During his last visit to Tehran in 2012, Aryan Diba enjoyed the sweeping hospitality of the city, but was annoyed when he and a group of friends were disrupted by local authorities while talking to a group of women at a local fast food joint.
“The government doesn’t let people breathe,” he said about the country where his parents are from.
But the people themselves? “Iranian culture is very different behind closed doors,” he said. It’s full of warmth, humility, hospitality and respect — a form of social etiquette that is encapsulated in a concept known as taarof.
That’s the side of Iranian culture that Diba wanted to share when he opened Surena Persian Cuisine 10 years ago at 9625 E. Arapahoe Road in Centennial, just a stone’s throw from where he grew up since the age of 3.
The place is ostensibly a kabob joint. “We do kabob because thatap what Persian people eat when they go out,” said Diba. But kebabs are joined by a variety of stews, salads and eggplant dishes that are mainstays of Persian cooking. (About 65% of Iran’s population identifies as Persian, an ethnicity that is separate from ethnic minorities in the country.)
The Mirza Ghasemi is a good place to start. A puree of baked eggplant, garlic, tomatoes, eggs and spices hits the table warm with flatbread thatap not much thicker than a dollar bill. Daily stew specials include gheimeh cibzamini, a combination of beef, split pea, dried lemon and tomato, topped with string fries (available on Sundays). Kabobs come in chicken, lamb, beef, salmon and vegetarian. The best one for getting a feel of the place is the koobideh kabob, which has two stretches of shaped ground beef. Everything can and should be enjoyed with sumac, a tangy spice made from ground berries.
Unlike the food of its neighbors, Iranian Persian cuisine is decidedly mild. While itap not spice- or heat-heavy, dishes shine in their subtlety, despite their robust appearance. Itap energetic food that can be devoured plentifully without exhaustion.
The menu at Surena was developed by chef Heydar Jafarpour, a family friend of Diba’s who has been cooking for over 50 years. Before moving to the U.S. 15 years ago, Jafarpour was cooking at The Aftabgardan Revolving Restaurant, a spinning dining room situated on the Milad Tower in Tehran, Iran’s capital.
“He was the missing piece when we were trying to open the restaurant. He’s 84 years old now, and he’s still here,” grinned Diba. “He’s done so much for us.” While Jafarpour’s dishes are all traditional, “he has a particular method of making them.
“We do what we do really well,” he added.
To a Western palate, Surena’s food can seem both far-flung and noticeably familiar. And while plenty of Persian dining is typically done at home, Diba and his team have done a good job of making both newbies and folks more familiar with the cuisine feel welcome. “I’m trying to show how hospitable, friendly and outgoing Persians are,” he said.
Diba’s parents came to Colorado as refugees. Getting here was an arduous journey, one that took the family to Switzerland, Italy and California, before they were able to land in Colorado. His father, Mehran Diba, owns Arash International Market on the border of Denver and Aurora. He and Diba’s uncle started it 35 years ago as a small convenience store, but Arash has since grown into one of the area’s top spots for produce, meat and international goods. (It’s also where Surena gets its vegetables and meat.)
Behind a strip-mall exterior, Surena is all elegance. Diba says that the restaurant is often home to big groups, who are there either celebrating an event or simply bringing out friends and family to enjoy a feast.
“The way the food is served is meant to be shared,” and he explained, and when some of the 10,000 Iranians who make Colorado home are eating at Surena, there is also plenty of faarof. “There’s this element of wanting to host or be hospitable in the Persian community … People will literally fight over who gets to pay the bill.”
In this time of anger and war-torn headlines, it’s a side of Persian culture that he wants people to see. “This restaurant is all about sharing food with people you care about,” Diba said. “And itap for sharing our culture with the American community.”
