Updated November 2026 We have rechecked Tehran’s Iraqi food scene: Dowlat Abad is still the place for cheap Iraqi and Arab street food, and Zahed Al-Iraqi still lists at Bam Land, but we have dropped individual eateries we could no longer confirm.
The best Iraqi restaurants in Tehran fall into two very different camps. For cheap, authentic street food of the kind you would eat in Baghdad or Najaf, head south to Dowlat Abad, the neighbourhood many Iraqis in Tehran call home. For a sit-down Iraqi meal with lake views and a bigger bill, go west to Zahed Al-Iraqi at Bam Land. Here is how to approach both.
Dowlat Abad: Tehran’s “Little Iraq”
Dowlat Abad lies in the south of the city, on the way towards Shahr-e Rey, east of the southern stretch of the Imam Ali Expressway. Over the years it has drawn a large Iraqi and wider Arab community, and Iranian media have nicknamed it “Little Iraq”. Walk its main streets and you will hear Iraqi Arabic, see shop signs in Arabic script and find grocers stocking Iraqi bread, tinned goods and other products from across the border. During Iraqi elections, candidates’ campaign posters have even appeared on the walls here, aimed at Iraqi voters living in Tehran.
The food is the main reason to come. The neighbourhood is packed with small, inexpensive eateries run by Iraqis and other Arab residents, most of them takeaway counters with a few tables. Expect:
- Shawarma, carved from the spit and wrapped in thin bread with pickles and garlic sauce, the way it is done in Iraq rather than the Iranian fast-food version.
- Kebabs of beef and lamb, grilled over charcoal and served street-style with bread, onions and herbs.
- Falafel sandwiches, a cheap and filling vegetarian option.
- Iraqi bread fresh from neighbourhood bakeries, including the large flatbreads baked in clay ovens.
- Baklava and other syrupy Arab sweets from the pastry shops, perfect with a glass of strong tea.
Prices here are a fraction of what you would pay for Middle Eastern food in north Tehran. Treat it as a half-day trip: arrive hungry, wander, and eat at whichever place has the longest queue and the freshest-looking spit. A taxi app such as Snapp is the easiest way to get there; ask for Dowlat Abad and get out on the main street. Bring cash, as smaller places may not take cards, and remember that this is a conservative, working-class area, so dress modestly.
Zahed Al-Iraqi at Bam Land
At the other end of the scale, Zahed Al-Iraqi sits at Bam Land, the lakeside shopping and dining complex beside Chitgar Lake in the west of Tehran. Its setting is the draw: tables look out over the water, and on a summer evening the breeze off the lake makes it one of the more pleasant places to eat in the city.
The menu takes Iraqi cooking and gives it a Persian accent. Look out for rice dishes and kebabs, hummus made to order and bread baked fresh and seasoned, and consider sharing a spread of mezze rather than ordering mains each. This is a top-end restaurant by Tehran standards, so expect to pay considerably more than in Dowlat Abad. Check current opening times on a local map app such as Balad before making the trip, and book ahead for weekend evenings.
If you are heading out to Chitgar, our guide to Bam Land covers what else there is to do around the lake.
More Arab and Levantine food in Tehran
Iraqi food overlaps heavily with Lebanese and Syrian cooking, and Tehran has a handful of good Levantine restaurants uptown if you cannot make it south. See our reviews of Aroos-e Lebanon and Mashregh, or browse our cafés and restaurants section. For a sense of current eating-out costs, check our Iran price trackers.
