Tehran, Granville

Tehran, Granville

EDIT: Tehran is now closed

WHAT IS IT?
A suburban restaurant serving Iranian/Persian and Middle Eastern cuisine.

WHAT’S IT LIKE?
A row of colourful cushions on the front benches welcome homesick patrons or diners curious to try Persian cuisine. The menu is a double-sided A4 laminate with 18 dishes, each accompanied by a colour photograph.

Zereshk Polo $10

Saffron rice with dried wild berries and chicken

WHAT SHOULD I ORDER
Zereshk polo ($10) is a popular Persian dish of barberry rice with chicken. A mountain of basmati rice is studded with sweet crimson barberries, toasted slivered almonds and a layer of saffron rice in golden yellow. Dig beneath the basmati rice - each grain fluffy and separate - and you’ll find a large chicken leg, cooked slowly so the meat practically falls off the bone.

Ghormeh Sabzi $10

Diced beef with kidney beans and dried lime stewed in mixed herbs served with saffron rice

WHAT ELSE?
Ghormeh sabzi ($10) - often heralded as the national dish of Iran - is a dark and tangy stew of beef cubes cooked with kidney beans, herbs and dried limes. More subtle in flavour is the baghali polo ($10), a tender lamb shin buried beneath basmati rice cooked with dill and broad beans.

Meat lovers will want the Tehran Special ($19), a triple skewer meal of marinated lamb back strap, lamb mince and chicken fillets, all grilled to a smoky char and served on a huge plate of saffron rice.

Baghali Polo $10

Rice, broad beans, dill and lamb shin


Tehran Special $19
One skewer each of marinated lamb back strap, minced kebab and chicken kebab served with saffron rice

Sides are cheap so order one of each. Kashk e badenjan ($5) is an eggplant dip made with onion, garlic, walnut and saffron, drizzled with yoghurt. The paprika-hued igra ($5) is the smoked eggplant version, a little spicier in flavour and garnished with a handful of black olives.

Kashk e Badenjan fried eggplant dip $5

Igra smoked eggplant dip $5


Barbican non-alcoholic malt drink

The drinks fridge holds canned fruit drinks and bottles of Barbican, a non-alcoholic beer that isn’t as bad as you’d think. Or go for the homemade ayran, a foamy yoghurt drink made from yoghurt, salt and water.


Mint, onion and olives

Shirazi salad $3

Tomato, cucumber, onion, lime juice, chopped parsley and olive oil




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Tehran (CLOSED)

44 Railway Parade, Granville, Sydney

Tel: +61 (02) 9897 5935

Opening hours:

Open 7 days 11am-10pm

This article appears in the February 2011 issue of Time Out Sydney in the Food & Drink section.

Time Out Sydney reviews:
ATL Marantha, Kensington (Indonesian fried chicken with edible bones)
Balkan Oven, Rockdale (Macedonian burek)
Durban Dish, Baulkham Hills (South African bunny chow)
Hijazi's Falafel, Arncliffe (Lebanese breakfast)
Island Dreams Cafe, Lakemba (Christmas Islands cuisine)
La Paula, Fairfield (Chilean empanadas, lomitos and sweets)
Sea Sweet, Parramatta (Lebanese sweet kashta cheese burger)
Sizzling Fillo, Lidcombe (Filipino pork hock crackling)
Tuong Lai, Cabramatta (Vietnamese sugar cane prawns)

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Granville - El Jannah (Lebanese charcoal chicken)