Press Releases

Darya Fine Persian Cuisine Brings Unique Octoberfest Event to Orange County

For immediate release
Costa Mesa, CA—

Celebrate the German tradition of Octoberfest with a distinctly Persian flair by attending the International Beer Tasting hosted by Darya Fine Persian Cuisine on Friday, October 22nd. The sophisticated yet relaxed ambiance of this elegant dining venue is the perfect backdrop for an evening of food and fun. The menu will tantalize your palate while the jubilant atmosphere lifts your mood.

The centerpiece of the evening will be the beers from five countries. Begin with America’s finest brews to set a familiar baseline for your comparisons. Move on to the deeper drafts of England before adding in the special flavors of beers from Mexico and Japan. Complete your tour with frothy suds from Germany itself, the fatherland of great beers. It will be a challenge to choose a favorite from this smorgasbord of excellent options.

Darya offers the perfect complement to its variety of light, heavy, full and yeasty brews: authentic Persian dishes—including appetizers, chicken and beef kebabs, Basmati rice and salad— served buffet style. When it’s time for dessert, select another enticing beer to accompany the sweet Persian treat. Darya invites you to unwind to the upbeat sounds of live entertainment and the conversation of good friends. As you relax on the cigar patio, savoring the culinary delights, you’ll know this will be an Octoberfest to remember.

Following the phenomenal success of its first special evening, a French Tasting Soirée, Darya’s owners, Ray Essahanian, Sam Salout and Ali Abedi, are committed to providing the best in hospitality and cuisine at future events. After 20 years of operating Orange County’s best Persian dining establishments, they have the experience to back up this pledge. Once you’ve been introduced to Darya, they know that the delicate spices and intriguing dishes will lure you back. Consider a Maust’khiar appetizer, a combination of yogurt and chopped cucumber, flavored with mint. Try Baghali Polo, which is Basmati rice mixed with dill weed and lima beans, served with fresh seasoned boiled lamb shank. Or choose from chicken, seafood, beef, lamb, combination platters and vegetarian plates on the dinner menu. The extensive wine list, dessert choices, and full service bar are available to complete your meal.

Seating for the Octoberfest International Beer Tasting is limited. Dinner begins at 6:00 p.m. The evening costs $49 per person, prepaid and non-refundable. Guests must be 21 years of age to attend. Darya is located at 1611 Sunflower Avenue at Plaza Drive (in South Coast Plaza).To reserve your table or for more information, call 714-557-6600. You may also visit Darya’s web site at www.DaryaSouthCoastPlaza.com and click on Calendar of Events to make your reservations online.

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A Taste of France through Persian Eyes:

Darya Fine Persian Cuisine Hosts Tasting Soirée

For immediate release

Costa Mesa, CA—

Closet Francophiles and ardent gourmets will find a heavenly retreat at Darya’s on Wednesday, August 25th. The French Tasting Soirée begins a new tradition of specialty evenings at the acclaimed Persian restaurant located in the South Coast Plaza village since 1996. As soon as you step into the palatial dining room, surrounded by marble columns and lit by gorgeous chandeliers, you’ll know that a memorable evening awaits you. Enjoying Lajolie Champagne and Amuse Bouche appetizers at your linen-dressed table is but the first melody in the culinary symphony that follows.

Five French oak barrel aged wines form the centerpiece of this event. Savor the Bourgogne Chardonnay. Breathe in the aroma of the Château Grand Bert. Delight yourself with the Sansey Bordeaux. Appreciate the bouquet of the Côtes du Rhone. And relish the perfume of the Saint Emilion Cru.

These French gems will accompany a special menu created to satisfy the most exacting palate. You’ll begin with a traditional Caesar salad and then choose from lamb, filet mignon or chicken shish kebab with Basmati white rice, Baghali Polo, and stewed tomatoes. A delectable fruit tart with coffee, cappuccino, or chai provides the final grace note to this harmonious meal.

Owners Ray Esfahanian, Sam Salout and Ali Abedi, who have offered Orange County excellent Persian restaurants for 20 years, want their guests to experience the best in hospitality as well as cuisine. The French Tasting Soirée will offer live French entertainment along with raffles and prizes. The combination of friendly accommodations and elegant atmosphere will make you eager to return to Darya, an especially tempting treat for the first 15 people to make Soirée reservations as they will receive a free appetizer certificate for future dining.

When you visit Darya again, you’ll be intrigued by the wide array of deliciously spiced Persian foods. Consider a Borani appetizer made with eggplant, yogurt, onions, garlic and herbs. Choose from several daily lunch specials such as Fesenjon, which is fried walnut pomegranate sauce mixed with boiled chicken and served with a side of Basmati rice. The dinner menu offers chicken, seafood, beef, lamb, combination platters and vegetarian plates. Of course, you’ll want to complement your meal with selections from the extensive wine list and dessert menu. Whether you’re meeting friends or clients for drinks at the full service bar or extending your pleasurable meal on the Cigar Patio, you’ll discover that Darya offers a gracious dining experience.

To maintain the desired level of cozy intimacy, seating for the Soirée is limited and dinner begins at 6:30 p.m. The evening costs $60 per person, prepaid and non-refundable. Guests must be 21 years of age to attend. Darya is located at 1611 Sunflower Avenue at Plaza Drive (in South Coast Plaza).To reserve your table or for more information, call 714-557-6600. You may also visit Darya’s web site at www.DaryaSouthCoastPlaza.com and click on Calendar of Events to make your reservations online.

ORANGE COUNTY METRO BY PATRICK MOTT

Good Persian food is more than just intriguing; at its best, it’s seductive – full of flavors and textures and techniques that are elegantly simple, often precise, always distinctive and unique. Preparation and presentation are clean, crisp and fresh and the mixture of ingredients often is inspired. With good Persian food, you are not just satisfied, you’re beguiled.

Seduced. If this sort of rich culinary experience sounds good to you, you’ll want to put Darya high on your restaurant to-do list. Located in South Coast Plaza Village, Darya is owned by three men – Ray Essahanian, Sam Salout and Ali Abedi.

The trio has owned and operated Persian restaurants in the area since 1984 and Darya has been located in South Coast Plaza Village since 1996. (There is another restaurant of the same name in Tustin, but Essahanian said it is not affiliated with the Santa Ana Darya.) The kitchen is under the supervision of head chef Carmela Vasquez……. Click Here to view the entire article.

ORANGE COUNTY BUSINESS JOURNAL BY FIFI CHOW

One tends to think of ethnic restaurants as small, friendly, family-run places.

That is not, however, exactly the case at Darya, a big and beautiful Persian restaurant in South Coast Plaza Village. Yes, the clientele is heavily Persian with a smattering of others who have been smart enough eaters to discover the delicious tastes of this cuisine and its affordability. But, they are not sitting at Formica tables.

Darya is almost a dining palace. Who would expect to find a vast room bathed in tones of beige and white with soaring ceilings, a quintet of gorgeous crystal chandeliers and a dozen faux-marble columns seemingly holding up this universe? There’s an upstairs space with decorative balcony railings that form an attractive mezzanine. Leaded glass windows overlook the outside world. The tables, clad in beige linen (even at lunch), are surrounded by dark wood chairs in a shell motif that are upholstered for ultimate comfort. Lovely Persian carpeting flows throughout. Money was lavished on this atmosphere.

Waiters, snappily dressed in black and white, are just friendly enough and professional at the same time. As soon as you are seated and menus presented, you are given a tray of freshly baked flat bread, cut into perfect rectangles. Then the decisions on ordering begin. I must inject that Persian food is one of the ethnic cuisines most suited to the American palate: slightly different spicing than we grew up with, but not hot-spicy at all and not exotic to the point of being an adventure too foreign to really understand. Indeed, I cannot recall anyone we’ve introduced to this food who has not become a great fan.

I would encourage you always to begin a meal with one or two of the appetizers, since the gentle spicing of them is so good at getting the palate ready for the meal……………Click Here to view the entire article.

ZABIHA CUSTOMER REVIEW

“A very elegant, upscale Persian restaurant, with excellent food and also live entertainment (piano) on weekends/evenings. Located very close to the John Wayne International Airport and nearby Orange County hotels, just north of the South Coast Plaza. A nice place to take business clients or family for special occasions.”

COSTAMESA-OC.COM: ORANGE COUNTY HOT LIST

“Your senses will feast upon Persian-inspired decor and mouthwatering cuisine at this exotic restaurant. Sample delicious appetizers, aromatic rice dishes and savory shish kebab. Top Rated Restaurant Southern California Zagat Survey.”

OC HOT LIST VOTERS: ORANGE COUNTY HOT LIST

“From Hummus to Tahini, and Tabouleh to Baba Ghannouj what restaurants have you coming back for more? Voters named Darya the Best Middle Eastern in the Orange County area for 2013. To determine the winner, voters had more than 10 nominees to choose from. Congratulations to Darya!”

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