Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Eating
Apart from Hezaroyek Shab, none of the following have menus in English. For that you'll
have to resort to hotel restaurants of which the
BuAli
(meals US$4-8)
is about the best.
TRADITIONAL IRANIAN
Delta Sofrakhane Sonati$$
( 826 1813; basement, Eshqi St; qalyan US$1, meals US$3-6; 6am-7pm)
This de-
lightful neotraditional retreat lies beneath the unremarkable Delta restaurant using separ-
ate stairs from outside. Tea (US$1) comes in ceramic Lalejin pots, women can smoke
qalyan on carpeted bed-seats without undue attention and the chicken 'biriyani' comes on
a flaming plate. Don't miss the scrumptious
kashka bademjan
(US$1), eggplant paste with
yoghurt, mint and roasted red peppers.
Chaykhuneh Baharestan$
(Shohada St; dizi US$2; 6am-7pm)
This atmospheric, if decidedly down-market 100%
male teahouse is charmingly adorned with metalwork, sepia photos and Quranic murals.
It's ideal for a greasy fried-egg breakfast, cheap
abgusht
(aka
dizi
) lunch or a puff on the
qalyan, and is populated by photogenically haggard old white-beards. To find it, head up-
stairs through a partly illustrated doorway opposite a small branch of Bank Maskan.
TEAHOUSE
Kaghazi Pizza-Coffee$
(Pastor St; snack meals US$2-4, coffee US$1-2)
Pine furniture and a few African masks
bring some character to this gently stylish two-room cafe whose pizzas are refreshingly
crispy and thin-crusted.
FAST FOOD
Hezaroyek Shab$
(1001 Nights; 824 5217; Farhang St; local mains US$2-3.50, European dishes
US$4-6; noon-3pm & 7.30-11pm)
This cosy if slightly garish restaurant is quite a trek
south of the centre (US$2 by
dar baste
taxi) but there's a wide Irano-European menu and
owner Pari Bakhtiyari speaks fluent English. Call ahead.
TRADITIONAL IRANIAN
Kaktus$
(Buali Sina Sq; meals US$4-9; noon-3pm & 7-10.30pm)
Down easy-to-miss stairs,
Kaktus remains one of Hamadan's most popular middle-class kabab restaurants. It's taste-
fully lit if not imaginatively decorated.
KABABIS
