Food review: Shiraz, Birmingham
It’s an unprepossessing place. The Lahore Karahi is located on a busy High Street. Its plate glass windows look out at a market stall, at buses that belch fumes into the atmosphere and at gazillions of locals who troupe past on their way to the shops.
Yet its appearance is deceptive, for while it has none of the whistles and bells of an upmarket restaurant, The Lahore Karahi is a sensational place. It serves cracking Pakistani food at low prices. And, as newspaper reviewers have noted, service is swift, cheerful and courteous.
The best clue to The Lahore Karahi’s calibre, however, is the customers. They are predominantly from the Pakistani community, with a few others dotted around. And the reason they choose to eat there is because the food is authentic, of the highest quality and reminds them of home. The restaurant doesn’t serve Western-ised versions of Pakistani Classics. Unlike neighbourhood Chinese takeaways that serve red or orange sweet and sour dishes – where does the red and the orange come from? It’s not like that in China – the Lahore Karahi doesn’t mess with the originals. And that’s the reason why it’s been full for 20-odd years and won more awards than it can shake a stick.
The Lahore Karahi is, sadly, many miles away, in London. And yet here in the West Midlands there’s a restaurant that’s pulling off a similar trick by serving cuisine at low prices. Shiraz serves food from Pakistan’s neighbour, Iran, and like Lahore Karahi, it attracts a vast number of ex-pats who live locally.
Women in brightly-coloured and fabulously designed dresses and scarves sit at tables with husbands and children in high chairs. It’s not a place that people go to impress or be impressed – it’s the place where people go to eat great food and relax. To coin a phrase, Shiraz is a home from home.
Located on Edgbaston’s Hagley Road among a galaxy of takeaways and neighbourhood restaurants that serve food from around the globe; it’s one of the best. Like the brilliant and cheap Chennai Dosa, a few doors down, it offers authentic food that would be as welcomed by restaurant customers in Tehran, Bandar Abbas or, indeed, Shiraz as it is in the West Midlands.
It opens from 2pm until midnight, serving food from lunchtime until late at night. People drop in to eat, chat, drink tea and get a reminder of their native Persia. Persian food is generally under-represented in the West Midlands. There’s a decent restaurant across the border in Shropshire, where Dr Lal Haider creates award-winning food at Old Hall Persian. And there are few other Middle Eastern restaurants dotted around Birmingham. But while Turkish food is popular, there are few places to go for those who like Persian. And that’s odd, because Persian food is truly delightful. The blend of herbs, fruits and meat is frequently seasoned with saffron, pomegranate or pistachios. And invariably it’s packed with flavour. Persian food is a vibrant cuisine that’s ripe for rediscovery. Hell, unlike most of the nations of the world, they even make an effort with their rice, decorating it with colourful raisins, barberries and pomegranates, and finishing it with a stripe of yellow saffron-soaked rice down the middle.
The brilliant TV chef, Sabrina Ghayour, has started to popularise Persian cuisine with her best-selling book Persiana, and Shiraz provides customers with the perfect place to try it.
While Turkish food is big on grilled meat – think kebabs and barbecues – and Indian and Pakistani food is dominated by meat curries with thick sauces, Persian cuisine is somewhere between. Perhaps that’s no surprise – it’s located directly between them. Light, spicy sauces are served with hearty, tender cuts of meat alongside vast plates of rice or thin, pillow-like breads.
There are also dips – similar in texture to hummus – that can be scooped up on folds of sesame seed-topped bread. Yoghurt and eggplant, yoghurt and cucumber, spinach and feta and caramelised onion make for light, flavoursome eating. My friend and I started with a selection of five dips, eating and talking our way through Persia’s stunning gastronomic heritage while waiting for our mains. Service was efficient and polite as waiters ferried drinks, made sure we were enjoying our dishes and answered any questions.
The mains were delightful. My friend had lamb shank with Persian rice – packed with raisins, saffron and a small pot of curry-like sauce – while I opted for a similar dish with a remarkably moist and tender chicken breast. The portions were vast – neither of us finished everything – and the food tasty and delicate. Persian food has a sophisticated approach to spice. While Indian and Pakistani food can occasionally veer towards sledgehammer heat, it is more restrained and balanced. Sweetness and spice are aligned to create fragrant, perfume-ey dishes.
Shiraz isn’t just about the food, however. It’s a restaurant that offers a great experience for diners. The coming together of locals invariably makes for a great atmosphere – it’s more like going to a family party than a distant restaurant. The staff are warm and the interior is colourful, blingy and ornate. The venue and its clients mix cranberry colours with rich golds, vibrant yellows with deep blues. Shiraz is fun, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and it offers guests a delightful ambience in the dining room.
We finished with a Persian version of milk/rice pudding, which was delicious and which was generously offered on the house – rather than ordered. Garnished with cinnamon and vibrant yellow pistachios, it was creamy, thick and delicious. Our bill including drinks was under £40 and the staff made it clear that we were welcome to stay and chat for as long as we wished.
Persian food makes for a great alternative to neighbourhood curry houses. The food is packed with flavour and is lighter and more delicate from that cooked further east. At Shiraz, they concentrate on authentic dishes, which are served by warm, helpful staff.
For a taste of the East, there’s nowhere finer.
