Although there’s a multitude of ethnic restaurants in South Florida, there are just a few places to find Persian food.
Amin Ebrahimi, 35, took notice of this scarcity at a young age.
In his 20s, Ebrahimi was cooking kebabs in the kitchen of his family’s mosque, the Ershad Center in South Miami, when he realized the family’s cuisine from Tehran could appeal to a wider audience. In 2016, he opened his first stand-alone restaurant, Shahs of Kabob, in South Miami.
Ebrahimi’s halal restaurants, which follow Islamic dietary laws, have since branched out to Kendall, Doral, Wynwood and Coral Gables. His newest eatery, in Fort Lauderdale, opened on May 16.
The name was inspired by the Bravo reality-TV series “Shahs of Sunset,” which from 2012 to 2021 followed a group of young Iranian-Americans in Beverly Hills, Calif., who were navigating the tensions between their careers, social lives, families and traditions.
Ebrahimi said South Floridians are relishing his moderately priced platters and spears of meat laden with pungent Persian spices. He said he has pared the menu down to just a few options, including stews, salads, wraps and desserts, in an effort to show customers the basics of Iranian cuisine and keep his own costs low.
“At a traditional Persian restaurant, you will see 500 things and it becomes impossible to keep the quality high,” he said. “I wanted to keep our menu simple. The goal is to bring our food to the American people.”
One of the most popular items, Koobideh, or two spears of lamb and beef with rice and salad, goes for $13 for a small plate and $17 for a larger one. A Joojeh wrap, or chicken skewer on lavash bread with vegetables, costs $12. A large family meal that serves 7 people and includes beef, lamb, chicken, steak, pita bread and salad, is $85.
There are just a few Persian restaurants in Broward, including Caspian Persian Grill in Plantation and Kababi Cafe by Kuluck in Sunrise. There are also several halal eateries; one of the newest is Port of Peri Peri, serving African-Portuguese cuisine in Pembroke Pines. Halal restaurants serve no pork or alcohol, and the meat has been butchered with minimal suffering to the animal.
Ebrahimi’s family came to the United States after the fall of the shah in 1979 and settled in Miami. Miami has a small Persian community and Ebrahimi said his family rarely ate out. WorldPopulationReview.com reports only 15,291 Iranians in Florida, or about .07% of the population.
Ebrahimi’s parents emphasized education and ingenuity: His three sisters are doctors, while he and his brother work for Shahs of Kabob.
As the chain expands, Ebrahimi said several new menu items are in the works. His parents, Masoud and Zohreh, are developing an Iranian flatbread cooked on stones called sangak. When the recipe is perfected, he said it will be sold in all the Shahs of Kabob restaurants.
In the meantime, Ebrahimi is scouting for additional South Florida locations. He said he’s focused on sites near universities, such as Nova Southeastern in Davie and Florida Atlantic in Boca Raton, where Muslim students are often looking for halal eateries that are moderately priced and remind them of home.
Shahs of Kabob’s new Fort Lauderdale restaurant is at 2703 E. Commercial Blvd. Call 954-990-8593 or go to shahsofkabob.com.
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