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A Persian kabob plate with saffron rice, grilled tomato and koobideh skewers in North York
The Tehranto strip

The Persian food of North York, from Sheppard to Steeles — and one Tehranto.

Persian food in North York runs up Yonge Street from Sheppard to Steeles, and it is densest at the top: eight businesses in the 6095–6200 Yonge block alone. Here are 14 places that Google lists as open, with what to order at each.

Updated October 4, 2026 By the North York Guide editors 9 min read
8
Businesses in 6095–6200 Yonge
14
Venues verified open
1989
Khorak opens on Yonge
4.7
Shamshiri Google rating (4,835 reviews)
The 30-second answer

Go to Yonge & Steeles for the strip, Sheppard East for the best-rated kabob, and York Mills for Darband.

Tehranto is the local nickname for the stretch of Yonge Street between Finch and Steeles where Persian restaurants, bakeries and grocers sit side by side. Post City called Iranian Plaza at 6075 Yonge St the most densely packed group of Persian restaurants and food stores in Ontario (October 4, 2016).

For a first trip: Shamshiri (280 Sheppard Ave E) for kabob, Red Rose Patisserie (6184 Yonge St) for sweets, and Khorak (6125 Yonge St) to see a hot table at work.

If you only have a minute

The 5 things you actually need to know

  1. Kabob houses and sit-down rooms
  2. Bakeries and sweets
  3. Markets with hot tables
  4. What to order, dish by dish
  5. Every venue by intersection
The grill and the table

Kabob Houses & Sit-Down Rooms

Seven restaurants, from a 20-seat takeout counter to a bistro with a bar. All seven are listed as operational by Google as of October 2026.

Shamshiri Restaurant, North York
Top pick$

Shamshiri Restaurant

📍 280 Sheppard Ave E · Sheppard & Bayview side of the map

Google: 4.7 (4,835 reviews, checked October 2026)

Shamshiri Restaurant at 280 Sheppard Ave E is the counter-service kabob house with the strongest rating on this page — about 20 seats, and most of the business is takeout.

What to get: chelo koobideh, kebab torsh, or lamb shishlik. Blogto’s listing shows gheymeh at $15.99, zeytoon parvardeh at $10.99 and doogh at $4.99; family combos run around $60. Confirm current prices at the counter.

Worth knowing: A second Shamshiri branch exists in Thornhill and is not covered here.

Map
Denj Restaurant & Bar, North York
Modern take$$-$$$

Denj Restaurant & Bar

📍 4852 Yonge St · Yonge & Sheppard / North York Centre

Google: 4.8 (337 reviews, checked October 2026)

Denj at 4852 Yonge St is the dressed-up end of the Persian scene: modern Persian classics in a minimalist bistro with a bar. Streets of Toronto profiled it as a bistro reclaiming North York’s Persian scene.

What to get: start with the Persian classics you already know — koobideh, stews — and see how the kitchen plates them. Menu and prices are not confirmed here, so check before you book.

Map 647-879-6279
Tehranto Restaurant, North York
Sit-down$$

Tehranto Restaurant

📍 5625 Yonge St · Yonge & Finch

Google: 4.5 (767 reviews, checked October 2026)

Tehranto at 5625 Yonge St is the sit-down room at the Finch end of the strip, named for the neighbourhood itself. Blogto’s listing (March 2025) notes weekend live music and dancing.

What to get: bademjan kebabi, fried fish, gheymeh, or the loghmeh kebab.

Map
Darband Restaurant, North York
Since 1995$$-$$$

Darband Restaurant

📍 879 York Mills Rd, Unit 8 · York Mills & Don Mills corridor

Google: 4.3 (4,375 reviews, checked October 2026)

Darband at 879 York Mills Rd is the York Mills anchor, open since 1995 and already reviewed in full on our Middle Eastern restaurants guide. It overlaps with that page on purpose — it belongs on any North York Persian list.

What to get: koobideh, or the lamb shank with tahdig. Mains run roughly $20–$35 per our Middle Eastern page.

Map
Altona Kabob, North York
Late night$-$$

Altona Kabob

📍 6099 Yonge St · Yonge & Steeles

Google: 3.4 (1,429 reviews, checked October 2026)

Altona Kabob at 6099 Yonge St is the late-night stop on the Steeles end. Post City and Blogto both covered it as part of the Yonge Persian strip; its Google rating (3.4) is the lowest of the kabob houses here, so go for the hours and the grill rather than the fine print.

What to get: kebabs cooked to order, or ghormeh sabzi.

Worth knowing: Delivery-app listings show hours stretching to roughly 1:30–3:15 a.m. Confirm tonight’s hours before you go.

Map
Khaki Restaurant, North York
Family packs$-$$

Khaki Restaurant

📍 6119 Yonge St · Yonge & Steeles

Google: 4.3 (2,830 reviews, checked October 2026)

Khaki Restaurant at 6119 Yonge St shows up on Blogto’s best-Persian list for its koobideh, and sells family takeout packs. A Richmond Hill branch exists and is not covered here.

What to get: koobideh, then a stew if you are feeding a table.

Map
Zaffron Restaurant, North York
Persian + Italian$$

Zaffron Restaurant

📍 6200 Yonge St · Yonge & Steeles

Google: 4 (1,479 reviews, checked October 2026)

Zaffron at 6200 Yonge St runs a Persian and Italian menu, a useful split when one person at the table wants pasta. Our sources on it are older (Blogto 2018), so treat the menu as a starting point.

What to get: stick to the Persian side of the menu.

Map
After the kabob

Bakeries, Bastani & Zoolbia

Persian sweets are a separate trip, and three of the four bakeries below are on Yonge near Steeles.

Red Rose Patisserie, North York
Sweets institution$

Red Rose Patisserie

📍 6184 Yonge St · Yonge & Steeles

Google: 4.3 (502 reviews, checked October 2026)

Red Rose Patisserie at 6184 Yonge St opened its first shop at Yonge and Finch in 1993 and has been at its current Yonge location since 2000. The Toronto Star ran a March 10, 2022 feature headlined “Toronto’s go-to place for Persian sweets.”

What to get: zoolbia (fried, rosewater-honey syrup), faloodeh, cream puffs, saffron ice cream, or shirini khoshk (dry cookies).

Map
BB Cafe, North York
Since 2007$

BB Cafe

📍 6095 Yonge St · Yonge & Steeles

Google: 3.8 (714 reviews, checked October 2026)

BB Cafe at 6095 Yonge St has been on the strip since 2007, covering pastries, custom cakes and ice cream.

What to get: pistachio or saffron ice cream, or the ice-cream waffle sandwich.

Map
Papa Cafe & Pastry, North York
Sit and linger$

Papa Cafe & Pastry

📍 6111 Yonge St · Yonge & Steeles / Centre Ave

Google: 4.1 (715 reviews, checked October 2026)

Papa Cafe & Pastry at 6111 Yonge St is the pink, two-level café that Blogto describes as opened in 2013, with a patio over the park. It is the better bet when you want to sit down.

What to get: saffron tea with rock candy (nabat), plus whichever Persian sweets and cakes are in the case.

Map
Shirini Sara Pastry House, North York
Best rated$

Shirini Sara Pastry House

📍 1881 Leslie St, Unit 1 · Leslie & York Mills

Google: 4.5 (1,232 reviews, checked October 2026)

Shirini Sara at 1881 Leslie St is run by Nader and Vida Malek and has been open for 20-plus years, a short drive from Darband on the York Mills side.

What to get: Persian cookies, baklava, French pastries — and Yalda cakes when the winter solstice celebration comes around.

Map 416-510-1050
Buy it by the pound

Markets & Hot Tables

The strip’s grocers double as lunch counters. Two sit at Steeles; one is a short trip east on Sheppard.

Khorak Supermarket (Super Khorak), North York
Since 1989$

Khorak Supermarket (Super Khorak)

📍 6125 Yonge St · Yonge & Steeles

Google: 4.3 (6,455 reviews, checked October 2026)

Khorak at 6125 Yonge St has operated since 1989 and carries a hot table of kebab, saffron rice, lamb shank and stews, plus barbari bread, baklava and sweets.

What to get: a hot-table plate of kebab and saffron rice, then a bag of barbari for later.

Worth knowing: Blogto reported on October 16, 2023 that developer Arkfield proposed a 491-unit condo project on the site (23- and 19-storey towers) with the Khorak brand retained at the retail base. Check the store’s status before you travel.

Map
Super Arzon (Arzon Supermarket), North York
Hot table$

Super Arzon (Arzon Supermarket)

📍 6103 Yonge St · Yonge & Steeles

Google: 4.5 (4,130 reviews, checked October 2026)

Super Arzon at 6103 Yonge St is the other hot-table grocer on the strip. Blogto priced a ghormeh sabzi and bamieh combo at $9.99 in 2018 and described the store as open 24 hours; both details are dated.

What to get: the ghormeh sabzi combo, plus kebab to order.

Worth knowing: Hours and prices from 2018 may have changed — confirm before a late-night run.

Map
Ava Esfahan Food Market, North York
Off the strip$

Ava Esfahan Food Market

📍 193 Sheppard Ave E · Sheppard Ave E

Google: 4.6 (1,271 reviews, checked October 2026)

Ava Esfahan at 193 Sheppard Ave E is the market-deli for anyone who lives nearer Sheppard than Steeles; Blogto points to its tahchin and desserts.

What to get: tahchin (the saffron rice cake) and a box of desserts.

Map

Just outside the North York boundary, North Restaurant at 100 Steeles Ave W, Unit 27 in Vaughan serves northern Iranian (Shomal) cooking and rates 3.7 on Google (1,937 reviews). We have not included it in the ranked count.

For the first-timer

What to Order, Dish by Dish

A Persian menu is mostly a choice between a kebab, a khoresh (stew) and rice. These are the nine terms worth knowing before you order.

DishWhat it isOrder tip
Chelo kababKebab on saffron basmati with a grilled tomatoKoobideh is ground beef or lamb with onion — ask for it juicy, not well done. Kabab barg is thin-sliced lamb or beef; joojeh is saffron chicken; soltani pairs barg with koobideh.
Ghormeh sabziHerb stew with kidney beans and dried limesOften called the national dish. The order that proves a kitchen.
FesenjanWalnut-pomegranate stew from GilanFestive and rich; best shared.
GheymehSplit-pea, dried-lime and tomato stewA gentle stew, good with rice.
TahdigThe crispy rice from the bottom of the potUsually not on the menu — ask for it.
TahchinSaffron rice cakeA market-deli staple; Ava Esfahan is the lead above.
Zoolbia and bamiehFried, syrup-soaked sweetsZoolbia is rosewater-honey; both are best fresh.
Bastani and faloodehSaffron-pistachio ice cream; rosewater sorbet with noodlesThe classic pairing is faloodeh and bastani in one cup.
DooghSalted yogurt drinkListed at $4.99 at Shamshiri.

Order one kebab, one stew and one plate of rice, and ask for the tahdig.— North York Guide

If you do one thing

Eat a kabob at Shamshiri, then walk the Steeles block for dessert.

Take the Sheppard East kabob first, then head to 6184 Yonge St for Red Rose’s zoolbia and saffron ice cream. If you want one stop with everything, Khorak at 6125 Yonge covers hot food, bread and sweets.

The map, in words

Every Venue by Intersection

Persian North York is easiest to cover from south to north along Yonge, with one detour east to York Mills.

Context: Post City reported in 2016, using 2011 census data, that more than 40,000 Iranian-Canadians lived in the GTA and that Persian was the second most common mother tongue after English in about a dozen Toronto neighbourhoods, many along Yonge between Finch and Steeles. That figure is dated.

Quick answers

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Tehranto in North York?

Tehranto is the nickname for Yonge Street between Finch and Steeles, with its hub at Iranian Plaza, 6075 Yonge St. Eight venues on this page sit between 6095 and 6200 Yonge St. There is also a restaurant named Tehranto at 5625 Yonge St.

What is the best kabob in North York?

Shamshiri (280 Sheppard Ave E) has the highest Google rating of the kabob houses here at 4.7 from 4,835 reviews. Khaki (6119 Yonge St, 4.3), Darband (879 York Mills Rd, 4.3) and Altona Kabob (6099 Yonge St, 3.4) are the other grill-first options.

What should I order at a Persian restaurant for the first time?

Order chelo koobideh (ground-meat kebab on saffron rice) plus a stew such as ghormeh sabzi, and ask for tahdig, the crispy rice from the bottom of the pot.

What is tahdig and how do I get it?

Tahdig is the crispy rice crust from the bottom of the pot. It is usually not on the menu, so ask your server — it is also served with the lamb shank at Darband, 879 York Mills Rd.

Where can I buy Persian sweets in North York?

Red Rose Patisserie (6184 Yonge St) for zoolbia and faloodeh, BB Cafe (6095 Yonge St) for saffron ice cream, Papa Cafe & Pastry (6111 Yonge St) for tea and cakes, and Shirini Sara (1881 Leslie St) for cookies and baklava.

Is Persian food halal?

Many Persian restaurants advertise halal meat, but it is not universal. We have not verified halal status for the venues on this page, so ask the restaurant directly.

Which Persian places are open late?

Altona Kabob (6099 Yonge St) has been listed on delivery apps to roughly 1:30–3:15 a.m., and Super Arzon (6103 Yonge St) was described as open 24 hours in 2018. Both details are dated; confirm hours first.

Where can I get a Persian hot-table lunch?

Khorak (6125 Yonge St) and Super Arzon (6103 Yonge St) both run hot tables. Blogto reported in October 2023 that Khorak sits on a site proposed for redevelopment, with the brand to return, so check its current status.

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Venue photos via Google Maps.