Plate of fesenjan, a Persian pomegranate and walnut stew, with walnuts and pomegranate seeds, illustrating Persian restaurants in the Boston area

Persian Restaurants in the Boston Area: Kebab, Stews and Tahdig

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Persian restaurants in the Boston area are fewer than you might expect inside the city limits and more concentrated just west and north of it. Based on published sources, the main cluster sits in Watertown and Belmont, with a Persian-inflected bakery in Charlestown and Cambridge and a Northern Iranian restaurant in Revere. This guide explains the dishes, lists each place by area, and flags where sources disagree. The Boston Report does not visit, taste or rate restaurants; everything here comes from restaurant websites and published coverage, so confirm hours before you go.

Where Persian Food Is in Greater Boston

Boston Globe food writer Devra First described the Watertown area in March 2026 as a “mini-nexus” for Iranian cooking, near the Iranian Association of Boston. I did not find a currently operating sit-down Persian restaurant within the city of Boston itself. The best-known city name in the Globe’s account is historic: Lala Rokh on Beacon Hill, which the Globe says siblings Babak Bina and Azita Bina-Seibel ran from 1995 to 2018, introducing many Bostonians to dishes beyond kebabs. Places outside the city are marked “nearby” below. For the wider picture, see our guide to Boston restaurants, our restaurants category, and the background piece on Iranians and Persians in Boston.

Persian Dishes to Know

  • Kabob koobideh: ground meat, usually beef or chicken with onion, grilled on a skewer. Roksana’s describes it as “ground meat on a skewer.”
  • Kabob soltani: a combination of a koobideh skewer and a skewer of cut meat, a pairing listed on the Caspian and Roksana’s menus.
  • Kabob torsh: meat marinated in pomegranate molasses and walnut, according to Roksana’s and Chai Bar.
  • Ghormeh sabzi: a slow-simmered herb stew with kidney beans and dried limes, which the Globe calls dark green with simmered herbs. Caspian calls it the “crown jewel” of Persian cuisine on its menu.
  • Fesenjan: a stew of toasted walnuts and pomegranate, described by Roksana’s as sour-sweet.
  • Tahdig: the crisp, golden crust of rice from the bottom of the pot.
  • Mirza ghasemi and kashk-e bademjan: smoky eggplant dishes, the first with tomato and egg, the second with whey (kashk), per Roksana’s and Chai Bar menus.
  • Ash reshteh: a soup of greens, beans and noodles that the Globe describes as a Nowruz-season tradition.
  • Zereshk polo: saffron rice with barberries, typically served with chicken.
  • Doogh: a savory yogurt drink, listed on Caspian’s menu.

Watertown (Nearby)

Caspian Persian Cuisine, 72 Bigelow Ave. The Globe says Caspian opened January 1, 2026, in the space long occupied by Shiraz Persian Cuisine, with chef Hadi Eghbali and partner Mohsen Tehrani, who ran Molana for more than 25 years. Its website lists halal kabobs, stews, saffron rice and a main menu served 12 to 9 p.m. daily. Conflict: the website’s header gives 617-393-8335, while the Globe printed 617-923-2554, a number that appears on Molana’s old site. Use the number on Caspian’s own site.

Roksana’s Persian Food, 133 Mt. Auburn St. A takeout-only counter, according to its website and the Globe, with kebabs, daily stews and halal meat. The Globe says the family restaurant is run by Ala Tolouei and his sons; the Globe says Ala Tolouei is from Gilan province, and the catering menu highlights dishes from that Caspian coast region. Hours changed on the site recently: a cached version showed summer hours and a closure notice, while the current page lists Monday closed and open the other six days. Call before you go. The affiliated Roksana Market is at 509 Mt. Auburn St.

Hafez House of Kebab, 580 Mt. Auburn St. NBC Boston, citing Eater Boston, reported in November 2018 that it opened in the former Jasmine Taste of Persia space. The Globe still named it among the Watertown restaurants in 2026. Hours conflict across secondary listings (one lists 12 to 7 p.m., another 12 to 8:30 p.m., another closed Tuesdays), and I could not find a reliable official site, so treat the hours as unknown. Molana’s website still lists the same 580 Mt. Auburn St. address with a seven-day schedule, but the Globe says Molana’s owners moved on to open Caspian, so Molana is not listed here as open.

Belmont (Nearby)

Cafe Vanak, 271-275 Belmont St. The Globe says owners Zohreh Beheshti and Babak Shams Asef run both Cafe Vanak and the neighboring Super Vanak market, and that the menu includes kebabs, stews, rice dishes and vegetarian options. The restaurant’s website lists 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Tuesdays, and the market 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. The Globe also notes Condé Nast Traveler once singled it out, which I could not verify independently. NBC Boston reported in March 2026 that a sign outside read “We Stand with the People of Iran.”

Charlestown and Cambridge: La Saison Bakery

La Saison Bakery, 221 Main St., Charlestown (city of Boston), and 407 Concord Ave., Cambridge (nearby). This is a bakery rather than a Persian restaurant. The Globe says founder Soheil Fathi and his wife Sarah Moridpour opened it, and that the menu includes Persian lentil soup and kuku sabzi, an herb frittata. Its website lists a kuku sandwich, house-made saffron syrup and a pistachio-saffron cheesecake, and says it is open daily, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and to 4 p.m. on weekends. The Globe reported that it sold Nowruz sweet boxes this spring.

Revere (Nearby)

Chai Bar, 744 Broadway. Its website describes a Persian kabob menu cooked over an open fire, with dishes including kashk-e bademjan, ghormeh sabzi and gheymeh. Its site lists the phone number (339) 226-3760. Hours come only from secondary listings such as Yelp (Tuesday to Thursday 5 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday noon to 9, Sunday noon to 8, closed Monday) and were not on the page I could read, so confirm by phone. Chai Bar is also listed as a business on the Iranian Association of Boston’s site.

Tips for First-Timers

  • Order for the table. Pair a koobideh or torsh kabob with an eggplant starter and a stew.
  • Ask which stew is made that day. Roksana’s says its stew of the day runs Thursday through Sunday.
  • Nowruz, around March 20, brings special dishes such as sabzi polo ba mahi, herbed rice with fish, which Caspian was taking preorders for in 2026.
  • Most places above advertise halal meat. Check each menu for allergens, especially nuts.

What We Could Not Verify

I could not confirm a Persian sit-down restaurant in Boston proper, official hours for Hafez House of Kebab, Chai Bar’s hours from its own site, or Molana’s current status. Prices are left out because they change often. New openings and closings after October 2026 will not appear here.

Sources

Photo: Fesenjan, by Miansari66, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.