Tehran’s many kabab shops didn’t stir much excitement in Hamed Allahyari as a child while queuing with his father for chargrilled lamb wrapped in flatbread. But after being away from Iran for more than a decade, he felt the pull of tradition and memories – and last week opened a Persian kabab joint of his own.

At Kababi – the lone restaurant on an industrial thoroughfare in Sunshine – Allahyari has bottled his memories of these 100-year-old establishments, many of them bare-bones shops apart from elaborate chandeliers, which he says are a stylish relic of pre-revolutionary Iran.

His 26-seat kabab house boasts its own large chandelier and patterned tiles as a nod to his heritage, but the menu is an original mix of Melbourne and Persian influences.

Skewers of lamb and chicken are cooked with tomatoes and green chilli over a charcoal flat grill, just like in Iran. For vegetarian diners, there are chargrilled king brown mushrooms, chosen for their meaty texture. All are either served in lavash wraps or on plates with barberry-flecked rice, salad, and the dried shallot and yoghurt dip called mast-o musir.

Allahyari is also the proprietor of the nearby Cafe Sunshine and SalamaTea, which he opened in 2019 as both a shrine to Persian cuisine and a place to offer training and employment to other asylum seekers and refugees. Allahyari’s arrival in Australia began with immigration detention; since then, he’s published a cookbook, run cooking classes, and appeared on The Cook Up on SBS with Adam Liaw.

At Kababi, all items are listed on the menu with their Persian names: koobideh kabab for the lamb skewers, jujeh kabab for chicken, and so on.

“I don’t want people to order a ‘chicken wrap’, because they might think it’s like a doner kebab [which is cooked on a vertical rotisserie],” says Allahyari.

Starters include the mirza ghasemi (eggplant, tomato and egg dip), made ultra-smoky by grilling the eggplant. Baal kababi – chicken wings marinated in lemon juice, saffron and other spices – are Allahyari’s pick, highly recommended with a glass of arak made in the Persian style with dried raisins, which he can serve once he gets his liquor licence.

“You guys do barbecue and beer; we do arak and baal kababi,” he says with a laugh.

There are also refreshing iced teas and cordials made with sour cherry, willow flower and other botanicals. For dessert, there’s bastani sonnati – Persian saffron and pistachio ice-cream – made in-house.

Everything is available to take away and, at night, a glowing violet “Kababi” sign painted with intricate patterns lets diners know they’ve reached their destination.

Open Mon-Sat 11am-8pm.

18A Market Road, Sunshine, kababi.com.au