Our first destination outside of Tehran was Yazd, a small city in central Iran, famous for an old quarter constructed of mud bricks, intricate irrigation system called qanats, and wind towers (bagdhirs).

Yazd could also claim the title of “accommodation” capital of Iran, as it has atmospheric hotels set in beautifully renovated mud brick houses which are affordable even on a traveller’s budget.

We stayed at one such hotel, called the Silk Road. Despite its open garden terrace and stunning views over the nearby Jameh Mosque, the best part of our sojourn was eating at the fabulous restaurant.

The Silk Road serves both Persian and Indian dishes, reflecting the heritage of the hotel’s owners. Perhaps because of the Indian connection, the Silk Road restaurant has a number of vegetarian dishes and it was the only place in Iran where we could find authentic Persian vegetarian food.

One Iranian dish on the menu was a vegetable stew. This was very similar to the stews we were served in traditional Iranian restaurants (except that it didn’t come with meat). Yellow lentil and vegetables were cooked in a tomato base, which had a rich, oily flavour.

The Silk Road also offered the unique opportunity to try ‘cucu’, a traditional Iranian vegetarian dish (apparently they do exist!) Cucu are fried egg patties and at the Silk Road they were served in two varieties, eggplant or potato. While I heard about cucu from Iranians (using trying earnestly to convince me that there is such a thing as Iranian vegetarian food), the Silk Road was the only restaurant I came across that included them on the menu.

Another Iranian dish that we tried only at the Silk Road restaurant was a warm pureed eggplant stew cooked with garlic and served with fresh soft cheese on top. The eggplant tasted as though it had been grilled first, and reminded me a little of baba ghanouj because of its thick texture.

One part of our meal was very typical of our experience in Iran: the rice was half flavoured with saffron, adding a lovely burst of colour.

Fresh, creamy, tart yoghurt, flavoured with mint or shallots, was on every menu in Iran and was lovely eaten as an accompaniement to rice, salad or stew.

Aside from Iranian dishes, the Silk Road also has a selection of Indian food, which partly accounts for its good vegetarian karma.

We tried the vegetable curry, which had a different base from the Iranian curry and no lentils so it was a suitably different dish and gave the meal variety.

This was one of my favourite restaurant and hotel experiences in Iran: it truly is an oasis in the desert!

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