For the uninitiated, the Toronto Iranian Plaza, located at Yonge Street and Centre Avenue, is one of the most densely packed groups of Persian restaurants and food stores in Ontario. “Tehranto” is an oft-used nickname for the area on Yonge that stretches from Finch to
Following the 1979 Iranian Revolution and the Iran–Iraq War, immigration to Toronto from Iran jumped in the ’80s. There are now more than 40,000 Iranian-Canadians in the GTA.
According to the 2011 census, Persian (or Farsi) is the second most prominent mother tongue, after English, in around a dozen of Toronto’s official neighbourhoods. Many of these are clustered around Yonge Street, between Finch and Steeles.
Here are the top places to head for authentic Persian eats.
Tah Deeg
Just south of Finch on Yonge, Tah Deeg is an ideal setting for an immersive introduction to Persian food.
Koobideh — a skewer of ground beef or lamb mixed with onions and spices and served on long grain rice with a packet of butter — is on almost every menu along the strip. Particularly good here, it comes either “juicy” or “well done,” but the former is an obvious choice.
The tomato-based stews, particularly the eggplant and veal versions, are hearty enough to stand up to blustery October evenings. 5525 Yonge St., 416-225-1688
(IMAGE: DAVID ORT)
Altona Kabob
What Altona lacks in ambience — it’s as if someone set up a takeout counter and a set of easily hosed-down tables and chairs in a forgotten corner of a little-used subway station — it makes up for on the food side.
Kebabs are the strong specialty of the Persian takeout joint, and the Altona Kabob platter is the obvious choice here. The meat trio of steak cubes, chunks of dark chicken meat and beef koobideh has a nuanced spiciness and succulence that only comes from cooking to order. 6099 Yonge St., 647-348-1067
BB Cafe
A serene oasis in an otherwise hectic plaza, the family-owned BB Café sells a rainbow of Persian baked goods, ice cream made in-house and plated desserts.
Persian black tea and vanilla cake — or the sugar-soaked fried pastry called zoolbia — make an ideal eat-in snack. But the box of the almond- or pistachio-covered cookies and a slice of the custard Napoleon are what you want to take home. 6095 Yonge St., 416-505-5855
(IMAGE: DAVID ORT)
Khorak Supermarket
North York’s best Persian supermarket is just one block north of the plaza. They have a counter of hot dishes (more kebabs, stews and grilled vegetables), but it’s better to venture into the aisles of this two-room grocery store.
Almost every basket and cart in the store carries a loaf or two from the on-site bakery, which specializes in flatbreads, like the traditional, whole-wheat sangak, the thin and blistered tuftoon or the loftier, white-flour barbary bread.
For sweets, they have good baklava, and the walnut cookies are large enough to feed four. Many shelves are devoted to torshi (that would be Persian for pickles) and specialized ingredients like dried limes along with a wonderfully large selection of bulk nuts. 6125 Yonge St., 416-221-7558
North
North (Shomal in Farsi) is located in one of the plazas that line the north side of Steeles at Yonge. It offers the most formal, sit-down atmosphere of the group.
The menu is built around cuisine from the parts of Iran that hug the Caspian Sea and border Azerbaijan. Many of the restaurant’s best appetizers — like the kashke bademjan and the kalkabab — feature eggplant prominently.
Meanwhile, mains like the broiled “North special chicken” and the kebab torsh (dressed in pomegranate and walnut paste) are popular choices for sharing. 100 Steeles Ave. W., Unit 27, 905-881-7704
