"While the usual narrative when dining out is not to fill up on bread, at this Persian restaurant on a quiet street in Notting Hill, you absolutely should. Especially when that bread is fresh out of a clay oven and dipped in spicy mirza ghazemi. Hafez is a homely and endearing spot where your meal will be 70% dips, 25% buttery kebabs, and 5% pure charm. A huge part of Hafez’s appeal is that the interiors look like they belong on the set of a romcom starring Cameron Diaz—in a small town with a ruggedly handsome man she’s pretending to hate, duh. And it has the same feelgood energy. The spacious dining room has charming touches like rows of books underneath the benches along the side of the restaurant, and the kind of rusty-looking cutlery you’d find in the nice drawer of your grandparents’ house, hanging on the walls. There’s enough space that you can rely on it for a last-minute weeknight dinner, or often to rock up without a reservation. But you should know about the little nook at the front. It’s perfect for a three-way catch up, or an intimate date over salad-e olivieh and insisting they have the last piece of golden jujeh. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch At Hafez there’ll be couples who couldn’t get a space at Alounak down the road, and groups with a mission to order everything from the hot dips section, as well as lone diners who’ve popped in for a skewer of tender kubideh and a comforting guarantee that they’ll leave satisfied and full. One thing every table will have in common is the glorious, freshly baked Persian bread. Blistered, slightly charred bread that’s crispy in the middle, with thick doughy corners, pre-cut into easily accessible, addictive rectangles. Even if you’re only with one other person, you’ll be ordering a second basket 20 minutes into your starters. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Give us that freshly baked bread and we can get through an obscene amount of dips here. Blended, puréed, gently mashed with a fork—if it’s scoopable with a piece of warm bread, we will wipe that bowl clean. From cold, refreshing mast o khair, to salad-e olivieh that would make a great sandwich filling, and warm smoky kashk-e bademjan. But as much as we’d stan a dip-only meal, the grilled meats are also reliably good. The boneless chicken is charred and zesty, while the chenjeh, a middle neck fillet of lamb, is meaty and tender and comes with a mountain of saffron rice. So over-order on dips, don’t be shy to ask for another basket of bread, get some grilled meats, and always say yes to taking any leftovers home. We can confirm that the salad-e olivieh does indeed make an excellent sandwich filling. Food Rundown photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Freshly Baked Persian Bread This thin flatbread arrives warm, part crispy, part soft and doughy, and is the perfect vehicle for scooping, dipping, and shovelling the top-tier dips. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Mast o Khair This is one of the best versions of mast o khair we’ve ever had. Thick and refreshing, this yoghurt and cucumber dish contrasts nicely with the warmth of the taftoon bread, and is equally as great alongside a kebab and saffron rice. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Salad e Olivieh We’d like a huge bowl of this so we can keep it in our fridge and use it as a sandwich filling. A creamy, cold dip with diced chicken, eggs, potato, gherkins, olive oil, and mayonnaise all blended together—this is a firm favourite. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Kashk e Bademjan We refuse to leave Hafez without licking a bowl of this warm, smoky, stringy, aubergine dip clean. It should definitely be on your table. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Boneless Chicken This skewer of garlicky, zesty chicken is chargrilled on the outside and moist inside. photo credit: Aleksandra Boruch Soltani This is our must-order meat dish—it comes with one skewer of buttery, lightly spiced ground lamb, and another skewer of thinly sliced tender lamb loin fillet. A great mix that you won’t want to share." - Rianne Shlebak
