Popular Persian restaurant Yalda expands to Westside Atlanta

ATLANTA - It’s never a good idea to spread rumors. But back in March, we needed to address something with Ash Famili, owner of popular Sandy Springs restaurant Yalda: was a second location already in the works?

"The rumors are actually true," Famili told us exclusively on Good Day Atlanta.

Five months later, Yalda’s new location is officially open — and there’s no way we were going to pass up another chance to spend a morning with Famili and his talented team!

This morning on Good Day, we visited Yalda’s new Westside Atlanta location (980 Howell Mill Road, Unit 4), which just opened to the public last week. During our previous visit to the Sandy Springs restaurant, Famili explained that growing up in Iran influenced his decision to open a Persian restaurant here in metro Atlanta.

"The best way to describe Yalda is a one-hundred percent Persian restaurant with family-made recipes and a little bit of accents of Middle Eastern flavors," he said.

Those family recipes extend back to Famili’s grandfather — a butcher in Iran — and his mother, whom the restaurateur says he watched in the kitchen. Their food is reflected on Yalda’s Westside menu, which features kebobs and other entrées cooked over an open-flame grill, a variety of wraps, and salads and spreads.

Yalda’s Westside Atlanta location is currently open for dinner from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays and 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. To check out the menu and learn more about the restaurant, click here. And click the video player in this article for a peek inside the new restaurant!