Hafez

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5 Hereford Rd, London, England W2 4AB

+44 020 7221 3167

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Persian Food Perfection in Notting Hill

by sararevell

London, United Kingdom

November 22, 2009

Best of IgoUgo I have been going to Hafez for more years than I care to remember. On my last visit, I found out that they have been open 25 years. With the economic downturn hitting so many small businesses I do hope that Hafez remains unaffected because this ...Read more I have been going to Hafez for more years than I care to remember. On my last visit, I found out that they have been open 25 years. With the economic downturn hitting so many small businesses I do hope that Hafez remains unaffected because this Persian restaurant really is a little gem in the back streets of Notting Hill.

While in recent years they’ve updated the décor, the food has always been consistently good and very reasonably priced. I’m rarely able to decide which dish to have and I’m always torn between the juicy lemon chicken kebabs, the succulent ghaimeh badamjun stew (with lamb and aubergine), and the hearty ghormeh sabsi.

We went with two friends, one of whom is vegan but she had no difficulty ordering from the largely meaty menu. Fortunately hummus, baba ghanouj, tomato based stews with aubergine and yellow lentils and fresh salads are available to order and all dishes come with rice, chips or salad (I’d recommend the saffron rice every time). We ordered hummus to start with. This comes with a square dish of flat Persian nan (bread). It’s a lot thinner than it’s Indian cousin and perforated for easy tearing and sharing. They also do plates of herbs (tarragon, mint) with goat’s cheese, spring onions and radishes which is another personal favourite but with the main courses always being so filling I didn’t feel the need to over-indulge on the starters.

I ordered badamjun for my main course, which is a tomato-based stew with split yellow peas and baby aubergines. I heaped the badamjun on top the bed of buttery saffron rice and had little trouble finishing up the whole meal in about ten minutes flat. I had a 7up to wash it down but they have a decent wine and beer menu if you want something a little stronger. My husband picked the fesenjun, a chicken dish cooked in a walnut and pomegranate sauce. He swears by it and I’ll have to take his word for it as I have a nut allergy and have never tried it myself. I have had the kebabs in the past and they’re also delicious. They have an aroma and taste of being cooked on an outdoor grill and usually come with a juicy chunk of onion or tomato. If you’re in a big group the mixed kebab is a good way to get an overview of Persian cuisine at its best.

The service is usually quite good at the start of the meal at Hafez. It’s a very small restaurant so if you have a group larger than four, it’s probably worth calling ahead to make a reservation. For some reason they do seem slow in bringing the bill so if you’re in a hurry then you may need to do some arm waving to get the waiter’s attention. If you’re lucky with the weather then you may also be lucky enough to grab one of the very few outdoor tables overlooking Leinster Square.

They have a small selection of sweets although as many of these contain pistachio and I'm allergic I have to miss out. It is nice to sip a glass of black tea afterwards though, to wash all the loveliness of a perfectly cooked Persian meal down.
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Persian Food Perfection in Notting Hill