Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos, a new Persian restaurant from the owners of Pomegranate
Name: Takht-e Tavoos
Neighbourhood: Dufferin Grove
Contact info: 1120 College St. W., 647-352-7322
Owners: Husband and wife Alireza Fakhrashrafi and Danielle Schrage, owners of Pomegranate and Sheherzade at College and Bathurst
Chef: Alireza Fakhrashrafi
The food: Persian cuisine from various regions of Iran, including specialties like kalleh pacheh ($14), a soup made from sheep’s head and hooves, and haleem ($9), porridge made from wheat berries with shredded lamb. At breakfast, there’s a range of egg-based dishes like guisavah ($9), served with Persian flat bread and a cup of Persian tea or fresh coffee, and for lunch, there are various meze appetizers and dizi sangi, a stone pot stew ($14).
The drinks: Persian tea ($2) brewed in a samovar as well as Turkish coffee ($3) boiled in a traditional ibrik pot with sugar and cardamom.
The place: For their third restaurant, Fakhrashrafi and Schrage imported lanterns, mirrored tiles and clay pots from Iran and commissioned a hand-painted cedar-tree border. The front window and ceiling trim feature quotations from modern Iranian poet Sohrab Sepehri, and in the back, there’s a private “teencheh” (nook) mimicking those found in markets.
By the numbers:
• 30, the number of seats at Tavoos
• 9 and 5, the number of years, respectively, that Pomegranate and Sheherzade have been open on College
• 9, the number of meze, small appetizer dips and salads eaten with flatbread
• 2, the number of “takht” seating areas, which fit five people around a rug
208869 Port of Persian tea ($3.50) with baklava (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-01-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-01.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-01.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/tavoos/slide/introducing-tavoos-toronto-01/ introducing-tavoos-toronto-01 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
208871 (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-03-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-03.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-03.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/tavoos/slide/introducing-tavoos-toronto-03/ introducing-tavoos-toronto-03 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
208873 Guisavah ($9): two sunny-side-up eggs cooked on a bed of butter-sautéed dates and walnuts, served with Ardeh Shireh, a type of grape molasses (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-05-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-05.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-05.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/tavoos/slide/introducing-tavoos-toronto-05/ introducing-tavoos-toronto-05 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
208876 Various meze (small plates), clockwise from bottom: artichoke borani ($4), sautéed artichoke with yogurt and fresh herbs; naz khatoon ($8), smoky roasted and mashed eggplant with fresh herbs, garlic and verjus; Borani Laboo ($4): steamed red beets in creamy yogurt; and mushroom parvadeh ($4.50), a purée of mushrooms, walnuts, garlic, fresh mint and pomegranate molasses (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-08-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-08.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-08.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/tavoos/slide/introducing-tavoos-toronto-08/ introducing-tavoos-toronto-08 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
208870 Iranian calligraphy by artist Mehrdad Shoghi in a style from the 16th century Safavid Dynasty (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-02-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-02.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-02.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/tavoos/slide/introducing-tavoos-toronto-02/ introducing-tavoos-toronto-02 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
208878 Local painter Roxanne Ignatius created the cedar-tree border along the wall in the front room (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-intro-e1366129975197-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-intro.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-intro.jpg 656 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/tavoos/slide/introducing-tavoos-toronto-intro/ introducing-tavoos-toronto-intro 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
208872 Owners Alireza Fakhrashrafi and Danielle Schrage (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-04-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-04.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-04.jpg 624 416 [] https://torontolife.com/food/tavoos/slide/introducing-tavoos-toronto-04/ introducing-tavoos-toronto-04 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
208877 Tavoos replaces the Portuguese restaurant Churrasqueira Do Sardinha (Image: Gizelle Lau) Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos Introducing: Takht-e Tavoos https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-09-96x96.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-09.jpg https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/introducing-tavoos-toronto-09.jpg 416 624 [] https://torontolife.com/food/tavoos/slide/introducing-tavoos-toronto-09/ introducing-tavoos-toronto-09 0 0
(Image: Gizelle Lau)
Awesome place…
Terrible service!!!