Hanam’s
3 Johnstone Terrace
t. 0131 225 1329                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
w. hanams.com

Put up with things…according to a clever man, this is the first great rule of life. But putting up with some things needs great patience and much tolerance. Kurds must therefore be amongst the most patient and tolerant of people. I had thought to begin this piece with a short history of Kurdistan – don’t turn the page; I’ve changed my mind. But a few minutes in the company of Jamal, owner of and ever-present reassurance of quality at this fine Kurdish & Middle Eastern restaurant, makes you realise how lucky and cosseted we are in our ‘modern democracy’, not least in current times.

John Holmes is much taken by this charming man and his restaurant...

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Jamal is from Halabja in Iraqi Kurdistan, and he talks about its history in a far less acrimonious way than I’ve heard Scots talk about our ‘relationship’ with the English. If you don’t know anything about Halabja, I suggest you look it up. I also strongly suggest you pay a visit to Hanam’s and enrich your lives a little.

Before setting up this unique Edinburgh dining experience, Jamal was an Edinburgh bus driver. He was happy (it’s hard to imagine his being anything but, with a permanent smile seemingly etched into his face) but perhaps a little unfulfilled. So he went home one night to his Scottish wife – Lisa – and told her of his great idea: he was going to open a restaurant selling the food he remembered and missed from back home. Jamal smiles when you ask what his wife’s response was, but one can imagine. Whatever it was, we are all lucky that he brought his idea to fruition.

And if any of you fussy eaters out there are thinking that Kurdish food will not be to your taste, think again. Much of it is more subtly spiced or more interestingly prepared versions of stuff you will be at least vaguely familiar with from parts of the Mediterranean and Asia. In fact, one of the lamb dishes I had on my first visit (I think it was the Fasolya ba Gohst) was reminiscent of the old Drummond Street Kushi’s peerless lamb curry, a feat not matched even by Kushi’s themselves in their more recent incarnations. A truly memorable dish, even if I can’t remember its name!

New favourite restaurant
On this visit, we began with Mushakal which is a shared plate of the chef’s favourite starters served with hummus and a side salad – we were offered Kulicha (crispy naan dough fritters), Dolma (vine leaves with rice), Falafael (lightly fried chickpea balls) and Kuba (mixed vegetable patties rolled in crushed rice and served with yogurt dressing). All of this was £9.95 and we finished the lot because it was delicious and would have been criminal to leave any. This necessitated a lengthy break before we could contemplate our mains, not least because it was also accompanied by the most appealing, and large, Kurdish naan bread which, thankfully, is lighter than Indian naan.
Our mains were a Tashreeb @ £11.25 – a casserole of lamb on the bone on top of slices of naan covered by a thick sauce of onions, peppers and tomatoes – and Ghost Kebab which is minced lamb on a skewer. The kebabs are a house speciality and come in either Kurdish or Iranian style, the former with naan, side salad and two dips @ £11.50: the latter with ‘special’ rice and a vegetable Shilah – this one a thick soup-like tomato and aubergine based accompaniment (from a choice of 3) @ £14. If your only experience of a kebab is at 3 in the morning on the way home from Flannigan’s, you have to try these.

And despite the fact that we could manage only half of the food in front of us, more naan arrived, presumably because neither we, nor the table, were groaning quite enough under the weight of food. On Jamal’s advice, we took some of the naan home, froze it then sprinkled it with water and heated it in the oven for 2 minutes to accompany the following Friday night’s curry. Still delicious. And who can resist the delicious/thrifty combo?

So, you’d think that would be it. But undeterred by straining trouser buttons, and in the spirit that a job worth doing is worth stuffing your face for, we ordered Baklawa (sweet filo pastry with pistachio nuts and syrup) with fresh cream @ £4 and Rose Ice Cream @ £3.95. Despite Greek and Turkish baklava often being cloyingly sweet, Hanam’s version is not. The ice cream was delicious and on hearing this view, Jamal gave us a somewhat large ‘taste’ (3 scoops!) of Persian Saffron and Cardamom ice cream which was equally delectable – he is very pleased that his is one of only five restaurants in Scotland to be supplied with it by a small dairy farm which specialises in bespoke ice cream.

I think I’ve found my new favourite restaurant.

Proximity to Bow Bar
And if smoking a Shisha pipe is your bag, Hanam’s has Scotland’s only dedicated Shisha area – on its balcony overlooking atmospheric Victoria Street. Jamal advises on his web-site that the art of smoking the hookah teaches you patience and understanding…an age-old method of relaxation and friendship shared by many people across the Middle East. I can put up with that.

Apart from the great food, there are two other great things about Hanam’s: one is that it is a BYOB, and there’s no corkage charge (Hurrah! I hear Gouldie cry, I can put up with that.). The other is its proximity to the Bow Bar. All of my favourite restaurants seem to be within a 5-minute walk of a good bar. And, as it is said, even the finest landscape in the world is improved by a good inn in the foreground. Amen.

Damage: £43.15

Score: 4/5