10 Gourmet Restaurants In Shiraz, Iran

Café Hedayat is a small café and restaurant with a fun-loving, relaxed ambience. It serves a range of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes made with fresh and organic local ingredients, and is particularly strong on salads and pasta. The establishment offers free WiFi, and drinks such as coffee, tea, herbal teas and fresh fruit cocktails. Inside Café Hedayat the atmosphere is warm and welcoming, with earthy tiled floors, stylish wooden tables and pared back lighting.

Haft Khan gains its title from Persian poet Ferdowsi’s epic poem Shahnameh, referring to the seven quests undertaken by Rostam in order to save his Shah. The restaurant complex has seven dining options, consisting of five restaurants and two coffee shops, all named after segments of Ferdowsi’s poem. Haft Khan’s architecture is a stunning mix of modern design and traditional features with beautiful views over the foothills of the Zagros Mountains. Guests can choose from options including Foroud, which serves local traditional dishes such as Bakhtiari kebab; Nofel, which features international cuisine including chateaubriand; or the Gissia Coffee Shop, which offers a range of hot drinks and smoothies alongside delicious desserts.

Located within the labyrinthine alleyways and corners of Bazar-e-vakil, Seray-e Mehr is a split-level tea house and restaurant boasting a classic menu and authentic atmosphere. The establishment is welcoming and relaxing, with an elegant interior filled with charming local touches and decorations including beautiful wooden beams, traditional paintings, and carpets, or kilims. A contrast to the hustle and bustle of the surrounding bazaar, Seray-e Mehr offers a peaceful respite after some traditional Iranian shopping. Guests can enjoy a range of traditional teas alongside dishes that include jujeh kebab,chicken marinated in minced onion, lemon juice and saffron before being skewered and grilled, and the much talked about dizi, a traditional stew of lamb and chickpeas.

The Shapouri Garden Traditional Restaurant is the place to go in Shiraz if you want to sample authentic Iranian cuisine in historic surroundings. The restaurant is located in Shapouri House, affording a wonderful glimpse into the city’s recent history. Surrounded by a rose-filled, walled garden, the house was designed by the architect Abolghasem Mohandesi and constructed between 1930 and 1935. The style of the building, which was registered as an Iranian national monument in 2000, blends art nouveau influences with traditional Qajar aesthetics. The restaurant features a beautiful balcony from which guests can overlook the gardens while dining. Its menu features traditional Persian fare such as kalam polow, succulent mutton meatballs, and tah-chin, a layered dish of chicken and saffron rice flavored with turmeric.

A well-known and popular group of restaurants in Shiraz, Soufi offers a range of Persian and Middle Eastern dishes cooked to perfection. The Alif Abad Street branch is often extremely busy, testament to its popularity, and attracts a local crowd with its friendly, vibrant atmosphere and delicious, good-value cuisine. Often featuring live, traditional Persian music, the restaurant interior is clean, classy and thoroughly modern. The restaurant offers a wide range of kebab dishes, with chicken, lamb, fish and many other varieties to choose from, and its kalam polow,pilaf rice with cabbage and ground beef flavored with cinnamon, is an ever-popular choice.

Sharzeh is one of the most popular restaurants in Shiraz, located close to the entrance of the city’s main bazaar market, Bazar-e-vakil, packed full of charming courtyards and shops. The restaurant itself is split across two floors and is considered to be the best kebab restaurant in Shiraz. For any visitor looking to sample traditional Persian cuisine in a warm and welcoming space, often accompanied by traditional Persian music, Sharzeh is the place to dine. Slightly off the beaten track, Sharzeh offers a classic Iranian dining experience with a delicious and varied menu that includes kebab barg,lamb marinated in lime juice, saffron, onions and garlic, and kalam polow Shirazi, an aromatic, herb-filled rice dish with cabbage and meatballs.

A firm favorite with locals, Shater Abbas is one of Shiraz’s most frequented restaurants. It serves delicious Persian cuisine prepared and cooked in an open kitchen, directly in front of the dining area. Shater Abbas is a bustling basement-level restaurant featuring a cozy and traditional interior defined by tiled walls, subdued lighting and ornately decorated tablecloths. Dishes that come with a particularly high local recommendation include the halim bademjan,an appetizer made from eggplant, ground meat, lentils and yogurt; the kebab koobideh, a kebab of ground meat with parsley and onions; and the sabzi polow,a rice-based dish with dill, parsley, chives and coriander. Another particular specialty includes the taftun, delicious fresh bread baked in a clay oven.