If someone in a restaurant says “watch your head”, they’re probably describing a circuitous route to the toilet, or leading you down a cramped stairway to a hidden wine cellar. Not at Ali Qapu, an Iranian place in Kew. Here they’ll be warning you that an enormous plank of wood is about to be lifted above you then placed along the centre of the table.
That plank will be laden with charcoal-grilled kebabs on metal skewers, fragrant mounds of rice stained with saffron and scattered with barberries, and charred tomatoes slumping in their own juices. It’s quite an event, and indicative of the generous hospitality of this restaurant, where everything is a little extra.
Even before you walk in, there’s a sense of occasion. Huge timber doors are set within a lantern-lit brick and tile portico, recalling the restaurant’s namesake. Ali Qapu means “great gate” and is also the name of a 17th century Persian palace. It would be a stretch to call Melbourne’s Ali Qapu palatial, but it’s certainly impressive. The two-storey building was previously Kew Heights Receptions and the upstairs function room has been absorbed into the business, with Persian catering for occasions ranging from gender reveals to graduations.
The ground-level restaurant seats more than 200 guests in a richly decorated interior. There are Persian rugs and instruments, teapots and artworks, curtains and chandeliers. Archways define alcoves running down each side of the main room, creating cosy zones in an otherwise enormous expanse. Despite its size, Ali Qapu feels specific and personal. There’s a story behind every object, whether it’s blue plates brought from Iran, or teaspoons secured via Marketplace in Melbourne.
In the strictest sense, you would say the restaurant has been going since 2018, when the Oveisi family started serving food here. But the way they see it, this is a fourth-generation business, tracing back to Ali Oveisi’s great-grandfather, who sold kebabs from a wooden trolley he pushed through Tehran’s Grand Bazaar. The next generation opened restaurants in Iran’s capital, and now Ali runs this place with his father, Amir, and brother Daniel. You will always see family members on site, overseeing a diverse crew of staff members. Everyone is keeping their steps up – from the kitchen to the front dining room must be 100 paces, and most staff are rigged with earpieces to ensure the place hums.
The menu covers the Persian restaurant classics. Salad olovieh (a potato salad with chopped chicken and pickles) is a sturdy scoop for sesame-scattered flatbread. Kebabs are made with quality meat, simply seasoned as is the Persian style. Soltani kebab is an excellent choice: it includes one juicy eye fillet skewer and another “kubideh”, made with minced lamb shoulder and beef.
Kashk-e bademjan is usually served as a delicious mush of fried eggplant, onions, garlic and “kashk”, a tangy ferment that you could think of as yoghurt’s punk-rock cousin. You see a diaspora freedom in this version, which is elegantly layered on a platter, the kashk criss-crossed on top in a pattern reminiscent of okonomiyaki, the Japanese cabbage pancake. The new presentation turns an undifferentiated amalgam of flavours into a lovely dance of sweet, tart, bitter and deep. I love it.
There’s another riff on tradition with the zereshk polo, a bedrock Persian stew with chicken, normally served with meat resting over fluffy saffron and barberry rice. Here, the chicken is kept separate in its own saffron-tinged potato and carrot braise, leaning towards Sunday roast territory. Again, it’s a good tweak.
Ali Qapu does a brilliant job of feeding large tables without making small groups feel forgotten. The food is pleasing and the welcome is sincere: if you want to step through this great gate you’ll be treated like an honoured guest.
Three more restaurants to try with a group
Secret Kitchen
There’s trolley yum cha every day, and the seafood tanks are stocked, but the pick of the specialties is roast goose, rarely seen elsewhere. The team imports snow chrysanthemum tea, good on its own, but extra nice in the SK Gold whisky cocktail. Also in Doncaster and Burwood East.
222 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, secret-kitchen.com.au
Sault Dining
As spring does its thing, Sault will bloom for another year of leisurely meals with views of lavender fields, a lake and the gums of Wombat State Forest. Set menus of seasonal produce – much of it grown right here – make it easy to settle in with a large group.
2349 Ballan-Daylesford Road, Sailors Falls, sault.com.au
Narre Eats Street Food
For a casual group-dining experience with outdoor shared seating, head to this food truck park for gozleme and grills, biryani and fried chook, donuts and acai bowls. It’s halal and open late seven days.
23 Narre Warren-Cranbourne Road, Narre Warren, instagram.com/narreeats.streetfood
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently. A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.