Hafez Restaurant is a Persian dining room at 5 Hereford Road in Bayswater. Its menu brings together charcoal cooking, aromatic slow cooked dishes, rice and freshly baked lavash bread, presenting the generous and communal character of Iranian food in a relaxed neighbourhood setting.
Starters include olives with walnuts and pomegranate, kashk with aubergine, smoky Mirza Ghasemi, yoghurt with cucumber or shallots, stuffed vine leaves and thick herb soup. Bread is made on the premises and provides the traditional way to enjoy dips, herbs, radishes, feta and walnuts around the table.
Charcoal grills range from saffron marinated chicken and ground lamb kubideh to lamb fillet, chops and mixed selections. Slow cooked khoresht explores herbs, dried lime, saffron, aubergine, okra and split peas, while the signature fesenjan combines chicken with a rich sweet and sour sauce of pomegranate and walnuts.
Grilled salmon and Persian spiced sea bass add lighter main courses, with saffron rice, crisp tahdig and barberries available alongside. Homemade saffron ice cream, pomegranate ice cream, rosewater sorbet and chilled rice pudding provide fragrant finishes, joined by mint, rose petal and saffron sharbat.
Address: 5 Hereford Road, Bayswater, London W2 4AB, United Kingdom