Persian Cuisine Review of Tehran, Iran
Munchies Guide to Tehran Persian Cuisine
Reviews + Videos
Chelo Kabob Soltani
Review
Part 1: Grand Bazaar
When it comes to Tehran, it's impossible to avoid politics and easy to overlook the Iranian city's thriving culinary scene. In our first installment of The MUNCHIES Guide to Tehran, our host Gelareh Kiazand introduces us to the bustling street food offerings in the city.
We begin our journey at the capital city's Grand Bazaar, since that's where commodities first arrive. Gelareh beelines for the market's food stands, where she samples dried fruits and nuts while waiting out the line at Moslem Restaurant, frequented by up to 5,000 kebab connoisseurs daily—well worth it for her favorite tah chin. At the more modest and bygone Tajrish Bazaar, she's the proverbial kid in a candy store, wading through copper and carpet vendors in search of sweet snacks, such as grape molasses and lavasak (fruit leather).
Chelo Kabob Fileh va Kubideh
Part 2: Persian Kabob, Meatballs and Teahouses
For our second installment of The MUNCHIES Guide to Tehran, Gelareh visits Nayeb, a white-tablecloth restaurant that's been serving up succulent kebabs in Iran for over 120 years—and even got its initial footing in the bazaar. Their signature dish, koobedih, is a spiced meat kebab dipped in onion juice and cooked over an open flame, served with rice, somagh (sour powdered sumac) butter, and raw egg.
After dining with Nayeb's fifth generation, great-great-great-great-granddaughter Sogol, Gelareh heads to the Baghe Saba Teahouse—a cultural hub akin to a Parisian salon that was once a mens-only enclave but now welcomes families. There, Gelarah is greeted by a buffet of salads, stuffed eggplant, barley soup, and every size of sabzi koofteh (Persian meatballs).
Chelo Kabob Barg
Part 3: Persian Caviar
In this episode of The MUNCHIES Guide to Tehran, Gelareh feeds tankfuls of paddlefish and beluga—valued at up to $35,000 per fish—at the nation's first home of farm-raised caviar, Shilat Fish Farm. Eventually, these prized bottom-dwellers will be killed and harvested in a factory in Northern Iran, but currently they live in conditions similar to their species' natural ocean habitat.
In the spirit of farm-to-table fine dining, Gelareh gets the royal treatment at Li Dona, a members-only restaurant and jazz lounge. She learns that when it comes to fish eggs, bigger is not necessarily better, as she tastes spoonfuls of "black gold" on toast served with butter, onion, egg, pepper, and lemon juice.
Chelo Kabob Chenjeh
Chelo Kabob Bareh
Chelo Kabob Kubideh
Munchies Video Guide to Tehran Persian Cuisine
Videos
Part 1
https://youtu.be/svIc130oEBM
Part 2
https://youtu.be/KUUdBqhGZlk
Part 3
https://youtu.be/eKd4JQnOGDw
Sites
Munchies YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/user/Munchies/
Munchies Site
https://munchies.vice.com/en/
Nayeb Restaurants, Tehran, Iran
http://en.nayeb.com/
Javan Restaurant, Los Angeles, USA
http://javanrestaurant.com/
Bon Appetite