3 Must-try Persian foods in 6 cities of Iran

There are more than 35 provinces in Iran, and it wouldn’t be a stretch to claim that each of these provinces has its own collection of local dishes, drinks, and desserts. After all, we take pride in our country’s amazingly diverse and wide variety of Persian food and traditional drinks!

Choosing only 3 foods from each city is an arduous task, considering how “best Iranian cuisine” and “most delicious Persian dish” is defined differently by each person. That is why we focused on choosing the 3 most popular Persian food in each of these cities. Putting forward our best taste buds, here is the devised list of the 3 best Iranian cuisines in each city of Iran.

Table of contents:

Tehran
Shiraz
Isfahan
Yazd
Gilan
Qeshm
FAQ

Persian Vegetarian Foods Top Iranian Foods

11Best persian food in each city of Iran travelartin.com

Best Persian Food to Try in Tehran

Sar Gonjeshki
Ash Shole Ghalamkar
Tahchin

Tehran Travel Guide

Tahchin, flavorful and fluffy Persian dish

Ash Shole Ghalamkar

Sar Gonjeshki, Persian meatballs

Tahchin is one of THE most delicious Iran foods and is super popular with tourists and locals. This dish has a crunchy, Tahdig (Iranian crispy rice) like the exterior but is filled with fluffy and tender rice and meat inside. it has different cooking styles. Cake style: Cake Tahchin is a doughy saffron-flavored rice cake filled with soft layers of cooked chicken (or beef), nuts, and dried barberries. Tahdig style: slimmer and crispier, this Tahchin is a crunchy morsel of rice, silky chicken, and dried barberries. Tahchin was traditionally made in Firoozkooh (a city near Tehran) as a very popular local dish. This Iranian food is served warm and accompanied by colorful and fresh traditional Iranian side dishes.

Main ingredients: Chicken, Rice, Egg, Onion, Yogurt

Fresh legume, wheat, and beef are the main ingredients in this Ash. Ash shole ghalamkar is a silky mixture of thick, meaty liquid and fresh vegetables. The best Ash Shole Ghalamkar is found in Tehran, and it would be a waste if travelers visited Tehran without getting a taste of this flavorful miracle! Ash is one of the oldest Persian foods, cooked and served in Iran. There are many variations of Ash, as each city uses its own local veggies and fruits to add a unique taste to their local Ash. But one of the most popular is Ash Shole Ghalamkar.

Main ingredients: Beef ribs, Lentil, Chickpea, Red kidney bean, Pinto bean, Black eyed peas, Onion, Parsley, Dill

11Sar gonjeshki Tehran food Artin Travel

These small meatballs are afloat in a thick, juicy sauce. Flavored to perfection and garnished with fresh herbs, these meatballs are guaranteed to wow your tastebuds. Sar Gonjeshki is a rich Persian food and is a main dish as well as a mid-day (or midnight, for that matter) snack! Best served with warm Sangak (traditional Persian bread) and fresh herbs.

Main ingredients: Minced meat, Onion, Potato, Tomato, Garlic, Rice

Shiraz Persian Food List to Try

Shirin Polo
Salad Shirazi
Faloodeh

Shiraz Travel Guide

Shirin Polo, the Royal Persian cuisine

Salad Shirazi, more than a salad!

Faloodeh (Paloodeh), sweet and sour

Shirin Polo is masterfully cooked and artfully garnished with crispy nuts, dry-fried orange peels, crunchy potato chips, and barberries. Not only is this dish extremely tasty and flavorful, but it's also a feast for the eyes and is among royal dishes even to this day. This traditional Persian food is served with yogurt, fresh herbs, and traditional Iranian salad on the side.

Main ingredients: Rice, Orange peel, Pistachio, Almond, Carrot, Saffron

11Salad Shirazi Iranian side dish Artin Travel

Perhaps THE most famous and popular Iranian side dish is the Shirazi Salad. This salad's ingredients are simple (often limited to chopped cucumbers and tomatoes) but the added tastes of vinegar or lime (personal preference), dried mint flakes, and diced shallots give it a unique taste unparalleled in any other side dishes. Shirazi Salad is a great addition to almost all Iranian dishes, but it is most famously served next to Lobia Polo, Fish and Sabzi Polo, and Zereshk Polo (Iranian chicken and rice with a special sauce).

Main ingredients: Cucumber, Tomato, Onion, Bell pepper

Faloodeh is a nationally loved cold dessert with fruit syrups or rose water (or both!) topping. This tasty treat is very popular, and can be found in all corners of the country! The best ones, though, are found in Shiraz. Thin starch noodles are topped with sugary syrups of different fruits and, depending on your personal taste, a touch of lime juice! The sweet and sour combination will probably make you a fan. Faloodeh is also served with ice cream (traditionally with saffron ice cream and frozen chips of sour cream).

Main ingredients: Rice noodle, Lime, Rose water

Isfahan Must-Try Food

Beryoni
Gooshfil Dough
Khoresht-e Mast

Isfahan Travel Guide

Beryoni (or Beryani), a roasted treat

Gooshfil Doogh, Isfahan signature

Khoresht-e Mast

11Beryani Isfahan food to try while traveling to Iran

Beryoni (Not to be mistaken with the Indian dish Biriyani) is a delicious Persian food in Isfahan, that looks similar to a hamburger, but the resemblance ends just there! This flavorsome dish is prepared with ground lamb neck cuts seasoned with special Isfahan spice. Isfahan cooks prepare this dish on open fire while barding it with lamb liver so the meat is moisture and not over-cooked by the end. Beryoni is served with freshly baked Sangak and garnished with cinnamon and walnuts.

Main ingredients: Lamb meat, Onion, cinnamon, Minced Almond

Perhaps the most iconic due known in the history of Persian food is Gooshfil Dough! This sweet and sour snack has two parts: The sweet part belongs to Gooshfil (small Persian cubic-shaped doughnuts doused in a sugary syrup) And the sour part is the Doogh (special yogurt-based, salty Iranian drink). They go surprisingly well together, and Doogh is served alongside Gooshfil (as they are supposed to be tasted together). This snack is loved by the people of Isfahan and, as it is an acquired taste, usually not that popular with visitors. Although given a couple tries, it grows on you (trust me).

Main ingredients: Gooshfil donut, Doogh (Persian Yogurt drink)

This golden stew is incredibly rich and nutritious, and tastes nothing like how it looks! Khoresht-e Mast resembles a yellow caramel custard, but it is actually a meaty, thick stew prepared with thin cuts of the beef neck. The meat is mashed and blended in a sweet stew of yogurt and saffron, and the result is a unique, savory dish that surprises almost all visitors! Khoresht-e Mast, which literally means Yogurt Stew, is among the most popular Persian foods. It is occasionally found in restaurants in other cities as well, but the best ones are cooked in Isfahan and Isfahan alone!

Main ingredients: Neck meat, Yogurt, Saffron, Walnut, Almond, Rose water

Most Delicious Persian Food in Yazd

Yazdi cake
Yazdi Gheime
Yazdi Baklava

Yazd Travel Guide

Yazdi cake, traditional muffin

Yazdi Gheime

Yazdi Baklava, the Persian Baklava

A simple yet extremely delicious dessert is the Yazdi cake. This muffin is a heavenly blend of vanilla, cardamom, and rose water. Iranian people love Yazdi cake with tea, Nescafé, and any hot drink as well as cold ones! Milk and traditional Iranian beverages are also popularly served with Yazdi cake.

Main ingredients: Flour, Sugar, Yogurt, Cardamom, Rose water

Gheime is a very famous traditional Iranian dish that can be found in almost all Iranian restaurants. Yazdi Gheime on the other hand tastes worlds apart from the original Iranian Gheime. Except for a couple of ingredients, the recipe list of Gheime and Gheime Yazdi are almost the same. But as we all know, even a small touch of sweetness or sourness can alter the flavor of a dish completely. Yazdi Qeima alters the original recipe using chickpeas instead of split peas, yet it keeps the roots of this Persian food about. That is why Yazdi Gheime is famous in Iran. Keeping the originality of this traditional dish and still making it taste unique, it sure is not as easy feat.

Main ingredients: Chickpea, Beef, Cardamom, Turmeric, Onion

11Yazdi baklava Persian sweet from Yazd city

I think people from all around the world can agree that Baklava is a sweet piece of heaven on earth. This crispy pastry is filled with pistachio and almond, and its layers are held together by sweet juicy syrups or even honey! Yazdi Bakalva has held all these qualities, with the added bonus of a blissful touch of cardamom and rose water. Yazdi Baklava is famous for its mesmerizingly aromatic and tasty bites in Iran (and even outside Iran)!

Main ingredients: Cardamom, Sugar, Cinnamon, Walnut, Almond, Lime, Rose water

Gilan Iranian Foods to Try

Baghali Ghatogh
Mirza Ghasemi
Torshi Tareh

Baghali Ghatogh

Mirza Ghasemi, A Savory Dip

Torshi Tareh, Traditional food from North

This vegetarian dish is a canvas of all that is savory. Soaked lime-beans are cooked with fresh dills until slightly wilted, seasoned just right, and then stewed for about half an hour. Baghali Ghatogh presents the true taste of Northern Persian cuisine in its rural and organic glory. This dish is served both with fresh bread and Iranian rice (Chelo). Like most northern Persian foods, Baghali Ghatogh goes well with a bowl of pickled garlic on the side.

Main ingredients: Cranberry bean, Dill, Garlic, Egg, Turmeric

If there's one thing we know about northern Iranian cuisine, is that all the ingredients (which are mostly vegetables and fruits) are quite farm-fresh. Mirza Ghasemi is no exception! This Persian food is another vegetarian miracle of Gilan and is served as both the main dish and an appetizer. Smoked (and peeled) eggplants are mashed and mixed into a pool of braised tomatoes and battered garlic. The thickened combination is cooked on slow heat until a bloody, rich, and shameless sauce is bubbling in the pot. It is usually topped by a sunny side-up. Fresh lime and cherry tomatoes go beautifully well with Mirza Ghasemi.

Main ingredients: Aubergine, Tomato, Garlic, Egg, Tomato paste, Walnut

Torshi Tareh is ANOTHER item on Iran vegetarian Persian food list, but it can also be served with some fish fillet (depending on your personal preference) on the side. The Gilan cooks prepare this dish using a collection of fresh herbs and bitter orange juice. The result is an incredibly scrumptious plate of Torshi Tareh you will probably ask for seconds.

Main ingredients: Parsley, Dill, Cilantro, Garlic, Onion, Egg white, Lime

Top Persian Food to try in Qeshm

Ghalieh Mahi
Falafel
Samboseh

Qeshm Travel Guide

Ghalieh Mahi, Fish like never before!

Falafel, the favored middle eastern snack

Sambooseh, A vegetarian Persian food

11Ghalieh Mahi Iranian fish and tumeric dish

(h5) Ghalieh Mahi, Fish like never before! Unlike the northern parts which are rich in vegetation and flora, the southern parts of Iran are known for their sea-food and lively fauna! Ghalieh Mahi is known for bringing the taste of cod fillet to life with a delicate punch of tamarind and special Jonobi (southern) spices and herbs. This stew is very popular in all Iran for its forest-like and organic flavor, but the people of the south cook it best! The skills of Jonobi cooks and their familiarity with fish meat and how to season it is of course, partly responsible for this claim. The other side of the story is the freshly caught fish Jonobi restaurants and cooks use in making this Persian food.

Main ingredients: Dried Fenugreek, Salmon (or any other fish), Tamarind paste, Tomato paste, Lemon juice

11Falafel Vegetarian dish travelartin.com

Known in the whole world for its unique and earthy taste, is none other than Falafel itself. Iranian Falafel, especially the ones prepared in southern Iran, is a world unto itself! Jonobi families and cooks have altered the recipe and made it their own. These deep-fried vegetarian balls are often spicy and served with tomatoes, pickled vegetables, lettuce, and cabbages. In south Iran, people prepare this middle-eastern dish using ground chickpeas, and make the recipe their own by alternating it into a Persian food worth trying!

Main ingredients: Chickpea, Fresh herbs, Garlic, Onion, Baking powder

Sambooseh is a traditional Persian food Jonobi people have mastered its art of cooking. Well-seasoned ground meat (usually spicy), steamed potatoes, and freshly cooked vegetables are the main ingredients of this food. A sheet of Lavash bread wraps all these together, and is then fried until golden. This food is a Persian vegetarian dish as well.

Main ingredients: Potato, Onion, Parsley, Coriander

Persian Food of Each City in Iran: FAQ

What Persian Food is worth trying?

Some of the most popular Persian foods everyone must try are Tahchin, Ash, Zereshk Polo (Persian chicken and rice), Ghalieh Mahi, Mirza Ghasemi, and Shirin Polo.

Are there vegetarian dishes in Iran?

Yes. In fact, Vegetarian food is a big part of the Persian food culture, and Iranian vegetarian dishes will leave an unforgettable taste in everyone’s mouth.

What Persian drinks go best with Persian food?

Traditional Persian drinks that go well with Iranian food are Dough (Persian yogurt drink), Sharbat (herbal drinks), and fruit drinks. These are also the drinks served with food at traditional Persian restaurants.

What are the Persian side dishes?

Iranian side dishes are as many as they are delicious. Some of the most popular ones are Fresh herbs (Sabzi khordan), Pickled vegetables, and freshly baked Persian bread.