If you walked pasted Tida, you could easily believe it’s a private dining space – part of a performance art piece, someone’s home or a particularly beautiful community centre. It’s tiny, just three tables, and everyone inside is drinking tea, chatting and eating crispy Persian rice at a pace that would indicate they have nothing else planned. Meanwhile the floor staff all act like they’re interacting with dinner party guests in their own home. This is all on purpose, part of Tida’s owners’ mission to make a space that prioritises atmosphere and community as much as its menu. The speciality of that menu is tahdig, a style of crispy rice famed in Persian cuisine, that can be ordered with rich Persian stews and skewered meat juicy enough to flavour any flatbreads you fold around it.
