Chelo

We just discovered this restaurant recently and it is going to be one our favourites. The food was delicious, larger portions and affordable. The staff was friendly and the restaurant airy and spacious. We loved the middle Eastern Music. It was just an enjoyable experience all the way around.

Chelo is located along Marine Drive. I came here with my friends: C and H. I noticed that if you come after 1 pm, the place gets really busy. There isn't much service. If you are trying to ask for refill on water or even to get the bill, it can be a it challenging. I ordered the turmeric eggplant dip to share. That was quite tasty. I got the lamb shank. The lamb shank was pretty tender. The food was tasty. They were very generous on the rice.

There are free parking at the back and in the plaza. It is located in the same plaza as Mark's and Persia Foods.

Overall, its not bad and I will definitely come back.

Absolutely stunning ambiance. Tasteful and open design decor. Friendly and helpful staff. Food was excellent although was my first Persian cuisine experience so I have no metric for comparison. Looks like they have live music in the evenings so will definitely check out then.

Located along Marine Drive, in the same plaza as Mark's and Persia Foods, this place is huge. It has its standalone building with parking spots around it. The lot in front was full when we got there and parked at the area next to it. Parking could be confusing but we finally figured out customers could park anywhere as it was the same plaza and monitored by some parking company. 2 hours free parking for customers.

There were 2 sections and it was not full when we got there around 1pm. It filled up by 2pm, with a line waiting. There were lots of big groups so go early if you have many people.

The place is spacious and airy and bright. A comfortable place for dining in. The menu is filled with favorites including the lamb shank, loghmeh, vaziri and stews. The dessert is lacking with just baklava and cookies. No pistachio or rose ice cream.

I had the eggplant stew and it was very tasty. My friends had the lamb shank and herb stew. The lamb shank was huge! We also shared the smoked eggplant dip which was delicious.

Most diners could not finish the food and packed the leftovers. Service was good when it was not busy, but spotty when it was full house. Some servers did not seem to understand us but be patient. It would definitely help if someone in your group could speak Persian/Farsi.

This is definitely a good addition to the other Iranian restaurants here.

Wonderful ambiance and fresh delicious food! We dropped by for an early valentines meal and we're delighted with our find.

We went safe and ordered two kebab meals - lamb and beef, and chicken and ground beef, along with their cucumber mint appetizer dip. The platters were huge, I had leftovers for at least another meal!

Since it was a Friday there was live music and the packed dining room enjoyed many of the entertainers classics and contemporary music. I can imagine Chelo doing well with catering to events, and wish them lots of success.

I certainly want to come back to try their pomegranate chicken and some of their dishes flavoured with barberry!

The food is exponentially better than the service. To be fair they are in a "soft opening" so I will be a bit easier on them (but I hope the management does see my review for constructive feedback)

The food was definitely the highlight of the restaurant which, of course, should be the main star. The presentation and flavours were outstanding! The meats were juicy and well seasoned and the rice was cooked perfectly.

The space could use a bit more appropriate decor. The pictures on the walls seem a bit dated for a space that has been recently updated and painted. I would also recommend small changes like getting rid of the dollar store salt and pepper shakers (yes very minor but it ruins the ambiance a little).

The service and general front of house needs work. There is a clear lack of organizational structure and the servers seems a bit overwhelmed. This is a training issue as they definitely were friendly and seemed competent enough. They never checked back on our table for even the basic of things like more water, asking how our food was and I even had to wave them down to get our bill and take out boxes after waiting 10 full minutes after we were done our meal. They also ran out of pita bread and didn't even tell us after ordering items that would be traditionally served with pita bread. After watching several tables with pita I had to once again wave someone down to ask for it. 15min later after we were almost done our meal they told us they ran out.

Overall the food was really good and that was their saving grace. The front of house needs a lot of fine tuning. I would, however, go back again and give them another chance. Let's hope they improve

We ordered three different kinds of kebab, and the kubideh and barg were extremely over salted. The chicken kebab was well seasoned though a bit overly crispy on the edges. The servers were extremely inattentive, perhaps there aren't enough of them. Though I thought they were probably the least friendly of any servers I've encountered in a Persian restaurant. I could tell their English was limited, but a smile goes a long way and they had none to offer.

New Persian Restaurant North Vancouver @chelo

They have replaced the huge Boston Pizza that was located by Marine Drive in North Vancouver. The space is huge and they have plenty of seating.

They are in their soft opening stage so they are testing out their prices and menu items. We ordered takeout and our food was ready within 20 minutes! Prices are reasonable and the portions are generous.

We ordered:
Saffron Chicken Kebab $9.99
Ground Beef Kebab $9.99
Lamb Shank $11.99
Shallot Yogurt $4.99

All the dishes were delicious and I will definitely be back for more.

My only note for them would be to add some decorations, because right now the interior is very simple.

Went for lunch on a Saturday - it's a big restaurant but not very busy, which made me a little nervous, but we were seated swiftly. All the handwritten signs were in English and Farsi, which made me feel like perhaps this place is more authentic (FYI I've never had Persian food before so I have no idea if this is actually authentic). Got the Caspian Steak kebab plate for lunch, because the marinade was described as pomegranate molasses walnut and I've never had the combo before, sounded interesting. Food came swiftly and was very good, but at least half the plate was just rice, which was way more than I needed. Could've done with a small side salad - even just some lettuce and a tomato- instead of all that rice. Steak was flavorful. Service was very good. Looks popular with the locals as it started filling up as we left

I visited here my last night in Vancouver with my cousins early January. Although we arrived an hour before closing, it was still busy. The ambiance was casual. They did have a music area and they did play some great classic Persian hits! Coming from Houston, our Persian restaurants are superior. However, we have one thing missing Chelo had and that was sour kabobs. Having parents from the north of Iran is a perk and sour kabobs are my favorite! The food tasted amazing and I'll definitely tell my cousins to take me back when I'm in North Van next time!