Melbourne's Best Persian Restaurants in 2025

A Persian spread at Hafez Persian Restaurant in Richmond

Persian food is incredibly underrated. Especially Persian restaurants in Melbourne.

My nephew is Persian and I feel shocked by the limited exposure I’ve been given to Iranian culture. I’m even more shocked by the immediate Western preconceptions about Iran and Persian culture.

Like a lot of great restaurants that serve authentic ethnic food, the humble heroes that prepare it sometimes go criminally under-recognised in Australia.

I’m collating the restaurants that people should be talking about more. These are some of the best Persian restaurants in Melbourne.

Let’s explore Persian culture first. It’ll make it a whole lot more interesting.

Key Ingredients of Persian Food

At the heart of Persian cooking is rice, typically long-grain varieties.

The rice is often mixed with saffron and butter, forming a prized crust known astahdigat at the bottom of the pot.

Alongside rice, fresh herbs play a crucial role with ingredients like parsley, coriander, and fenugreek frequently featured in dishes. Meat is also central to many Persian meals, particularly lamb, chicken, and beef. Nuts and dried fruits such as pomegranates and apricots are commonly incorporated.

Signature Persian Dishes

Fesenjan, or fesenjoon, is one of the most famous signature dishes of Iran. It is a khoresh, a Farsi term for stews and braises, which in turn are cornerstones of Persian cuisine

Khoresht-e Fesenjan:

This iconic stew combines ground walnuts with pomegranate syrup, offering a unique sweet and sour flavour profile that is often served with chicken or duck.

Ghormeh Sabzi:

A beloved herb stew featuring lamb or veal simmered with aromatic herbs and dried lime.

Zereshk Polo:

A striking dish made with barberries (zereshk) that adds a tangy contrast to saffron-infused rice, typically served alongside chicken.

The Quirk of Taarof (A Quirky Persian Custom)

At its core, taarof involves a series of polite refusals that are expected before one can accept an offer.

For example, if you are offered food or drink, it is customary to decline several times, even if you genuinely want it.

This back-and-forth can continue until the host insists more forcefully, at which point you can graciously accept. Persian culture puts a great emphasis on being gracious and respectful.

There’s nothing quite like an intense sense of hospitality.

Some of The Best Persian Restaurants in Melbourne

Caspian Restaurant

336 Springvale Road, Forest Hill

Good Persian comfort food to start you off.

Located at 336 Springvale Road, Forest Hill, Caspian Restaurant serves mainly traditional Persian kebabs and stew.

Cheap, cheerful and comforting. This is Persian soul food.

AliQapu

840 High St, Kew East VIC

AliQapu offers a comprehensive range of Persian food from dips to desserts.

They specialise in classic Persian dishes like khoresht-e gheymeh (slow-cooked lamb stew with saffron and french fries) and zereshk polo (Chicken and rice, served with barberries). They make an ancient Persian delicacy, dizi sangi. Compromised of boneless Australian diced lamb, tomato, potato, chickpeas and beans, it is cooked for over eight hours and served with Persian bread.

There is a good range of vegetarian dishes like kashk-e bademjan (fried eggplant, dried onion, mashed walnuts with a traditional Persian sauce called kashk) and adas polo (rice dish made with lentils, cinnamon and saffron, served with dates).

Pitu: Taste of Persia

285 Racecourse Rd, Kensington

A new one to pop up, this is a Persian grill done very well. It’s barbecue food with plenty of class and big servings.

Pitu is a very meat-forward food, so pick your guests wisely.

Bring some friends and share everything from special barg (lamb back strips marinated with saffron and served with dips), kabab neshat (250 gram beef back strips with special sauce) and bonab negini (300 gram lamb mince skewer with tomato puree and dips)

Hafez Persian Restaurant

458-460 Bridge Rd, Richmond

After recognising someone’s Persian accent, I asked them what they thought was the best Persian restaurant in Melbourne. They said Hafez.

That’s good enough for me to know this is the real deal.

Hafez Persian Restaurant, established in 2013, serves authentic Persian food including various kebabs, zereshk polo, baghali polo, ghormeh sabzi and fesenjan.

Go here for a lesson in Persian culture and cuisine.