Austin’s Most Anticipated Restaurant Openings, Fall 2025 | Eater Austin

"Chef Amir Hajimaleki has been teasing Persian restaurant Roya with pop-ups since 2018, but now the restaurant finally has a home in the former Shortie’s Pizza + Grinders in North Shoal Creek. Chef Hajimaleki, who came to the U.S. from Iran at a young age, started Roya to explore his roots. The menu will rotate seasonally with some mainstays like the royal egg (a savory egg custard, caspian osetra caviar, labneh, and chive blossom), short rib ghormeh sabzi, kabobs, and kashk eh bademjan (eggplant dip), plus desserts from Dennis Van, Hajimaleki’s culinary partner who handles desserts for all of their restaurants. Roya’s full bar will feature drinks like an albaloo (sour cherry) margarita and a turmeric honey-infused whiskey sour, plus a wine list anchored in the Middle East region. The restaurant’s decor will incorporate Persian art like rugs, intricate paintings, and tile work, with the help of Shiraz Garden, a venue in Bastrop that Hajimaleki is also taking over with the hopes of eventually turning it into a Persian cultural center." - Erin Russell