Café Gol-e Rezaieh: a haven of homemade favourites

Outside Cafe Gol in 30-e Tir Street, Tehran

When expatriate folks talk about Iranian restaurant fare, the term ubiquitous kebabs is often on the tip of most tongues.

Although – admittedly – kebabs, which are considered to be the food of hospitality in Iran, are to be found everywhere, there is much more on offer in restaurants. You just have to go and look for it. Or, if you are of a more sedentary disposition, encourage your Iranian friends to invite you out for lunch. 

And that is how I came to find out about the Café Gol-e Rezaieh.

A good friend insisted that he take both my daughter Sarah and me for lunch to taste the delights of this traditional yet trendy restaurant. Dispensing with the delicacies of traditional ta’arof, we accepted the offer without hesitation.

Located on 30- e Tir Street in downtown Tehran, and just across the road from the famous Glass Museum, Café Gol is unassumingly sandwiched between small shops on this old yet charming street.

The charming interior of Cafe Gol

In the years leading up to the Revolution, this part of town was considered to be the city’s northern limits. Further north, today’s Tajrish was a town unto itself and anything north of 30-e Tir Street was stretches of land dotted with villas and trees. With the rapid growth of modern Tehran, Café Gol is now definitely downtown, a place teeming with old charm and dated, yet refined buildings.

Nestled in the chic and hipster vibe of the downtown metropolis, and tucked between large concrete offices and somewhat nondescript shops, Café Gol is concealed behind navy velvet curtains, which are always drawn. The café is a warm refuge from the honking horns and the coughing exhaust pipes of the bustling city.

Fresh walnuts and cheese

Inside you will find a rich blend of nostalgic café culture from the past and the needs of modern diners. The walls are covered in posters and photographs of film and music stars from earlier days, resplendent in their youthful glory.  With subtle sounds of modern music, burning incense and a large flag of Bob Marley wishing you One Love, hungry patrons are enticed to whet their appetite by sampling sabzi, yogurt, cheese and fresh walnuts while they mull over the menu and catch up with the latest news with family and friends.

The menu offers a delight of homemade favourites ranging from soups, salads and borscht to traditional Iranian stews, baked chicken, shashlik, steaks, seasonal fish and my choice – Kotlet – the Iranian cutlet. Having tasted Iranian cutlets in a number of homes and restaurants, it would be fair to say that Café Gol’s are the best in town.

I certainly feasted with my eyes when the plate of sumptuous cutlets presented with delectable fresh salads was put in front of me. It all looked too good to eat! But, I soon got over that and delved in to the juicy cutlets smothered in a freshly made tomato sauce.

Much of Iran’s culinary influence is a mélange of foreign as well as indigenous. Indeed, the cutlet’s origins lean towards Russia, where the Kotleta are similar pure ground beef patties mixed with onion, potato, egg and spices, coated in bread crumbs and fried until just right.

Iranian Cutlets

Iranian cutlets are easy to make and taste tremendous with roasted potatoes and salad for a meal, or packed up for snacking at picnics.  The recipe is at the end of the blog.

One word to the wise, however, is that Café Gol is very popular with art-loving locals, so I suggest you arrive early enough to get a table or you may have to wait outside for a little while. Tehranis treat this as par for the course and the waiters often pop outside to take the orders in advance.  Diners are then quite happy to come in from the cold for a delicious warm meal.

Iranian Cutlets

What You Need:

500 grams lean ground beef

Advieh Iranian Spice

500 grams of potatoes

1 medium sized onion

2 eggs

2 garlic cloves

Advieh Shami or Persian Spice, which usually includes a mix of saffron, sesame, cinnamon, coriander and cardamom

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Ground chili powder

Turmeric

Bread crumbs

Vegetable oil

What to do:

Cook the potatoes in their skins until a fork can go through them with ease. When cool enough to hold, peel the skins of the potatoes and then mash them. Then grate the onion and garlic into a large bowl and mix together with the potatoes.

Mix in the ground beef and all the spices until thoroughly mixed together.

Form into balls with your hands and then flatten until you have a tear like shape. Cover in breadcrumbs and fry gently on both sides in vegetable oil until the patties are cooked thoroughly and slightly crispy on the outside.

Serve with home made tomato sauce, fried potatoes and a salad.