Iranian Cuisine: What to Eat and Drink

Iranian cuisine, also called Persian cuisine, is built on rice, bread, fresh herbs, and slow-cooked stews. Its flavour profile balances sweet, sour, and savoury, using ingredients such as saffron, dried lime, pomegranate, walnuts, citrus, and floral notes such as rosewater. This guide covers what to eat and drink across Iran, the country's dining customs, and the practical rules that affect travellers, including the ban on alcohol.

Rice: chelow and polo

Long-grain rice is the staple grain. It is served in two main forms. Chelow is plain steamed white rice. Polo is rice cooked together with other ingredients, such as zereshk (barberries), sabzi (herbs), or baghali (fava beans).

The tahdig is the crispy golden crust that forms at the bottom of the pot. It can be made from rice, bread, or potato.

Chelo kabab

Chelo kabab is the most common restaurant dish in Iran and is widely described as a national icon. It pairs saffron rice with grilled kebabs. Two common cuts are koobideh, made from minced meat, and barg, made from marinated lamb or beef. The dish is typically served with grilled tomato, butter, and sumac.

Stews (khoresh)

Stews, called khoresh, are served over rice and are central to home cooking.

• Ghormeh sabzi is a herb stew made with sauteed herbs (parsley, leek, coriander, and fenugreek), kidney beans, lamb, and dried lime. It is widely considered Iran's national dish, though this is not an official designation and other sources point to chelo kabab as the national or iconic dish.
• Fesenjan is made with ground walnuts and pomegranate molasses. It is traditionally made with duck in the north and is now commonly made with chicken. It is often associated with northern Iran and the Caspian region, though this regional attribution comes largely from food and tourism sources.
• Tahchin is an oven-baked saffron-and-yogurt rice cake, often made with chicken.

Dizi, also called abgoosht, is a communal dish: a stew of lamb, chickpeas, white beans, potatoes, tomatoes, turmeric, and dried lime.

Bread (nan)

Bread, called nan, is eaten with most meals and is frequently used as a utensil. The four most common types are:

• Sangak: a whole-wheat sourdough baked on a bed of hot pebbles. The name means "little stone".
• Barbari: a thick, yeast-leavened bread commonly eaten at breakfast.
• Taftoon (also taftan): a thin bread baked in a tanur (clay oven).
• Lavash: a thin, soft bread.

Flatbread making and sharing culture, covering lavash, katyrma, jupka, and yufka, was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2016. The listing is shared by Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey.

Drinks

Black tea, called chai, is the national drink and is served as part of hospitality. It is usually served black.

Other common non-alcoholic drinks include:

• Doogh: a savoury yogurt drink made with water and salt, sometimes flavoured with mint.
• Sharbat: sweet fruit-syrup drinks. One well-known type is sekanjabin, made with mint, vinegar, and honey.

Alcohol

Alcohol is banned in Iran. Production, sale, transport, and consumption are criminal offences. Under the Islamic Penal Code (Article 265), consumption of alcohol by a Muslim is punishable by 80 lashes, a fixed (hadd) penalty; courts may add fines or imprisonment, and foreign nationals may also face deportation. The strict current ban dates to the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Officially recognized non-Muslim minorities, such as Armenian and Assyrian Christians, may produce and consume alcohol privately and for religious rites. For travellers, the practical point is that alcohol is prohibited and carries criminal penalties. As of June 2026, laws and their enforcement can change; confirm current rules with an official source before travelling.

Vegetarian options

The cuisine is meat-heavy, but vegetarian dishes exist. Examples include herb rice (sabzi polo), kashk-e bademjan (an eggplant dip), mirza ghasemi (a smoked eggplant dish), vegetable kookoo (a herb-and-egg dish), and vegan versions of dizi. Some dishes that appear vegetarian may include meat or animal-derived stock, so confirm ingredients with the kitchen.

Dining customs

Meals are often eaten seated around a sofreh, a cloth spread on the floor. Bread is frequently used as a utensil. Hospitality is central to the culture, and tea is offered as part of it.

Practical notes

Menus, prices, and what is available can change. As of June 2026, confirm current restaurant prices and any food-related costs locally. Where you have specific dietary needs, confirm ingredients directly with the kitchen.