae about the family memories behind the menu, the decision to center loghmeh and the difference between cooking Persian food for a home table and serving it to a fast-moving New York crowd. Because sometimes the most revealing restaurant story begins with a very simple question: what makes this the perfect bite?
The art of the perfect bite
Loghmeh is a useful word to carry into this conversation because it shifts attention from size to composition. A good bite is not simply a large bite. It is a balance: something savory, something bright, perhaps a little acidity, a soft element and a texture that gives the mouth something to notice. In a sandwich or wrap, those details have to arrive together. Too much of one ingredient and the whole thing loses its rhythm.
That balance is part of what makes Persian cooking so rewarding to explore. Herbs are not merely decoration. Pomegranate can bring tartness and depth; walnuts add body; saffron contributes fragrance and color; yogurt-based ingredients can offer tang and creaminess. These are not ingredients to be treated as exotic shorthand. They are part of a broad culinary language shaped by regional traditions, family kitchens and generations of cooks.
A compact street-grill format can introduce those flavors to people who may not yet know the difference between koobideh, fesenjoon and kashk bademjoon. But accessibility should not mean sanding away the distinctions. The menu descriptions, staff knowledge and care taken with preparation can help a first-time diner understand what makes each filling different. The best introduction to a cuisine leaves a guest curious enough to keep exploring.
For Williamsburg, the opening also adds another chapter to a neighborhood dining scene that keeps changing as new operators arrive and established businesses adapt. A restaurant’s early buzz is only the first test. The longer story will be whether Āzar can build a loyal local audience, maintain consistency through busy services and make its particular point of view clear beyond opening-week excitement. We will be watching how the menu develops and what diners return for.
Question of the Day
What makes you try a cuisine you do not know well: a great sandwich, a recommendation from a friend, a chef’s story or a menu that explains the flavors?
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Before you go
Āzar Persian Street Grill
740 Driggs Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211
Website: azar.nyc
Instagram: @azar.newyork
Chef and founder: Soroosh Golbabae
Published hours reported by Eater NY: Wednesday–Sunday, noon–9 p.m.
Āzar opened on November 7, 2026. Confirm current hours and menu availability with the restaurant before travelling. Mood has not conducted a first-hand tasting; menu details are attributed to the restaurant and Eater NY.
