Saffron & smokeMenuFamily recipes
Every plate begins with rice, washed three times, the way Maman taught us.
The Sofreh Menu
$46.90
Build a feast for two: one starter, one main and one dessert, served with saffron rice, sabzi khordan herbs, bread and tea.
Add a second main and two sides for $18.50.
I.
Choose any ONE starter
II.
Choose any ONE main
From kabobs, stews or vegetarian plates.
III.
Choose any ONE dessert
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Lunch Specials
Available Tuesday–Friday, 11 AM — 3 PM
A complete midday meal on one tray: two stews, a side and bread, finished with a glass of tea.
Anar Lunch Tray (Sini) — $17.50
Choose Two
Choose One
Choose One
Choose One
Starters
Bread, herbs and small plates to pass around while the grill heats.
A platter of fresh herbs, radishes, walnuts and feta with warm barbari: the start of every Persian table.
Smoky eggplant with whey, fried mint, caramelised onion and walnuts.
Charred eggplant and tomato folded with garlic and egg, from the Caspian north.
Thick yoghurt with cucumber, mint, raisins and dried rose petals.
Cucumber, tomato and red onion with lime, dried mint and olive oil.
Herb, bean and noodle soup topped with kashk, crispy onion and mint oil.
A frittata that is mostly herbs, with barberries and walnuts, served at room temperature.
Grape leaves stuffed with rice, herbs and minced beef, braised sweet and sour.
Roasted butternut squash with whey, fried mint and toasted walnuts.
Spinach and garlic folded into thick yoghurt, finished with saffron oil.
Kabobs
Grilled to order over hardwood charcoal, served with saffron rice, grilled tomato and sumac.
Two skewers of hand-minced beef and lamb with grated onion.
Saffron-lemon chicken thighs on the flat skewer.
Filet mignon pounded thin and marinated in onion and saffron.
The sultan's plate: one barg and one koobideh.
French-cut lamb chops marinated in onion, lemon and saffron.
Chunks of marinated lamb tenderloin with grilled peppers and onion.
A whole Cornish hen, halved, in saffron and lemon, the way Baba likes it.
Mushrooms, peppers, zucchini and halloumi with herb butter.
Gilan-style beef with pomegranate molasses, walnuts and wild herbs.
Koobideh, joojeh, barg and chenjeh for four, with two rices and grilled vegetables.
Stews
Khoresh simmered from morning, served with steamed saffron rice and a piece of tahdig.
Herbs, kidney beans, dried limes and beef, cooked for six hours.
Chicken in walnut and pomegranate molasses.
Yellow split peas, beef and dried lime, topped with crispy potato straws.
Silky fried eggplant and lamb in a tomato and saffron sauce with sour grapes.
Celery and beef with parsley and mint, bright and sour.
The vegetarian version: eggplant and split peas, no meat.
Chicken with golden prunes and saffron, sweet, sour and slow.
Lamb and quince in a cinnamon-saffron sauce, an autumn favourite.
Lamb, chickpea and potato stew served in two courses, broth first, mashed after.
Isfahan's saffron yoghurt dessert-stew with lamb, served cold.
Polo & Rice
Long-grain rice, washed, soaked and steamed the slow way, with a crust to fight over.
Saffron chicken with barberry, pistachio and orange-peel rice.
Six-hour lamb shank with dill and fava-bean rice.
Sour-cherry rice layered with tiny meatballs, ruby and sweet.
Wedding rice: candied orange, carrots, almonds and pistachios, with chicken.
The crust from the bottom of the pot, topped with the stew of your choice.
A plate of steamed basmati with a crown of saffron grains.
Green-bean and tomato rice with spiced beef, a weeknight classic.
Baked saffron rice cake with yoghurt and chicken, crisp on every side.
Seafood
From the Persian Gulf and the Caspian kitchens: herbs, tamarind and smoke.
The Nowruz dish: pan-crisped white fish over herbed rice with garlic and lime.
Southern fish stew with tamarind, fenugreek and a lot of cilantro.
Saffron and lime salmon from the grill, with dill rice.
Shrimp and spiced rice from Bushehr, with dates and fried onion.
Whole branzino stuffed with herbs, walnuts and sour plum, roasted.
Saffron and lime shrimp skewers with garlic butter and dill rice.
Breads & Sides
Baked through the evening and brought warm to the table.
Long, dimpled bread with sesame and nigella.
Wholewheat flatbread baked on hot pebbles.
Thin and soft, for wrapping kabob.
House pickles: aubergine, carrot, garlic and herbs, aged three months.
Charred over coals with salt and sumac.
Seven-year garlic pickled in balsamic: soft, sweet, black.
Soft round bread from the clay oven.
Hand-cut fries, sumac salt and garlic yoghurt.
Persian potato and chicken salad with pickles and peas.
A small bowl of cold yoghurt soup with cucumber and herbs.
Vegetarian
Persian cooking has always loved its vegetables; these plates are mains, not afterthoughts.
A large plate with herbs, bread and a soft egg.
With saffron rice and a Shirazi salad.
Eggplant, split peas and tomato with saffron, no meat.
Lentil rice with dates, raisins and toasted almonds.
Charcoal-grilled vegetables and halloumi with herb butter.
Saffron potato cakes with yoghurt and herbs.
Turmeric rice with fava beans and dill, topped with a fried egg.
Pomegranate soup with herbs, split peas and tiny rice balls.
Desserts
Sweet, floral and never too heavy; best with a glass of tea.
Saffron and rose ice cream with pistachios and frozen cream shards.
Frozen rose-water vermicelli with sour cherry and lime.
Saffron rice pudding with cinnamon and slivered almonds.
Crisp fritters soaked in rose syrup, the Ramadan favourite.
Cardamom and almond baklava from Yazd, light and dry.
Almond cake with cardamom, rose and lemon glaze.
Isfahan nougat and saffron brittle, for the table with tea.
Saffron and rose-water halva with pistachio dust.
Drinks
From cold doogh and sharbat to saffron cocktails and a short wine list.
Zero proof
Cocktails
By the glass
By the bottle