by MARK SLUTSKY

I'd heard Tehran mentioned as the best authentic Iranian cuisine in town on a couple of occasions - "bazaar food," a friend intriguingly called it - so I thought I'd check it out. Aside from Laurier Avenue mainstay Byblos and a couple others, there's not much opportunity to get Iranian eats in town. And though all the dishes at Byblos are delicious, I've always thought of that restaurant as more of a brunch-and-hot-chocolate kind of place.

Tehran is nestled all by its lonesome on de Maisonneuve in NDG, just across from the Vendôme metro station. Though it's quite a big space, it has the feel of a small family restaurant. Despite the neutral dining room not being the coziest in town, the warm service and hearty food gives this eatery a comfortable air that goes beyond its décor.

It's pretty much all prix fixe all the time at Tehran. There are exactly seven choices on the menu, all of which come with soup or salad and tea. One of the choices is actually a combo of two of the other dishes, so we're really looking at six different things to eat. But nobody I ate with there was complaining because they were all very good things. The food came remarkably quickly, served hot and fresh.

Triangles of pita bread, little helpings of butter and sliced raw onion greet you as you sit down at the table, a tasty little way to start the meal, if it doesn't do wonders for your breath. After some hemming and hawing, I ordered the barg kebab ($15), a grilled, marinated brochette of filet mignon. For my appetizer I chose the soup, a good pick, as the salad was nice but not very interesting - greens, cucumbers, tomatoes.

The soup was fascinating. Unbelievably thick (the solid-to-broth ratio was off the scale), it was best described by my friend as a kind of Iranian minestrone, full of soft noodles, chick peas, beans and a beguiling mélange of seasonings we couldn't quite figure out. With a generous shaking of deep red, citrusy sumac spice, it had a warm and rich taste.

The kebab itself was perhaps the best dish of the night. Accompanied by a very healthy serving of basmati rice, the meat was so tender you could cut it with a fork. Similar, but perhaps not quite hitting the heights of the barg, was the kobideh kebab ($11), made of minced beef pressed into a sort of wavy shape. It had a bit of a spicy hamburger taste to it, and was quite yummy, though it paled in comparison to the barg.

The zereshk polo ($11) held up the poultry end of things in an admirable way. A leg (or breast, depending on your tastes) of chicken cooked in a tomato sauce, it blended in deliciously with the tangy red currants that were sprinkled all over the rice. The chicken was, like the berg, impressively tender, practically falling off the bone.

The one vegetarian dish offered was the mirza ghasemi ($11), a purée of eggplant, tomato and herbs. Served warm, it did feel a bit like an appetizer. It commingled nicely with the rice, and especially well with the remaining pita wedges left on the table.

If you should have the pleasure of dining at Tehran, don't forget to end your meal with their delicious Iranian ice cream ($4). The tasty dessert has the same rich colour as the saffron it's flavoured with, and it's dotted with pistachios and topped with a frozen strawberry. Like everything else, the serving is generous, filling up a big bowl and making this a dessert that's easy to split with your dining companion, although it's so good you may not want to.

Tehran
ADDRESS: 5065 de Maisonneuve W. (across from Vendôme metro)
PHONE: 488-0400
HOURS: 11:30 a.m.–11:30 p.m.
BEST FEATURES: The delicious barg filet mignon kebab and
the zereshk polo, a chicken dish cooked in a tomato sauce
ALCOHOL: No
WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: A half-flight of stairs up
VEGETARIAN FRIENDLY: Yes (but not a huge selection)
CREDIT CARDS: Yes
NO-SMOKING SECTION: Yes
PRICE: $11–$20 per person, before tip
RATING: *** out of ****