Shamshiri

What is Shamshiri? Taking up a prime storefront at 646 Yonge Street just north of Wellesley, Shamshiri brings Tehran’s storied kebab tradition into a streamlined downtown dining room. The space is bright, functional, and relaxed, outfitted with unfussy table seating designed for fast-paced dine-in lunches, family dinners, and brisk takeout service. It eschews fine-dining pageantry to focus squarely on hot grills, saffron-steeped rice, and traditional Iranian home cooking.

Shamshiri Menu & What to Order The skewers are the main attraction, anchored by the Kabab Koobideh—minced beef and lamb grilled until lightly charred on the edges while staying deeply juicy inside. For variety, get the Vaziri combo (marinated chicken breast paired with koobideh) or order the fall-apart braised lamb shank plated alongside fluffy, dill-flecked Baghali Polo (fava bean rice). All meat is halal, and orders are best rounded out with smoky Mirza Ghasemi eggplant dip, sweet-tart Fesenjan stew, and a cold jug of mint-dusted doogh.

Know Before You Go Reservations are not necessary; service is entirely walk-in with rapid table turnover even during the bustling post-work dinner rush. The restaurant is an easy two-block walk between Wellesley and Bloor-Yonge subway stations, though street parking along Yonge is tight. Shamshiri is open daily starting at 11:00 a.m., keeping the kitchen running until late evening all week.