Shiraz Persian Cuisine in Oxford

Great service and delicious dinner!

The Joojeh kabob and Barg kabob were cooked to perfection, absolutely delicious. The Ashe Reshteh was a delicious hearty starter. Persian food done right, loved it.

They used to be paying more attention to the quality of food they were serving. It seems that this changed a bit recently. Rice they serve recently is tasteless. My humble suggestion is to focus on the quality of food (rice and meat) and please cook them accordingly. Also, avoid going to this restaurant when it's too busy as this will come at the expense of the quality of food you'll be served, unfortunately.

Encontramos este restaurante después de salir de otro restaurante porque era muy decepcionante. Desde el momento en que entramos hasta el momento en que salimos, nuestro servidor era agradable, sonriente y eficiente. El ambiente era genial y la comida era excelente y a un precio razonable. Teníamos vino de la casa que también era bueno. Recomiendo en particular compartir el khoresht - e gormeh - sabzi y el zereshk polow (bajo “especiales”). Sin duda volvería de nuevo la próxima vez Im en Oxford!

If you’re in the mood for a true Persian feast, this plate delivers all the essentials: juicy grilled kebab, fluffy saffron rice, roasted vegetables, and a vibrant mix of salads and dips—the perfect balance of flavor, texture, and tradition. The Kebab That grilled meat looks beautifully marinated, glistening with juices, and cooked to perfection with a slight char. Persian kebabs are all about balance—tender, flavorful, and infused with saffron, lemon, and butter. This one looks like a juicy, melt-in-your-mouth experience, and if it tasted as good as it looks, then this was a proper win. The Rice (Chelo) Persian rice is next level, and this one is no exception. That fluffy, perfectly steamed basmati, topped with vibrant golden saffron-infused grains, is the ultimate companion to the kebab. The key to great Persian food is butter melting into the rice, and if that happened here, then mission accomplished. The Extras • Roasted Tomato & Pepper – A Persian must-have. Charring adds a smoky depth that pairs perfectly with the kebab. • Fresh Salad & Pickles – That crunchy mix of greens, shredded carrots, and pickled red cabbage adds a tangy, refreshing contrast to the richness of the dish. • Mezze in the Background – That wooden platter filled with mast-o-khiar (yogurt & cucumber), Shirazi salad, and other Persian dips is the perfect way to start the meal. Creamy, herby, and packed with flavor. Final Verdict This meal is a Persian food lover’s dream—grilled, buttery, saffron-infused, and packed with fresh ingredients. If you’re a fan of rich flavors and comforting textures, this kind of feast is an absolute must. 10/10 would come back for another bite!

This is good restaurant. A quiet and pleasant place for Iranian food.

The best persian food in the area! You must try Koobideh, the best of the best

Below standards both in food and service: an example for food: the rice portion is too small, and the plate is fully covered with salad whereas in in Iranian food, the rice is the main. And as to service: they served rice with soup spoons! They don’t seem even to understand the difference! The price compared to what they offer, and compared to other Iranian restaurants in England is too high.

If you wanna try delicious Persian kebabs I would highly recommend there

We booked a large table for my dad’s birthday and all staff were super welcoming and helpful on arrival. Despite the difficulties of serving a large table the Service and hospitality was absolutely amazing and food was excellent. Would definitely recommend this restaurant and will definitely return.

The kebab koobideh has a lot to improve and in my opinion who am a persian, isn't really tasty and doesn't worth the price. However, jooje kebab (chicken) with rice is really good, and I would surely recommend everyone to try this dish at this restaurant. Ghorme sabzi and gheime stews are also good, but I wouldn't say it was the best.

Great ambiance, excellent and unusual food, attentive but unobtrusive service. Thanks for an enjoyable visit last evening. We had the special grill, separate vegan dish and saffron ice cream. Highly recommended, but popular, so I would imagine safer to book.

First time visit, delicious, made entirely on order corrected it. Lovely staff and good atmosphere. Reasonable priced .

Amazing Persian food as always. Their kebab and rice is outstanding

Superb Persian food at reasonable prices. We truly enjoyed our experience. As a bonus, it also catered for vegetarians.

The food is great! Also loved the chai and the atmosphere

Food & service were good .. soup was a bit cold ..

Terrible service restaurant closing at 11 but entering at 9.20 said closing in 20

Shiraaz Persian Restaurant offers an amazing dining experience with its flavorful dishes. The platter was absolutely excellent—beautifully presented, fresh, and full of authentic Persian flavors. A must-visit for food lovers!

Really impressed, well worth the trip on a cold and wet January evening. Food was amazing.

I have heard many good things about this restaurant. Today we (as a table of 3) finally tried it out and the experience was mixed. Bread: excellent. Hot and perfectly textured. Kashk-Bademjan: one of my favourite mezze dishes now! Seasoned just right. Marinated chicken wings: nicely grilled but puzzlingly salty; this is really below the standard. Makhsous: The Koobideh is tender and tastes better. Chenjeh is a bit hard and when it is cooled down to room temperature the taste is not so good. Saffron rice is OK. Salad tastes very fresh. Zereshk polo ba morgh: Chicken tastes very good; tender and full of flavour. Rice with barberries and pistachios is excellent. The chicken however is small portioned. Mango & cranberry juice: average supermarket stuff with artificial tastes. Service: very attentive.

Really fantastic restaurant, - great food, lovely welcoming service and great ambiance. Recommend the fresh bread with the main, and a pot of tea for afterwards!

Persian (Iranian) restaurant serving excellent food. Menu is a bit heavy on kebabs but I guess that's what most people are after. Plenty of more unusual treats available too. The mint tea is particularly good.

We recently visited Shiraz in Oxford during a trip to visit my in-laws. We decided to dine here because we’ve had great experiences at Shiraz in Birmingham, but unfortunately, this location didn’t live up to the same standard. Firstly, the restaurant charged us a £13 service charge for 4 adults without informing us in advance. Restaurants cannot add a service charge without informing customers in advance. This practice would be considered misleading under UK consumer protection laws. Additionally, there’s no parking available, which made the visit even more inconvenient. As for the food, it was average at best—not worth the price we paid.

It is my favourite restaurant in Oxford since the first time. Very delicious food and great service. They are sincere and kind.

Ordered a couple of times for take away. Both times food was outstanding! Delicious and authentic taste, very homely food. We had koobeda and bagali polow with mahicha (lamb shank) and both were 10/10. The staff are very kind and friendly, you'll be always treated there with a smile, especially Mr Mohammad :)

I had my lunch in this restaurant which was amazing experience, highly recommend it. My lunch was Chicken kebab with rice, salad, special olive( zaytun parvardeh) and douq.

So many choices for meat or veggie eaters! The staff were so helpful and the food was simply amazing!! The menu is very big and the portions are generous as well😍 If you’ve never tried persian food, this is the place to visit!! x Just FYI, they only serve persian wine like alcohol. The hummus and vine leaves were simply delicious!!

One of the most delicious restaurants

Great place for the locals. The food is great and cheap! We had a party of 4 and everyone loved everything we ordered, Barg kebab

Their bread is amazing… like actually to die for, so fluffy and moreish! As is the Jujeh kebab, incredibly tender. However what left me disappointed and ultimately why it was a 4* experience as opposed to 5, was the fesenjan with tofu. There were only 6 tiny cubes of tofu in the entire thing! Surprising as all their other portion sizes were huge. The sauce of the fesenjan itself was good but a bit gritty and lacked the slow cooked depth of flavour.

we order Zereshk Polo online and they failed to send us the cicken (but they send us plenty of rice). We gave them a call and they were utterly unhelpful and challenging. Rice was tasty.

Delicious food, great service by Saman. No wine on the menu but they have it if you ask!

Saman is great and gives us great services! The food is amazing!

Buhaoch, hold back! Flower growers deceive flower growers! ! !

Food delicious and good vegan options. Lovely place to eat.

Very good Persian/Iranian dinner with excellent outstanding service. I had the “Chelo Kabab Koobideh” for £14 which was very filling. Parking is quite difficult round there.

It was a good experience, as the food was delicious and the prices were expensive, but I would like to alert patrons of the restaurant and other restaurants to check the account, as they add amounts for a service without your consent, and a similar situation happened to me in this restaurant as well as the Pizza Hut restaurant. Be careful, may God protect you from exploitation

Best service ever, with delicious grilled chicken and lamb. Highly recommend Tea and Grilled chicken.

My favourite place to eat in Oxford. Never disappoints. Authentic and delicious food every time and very reasonably priced.

The food was amazing, I was deeply impressed by the service. I was served by Samman, shes very attentive. I was feeling cold and she closed the windows, made sure that we had everything we needed. She’s very good at her job. The lamb skewers (I believe it’s number 45 on the menu) were the best I’ve ever had, they were super soft and delicious.

Amazing food and service.. staff are courteous and polite.. highly recommended

I ordered meat kebab with Joojeh. I was not very happy with my order, joojeh wasn’t fresh and kebab didn’t seem to have any meat at all.

Absolutely delicious food & very child friendly, excellent service

Some of the most delicious food I've eaten. Reasonable prices, nice atmosphere. Persian cuisine is now my favourite food. Highly recommend this place.

Great food, atmosphere and service

Food was delicious, but be ready for the service charge.

The food tastes amazing! Bilal and the team did an amazing job in catering exactly what I needed. The staff was so nice and friendly and very efficient ! One of the best Persian restaurant in the UK. Highly recommend!

This Persian restaurant was a delightful find! The food was absolutely delicious, with authentic flavors and fresh ingredients. I especially enjoyed the Koobideh and the rice. The atmosphere was cozy and inviting, and the service was impeccable. Our waiter, Bilal, was incredibly friendly and attentive. He made our dining experience even more enjoyable with his recommendations and excellent service. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone looking for a delicious and authentic Persian meal.

"Wonderful restaurant, especially the nice guy Bilal🙏🏻❤️."

Salads and baklava. Mmm. Nice atmosphere.

The cold, leftover and expensive food in Oxford is not worth it at all, not all of the food is fresh

Fabulous food, as always. Iranian tea served in the pot is simply not to be missed. Great service. Bilal was very cordial and welcoming. Great experience.

Excellent delicious healthy food with welcoming respectful staff. Thanks 👍🏻

I have been there twice now, from London. Their platter is nice. Next time I go I will request for the round table by the window.

The quantity and the food is just delicious Highly recommend this place if you love the flavoured rice and some slow cooked lamb 😍😍

Proper let down, this place. Food was totally average. Even the bread wasn’t Persian – the staff admitted that! Service was painfully slow, and it wasn’t even busy. Honestly, not worth the money or the wait. Wouldn’t recommend.

The decor and design were nice, but unfortunately, the rest of the experience didn’t live up to my expectations. The food was very different from other Persian restaurants I’ve been to. The mixed grill, especially the minced lamb, just didn’t taste right. The staff seemed tired and not very welcoming, making it difficult to ask for help. Overall, I was really disappointed, especially given the high ratings. Expected a much better experience.

Absolutely fantastic food, an incredible place to spend an afternoon. I went twice during my brief stay in Oxford and had sampler platters with mint tea. The whole experience was fantastic, and the food was dynamic and perfectly portioned. Cannot recommend enough!

As an Iranian, I was deeply disappointed by my recent experience. The food was a far cry from authentic Persian cuisine, and the service was equally disappointing. The koobide kebab was bland and lacked the flavor of genuine Persian meat. It seemed as if the restaurant had attempted to mask the inferior quality of the meat with excessive saffron and turmeric. The Persian tea was nothing more than a tea bag, a far cry from the traditional brew Iranians cherish. Even the bread was subpar, a store-bought flatbread that bore no resemblance to the fresh, homemade bread served with Persian meals. The staff, unfortunately, were not Persian and seemed unable to provide accurate information about the dishes or the cultural significance of Persian cuisine. Their lack of knowledge and enthusiasm further detracted from the experience. Overall, As an Iranian, I expected a more authentic and enjoyable experience. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone seeking a genuine taste of Persian cuisine.

6 minutes late for our reservation and they had given away our table. Offered a table in 20 mins with no apology.

Delicious Persian food in the heart now Oxford! First class service and dining 🍽 🙌

I could eat here every day! The food is insanely good. The lamb is so delicious! The chicken is also lovely. I like when meat has been slow cooked. Been here quite a few times now and really enjoyed it every time. The mint tea is delicious too. Xx

Shiraz in Oxford offers an exceptional dining experience with its mouthwatering dishes and well-curated menu. The highlight of our visit was undoubtedly the mixed plate for 4, which was a feast of flavors, showcasing the restaurant's skill in crafting authentic and delicious Persian cuisine. Each item on the platter was cooked to perfection, from the tender kebabs, Zereshk Polo and Morgh(Chicken), Baghali Polo and Gardan (Chuck) to the flavorful sides (Zeytoon Parvardeh and Kashk-e Bademjoon), making it an excellent choice for sharing with friends or family. The management deserves praise for maintaining such high standards in the kitchen and ensuring that the overall dining atmosphere is warm and inviting. However, the service did fall short in one area. The waitstaff, though friendly, seemed to overlook the tables in the left-hand corner of the restaurant. This small oversight led to an inconvenience where we had to get up and go to the counter to request utensils and condiments like salt and pepper. While this hiccup didn't overshadow the incredible food, it's an area that could use some attention to ensure a seamless experience for all diners. A bit more focus on service would elevate Shiraz from great to exceptional. Despite this, I highly recommend Shiraz for its fantastic food and inviting ambiance—just be prepared to flag down a waiter if you're seated in the far corner!

Shiraz gives an excellent impression of (northern) Persian cuisine, everything is prepared with the right balance of spices, time to marinate and cook. Very soft meats and chickens, fully bodied yet very light sauces, tasty rice. Very highly recommended!

Tasty food and great service. One little critique is the rice portion could have been bigger in boneless chicken with rice. Otherwise, it was very nice.

A beautiful restaurant, the food tastes wonderful, and what is even more amazing is that the staff and employees in this place are cheerful and cooperative and serve the customers with all sincerity and dedication. I wish them continued success. A beautiful restaurant, the food tastes great, and what is even more wonderful are the people who run and work in this place, they are cheerful and cooperative, serving the customers with all sincerity and dedication, I wish them continued success.

Great food. Like really I spent 10 days in Oxford and it was the most legit meal I had. Its prices are good relatively and even better for group meals

What a beautiful taste of Iran, in Oxford (said by an Iranian!) Beautiful decor, music, food and service. I would definitely recommend the Kashk-Bademjan and the Momtaz Kabob. If we are ever back in the area, we will be sure to visit again

One of the worst experiences I have ever had in a Persian restaurant. The lamb Shishlik was raw. Dressing was inappropriate ( used lots of turmeric ). The price was high in the sky and the quality was below average. Baghalipolo was bland. But the staff were really nice, cooperative and welcoming.

Excellent authentic Persian food, very friendly and personable staff, excellent value

The food was tasty ,, the staff were very nice and smiley ,, we will come back again ..

Amazing persian food. Great service.simply the best

Great food and a great indoor and outdoor seating area on the Cowley Road.

The most delicious Persian food in the UK

One of the best Persian foods. Delicious food in a beautiful place.

The Persian tea was the highlight!!

The food was great 👌 Impeccable service too ❤️ However, the music was a little too loud in the evening.

I really liked the food and the amazing extraordinary services with really kind manners and really done the food quick and good quality and it was my Dad's birthday and really suprised when he got his gifts and birthday icecream

Booked this place for lunch for my friend's hen do. Called them up to preorder and the manager was so so helpful and said he would arrange a good amount of food for us. The food was DELICIOUS and the servers and whole team were super friendly and service was great. Thank you so so much ❤️❤️

Takes very long time to get your order ready. Food was good.

We were having a really good meal here last night, when after 45 of sitting down and having starters and mains, when the bill was suddenly brought to us with many apologies. Apparently there was another booking waiting for our table, but that is no excuse for treating your existing customers like this - we hadn't been offered dessert menu and my wife hadn't even finished her drink. Shame because the food is good and the service up until then had been good and I was looking forward to the dessert. Treat your customers with due respect.

I ordered mixed grill for one. The lamb is cooked perfect, and their yellow rice is also tasty. BUTTTT the CHICKEN is relatively overcooked. It is so dry that I find it hard to swallow. Their Persian tea and lamb are my favorite. Overall, it is still a good restaurant.

Food, service, atmosphere — everything was perfect!

I went there and ordered Aash , it didn’t look like what i normally eat in other persian restaurants and when i asked the manager why this doesn’t even look like Aash he replied ( it’s because in this area our customers don’t like the Ash to be long like spaghetti and thats why it looks like soup). I think he just made an excuse because maybe they couldn’t make it the way it should’ve been.

I ordered take out over the phone. Frustratingly incompetent staff and unapologetic about getting the three-dish order wrong.

Really good Iranian restaurant in Cowley road..good food !! Big portions and really good price. I love the starters to share. It was for 3 but I think it's enough for 6..

Food is good compared to other Middle Eastern restaurants in oxford.

A lovely experience from start to finish. Delicious food and very friendly staff.

Amazing Persian cuisine, excellent service, friendly ambience, affordable price. What a pleasant surprise!!!

Such a nice ambiance and food. I had my first cheat meal after 4 months and based on recommendations we chose this restaurant. No regret at all. Delicious food and friendly staff. Will defo go back and recommend to everyone

Perhaps the best skewers in town!

Asked us to move on after only 25mins in restaurant for a bigger group of 20. And that's on a £65 spend. Money talks loud!

Lovely , delicious and generous foods, excellent friendly services.

Tasty food and beautiful ambiance

Absolutely fantastic food. Fresh and delicious. Great staff, great place

Amazing flavours ALWAYS and really nice cosy atmosphere.

Fantastic food and service. All the meat in the platter was succulent and flavoursome - something that often goes overlooked. The lamb chops were juicy and tender, the kebabs were soft and delicious, everything was seasoned to perfection. Maybe the lamb shank could've done with a tad more, but it wasn't bad. Overall, highly recommended.

We had food delivery from Shiraz, the food was very tasty and great quality.

Amazing food, great quality service and lovely warm atmosphere. Would highly recommend to everyone.