Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
TEAHOUSE
Seray-e Mehr Teahouse & Restaurant$
(Seray-e Mehr, Bazar-e Vakil; meals US$3.50-5.50, tea US$0.90; 10am-8pm Sat-Thu)
This is a serendipitous place to find after wandering through the Bazar-e Vakil. Hidden
away through a small door behind the Saray-e Moshir Bazar, the split-level teahouse has a
small menu of tasty favourites (think
dizi, kubideh, zereshk polo
) and a delightfully re-
laxed atmosphere in which to sit, eat and sip tea. It also has a clean Western toilet, a rarity
in this part of town.
Sharzeh Traditional Restaurant$$
( 224 1963; Vakil St, off Zand Ave; meals US$5-19; 11am-3pm & 8-11pm)
This
place can be hard to find, but is worth the effort. Enter down an arcade off the western
side of the small street leading from Zand Ave directly to the Masjed-e Vakil. The restaur-
ant is in the basement of the arcade, accessed via stairs at the rear. It's best for lunch,
when
bazaris
(shopkeepers) and local businesspeople flock here to sample local dishes
such as
baghela mahicheh
(rice with broad beans, mutton and dill) and
kalam polo Shirazi
(beef meatballs with herbs, leek and cabbage). There's usually live music at both lunch
and dinner.
TRADITIONAL IRANIAN
Haft Khan$$$
(
www.haftkhanco.com
;
17th Alley, Quran Jadid Blvd; buffet US$27, a la carte meals
US$11-20; noon-midnight)
Wildly popular with fashionable Shirazis, this enormous
place near near the Darvazeh-ye Quran (Quran Gateway) has four levels of restaurants:
there's an all-you-can-eat buffet on the ground floor, a fast-food court on the 2nd floor, an
a la carte restaurant on the 3rd floor serving Iranian and international dishes, and a tea-
house on the roof. The best of these is the ground-floor buffet, which offers a huge array
of traditional Iranian dishes including freshly baked bread with cheese and herbs, lots of
salads and some unusual dips (great for vegetarians). The surrounds are modern but very
elegant, and service is attentive. A taxi between here and Shohada Sq costs US$2.70.
MODERN IRANIAN
Soofi 1$$
( 627 5881;
www.soofirestaurant.com
; Sattar Khan St; meals US$8.50-16; noon-
midnight)
It's been around for almost as long as the revolution, but Soofi shows no sign of
closing up shop any time soon (we guess the same could be said about the revolution).
This is where middle-class Shirazi families come to celebrate big occasions, and it can be
loads of fun on a Thursday or Friday night when live music is played and customers get
into the celebratory swing of things. Kababs are the things to order, particularly the fam-
MODERN IRANIAN
