The first time I took a non-Iranian friend to a Persian restaurant in Milan, she stared at the Farsi menu like it was modern art. Which, to be fair, Persian calligraphy kind of is. But she wasn’t admiring the aesthetics. she was trying to figure out whether she was about to order rice or lamb intestines.
Restaurant menus are the most practical reading exercise that exists. The vocabulary is concrete (food is food), the format is predictable (name + description + price), and the stakes are real (order wrong and you eat something you didn’t want). If you’re traveling to Iran or eating at Persian restaurants abroad, this skill pays off immediately.
What follows is a realistic Iranian restaurant menu. the kind you’d see at a traditional restaurant in Tehran or Isfahan. broken down word by word. I’ll cover the dish categories, the description patterns, and the words that trip up non-native readers.
This is part of the reading practice series. The complete food vocabulary guide has 100+ words if you want the full list.
How Iranian Menus Work
Iranian restaurant menus follow a consistent structure that you can learn once and apply everywhere:
- پیشغذا (pish-ghazâ). Appetizers/starters
- نوشیدنی (nushidani). Drinks
- کبابها (kabâb-hâ). Kebabs (the main event)
- خورشها (khoresh-hâ). Stews (served with rice)
- پلوها (polo-hâ). Rice dishes
- دسر (deser). Dessert
Every main dish comes with rice (برنج, berenj) unless otherwise noted. Bread (نان, nân) is usually brought automatically.
The Menu
پیشغذا. Appetizers
| Farsi | Transliteration | English | What It Is |
|---|---|---|---|
| ماست و خیار | mâst-o-khiyâr | Yogurt & cucumber | Cold side dish, like tzatziki but thinner. Served with every meal. |
| سالاد فصل | salâd-e fasl | Seasonal salad | Tomato, cucumber, onion, lemon juice. Simple and fresh. |
| کشک بادمجان | kashk-e bâdemjân | Eggplant & whey dip | Smoky eggplant purée with fermented whey. Eaten with bread. |
| میرزا قاسمی | mirzâ ghâsemi | Smoked eggplant & tomato | Northern Iranian dish. Eggplant, tomato, garlic, eggs. Addictive. |
| زیتون پرورده | zeytun-e parvarde | Marinated olives | Olives with walnut, pomegranate paste, herbs. Northern specialty. |
نوشیدنی. Drinks
| Farsi | Transliteration | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| دوغ | dugh | Yogurt drink | Fizzy, salty, mint-flavored. THE kebab drink. |
| چای | châi | Tea | Always black. Sugar cubes on the side (nabât = rock candy). |
| آبمیوه طبیعی | âb-mive-ye tabi’i | Natural fruit juice | Tabi’i = natural/fresh (not from concentrate). |
| شربت | sharbat | Sweet drink | Rose water, saffron, or sour cherry flavored. |
کبابها. Kebabs
| Farsi | Transliteration | English | What It Is |
|---|---|---|---|
| کباب کوبیده | kabâb-e kubide | Koobideh | Ground lamb/beef on a flat skewer. Iran’s most popular kebab. |
| کباب برگ | kabâb-e barg | Barg kebab | Thin marinated lamb fillet. More expensive than koobideh. |
| جوجه کباب | juje kabâb | Chicken kebab | Saffron-marinated chicken. The safe choice. |
| کباب سلطانی | kabâb-e soltâni | Sultan’s kebab | One koobideh + one barg together. The royal combo. |
| شیشلیک | shishlик | Lamb chops | Bone-in lamb ribs. Grilled with saffron. |
Menu description pattern: You’ll often see سرو شده با برنج و گوجه کبابی (serv shode bâ berenj va goje-ye kabâbi). “served with rice and grilled tomato.” سرو شده با (serv shode bâ) = “served with” appears on almost every line.
خورشها. Stews
| Farsi | Transliteration | English | Key Ingredients |
|---|---|---|---|
| قورمه سبزی | ghorme sabzi | Herb stew | Herbs, kidney beans, dried lime, lamb. Iran’s national dish. |
| فسنجان | fesenján | Walnut-pomegranate stew | Ground walnuts, pomegranate paste, chicken or duck. |
| قیمه | gheyme | Split pea stew | Yellow split peas, tomato, lamb, dried lime. |
| آبگوشت | âbgusht | Traditional meat stew | Lamb, potatoes, chickpeas, tomato. Served in a stone pot. |
Reading tip: Stew descriptions often include همراه با برنج زعفرانی (hamrâh bâ berenj-e za’ferâni). “accompanied by saffron rice.” همراه با (hamrâh bâ) = “together with / accompanied by.”
پلوها. Rice Dishes
| Farsi | Transliteration | English | What It Is |
|---|---|---|---|
| زرشک پلو با مرغ | zereshk polo bâ morgh | Barberry rice with chicken | Saffron rice topped with tart barberries. Classic wedding food. |
| باقالی پلو | bâghâli polo | Lima bean rice | Rice with dill and lima beans. Often served with lamb shank. |
| سبزی پلو با ماهی | sabzi polo bâ mâhi | Herb rice with fish | Traditional Nowruz dish. Rice with fresh herbs + fried fish. |
| تهدیگ | tahdig | Crispy rice bottom | The golden crunchy rice from the bottom of the pot. Sacred. |
Key Menu Words to Memorize
These words appear on every Iranian menu:
| Farsi | Transliteration | English |
|---|---|---|
| پرس | pors | serving/portion |
| مخصوص | makhsus | special (larger portion) |
| ویژه | vizhe | special/premium |
| سرو شده با | serv shode bâ | served with |
| همراه با | hamrâh bâ | accompanied by |
| اضافه | ezâfe | extra/additional |
| نان اضافه | nân-e ezâfe | extra bread |
| قیمت | gheymat | price |
Reading the Numbers
Prices on Iranian menus use Persian numerals, which look different from Western digits:
| Persian | Western | Persian | Western |
|---|---|---|---|
| ۰ | 0 | ۵ | 5 |
| ۱ | 1 | ۶ | 6 |
| ۲ | 2 | ۷ | 7 |
| ۳ | 3 | ۸ | 8 |
| ۴ | 4 | ۹ | 9 |
A price of ۸۵۰,۰۰۰ = 850,000 rials = 85 toman. The numbers guide covers the full counting system and the rial/toman confusion.
Practice: Read This Menu
Try reading this menu section without looking at the vocabulary tables above. How much can you decode?
کباب کوبیده مخصوص. سرو شده با برنج زعفرانی، گوجه کبابی و کره. ۹۵۰,۰۰۰ ریال
جوجه کباب ویژه. همراه با برنج و سالاد فصل. ۱,۱۰۰,۰۰۰ ریال
قورمه سبزی. خورش سبزیجات معطر با لوبیا قرمز و لیمو عمانی، سرو شده با برنج. ۸۵۰,۰۰۰ ریال
If you got 80%+ of that, you can eat in Iran without pointing.
FAQ
Do Iranian restaurants have English menus?
What should I order at a Persian restaurant if I can’t read the menu?
What is tahdig and why do Iranians obsess over it?
Is Iranian food vegetarian-friendly?
What are Persian numbers on a menu and how do I read them?
A restaurant menu is the most immediately useful thing you can learn to read in Persian. Twenty words and you’ll never have to point at a menu again. The 50 travel phrases post covers the ordering dialogue side of the equation. Together, they make you self-sufficient in any Iranian restaurant. For deeper exploration of Persian cuisine, Wikipedia’s Iranian cuisine page covers the regional dishes and cooking traditions behind what you see on these menus.
Planning a trip to Iran? ZabanYar’s food vocabulary pack puts all these menu words into spaced-repetition flashcards you can drill before you go.