Chez Siran
Rawdah Star Complex, Rawdah Street
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Tel: 02 261 6910
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Unless youre a regular visitor to the Rawdah Star Complex in Jeddah, you’re unlikely to have passed by Chez Siran Restaurant.. Tucked inside, it is easy to miss as it has no flashy signs, and as far as I know has not yet run any advertisement in the press or any other media. It is the kind of place that thrives on word of mouth, and word of mouth is what I will try to do here.
So what’s Chez Siran? Chez Siran, which means Siran’s House, is an Armenian Lebanese restaurant that was the brain child of an Armenian Lebanese Lady named Siran, who wanted to marry the culinary traditions of her original homeland Armenia and her adopted homeland Lebanon, and I think the result is wonderful.
There is nothing spectacular about the restaurant’s look from the outside that would distinguish it from any other restaurant in the block, it looks refreshingly regular. When we entered the door the host welcomed us and we took the elevator to the family section on the first floor. There were a few occupied tables at the time, around 4 pm on a Thursday, but what made us worry was the presence of Shisha, our arch enemy in any dinning place. So we picked a table in the middle that separated us from the other diners, and thank God we did because almost all of them were huffing and puffing.
The interior of the restaurant was simple but elegant. The wooden tables and chairs are your regular issue, and it had sofas in the corner as well. The walls were decorated with colorful ceramic plates which was the only standout thing about the décor.
The waiter brought the elegant sketchbook-like menus. When you start reading your menu, the story that inspired the opening will keep you busy for a while. Then you will notice that just like all Lebanese restaurants, Chez Siran’s menu is loaded with many and many kinds of Mezza, cold and hot. It also has salads and of course the main courses, which are mainly barbeque items, along with several kinds of desserts and drinks.
For salad we chose fattoush (19 SR), and for starters we chose muttabal (eggplant dip) (15 SR), kebbe (22 SR), and shrimp coriander (39 SR). Since those were more than what we usually get for starter we opted for only one main dish, Matznouv kebab (44 SR), which consists of kebab patties that looked more like burgers, topped with creamy yogurt and toasted peanuts. For drinks we tried the lemonade with mint (14 SR each).
While we are waiting, our waiter brought over a basket of hot pita bread and some diced and spiced olives, which we ate like hot bread. I had a difficult time controlling myself from eating the whole basket, (it was that yummy!).
The food we had was all wonderful, it tasted great and it was presented elegantly, we really had no complaints about anything we had, as it all was first rate. We have had fattoush, kebbe, and muttabal before in other restaurants, and the ones here measured up to the best of them. The shrimp coriander was the highlight of our meal, it was so delicious! A tad spicy, but not too much, and the coriander paste on it complemented the fried shrimp in excellently. It was like nothing we have ever tasted before. As for the Matznouv kebab; also excellent. It was a shame we had started eating it after filling up on so many of the wonderful starters that we had difficulties finishing our only main dish. The lemonade was also tasty.
The service is apt and speedy but was not spectacular, but that is alright, apt is fine as long as the food is great. Our bill mounted to 192.05 SR, 15% service included. Which is really not that expensive for the great food we had.
In conclusion, we highly recommend the restaurant especially for those people who are fond of Lebanese food, as Chez Siran will offer you that food you love with an Armenian twist. But a word to the wise, if you are anything like us sensitive to Shisha, then we advise you to chose a less crowded time to visit, and avoid at any cost the dinner rush hour on weekends, because the hazy smoke can ruin your meal no matter how wonderful the food is, and you don’t want that to be your first impression of this great place.
Tel.: 02-2616910 / 02-2616920
P.O. Box 20799 Jeddah 21465 Saudi Arabia
E-mail: info@chezsiran.com
www.chezsiran.com
Chez Siran Story
Her father named her Siran after his Armenian mother. Siran is a 48 year old lady who was born and raised in Lebanon. She has always loved to cook. Ever since she was a child she used to spend hours in the kitchen with her Armenian grandma.
Siran was living in Beirut; it was there where she completed her studies in architecture. But her love for cooking and her old times in grandma’s kitchen were never to be forgotten. She always had the feeling that she wanted to do something unusual one day. She always felt she had two hearts, one Armenian and one Lebanese. At home she always cooked both, Lebanese and Armenian; she also came up with combinations.
Later she moved with her husband and children to the Gulf for her husband’s work. She has finally decided to do the unusual thing that she always felt she had to do. She decided to open her own restaurant.
It was not however any restaurant, it was “Chez Siran”. It was her own place were she combined and brought back her love to the Lebanese Tradition and culture in her own Armenian refined way. It was a combination of all her experience. That with grandma, her Lebanese/Armenian cooking, her Moauneh and her contemporary traditional collection. A restaurant new of its kind. It is not only about food. It is about a story of someone born and raised to the love of tradition and to the appreciation of modernity. This is the experience that Siran wanted to share.
This post was submitted by ayaa1977.
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it was ok i don’t recommend the warg al3enb its not really good, and not so much variety u can choose from , and its not Arminian FOOD! no bad but i wont go there again the prices are Ok
Had a great time with friends, nice atmosphere(music and design) great food. i recommend it
Great food. Really good. Family atmosphere .. but Absolutely, totally ruined by Shisha and cigarette smoke. Don’t bother bringing your kids anywhere near this place. We will be back once the recently announced smoking ban law goes into effect.
Simply my Favorite Restaurant in Jeddah, HIGHLY recommended for Lebanese food lovers.
Great Atmosphere , excellent service and yummy food.
i have never had food this good in jeddah…i don’t know why i didn’t hear about this place, since it was open for about a year now…people are very nice the music is nice, but the food and the price of it is just so good….i realy love it…..don’t forget the sweets they are out of this world…..
good food and price!
I picked up this restaurant based on the reviews above to have in it a very special event, My wife’s birthday and hence I live in KAUST far from Jeddah, I had to do everything by the phone. I hade to take huge risk and this place and the people in it passed amazingly the challenge.
I asked the Manager a specific senario involving cake and lots of people to do a surprise party and with the help of all workers we pulled it off.
The customer service is amazing and I am very hard to please kind of man. There were about 10 of my wife’s friends and we all enjoyed the atmosfere in this place.
The food is really tasty and well cooked. The color and decoration are relaxing and joyful. On top of that the price is acceptable. for about 10 people I paid about 1000 SAR wich is about 100 per person.
I highly recommend this place and its hospitality.
BTW the music (Fairuze) was the right choice
AG
I visited along with family siran last week,
initialy the venue is charming and smart but when it comes to the food and menu we did note somthing spectacular, honestly nothing was special to us, I do not remember something we ate that made us say (wow thats delicious),
over all the food is average and even can not meet the regual lebanses rets. level, it is not the taste makes you come again,
regards
My husband and I just returned from this restaurant, and the food was average. We ordered the mixed grill, which was nothing spectacular though it wasn’t bad either. I guess we expected “wow” food since the reviews were so enticing. I think with this restaurant you have to know the dishes to order to get a great culinary experience. The service also needs improvement. All in all, though it wasn’t a bad experience, it’s not a restaurant we’d run back to.
One of the best food I ever ate in Jeddah, I felt like I’m eating home made food. What enhance the taste is the presentation, which is very good.
The atmosphere is simple & calm, also the colors are cheerful, I like it.
But the service can be improved little bit by make it faster. Other than that, it’s really deserve to go & spend time with your beloved ones.
I advice everyone to try this restaurant.
the food is a delight, the music and theme of the res. is realy good. anyone who loves lebanese food would love it. although the parking is troublesome. but in the end its worth it.
I really like the tase of the food in this restaurant, the salads or starters cold or hot and also the mashawii , i dont know what they put in it ! i think thats the armenian taste combined with the lebanese taste , its a great place good prices good quality you should all try it !!!
this place is near my work and i go there every time i want to eat lunch.they have good home-made food.i realy love the hummos with sujok and the salad.the price of food is Acceptable.only one thing the parking is hard.
If at all, the service was typical as most were Filipino waiters…they are usually accommodating and courteous. The Lebanese staff are always there for the Arab speaking customers.
Although if you were one who was able to dine in Chez Siran while their Armenian Lady chef was there…you would notice the difference and the tad change in taste from the menu entries. The Mixed Grill with rice was not that spectacular. The tabbouleh was ok along with their other cold entries. I feel their juices was quite limited if not for the selection of fresh orange juice. Their shisha was also not as ok as one you would get from Melange. It would be more of a let down than adding value to their place.
Guys this restaurant is a must for Lebanese food lovers. You should also try the Kebab with cherries its sooooo goooood if you like sweet suaces.
On the other hand as said before me Fatoush & Sheesh Burak is a MUST
i will go there when ever i want to eat Lebanese or Armenian..the price is good the deco is simple the service is not bad…..hope they keep the good job…..one more thing try the kubat al riz it is just unreal i love it…..
i love it you guys have to try it !
This is food..I love it, the menu do not have much but what is on it is the best ever…out of all the food there people have to try the sujuk and the mante…hope they keep up the good job….
I love the food there,the sweets are soooo good too,who ever goes there have to try the armenian laham bil ajeen it is out of this world.
oh it’s been a while since my last visit to the site but i just read the word SIRAN and i had to check out the review. and OH MY GOD, for a moment i thought you were describing my visit to the restaurant! everything you’ve mentioned from the welcoming host up to the pita and spiced olives which are truly difficult not to finish! (they’re just unn reaaaal)
and i must say that i’ve tried almost all the main dishes and they were all DELICIOUSSS specially the Matznouv kebab. however, i thought the rice with some of the main dishes was a bit odd!
BTW. i found the menu kind of narrow, but i prefer a small menu with great and well-prepared dishes, over a big menu with plain ones..
finally, two things you don’t want to mess are the spectacular french fries and tabboleh. and let me tell you about their tabboleh,, IT IS TO DIE FOR
and this comes from a person who hates tabboleh, and i seriously never thought i’d eat more than just a spoon no matter where or who made it. but this 1 is THE BEST. DO NOT MISS IT.