Dining out in Tehran can be a very grueling experience which is why I always jump at the chance to try a food delivery that I have not tried before.  Especially one that had an interesting story to it.  With a menu designed by the famous Iranian chef Saman Golriz, QSK opened a few years ago, but strangely the opening seemed rather mute which was unexpected for a Saman Golriz project.

Despite my keen interest in Mexican cuisine, QSK's low profile kept it off my list for the past 2 years until in a moment of inspiration (and laziness in the kitchen) I decided to try it out.  Dinner was just for the two of us at home, so naturally I was going to order for three!

From the outset I found QSK to be a smoothly run operation.  They had a very good website which came in handy as I made my choices while speaking to a person with impeccable manners.  The patient voice waited while I made up my mind and promised a delivery in around 45 minutes (between Zargandeh and Aghdassieh).

While waiting I continued to browse through their website.  I found that they offered a number of choices like Chicken Wings, Enchilada and Chimichanga in addition to pizzas and burgers.  I also found that like a proper Mexican restaurant they produce their wheat flour tortilla bread fresh everyday as they did their Tacos shells and Enchilada bread with corn flour.  This was promising.

The delivery man was at our door in good time and this would have been a good start, if it were not for the fact that he was very rude.  But to their credit the QSK people were very apologetic about it when I complained.

As soon as I opened the boxes I could see that this was going to be very different to what I had expected.  Every item I ordered had clearly gone under the broiler to melt the cheese that was sprinkled on it, even the burrito.  The Macho Nachos were caked together with grilled cheese that had since cooled down.  The condition of the food was generally less than ideal, especially the Tacos shells which were broken up.  This was difficult to overlook.  When you pay for food, it should come to you intact and somehow similar to the way it looked on the menu.

Thankfully the food tasted better than it looked.  The taste of the corn flour taco shells were great, as was the fresh made tortilla bread around the burrito.  I didn't like the way the burrito was so soft and soggy under the cheese.  I'd had this kind of wet burrito before, but I much preferred the typical dry wrap we are all used to.  The stuffed chilli's tasted good as did the Nachos once you could pull them apart from each other.  The best thing about all of the food was the very balanced spiciness I could taste in every dish.  There was however an absence of any garlic, cumin or oregano in the food which was unusual for a Mexican restaurant.  This is sadly a trend with all Mexican restaurants in Tehran, even the best one, as they are all adjusting their recipes to the Iranian palete.

Verdict: Clearly the people at QSK care about what they do, because making fresh tortilla and taco shells takes a lot of effort.  But I think that they missed the mark.  The excessive amount of grilled cheese and the way the food was caked together (and to the aluminium dishes) made this a fast food type of experience which one doesn't expect when looking at the website.  If they decide to change these aspects of their current formula then they would get my vote.  Until then, I would rather pass.