Persian catering for North Shore events
Fifteen years of charcoal, saffron and family tables in North Vancouver — packed into warm trays and carried to your hall, office or backyard.
We cook the same food we serve on Lonsdale: kababs off the charcoal grill, saffron rice with a crackling tahdig, herb stews that simmer all morning. Tell us the date and the headcount, and we will tell you exactly what arrives and when.
What we cook, and who we cook it for
Most weeks we are feeding a birthday in Lynn Valley, an office lunch in Lower Lonsdale, and a Saturday engagement party somewhere above the highway. The food travels well because it was built to travel — rice that holds its heat, stews that taste better after an hour, grilled meats we finish on site when the timing allows.
We are a small kitchen. Reza runs the grill, his sister Mitra runs the stews and the sweets, and the same two people who greet you in the dining room load the van. Nothing is subcontracted.
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Family gatherings
Birthdays, Nowruz tables, baby showers, memorials. Usually 20 to 60 people, often at home, often with grandmothers who will judge the tahdig. We take that seriously.
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Weddings and engagements
Sofreh aghd sweets, a shirin polo course, and a kabab buffet that keeps moving. We have cooked in halls, community centres and one very memorable tent in Deep Cove.
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Office lunches
Drop-off platters with labelled trays, serving tongs and compostable plates. We arrive fifteen minutes before your meeting ends, not during it.
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Weekend brunch spreads
Kaleh pacheh is a restaurant-only affair, but adasi, halim, feta-and-walnut boards, barbari bread and cardamom tea travel beautifully for a morning open house.
Packages
Prices below are starting points per guest, before tax and gratuity. Swap dishes freely — the menu is a conversation, not a form.
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Platter drop-off — from $24 per guest
Hot food in insulated trays, cold mezze on platters, all labelled. We carry it in, set it on your table, leave serving utensils, plates and napkins, and go. Minimum 12 guests. Trays can be returned to the restaurant within three days or picked up for a $40 fee.
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Buffet service — from $38 per guest
Chafing dishes, linen-skirted buffet table, real crockery if you want it, and one or two of our staff to set up, keep trays full and clear the line. Two hours of service included; extra hours are $45 each. Minimum 30 guests.
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Full-service event catering — from $62 per guest
On-site charcoal grilling, plated or family-style courses, servers, tea and sweets at the close, and a clean venue when we leave. We handle rentals, timing with your venue, and a run sheet you can hand to anyone. Minimum 50 guests.
- Vegetarian per-guest rate
- Same price, no surcharge
- Halal meat
- All beef, lamb and chicken
- Staffing
- $45 per server, per hour
- Deposit
- 30% to hold the date
Popular event menus
Three spreads we build again and again. Every one of them can be adjusted for vegetarians, allergies or a guest list that grew overnight.
The Twenty — an evening at home
Drop-off, about $26 per guest. Mast-o-khiar and kashk-e bademjan with warm barbari. Shirazi salad. Joojeh kabab and koobideh, twelve skewers of each. Saffron rice with a full tray of tahdig. Ghormeh sabzi for the table. Baklava and a thermos of cardamom tea.
The Fifty — a birthday or engagement
Buffet service, about $41 per guest. Four cold mezze including olivieh and borani-e esfenaj. Barg and koobideh from the grill, joojeh with sumac, and grilled tomatoes. Zereshk polo with barberries and saffron chicken. Baghali polo with lamb shank for the head table. Gheymeh for the vegetarians' neighbours to steal. Sweets platter: baklava, ranginak, nan-e nokhodchi.
The Hundred and Twenty — a wedding reception
Full service, about $68 per guest. Passed mezze during cocktails: mini kotlet, herb-and-feta rolls, spiced walnuts. Charcoal grill on site for barg, koobideh and joojeh. Shirin polo with orange peel and pistachio. Baghali polo ba mahicheh. Two stews, one meat and one vegetarian. Sabzi khordan boards down the length of every table. Tea service, sweets and fresh fruit to close.
They fed a hundred and ten people in a community hall with a broken oven and nobody knew anything had gone wrong. The rice was perfect. My aunt asked for the tahdig recipe, which is the highest honour available in our family.
Shabnam D., wedding in Lynn Valley, September
How it works
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1. Enquiry
Email or call with your date, headcount and venue. We reply within one business day with a menu sketch and a price per guest. No obligation, no back-and-forth forms.
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2. Tasting
For events of 50 or more, come to the restaurant on a weekday afternoon and taste four to six dishes. $60 for two people, credited back when you book.
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3. Deposit
A 30% deposit holds the date and locks the menu. Refundable in full up to 14 days before the event; after that we have already bought the lamb.
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4. Final count
Confirm your guest number and any allergies seven days out. Small increases after that are usually fine — call us and we will say yes if we can.
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5. Delivery and setup
Drop-off arrives within a 30-minute window. Buffet and full service arrive 90 minutes early for setup, longer if we are lighting charcoal.
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6. After
For staffed events we clear the buffet, bag the compost, and leave the kitchen the way we found it. Final invoice comes by email within two days.
Service area, notice and what we bring
We deliver across the North Shore at no charge: North Vancouver, West Vancouver, Deep Cove, Lynn Valley, Edgemont and Lions Bay. Downtown Vancouver, Burnaby and Richmond are $65 flat. We go as far as Squamish for full-service events with a 100-guest minimum.
- Minimum order
- $300 before tax
- Standard notice
- 7 days for drop-off
- Large events
- 4 weeks for 80+ guests
- North Shore delivery
- Included
Equipment we bring
Insulated hot boxes, chafing dishes with fuel, serving spoons and tongs, buffet linens, and a folding table if your venue is short one. For full service: crockery, cutlery, water glasses, tea urn and samovar, and our portable charcoal grill where fire rules allow. Tell us about the venue's loading door and elevator and we will plan around it.
Dietary needs
Every menu can be built vegetarian or vegan — our herb stews, adasi, kashk-e bademjan and baghali polo already are, or nearly are. Gluten-free is straightforward if we swap the bread and the kotlet. Nut allergies need a week's notice because our sweets kitchen works with pistachio daily; we will tell you honestly what we can and cannot guarantee.
Tell us about your event
Send a note with your date, guest count, venue address, the service style you have in mind, and any allergies or dietary needs at the table. If you have a budget per guest, say so — it helps us build something honest instead of guessing.
Prefer to talk it through? Call (604) 987-3142 between 10am and 9pm, or email hello@anarkitchen.ca. For a private dinner inside the restaurant — we seat up to 34 in the back room — book through our reservations page instead.