Shiraz is a beautiful and pretty spacious Persian restaurant down at Surfers Paradise. I would say it's on the edge of Surfers but really I am bad with maps. It seems to be on the edge of the CBD though!
I was really really excited to try this place out because I have never had Persian/Iranian food before!
My family and I came here after spending the morning at Wet n Wild so we were all very hungry!
Outdoor seating area
The interiors are very spacious and feel quite cosy. I think its all the wood and brick. There's also this gorgeous artwork on the wall!
You can see the tram pass by sometimes out the front but don't worry it's not that noisy at all
The waitresses were sooooo bubbly and friendly! They were very accommodating, helped me pronounce the difficult names of the dishes, made conversation, unpretentious (sometimes I feel we get awkward service because we're Asian.. but not here thankfully!), were all smiles and I thought it was really cool how one of the girls explained to us what one of the spices on the table were (it was this spice called "sumac" btw, we thought it was ground up tamarind because of the unique tangy, sweet and sour taste). Oh and they had the cutest accents!
First up some entrees...
Salad with iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber & dressing
- This isn't on their usual menu so I don't know how much it would cost, I assume $5
- I commend it on its freshness but it wasn't very tasty. Iceberg lettuce already has practically no taste and the dressing was kind of strange. It tasted like hummus but more bitter. Yeah didn't really bring the salad together sadly.. we all left this half-eaten and if you know me and my parents, we really try to make an effort to eat everything on our table..
Lebanese bread w/ dips (hummus, mast-o-khiar, mast-o-musir) $5-6 each dip
- HAHA the relief when we could stop nibbling on the salad and start with some carbs!
- The hummus was great, but the mast-o-khiar (yogurt, cucumber, mint) and mast-o-musir (yogurt with a boost from scallions) both sadly only tasted like plain yogurt
Harrys: Joojeh Kabob (marinated boneless chicken) w/ Saffron rice & Grilled Tomatoes $17
- I had a bite of this and it was deliccciiiiooooussss
Annes: Chelo Koobideh (grilled mince lamb) w/ Saffron rice & Grilled Tomatoes $17
- The menu says this is a "Persian favourite" and its really good as well!
My dish: Gheymeh (tomato sauce stew with lamb chunks, yellow split peas, dried lime, Persian spices) w/ Saffron rice $16
- Hahahaha had a good laugh when this was set on the table because is that the French Fries potato chips on top? But I see on Google it's actually common to serve this stew with fried potato on top!
- I'm very happy with this dish, it's so hearty and lovely and nothing is overpowering to the taste
Moms: Ghormeh Sabzi (herb stew with lamb chunks, diced tomato, red kidney beans, dried lime) w/ Saffron rice $16
- My mom was very disappointed with this dish. It might partially be because of the way it looks and secondly because there sooo much beans. Honestly it's not an attractive stew HAHAHA
- Taste wise this is also hearty but unlike the Gheymeh, it feels like its lacking something that brings all the ingredients together..
Dads: Vegetarian Fesenjan (sauteed mushrooms, pomegranate paste, ground walnuts, honey, Persian spices) w/ Saffron rice $18
- DID YOU NOTICE? This vegetarian dish costs the same as a non vegetarian dish!
- This was actually so delicious though!! My favourite tbh. The pomegranate and honey really shine through and go so well with the spices and you almost forget there's no meat in the dish because you're so busy enjoying it. That's really how I felt when eating this!
- The saffron rice was so fragrant and fluffy in all the dishes!
Hot Persian Tea w/ sugar cubes on the side
- Okay I don't know the price of this but I'm guessing it can't be more than $5
- The waitresses forgot to bring this out at first and were a bit confused when we asked
- It's black tea essentially but we all disagreed on which kind of black tea. I think that it's some sort of Earl Grey (my fav!) and my dad thinks it's English Breakfast tea. Maybe it's a blend of all of them?
Loved my experience at Persian cuisine! This is a must try :)
TL;DR
Price: It's a bit expensive
Service: Very friendly but a bit unattentive
Quality: Superbbbb
Ambience: Cosy and nice
Shiraz Authentic Persian Restaurant
3106 Surfers Paradise Blvd,
Gold Coast
Surfers Paradise QLD 4217
