Isfahan is one of the most gorgeous cities that a traveler can ever visit! The city is full of amazing monuments from different eras of Iranians history. So now what’s better than chilling in a beautiful café or restaurant for a good meal and having some quality time?! In addition to being filled with alluring monuments, Isfahan is full of cafés that give you the exact vibe of visiting a historical monument!
There are almost hundreds of old houses in Isfahan that have been renovated and changed to a café. In addition to all these houses with their great historic setting in Isfahan, there are also other interesting places such as modern cafés to have fun, eat and relax in. It was very hard for us to choose between all this great places, but we tried our best!
To choose a great café, we have to put different parameters together. For example, interior space, smoking space, parking space, menu variety and quality of service are among the most important parameters that must be considered. To introduce the most popular cafés of Isfahan, we got the help from customer feedback; because it is the most trusted measure. So join us to get to know the best cafés in Isfahan.
Isfahan has always been famous all over the world for it’s background and history. From Si-o-Se pol to Khajoo Bridge, Naghsh-e Jahan Square and many other tourist attractions, each of which has it’s own story to tell. This time too, a tea house is going to tell another story and narration from Isfahan.
When you enter Haj Mirza’s tea house, you feel that you are wrong and you think you have visited an antique shop or entered a museum in Isfahan! But as you get used to the environment and equipment, you see them as part of the decoration of a traditional restaurant whose owner has a good taste!
They built Chah Haj Mirza for the first time during the Safavid period. At first they called the place Khastehkhaneh, because people used to go there to relieve their tiredness. But little by little this house was renamed to Parrot House, tea house and coffee house, but just among the locals of Isfahan. It is still famous as Haj Mirza House.
You should know that this is not just an ordinary tea house. This is a place that bears the title of the oldest coffee house in the Safavid era in Isfahan; and to see it’s beauty you have to spend days and review it’s history of several hundred years.
All the things you see in this tea house are a collection of time! Because the owner of this tea house have collected them over the years in Isfahan; and he says he is not willing to separate any of them even for a moment. You can find almost anything among the objects of this tea house; from daggers and spears and thatched bowls to old books that belong to a few hundred years ago. It is strange that you can turn a few pages of a historical book by stepping into a seemingly ordinary coffee house!
All the accessories here are all reminiscent of the days when taziyeh reading, Shahnameh reading and narration were held in this place. In addition to it’s unique design, Haj mirza tea house is very famous for it’s Dough and Gusfil, which is the most famous dessert of Isfahan. So if you are going to taste this dessert, we recommend you to look for it in this tea house and hit two birds with one rock!
Danube café is a place with a calm and relaxing atmosphere. The windows of the café face the street; so you can have an amazing view of the street from inside the café. The menu of the café includes coffee, tea and juices, a variety of syrups and chic, mocktail and breakfast and dinner. Inside the café there are books to read and also the local lights make up the light inside the café .
We can consider Dooz Game café as one of the game board cafés in Isfahan. In the first place, it is better to mention the entertainments of this café. Well, the management has also shown that it emphasizes the same issue by choosing the name of the café. In this café you can choose between a variety of fun games in order to have fun. Many enough customers come to the café to spend time and have fun. For this reason, cafeteria tourism may become repetitive and dull after a while; but this is not the case in Dooz Game café.
In this place, you can experience a variety of group table games with your friends. The games are: tic-tac-toe (which the café gets it’s name from) , Ludo, snakes and ladders and etc. Dooz café has a very friendly and intimate atmosphere. It is not possible to smoke inside the café. So you can enjoy your game without breathing in the smoke.
In addition to exciting games, the café management also offers a varied menu. This menu includes a variety of delicious dishes and mixed drinks. You should also be note that the barista of this collection serves customer orders with a very special design. This section has made Dooz game café even more famous.
Lotus is one of those beautiful and colorful cafes that is located in the beautiful mansion of Shekarchian. The interior is relatively large and pleasant; and due to the large number of windows, it receives good light from outside. The balcony of the café is one of it’s unique places, facing the old and beautiful neighborhood of Baharkhabha.
You can look food breakfasts such as omelette can Lotus café’s special breakfast dishes in the morning. And also all kinds of food, from traditional Iranian dishes to pizzas. And if you are looking for something to drink they serve high quality cold and hot drinks with a variety of desserts on the side.
Hayat café – restaurant is one of the most beautiful cafes in Isfahan. This café is located in the historical complex of Safavid house. This house, as you would expect, dates back to the time of Shah Abbas Safavid. The historical complex of the Safavid house is one of the most beautiful sights of Isfahan. Fortunately, this house has been slightly damaged since the Safavid era, so with a little taste, creativity and renovation, this building has been revived.
In the open space of this building, right next to the turquoise pool, Hayat café has come to life. This place is one of the most famous cafés in Isfahan. You can order a variety of modern and traditional drinks and local food of Isfahan in Hayat café. The interior of it is very spectacular and reminds you of the good old days. So having even a very small meal can absolutely change your mood and relieve your tiredness from a day of visiting tourism attractions of Isfahan.
The name of Meydoon café – Restaurant has been chosen with a lot of creativity! This café is located near one of the most important tourism attractions of Isfahan, Naghsh-e Jahan Square. That is why they call it “Meydoon” (translates as square) café. This place is one of the most luxurious cafés in Isfahan. The interior of this café is designed based on traditional architectural style. This is why the subconscious makes you feel good when you are in it.
This café – restaurant has a luxurious, beautiful and excellent atmosphere. Meydoon café has open space and indoor space. There is no smell of cigarette smoke indoors; but in the open air and the café porch, it is possible for you to smoke. Besides the café menu, they also serve a variety of traditional Isfahan dishes.
We can say that the historical house of Monsieur Arakel is of curse one of the most beautiful historical houses in Isfahan that turned beautifully into a café. This house belongs to the Qajar period. Nevertheless, they have rebuilt it well! The interior of this café reminds you of the classic films of the Pahlavi era.
This place is more like a chic and classic European café. Like any other historic house, Monsieur Arakel’s historic house has a clean and generous courtyard. In the middle of this yard, a turquoise pool stands out. The courtyard of this house is very green and spectacular. Even in summer, the yard space of this house is a few degrees different from other parts of Isfahan. This café offers a very high quality and varied menu to it’s customers. And you should note that you can’t smoke even the open-air space of this place.
Isfahan Museum café is one of the most beautiful and pleasant cafés in Isfahan. This place has a charming and happy environment that adds to it’s coziness. This café is located among the colorful handicraft shops in the Espadana Palace.
In the architecture of Isfahan Museum café, they used yellow bricks and beautiful arches as a place to keep things. The wall arches are in harmony with the entrance arch and the entrance door. So that the entrance door is made in the form of an arch. Which has created a special harmony in this place.
Polish wooden tables and chairs located in the reception inside and outside, antique vases, teapots and jars, old gramophones, aged paintings, brick walls, wooden lattice windows, trays and bronze sculptures, and in addition to all of them a small blue pool with flowers in front of the café adds to the beauty of this place. The surrounding trees, the pots that pop up in cafés and even on the walls, have all created a beautiful, nostalgic and pleasant environment.
The menu of Isfahan Museum restaurant is full of delicious things. Daily food, daily salad, pasta, chicken steak, hotdog and eggs along with a variety of chic and desserts with natural juices and hot drinks with coffee base and of course Iranian liqueurs and drinks, can all be found in the menu of the Isfahan Museum café.
If you are a fan of traditional old Iranian houses, then you’d love Namakdan mansion! This café – restaurant is in the heart of Isfahan, Naghsh-e Jahan square. One of the most amazing facts about this mansion is that it was originally a Qajar house. Namakdan is known as one of the best open-air cafés in Isfahan.
Isfahan’s Namakdan Mansion is one of those café – restaurants where you do not notice the passage of time! Because this café used to be a Qajar house in Isfahan; so it’s beautiful architecture will surely calm people. As we mentioned before, this café – restaurant is located near Naghsh Jahan Square; so if you choose the balcony and look out, you can see a view of the square! Although the café – restaurant is historic, it has a modern decoration. This place is in fact a mixture of modernity and tradition.
Although the menu of Isfahan Namakdan café – restaurant does not seem very crowded, but it’s design has become very popular among the customers. Remember that you can only go to Namakdan mansion on Fridays to eat the famous Iranian dish, “DIZI”. Another popular dish on the menu of this place is “Polo Mash” (rice and mung bean). If you go to this restaurant at 5 pm, you can also try the delicious Aush of this restaurant too. The café menu also includes a variety of hot and cold drinks, ice cream, chic, cakes and other delicious snacks. The restaurant is open for breakfast from 8:30 to 10:30 am, dinner from 8 to 11 pm and the café from 8:30 am to 11 pm.
The entrance to the mansion is a short, blue corridor that, as you pass, the white mansion with green doors and windows appears after its courtyard. A small, beautiful pond with turquoise blue tiles is located in the middle of the courtyard; and like the old houses around it, there are earthenware pots with red geranium flowers. The floor of the yard is also covered with old ceramics and there are clay pots and copper sprinklers in the corner of the yard.
The tables and chairs in the courtyard of the Namakdan café – restaurant are Polish-style; so they might evoke the memory of your grandparents’ house!
Although sitting in the open-air space of the café gives you a good view of Isfahan’s most famous attraction, we suggest that you look inside the mansion. Perhaps seeing the traditional rooms full of Iranian antiques will change your mind about choosing a place to sit.
The items in the east and west rooms of Namakdan café are handicrafts from different parts of Iran, such as Lori handicrafts, Kurdish weaves, Turkmen horse carpets and rugs, wooden tables, wall hangings and beautiful handmade fabrics, and other antiques. If you want a cozy couple chat, it is better not to miss the balcony. In this balcony, in addition to having a good view of Naqsh Jahan Square, you will also enjoy sitting on it’s comfortable sofas.
Isfahan Safavid House, which today has become a Safavid café and gallery with a change of use, is one of the best historical places in Isfahan, registered in the national heritage of Iran. Today, paintings by prominent Iranian artists have been activated in this place next to a traditional café – restaurant to induce a nostalgic effect to tourists with some restorations.
Crossing the narrow corridor, you will reach the main courtyard of the Safavid house of Isfahan with a pleasant green space. The large porch of this beautiful house will be a good place to take some pictures! The wooden tables arranged around the eye-catching pool are a nice place to sit and enjoy a variety of hot and cold drinks.
The breakfast menu of Safavid café is very popular among the natives of Isfahan; if you are a little early in the morning you can enjoy a delicious breakfast in a historic setting.
Also, in the warm seasons of the year, they add a traditional Iranian food called Ab, Dough, Khiar (a combination of cucumber, Dough and nuts served with read) to the menu; and we definitely recommend you to try it!
A collection of historical and new images of Isfahani photographers along with a large number of paintings has been displayed in public in the Safavid Gallery section of Isfahan. During different months of the year, several workshops are held in these sections in literary and artistic fields; which of course has it’s own fans.
One of the rooms of this mansion, which is the most beautiful, has become a booth for handicrafts and souvenirs in Isfahan province, which is very popular during the tourist days of the year. You can buy beautiful souvenirs from this place for yourself or your friends!
Which of the Isfahan café – restaurants we introduced in the article did you like the most? Tell us about your favorite one among all Isfahan cafés and thanks for reading the article!