Honey Persian Restaurant

What you're going to love about Honey has everything to do with the food and absolutely nothing to do with the atmosphere. It's a nondescript little room on a Parramatta side street and if you've dumbly visited on a 37-degree day (gasp) it's like sitting in a furnace.

But I really don't care. Such is the level of deliciousness on offer at this newish Parramatta Persian, where you can eat the lion's share of the menu with a handful of pals and still come away with change from $20.

This is comforting, family-style eating where the onus is on making your own fun. The whole ordering, paying and receiving food thing happens on their time. Despite the overarching friendliness of the joint, they're really not in a hurry. The take-home message? Relax, please.

Yes, it's a fairly braise-and-rice-led adventure on the table, but there's a certain delicacy and elegance to the flavours on offer here.

Bagala polo has long-grain rice, lightly oiled and flavoured with saffron and dill, tossed with fresh broad beans. Kashk e bademjan​ translates as a verdant, almost escabeche-esque fried eggplant and whey dip, sweetened with caramelised onion and flavoured with saffron and dried mint.

I'm not really sure why they're serving that wholly rich, piquant and vegetal dip with a basket of less-than-fresh flatbread when they could be making their own, like the naans they serve at weekend breakfast (more on that later).

But maybe it's one of those things that just fell into the Too Hard basket. For my dime, it's all about the ghormeh sabzi​. A coriander-heavy braise of lamb, kidney beans and vegetables lifted with dried lime, there's a pungent bittersweetness to it with a texture that's more relish than stew. Just add pilaf.

Now, while the larger meat plates are great for picking and chatting over, they don't hold quite the same level of flavour and interest as some of the other dishes on the menu.

Still, it's as good an excuse as any to dip some of the lamb mince – flattened and grilled alongside lamb backstrap and some juicy barbecued chicken thigh – into a blob of Bijan, the spicy Iranian tomato sauce that's on every table. Also, strangely, there's an accompanying bottle of Masterfoods barbecue sauce. That's some cross-cultural twin-setting, right there.

What I really want to do is come back for the weekend breakfasts when they make their own naan, as well as Persian omelettes, soups and curries. Maybe in winter. Oof.

THE LOWDOWN
Pro tip This is a no-booze situation – if you're stinging, there's non-alcoholic beer on offer.
Try this Ghormeh sabzi is almost worth ordering twice, just so you have leftovers for breakfast.
Like this? Vatan also offers weekend breakfast specials. 65 Auburn Road, Auburn, 02 9649 4450.