Absolutely wonderful food. We had hummus, baba ganoosh, tadziki sauce for appetizers. All of it delicious with fresh baked pita bread. We had a sampling of chicken, minced lamb, and lamb chops. Everything was excellent. The restaurant has a decent selection of beer and wine. I tried the saffron beer that was really tasty. read more

The service and the food was really great. The menu is really was to understand. Food was delicious. We ordered several appetizers and shared chicken kabobs. Lots of locals eating here so I figured it would be good. Did not disappoint. Would return and bring friends. read more

Hafez Restaurant - Menu - Persian/Iranian Near Me - London, XGL

This is now my go to Iranian food whenever I visit London. Can't recommend it enough. Definitely an improvement over the last time I was there. read more

Overall this place is fantastic! My friend and I got the veg and vegan food respectively and we could not be happier overall. I got the ash-e-mash and was so happy how savoury and tasty it was. Excellent portion size. I also got the kashk-e Bademjan and my God, how delicious it was. I literally moaned on how good it was. I got another order for takeaway. For the main my friend had the Bademjan and Fesenjan. She said the former was not the best she's had but we both agreed the Fesenjan was tasty. I got the Tahdig as well and while the price made me wince for dried rice, it was DELICIOUS and reminded me of childhood. The staff let us leisurely sit for hours. Incredible interior decor. read more

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This place really does deserve 5 stars. They did a very good job at upholding the Iranian tradition throughout the restaurant, and also kept the place quaint and unique in its own way. The food was delicious and was truly made with love. The reason why I give this place such a high rating is because of how much they cared about their customers' satisfaction. There was a hiccup in my meal/bill, but they reversed it immediately and did everything they could to make sure my friend and I were happy in the end. They even gave us complimentary baklava!! They wanted us to leave feeling happy and satisfied with the place, and we did! I will definitely come back because they truly put their customers first in that situation. Highly recommend. read more

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Hafez is charming. The decor is unique and very fun. The service is wonderful and attentive. And best of all the food is delicious! When we are next in London, we'll visit here again! read more

Loved this place! Delicious food, friendly staff, and a very quaint and beautiful atmosphere. I had the fesenjan and my friend had the joojeh and it was cooked perfectly! Highly recommend. read more

Excellent service and fantastic food. I had Fesenjoon, not too sweet and not too sour, and above all, not too oily...just perfect. I also had their salad Shirazi, very fresh and delicious. Don't forget to try their home made Pistachio saffron ice cream...it is made to perfection... not too sweet but creamy and aromatic just as it should be. read more

"The food in this restuarant is delicious , this restaurant is one of the best Irani at london .. Since 1983 .. They serve many selection of Iranian food such as ... Zeyton hafez , Dolmeh , charcoal grilled speciality kababs , khoresht - Persian Slow cooked Dish ( vegetarian khoresht ) , Bamieh , khoresht with chicken & lamb as well as fish ( Persian Style ) , Grilled salmon and side dishes such as vegetable kabab & zereshk .. All in all , great restaurant for lunch time and dinner don't miss it " read more

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What a perfect little find! We came here after a cozy date in The Lounge at the nearby posh Odeon. I was a little hesitant to try it since I know I cook this kind of food pretty well myself, but I was bowled over by the cute decor. I love that I saw a couple of things immediately - the quirky cutlery on the walls and the books visible through the floor-adjacent panels - but other stuff revealed itself to me slowly. The pics on the ceiling and the book-lamp-shades were especially cool. The flat-bread was perfect (baked in house) and the aubergine dip was silky and and vibrant in the mouth. I also loved that they had sweets on display at the front; when we were leaving I asked the names, as they had items that looked so much like the Indian ones I am used to (Jalebi for example!) and they insisted I sample some for free. The kind of service one has to rave about! read more

My second visit to Hafez , a group of 3 we ordered Fasanjoon, Veggie (with aubergine ) , with chicken and Badenjan. It was very good . I liked the Veggie option, you can almost never go wrong with eggplant. The Fasanjoun was well balanced and the service was good, highly recommended! Sorry for adding photos, but Fasenjoun is not the most photogenic of plates ! ( besides , sometimes hunger gets in the way ) read more

Best Persian restaurant in town! Been going there for the past 15-20 years.This restaurant has set the bar very high, no other places in london come close. Even in New York and LA, where they have Iranian communities, nothing beats Hafez. It's not a fancy restaurant but the food and service is good. It is best to book before going. To start i reccomend, the bread (which is freshly baked) and mast o khiar (yogurt with cucomber and mint), other starters are good but this is nice and light. If you have a bigger group, order the tadiq, the cruchy part of the rice with some stew on it, very tasty. Main courses, the kubideh (lamb kabab), the joojeh kabab (marinated chicken served on or off the bone, both are great), or maybe a stew like ghormeh sabzi or gheimeh bademjan, all of which are served with rice. For dessert, mint tea and baklava. Overall, the food is very good and it's not that expensive. If you're in town, check it out! read more

I've only just moved to London, liked this place and review it. Then I found out that out my grandparents and uncles been coming here since the nineties! On their London trips. Now that's CONSISTENCY in quality. read more

Hafez Restaurant - Feels like Alice in wonderland of Persia in here. - Persian/Iranian Near Me - London, XGL

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Love this place! The lamb eggplant stew and the grilled meats are to die for, and the started dishes of dips with the crunchy bread are really delish! You can have a full on dinner for about 20 pounds per person, which is not too shabby! the decor is also super cute and cozy, makes you feel like you're right at home, but with superb food! see pictures of this amazing place and read my full review! http://peoplewhoalwayseat.wordpress.com/2012/12/02/hafez-persian-restaurant-bayswater/ read more

Eaten here a few times with the family. Popped in today for some broad bean & dill rice, a regular Sunday special at Iranian restaurants. The rice was was not the best, due to being reheated I guess. Flavours were good, just overdone. Was pleased to see a choice of three vegetarian stews. It's unusual for Iranian restaurants to have any vegetarian mains. I had Ghorme Sabzi, made with fresh parsley, chives, fenugreek, dried lime and kidney beans. This dish is normally made with lamb, but works well without it. read more

Mix feelings. The place is nice and the staff friendly even though they were overwhelmed on a Friday evening and kept forgetting and mixing up orders. The mezas were very nice, served with warm bread, but I'm going to say a loud NO on the hummus (I lived in the Middle East for far too long to accept bad hummus). For mains, the stews were good and the grilled chicken really tender and flavourful but served with rice is just too dry. Tried the saffron as well as the pomegranate ice cream, both not great, too much cream not enough flavour. The overall experience was ok, but I don't think I will go back read more

It is expensive. However, the food is good and the atmosphere feels perfect for a friendly or romantic dinner at night. It is vegetarian friendly, and probably could be vegan friendly if you specifically ask for the removal of certain sauces. read more

My favorite Persian restaurant in the neighborhood. Fun decor, great Service, good choice even for a vegan.

I wish Hafez would have put as much effort into their 'service' as they did into hanging the silverware that adorns their walls. Delicious food, although their tah-dig was dry, crispy and flavorless. Horrendous service, nonexistent, lazy and lifeless waiters. I was recommended this restaurant by fellow food enthusiasts...and while the kebabs were stellar and the olivieh was rather decent - the shirazi though was bland and desperate as was the waiters...and to add insult to injury upon leaving and complimenting the owner on a delicious meal we couldnt help but mention the the lack of service. Only to be told that our 'intimacy' got in the way of the waiters attention. Come on, Hafez! Crack a smile, ask us if we want another beer, dont look like you are on a death watch at old peoples home! read more

Thought it was Overrated. I had read all these great reviews and had high expectations. Portions were fairly small, and staff were somewhat aloof. Food tasted ok but not great. Place was clean and ambience was quaint. I asked for dessert, the server was not too keen in recommending any!! I ordered one anyway, and now I understand why! read more

HAFEZ is the most delicious parisian restaurant in London .l'm a customer since 90's every time I visit London i insist to visit the resturant read more

One of my favourite Persian restaurants in London. Nothing better on a summer day than to get a table outside, order a few starters and the Sunday lamb special. One of the few Persian restaurants that also serves wine. Their house red is quite good. Enjoy! PS - Still got room for a dessert. Have the rose water sorbet with Persian tea. read more

Disappointing. Our hotel was nearby, and the reviews looked promising, but it was just not good at all. We ordered hummus appetizer, lamb kebabs with salad, and the chicken khoresht, supposedly a signature dish. We picked a rioja from the modest but reasonable wine list, and asked for glasses of water. The hummus came with flat bread, and both were very good which is why I am giving two stars instead of one. The lamb kebabs were suspiciously symmetrical shaped which often means a frozen packaged product, which it resembled. And the salad had no dressing. When this was pointed out to the server, he grabbed the oil and vinegar bottles from another table. Not expected in this type of restaurant. The chicken khoresht was several small pieces of thigh meat in a sweetish, not particularly good sauce. Finally, the wine never arrived but a bottle of still water did, so that had to do. Do I need to point out the service was lacking? The only evidence of saffron, or anything else in the saffron rice was a streak of yellow on top of it. Which means that there really wasn't any saffron in most of it. Just bland rice. The bill arrived and only then did we realize that an order of hummus means you also have to pay extra for the bread, and asking for a glass of water means you have to buy a bottle of still water. This place just isn't worth visiting, extremely disappointing. read more

Hafez is easily up there with London's other stand out Persian restaurant, Alounak (see my review). For my money, despite the service suffering at peak times, both are worth a wait if you've been silly enough not to book in advance. They excel in producing the tastiest kebab dishes in the capital sub £15pp. An excellent skewer of Koobideh is the benchmark to which every Persian restaurant must adhere and Hafez definitely delivers. You can get 2 skewers for 8. Start with the obligatory bread with yoghurt and mirza ghasemi/hummus to share. If you're feeling a bit piggy, for a main I'd recommend ordering Chenjeh Koobideh i.e. 2 skewers of the most tender succulent lamb fillet you'll find anywhere and 1 skewer of mouthwatering Koobideh. Finish with either Saffron Ice Cream or Rosewater Sorbet (or both to share) and then cleanse your pallet with a cup of tea. The downside with Hafez is, unlike Alounak, it's not a BYO. The wine selection is fine and there are a few winners in there but, aside from a new Persian beer that launched at the end of last year, the largers on offer are distinctly uninspiring Becks, Stella or Budwiser. All in all, starters, mains and desert shouldn't set you back more than £25-30pp before drinks. read more

A sizeable chunk of the Persian upper classes fled to Kensington after the revolution of 1979 and it still sports a sizeable Iranian community, with quite a few Iranian restaurants in the area. My Persian friend Meysam has been to most of these restaurants, and has taken me to the wonderful Mohsen many times, but I was keen to try somewhere different. Hafez is a tiny restaurant with only 10 tables and very unusual decor - a range of antique spoons clutter the walls and a teacup sculpture doubles as a lampshade. The service seems typical of London Persian restaurants - it could never be described as friendly but is generally efficient. I started with a swig of Persian saffron beer (£3.90 - brewed in the UK), which was really interesting, with a strong (but not unpleasant) saffron aftertaste. Iranian starters generally consist of bread and dips; the Hafez menu is no exception: we tried Mirza Ghasemi (£4.50) and Mast-o Mousir (£3.50), which are both aubergine based - one with garlic, the other saffron. The bread was light with a crisp outer layer and was certainly freshly made (though unfortunately it was not quite as good as at Mohsen, which has a clay oven in the dining room and the bread is made before your very eyes). Kebabs and stews are the mainstays of Persian cuisine and Hafez offers numerous versions of these. The highlight of our kebab platter (£28) was the chicken which was perfectly cooked and extremely succulent; the lamb chops were made of good quality meat and were nicely moist; however, unfortunately our lamp chops were a bit overdone. These meats were all served without sauce or strong seasoning, allowing the natural flavours to dominate. I am a great fan of the stews made by my Persian friend, so I think it would be hard for me to praise any restaurant offering, but even considering this, I was disappointed with the lamb stews we ordered (Ghormeh Sabzi £9.50 and Gheimeh £9.50). The meat was melt in the mouth but the flavour was listless and unblanced: dried limes dominating the former and saffron the latter. Our saffron ice cream (another Persian staple) was certainly homemade but the texture was not perfect, with quite a few ice crystals lending an unpleasant crunch. Verdict If you want to try Persian food then Hafez is not a bad option, but I think that the food at Mohsen is far better. read more

We came here after reading excellent reviews. How dissappinting. We had some warm eggplant purée which was bland, the house salad which was Feta cheese and wAlnut which was basically a bunch of salad ingredients placed in a bowl. Not mixed herbed or dressed. Some olives which were ok at best. The main course was fish which was border line burnt and dry. The famous Persian rice was also bit bland. Perhaps the chef forgot to use salt and saffron?! The bread was ok. The staff are neither friendly . Cannot c how the other dishes would fare better. Avoid this place. Only saving grace is nice decor inside and good size portions. Why do they play Greek music? read more

Always a pleasure to eat here. The portions are generous, the prices reasonable and the food delicious. Do have the youghurt and mint drink which goes perfectly with the cuisine. read more

We were visiting London from the US where we have an abundance of Persian restaurants and this little gem was just as good if not better. The Persian food is absolutely amazing along with great service. I highly recommend this place. Very cute and corky decor. The ghormeh sabzi was on point. Very reasonably priced for the quality. read more