Persian food is bang on trend right now but this Great Titchfield Street restaurant – from husband and wife Bahman and Negar Rahbari – has been quietly showing the way for a few years.
Dishes range from punchy salads (pears, green beans and baby mixed leaves with a cardamom dressing) to meatier mains such as roasted salmon marinated with saffron and lemon sauce served with aromatic basmati rice, or saffron rice layered with grilled aubergine and Iranian barberries.
Breakfasts and Saturday brunches of a more Mediterranean bent prove popular. Expect Greek yoghurts, croissants with Italian roast ham and Swiss cheese, or rosemary focaccia bread filled with a spinach and red pepper omelette and cheese. The baked goods - on prominent, pretty display - look great, and are worth making space for.
The service on our visits has also been notably sweet and solicitous.