Do not be deterred by the patterned red carpet lining the entrance: it pops out into a bright, airy dining room filled with diners sharing char-grilled skewers and buttered basmati rice. Baroque-style chairs add a royal touch to this popular restaurant in a pocket of Little Persia filled with Iranian butchers, pastry shops and late-night grocers.

Each table is graciously welcomed with plates of bread (baked to order), feta, walnuts and mint, before it becomes a choose-your-own-adventure. Skewers of grilled chicken, lamb backstrap or seasoned minced lamb grace most tables, but the traditional stews promise fragrant rewards: the lamb ghormeh sabzi is scented with dried limes; the chicken fesenjoon is rich and tangy with walnuts and pomegranate.

Lovers of scorched rice, meanwhile, should veer towards the tahchin gharch bademjan for a golden-crusted extravaganza layered with mushrooms and eggplant. Roll out the red carpet.

Must-order dish: The fesenjoon, for rich, fall-off-the-bone chicken braised in a tangy walnut and pomegranate sauce

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