Bar Azita

You'll smell the charcoal grill before you even step through the door on Bucklersbury. The dining room feels genuinely Persian – not the sanitised version you get elsewhere – with copper details and warm lighting that makes every meal feel like a celebration. The kitchen doesn't mess about with fusion nonsense; this is proper Iranian cooking done with serious skill. The zereshk polo is worth the trip alone – jewelled rice so fragrant it perfumes your clothes, studded with barberries that pop like tiny cranberries. Their koobideh arrives still sizzling, the lamb minced to silk and seasoned with enough herbs to make your head spin. Book ahead on weekends because word's got out, and rightfully so.