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Friday, February 04, 2011

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




View Larger Map

Tehran on Urbanspoon

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)

Related Grab Your Fork posts:
Granville - El Jannah (Lebanese charcoal chicken)

29 comments:

  1. Love the polo peeking through the great looking saffron rice, and that Tehran Special looks so succulent! Mmmm.

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  2. Love the looks of the Zereshk Polo and the Tehran Special. I've never tried Persian food, maybe it's a good idea to give it a go.

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  3. i saw the word barberry and now ive got the tune of beach boys ba ba ba, ba barbara ann..

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  4. A wonderful post Helen...never tried the cuisine from Tehran before...great intro. The dips, rice and chicken all look and sound delicious!

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  5. Oooohh those eggplant dips look so yummy. I've got a soft spot for eggplant. And at Granville too! Looks like it's worth a try!

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  6. The peek-a-boo chicken looks divine!

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  7. ... thanks Suze...

    Great pics, as ever, Helen :)

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  8. I've seen this place a few times when I've been in Granville on an El Jannah's run. I'm keen to give it a try and your review makes it sound like it's worth visiting. Thanks.

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  9. How wonderful, I can eat everything you featured!

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  10. Interesting place. Always intrigued me with your small new eatery finds.

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  11. Dear Helen,
    I have heard from a Persian colleague that Tehran is very good but Darband is cheaper and better in Auburn. Is it possible for you to vist and review?

    http://www.smh.com.au/news/restaurant-reviews/darband-persian-restaurant/2007/10/26/1192941318228.html

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  12. Those dips look magnificent! And they're a teensy bit more up my alley, as I tend not to be as thrilled as you when discovering shins in my food ;)

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  13. I still dream about Persian food, my first taste of it while I was in the US strangely enough. I'm not sure if they have it Tehran (never been) but there's absolutely delicious eggplant stew topped with yogurt and fried onion bits called Koresh Bademjan. It's the most dreamy thing. Have it if you see it.

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  14. The fried eggplant dip isn't very visually appealing but anything with eggplant wins me over.

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  15. The colours are amazing, that rice looks sooooo good!

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  16. It is great, I went straight there for lunch and loved it. They are friendly as well so I have booked a lunch there for my 50th.

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  17. that eggplant dip and the saffron rice with berries/chicken is making me drool. i didn't know persian food was like this - i asked a persian colleague and all she told me was that their cuisine is very meaty...apparently there's another nice one in lane cove somewhere?

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  18. The colour of the rice is just so vibrant. The way describe the cushions and then the pictures of the food, sounds like a very happy colourful place.

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  19. Wow that all looks so amazing - will have to give it a try when net in the area. Thank you!!!

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  20. Love Lamb backstraps and here's a new way to do them.. So may images its a colourful review too!

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  21. Thanks for the info. Never had the chance to try persian food. Be great to check it out.. .The rice looks like nasi briyani...indian style.

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  22. Just love the colours of the Zereshk, so vibrant! I remember seeing it being made on an episode of Food Safari. I guess there's more to Granville than Charcaol Chicken hey =D

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  23. Love the colours of the barberries and the saffron - it looks amazing!

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  24. Ooooooh i just love the sound of the Zereshk Polo. Sweet zingy berries with the saffron rice and chicken... what a wonderful combination of flavours. Great article! I will venture there next time I'm in Sydney. Cheers!

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  25. Really interesting selection of dishes! I'd love to check this place out :-)

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  26. yum-o to the fried eggplant and smoked eggplant dip to rival the plain old baba ghanouj.

    I shall pry myself away from the tempting arms of el jannah and give this a try - the Tehran special is a dish for this meat lover!

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  27. just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed reading your blog posts. Any way I will be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon. Thanks for this post...

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  28. Amazing Persian cuisine and fantastic hosts. I love that place because of it's quality and great prices. eventhough it's not a fancy restaurant but it's great.

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