How migration transformed Lebanon's food scene over the past century: Persian cuisine

HAMRA, BEIRUT — Inside this small restaurant tucked away in a small, sloped side street in Hamra, the walls are adorned with poems in Farsi. Beyond, a neon sign displays the phrase: “But first kabab.” It is clear: we have left Lebanese cuisine behind and entered a perfumed Persian kitchen.It’s not often that you’ll hear of a Persian or Iranian restaurant in Lebanon. Persian Cup is seemingly the only one. It is a rare jewel within Beirut’s diverse culinary landscape featuring Japanese, Italian, Ethiopian and Armenian restaurants and beyond.“When I came I saw there was no Persian cuisine, I knew I had to start a catering business,” says Mehrnaz Motamedi, the original founder of Persian Cup. She left her job in the film industry and started cooking in 2019.Co-founders of Persian Cup restaurant in Hamra, Mehrnaz Motamedi and Nivine Maktabi...