Roya.

Roya

The Infatuation rates the whipped eggplant here the best dip in Austin, ahead of queso, guacamole and salsa.1

Why go

Amir Hajimaleki ran Roya as a Persian pop-up in Austin from 2018, and in February 2026 it opened as a permanent dining room on Shoal Creek Boulevard, in the suite a pizza and grinder shop used to occupy.4 Nicolai McCrary scored it 8.5 for The Infatuation four months later, across four visits.1 The house format is the Sofreh tasting menu, where a server drapes a lacy white tablecloth over the table and then covers it with salads, dips and grilled meats until there is no bare surface left.1 The a la carte card runs to the Royal Egg, a savory custard finished with Caspian osetra caviar, plus kabobs and the long herb braises.4

Order this / avoid

• Order: the bademjan, grilled eggplant worked with kashk, chickpeas and black tahini, then finished with crispy garlic and mint. Eat it with the bread that arrives hot alongside.1
• Order a la carte: the mahiche gheymeh. McCrary calls the braised lamb shank his favorite dish on the menu and says he has never seen it appear on the Sofreh tasting, so the tasting menu costs you the best thing in the building.1
• Finish with: the halva, which the kitchen works silky and mousse-like while keeping the sesame. The Sofreh closes on ice cream sandwiches, so order it separately.1
• Skip: the fesenjoon. The chicken is cooked nicely and it's well seasoned, but the review sends the order to the ghormeh sabzi or the gheymeh.1
• Avoid: building the night around the cocktails, and walking in on a weekend. This is a small room that opened in February 2026 and it takes bookings.

What locals & experts say

• The Infatuation Austin, Nicolai McCrary, 2 June 2026, 8.5: Austin's best dip isn't queso, guacamole, or even salsa. It just might be Roya's bademjan, a smoky whipped eggplant. His verdict on the room: Roya is more than just the best Persian restaurant in Austin, and he calls it one of the most exciting places to eat in the city.1
• Where he pushes back, same review: some dishes could use a smidge more salt, the koobideh is Not quite as charred as we typically like, and a $65 cocktail still feels gimmicky. He files the restaurant in three of his own Austin lists: 14 Austin Starters That Are The Main Event, The Austin Dessert Bucket List, and The Most Fun Dinner Spots In Austin Right Now.1
• Texas Monthly, Paula Forbes, 11 June 2026: the state magazine's dining critic reviewed it under the headline Austin's Best New Date-Night Spot Is a Jewel Box in a Sea of Strip Malls, with the magazine's standfirst reading Roya shows off Persian culture's famed hospitality with poetry, lacy tablecloths, and thoughtful service. I haven't been able to read the review itself, so the headline and the standfirst are all I can quote from her.2

Good to know

• Opened: February 2026, in the Shoal Creek suite that previously held Shortie's Pizza and Grinders. Austin Public Health still lists the suite under that former tenant.5
• Booking: essential. Small room, tasting-adjacent service, and a separate Sofreh format for the table.4
• Price: The Infatuation bands it $$$$ on its own scale and names a $65 cocktail on the list. The tasting menu runs dearer than ordering off the card, by the reviewer's own account, and it buys you the widest sample.1
• Group size: the family-style service is built for a table, and the review says the kitchen shows best with a crowd.1
• Hygiene: Austin Public Health has never inspected this kitchen, or has not published it yet. The only score at this suite belongs to the previous tenant, Shortie's Pizza and Grinders, which took an 81 on 27 June 2023. Roya opened in February 2026, recently enough that a new inspection may not be public yet.5
• Getting there: Shoal Creek Boulevard just off West Anderson Lane in North Shoal Creek, about fifteen minutes north of downtown by car.

Jeff's take (his words)

• Note: Tasty food

Verdict

should-visit — Eight years of pop-ups is a long apprenticeship for a first dining room, and Roya opened its own on Shoal Creek in February 2026. Nicolai McCrary rates it 8.5 for The Infatuation and calls it the best Persian restaurant in Austin and one of the most exciting places to eat in the city. The dip is the argument: bademjan built from grilled eggplant, kashk, chickpeas and black tahini, which he sets above queso, guacamole and salsa. Order the mahiche gheymeh a la carte, because the braised lamb shank is his favorite dish on the card and it never turns up on the Sofreh tasting. He also tells you where the kitchen slips, on salt and on a $65 cocktail. Austin Public Health has never inspected the business, which is normal for a February permit and is still a hole.