Review Hafez Persian Restaurant - Richmond

What an experience. Love the ambience, feels like you're in the middle east. The food was on point too, the meat tender and yummy!! We had tea after the main meal which was also different and i loved it (it was like rose tea, rose petals in the tea served with sugar cubes). Would definitely be back!!

The place looks absolutely from 1980s Middle East theme. There is also this stench in the air, especially when you go towards WC. I am not sure how to describe it but it was not too disturbing. The food was good. Their Mirza entree was good. Normally you will have salt and paper shakers on top of the table. Here you have salt and sumac. Waiter and the maître d'hôtel was very polite and welcoming. I will visit Hafez once again.

A little part of Iran in Melbourne. Kebabs are excellent, so are the other dishes with a good variety to choose from. Tea is a must afterwards. Will appeal to non Iranians too, sampling tasty Iranian food without actually visiting Iran!

Delicious food. An amazing vibe! The service was great, The owner is so lovely and welcoming you feel like your a guest in his home! Definitely recommend, the chelo kebab hit the spot too. Will be taking friends and colleagues here to give them a little taste of the Persian experience! Merci!!!!

Delicious food and nice vibes, loved the interiors of this place...I had chicken with pomegranate molasses and it was delicious

A wonderful place and friendly staff. Regarding the food: We ordered Juje (chicken), Barg (lamb) and koobide (mince) kebabs with rice. The kebabs were all tender. However they should have been a little bit saltier. Generally the taste of Barg and Koobide kebabs were not that great since the lamb meat is different to what we have in Iran (Australian sheep breed is different). The rice could have been Iranian grown which is available in Australia. I expected a generous amount of lemon and tomato.

Lovely little spot, very yummy food. Service was good, nice to see employees speak farsi.

Hands down the best Persian restaurant in Australia. The food is amazing and the customer service is excellent. If you looking to try real Persian food this place is the real deal.

Nice Persian restaurant with really cool interiors, feels very authentic and staff are friendly. It is slightly pricey but it definitely is filling.<br/><br/>Unfortunately a few of the dishes we wanted to try were not available. But would recommend getting the skewers - super delicious, flavourful and soft. The eggplant starter is also worth trying! Also love a good side of Persian rice 🙏

I suggest everyone who wants to taste an excellent food, try this stunning environment. <br/>You would have an unforgettable time in line with having delicious food. <br/>Thank you

I’m not picky when it comes to Persian food and Hafez delivered all the authentic Persian flavours to me. However, the management should really train their staff better. <br/><br/>Entered on a Saturday evening expecting somebody to greet us or take us to our table since I made reservations but we were just standing around with no staff paying any attention to us. Our table was “reserved” near the DJ’s station with the speakers right next to my brother’s ears. The table wasn’t even ready. <br/><br/>Without anybody apologising or offering us a different table, the DJ started to play some extremely loud tracks for a birthday party that was taking place in there. Our ear drums were nearly raptured by the constant thumping from the very close speakers. I do understand that it was someone’s party and it needed to be lit but come on, we were trying to enjoy a nice family dinner not party. <br/><br/>The evening got worse when they not dimmed, but straight up turned off most of the restaurant’s lights including each table’s for the disco lights to show... Are you serious? what is this a Nightclub?<br/>We literally ate the rest of our dinner in complete darkness with the birthday family’s kids running around, screaming & wrecking havoc. We got the heck out of there without even finishing.<br/><br/>I understand that Saturday evenings are peak hours and it’s tricky to get a table. My review would have been much more positive if a staff member had asked us whether we were comfortable there or at least offered an apology for seating us at an uncomfortable location. <br/><br/>Food is only half of it; the rest is about the way a customer is treated.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>

An Iranian friend brought us here for dinner one night and for my first taste of Persian cuisine, I was really impressed! We tried a selection of dishes and walked away very full and very happy.<br/><br/>The eggplant entree was delicious but we found it to be very oily underneath. The Persian bread (similar to naan) was tasty and fresh.<br/><br/>There was a specialty dish of baked rice with a layer of chicken in the middle, this was my favourite. On its own, the filling was a little bit dry but the baked, crispy part of the rice was absolutely delicious!!<br/><br/>The skewers were tasty and cooked well, we all preferred the saffron chicken to the lamb. Unfortunatley the stew we ordered, did not suit my taste as I found it too sour. There also was not very much lamb in the stew, which was a shame because the pieces we did find were very tender.<br/><br/>Entertainment-wise, a very talented bellydancer came out and was great at getting us and other diners involved. This was a really fun surprise and made this a very memorable dinner. Would recommend but best to come with someone who knows about Persian cuisine because it might be difficult to navigate the menu otherwise.

The food is absolutely outstanding to say the least!<br/>⁣Wanting to try this restaurant experience for a very long time. Finally we made it to enjoy the beautiful traditionally furnished restaurant in Richmond. ⁣The furnishing is absolutely outstanding. I was in love with the fit-out - honestly felt like I was in Iran.<br/> <br/>DJ and singer at 830 pm on a Saturday to really embrace the traditional Persian atmosphere and to have a dance. ⁣<br/>May I add we were the only non-Persian table that night which I absolutely loved! This really showed the authenticity of the restaurant. Even had people coming up to us speaking Farsi thinking we were Persian too! <br/><br/>If you don't like too much noise - best to visit earlier before 8.30pm. It's also a beautiful peaceful vibe before the DJ. <br/><br/>As I celebrated my birthday at this restaurant what I loved is the restaurant catered super well for us. I had a very large booking and to my fault I got the numbers wrong. The restaurant was packed but the staff still managed to pull a table out and accommodate for us! <br/><br/>BYO wine is also a huge plus for a gathering which we really liked. <br/><br/>🍴: Shahi - lamb backstrap & chicken skewers served with steamed saffron rice and a grilled tomato 🍅 ⁣🍴: Barg - one skewer of tender lamb blackstrap served with steamed saffron rice and a grilled tomato 🍅 ⁣🍴: Baghali Polo Ba Mahiche - Steamed saffron rice cooked with fresh dill and broadbeans served with chicken in a tomato sauce with saffron ⁣⁣<br/>💰: $$$ - finer dining<br/><br/>The service is outstanding and highly recommend to visit this restaurant as overall it truly is a gem of a find.⁣<br/><br/>Honestly can't wait to come back! <br/><br/>Follow Melbourne Culture Eats on Instagram & Facebook for all of the best world eats within Melbourne!

If one tries to dig through the rich history, culture, flavours and tastes of Persia, it would not be an exaggeration to say that there are not many Irani-Persian restaurants to cater the cuisine, however one such place is on Bridge Road in Richmond that captures most of all and that is Hafez!!!<br/><br/>The dining room is spacious, well decorated, well light, warm and admist the medivial - contemporary decore. Kudos to the ambience.3/5<br/><br/>Bar and wine list is decent offering a horizon of soft drinks, wines and spirits. 3/5<br/><br/>We tried the Tabouleh which was a simple but tasty bulgur parsley with finely chopped spring onions, tomatoes, mint served on lettuce in a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice 3/5<br/><br/>For mains we tried the Shahi platter which was a combination of chicken kebab and lamb strips - although the saffron taste was missing- rice was partly yellow in colour but not saffron rice as one would expect Irani rice to be- place of Saffron.Chicken was juicy but lamb was bit dry and seemed chewy. 3/5<br/><br/>Service was extraordinary- we had 2 waiters- a persian and a brazilian and both were extremely warm, well informed with the cuisine who were able explain the gastronomy of Persian food 4/5.<br/><br/>Heavy with tasty meals we could not request for a sweet dish, next time it shall be💐<br/><br/>Revisit: Yes

The best Persian restaurant in Melbourne that I’ve ever been too, friendly staff, nice atmosphere, amazing design, great food;) highly recommended.

The location and interior design of the restaurant are perfect. Delicious Persian food coming with great customer service. Highly recommended.

The restaurant itself looks good, however, the service was shocking. The staff are incredibly rude, which made the experience incredibly unpleasant. Went for a nice enjoyable experience only to have a stressful, cold dinner...

Beautifully decorated Restaurant, friendly and attentive staff. Kebabs were delicious, would recommend to family and friends and will return soon :-)

Great food. Everything we ordered was delicious. Dips, kebabs, stews and desserts were all great. Cool decor and nice atmosphere midweek. A little pricey but unsurprising for the area. Would recommend.

Friendly staff<br/>Nice decoration<br/>All different kebabs taste delicious <br/>Rice is good<br/>Dips are also good <br/>Bread was also nice <br/>B.Y.O also available<br/>I’ve been here a few times and will be back here for more kabab

Probs best Persian in Victoria, great lamb mince and lamb back. Awesome service and good authentic decor. Wish they also had bonab kebab (lamb mince marinated in saffron) which is hard to find. Also is byob which is good as wine and kebab go together like burgers and fries.

Went to Hafez with a couple of Persian friends for dinner. Totally fell in love with the decor, the music and the atmosphere. The staff was friendly and polite, service was fast considering it was a very busy Saturday night! The food was good, but not amazing (only because I've been to a few Persian restaurants). We still had a great time. But I'm not sure if I'd want to go back. If you want a quiet date or be able to make conversation, this is not the place to go to! There's loud music and dancing :)

غذا بسیار خوشمزه و عالی است. کارمندان بسیار مودب و خوش اخلاق هستند و فضای رستوران بسیار زیباست. تنها ایرادی که وجود دارد موزیک بسیار زیاد و با صدای بلند هست که خصوصابرای مهمانان خارجی چندان خوش ایند نیست.

Oh my Persian food! Was craving for some Persian dinner and luckily Bridge Road has one of its authentic Persian food. I was exposed to Persian culture with le boyfriend who best buds are Iranians. We did experienced a fair share of Iranian home-cooked meal and Hafez was a near to what we expected.<br/><br/>It was a cold night so we ordered a pot of Persian tea for sharing. We also asked whether we can have Koobideh by itself and they do it besides as main dish with rice. This is our second time coming here for dinner and service is always friendly. Last round I had Zereshk Polo; my all time favourite. This time, I tried Montaz as I quoted from their menu; “A delicious combination of a skewer of minced lamb and a skewer of marinated chicken breast, served with steamed saffron rice and grilled tomato” whilst boyfriend had the Koobideh, again, as I quote from their menu “Two skewers of finely seasoned hand mince lamb served with steamed saffron rice and grilled tomato”. <br/><br/>It was a decent meal. Both meat were indeed finely seasoned and grilled to my liking. I like that they put green chilli on the side on my meal to have some spicyness. Overall, we spent about $80 for 2 main dishes with rice, a main meat dish and a pot of Persian tea.

DO NOT COME ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. You will not be able to hear or speak to whoever you’re with, because of the obnoxiously (and I mean ears bleeding) loud dj playing inside the door amongst the diners, who additionally likes to scream into his microphone at regular intervals. Not told about this before booking, us and the table next to us waited outside until the food arrived and pleaded for a ten minute break from the music (if you could call it that ) just for some relief. It really is awful. Food good. Waiters difficult to come by, had to go up to ask for menus, water, cutlery and the bill. Best was the waitress...who was Brazilian !

TERRIBLE EXPERIENCE! <br/>Customer service was the worst I have ever seen. No one smiles and in fact as we walked in we were first ignored and then were rudely told to sit down somewhere. Not friendly or warm. In fact very rude.<br/><br/>The food was very mediocre and quite expensive for the value. The chicken dish we ordered was too sour and the eggplant dip was bitter.<br/><br/>The waiter even started to take away the plates before we had even finished.<br/><br/>Worst was the experience of paying. The staff seemed too busy on their phones and take away services on the phone to bother about even saying a thank you or greeting. We paid silently and unhappily and left. Never again. <br/><br/>Do no recommend this place. Not for the food and definitely not for the service.<br/><br/>

Went there for New Years celebration, great music, great crowd and nice food. Chicken kebab was below par but other than that everything was great. Amazing manager. Will come again with friends .

Decided to try this resto from recommendation from some Iranian friends. We ordered smoked eggplant dips (Kashk-e-Bademjan), Lamb shank with dill rice and broadbeans (Baghali Polo) and cucumber tomato salad (Shirazi salad) for shared between 2. Food came in decent portions enough for 2. Food was tasty and flavoursome. The eggplant dips was really nice, smoky taste and fried onion made it flavoursome. The baghali polo also tasty. We like the ambience and decor as it's traditional Iranian. They also use plates and glasses from Iran. Nice dining experience, will be back to try other dishes next time.

Great atmosphere, the staff were friendly enough. <br/>the kebab dish was really nice and juicy but the lamb shank in 'Ghabeli polo ba mahiche' dish was really not delicious. Ive hand lamb shank in multiple persian restaurants and they have always been very juicy and delicious where as this tasted like it was just boiled with oil on side. bit of a disappointment but the kebabs and entres were yumyum.

Hafez is a great establishment that brought back every good memory of Iran. From the painted Persian scenes on the walls, the beautiful carpets, the patterned tiles, to finally the fantastic food that is authentic to a T. We got the Mirza Ghasemi, Koobideh and Saffron Ice Cream and they were absolutely delicious, highly recommend. Delightful experience and we'll definitely be coming back.

Delicious Food, Best Joojeh and Koobideh Kebab Ever I tried so far :-) Great customer service, enjoyable and cosy environment and had a great fun night. Thank You!

Delayed service, low amount of food, not tasty and when i told them it's NOT roasted over charcoal they denied and confirmed it's roasted with coal....how come?!!!!Anyone can distinguish taste and smell of roasted meat

Great food (often) but bad service (usually). Long wait to get service. I highly recommend the owner to get a professional team to run the restaurant rather than a group of family kids who have no idea and experience with running a busy place. With the high quality of the food, the place has a great potential.

Beautiful interior and decor with great service, however the food was not of the high standard we were expecting. The ‘Chenjeh’ kabab was over cooked with most of the outside burnt, and the yoghurt drink ‘Doogh’ which was served in a jug, was completely warm.

For Persian food in Australia it’s the best you’re gonna get - everything we had was really good. The Momtaz (one mined lamb and one chicken breast) was good and the rice very well cooked. The kashk-e-bademjan (eggplant and sour yoghurt) was great as well (although not enough garlic personally). The highlight was the faloodeh, absolutely delicious! <br/>The serious downfall of this restaurant was the service. All of the waiters acted like fish out of water when it came to taking orders and serving food. Our faloodeh was almost completely liquid by the time we received it and the tea was split everywhere. The waiters has no understanding of personal space when it came to clearing dishes and had to request that we pass dishes down the table rather than walking from one end to the other. <br/>We had to wave for attention on several occasions whilst many of the waiters looked to be loitering by the bar with nothing to do. The owner came to check up on us once which was appreciated, however the waiters never repeated the gesture. Never monitoring out water levels of offering us more drinks. I noticed several other tables struggling with the same issue. <br/>I will be back when I hear the service improves. <br/><br/>

Hafez<br/>restaurant has very nice food with high quality Kebabs. The design is very<br/>nice. But service was awful. It was very slow and careless. Even providing<br/>a jar of water took more 20 min. If you are a Persian and have a plan<br/>to invite your international friend to a Persian restaurant, Hafez is not a<br/>good choice. I do not recommend that at all.

Hands down best tasting Persian kebabs in Melbourne! <br/>This new venue has a real cool design about it and there are some nice details that are worth coming here to see. <br/>The Koobideh was juicy without feeling that you need to run a marathon to take it off. The dips were good especially the Mosir. <br/>Service was friendly however the food took slightly longer than expected to come out. <br/>Definitely will come here again... and again!

We had Mirzaghasemi for entree and Soltani+Jujeh for main. It was one of the most delicious meals we have ever had in an Iranian restaurent in Melbourne. Mirzaghasemi was so tasty with that beautiful smoky aroma. Kubideh was very tasty and juicy, the same as jujeh. The venue is nice and looks authentic and staff are welcoming. The main downside was very very slow and a bit disorganised service. It took close to 1 hour to bring the entree. I really hope they improve their service. They could just make it to get a 4...

Kebabs are perfect. Other dishes were disappointing. Nice and authentic ambience. Wish the music was better. If you are not into party mood avoid Friday and Saturday night.

Great Restaurant, loved the food and atmosphere. The food I had here was the best persian food I ever had in Melbourne and even compared to Sydney this one was more outstanding. Loved it.

The food unfortunately is not as good as Tachin, rice (and the overall meal) was cold and didn’t have a nice aroma or smell. Also the rice portions were very small, Koobideh was also a little too tough and didn’t have the woodfire smell. The chicken was also dry and loobia in rice was hard and maybe uncooked. However the venue is exceptionally beautiful. Would recommend it if you want to be dining at a nice venue but wouldn’t go there if you are after a nice authentic Persian meal

I used to be satisfied with the meals served in Doncaster, but it was not as expected in the new place (Richmond) despite higher prices. Four different foods and no one was happy, very disappointing. The teenage waitress was not friendly too.  <br/>The place itself is very interesting and tastefully furnished to tell the truth.

The place is amazingly inspiring Persian tradition and culture. The foods are great, without any doubt best Iranian/Persian food in Melbourne and likely in Australia. Friendly manager and staff.