One of the most famous restaurants specializing in chelo-kebab is called Raftari which dates back almost a century. In 1911, Haj AliAkbar Raftari opened a namesake eatery at the Ghavamoddoleh market  in Shapour Square, a major square of the time. It measures 150 square meters, had 16 personals and was run by the late Ali Akbar Raftari. Businessmen and neighborhood accounted for the majority of patrons.
" Initially I worked in the outlet at the market. Back then there was no gas cylinder. We used to use charcoal to light a fire and cook meat. To stew rice we would use straw.
We would show up for work at 6 in the morning and leave for home at around 8 in the evening. He would give every married worker two meals. He would advise us to take it home and have it with our family. It is more enjoyable, he would say."
After a while, the quality of the food  served at Raftari was the talk of the town and people would come a long distance to dine at Raftari. Back then, in Tehran, a city of 500,000 people, the restaurant would serve up to 2000 meals a day.

The first outlet kept up the thriving business for a half-century. An ever-increasing number of customers prompted Haj Ali Akbar Raftari to expand his business able to cope. In 1965, Raftari bought a building, 650 square meters in area, in same neighborhood. The building was restored before becoming a new outlet. It had 25 personnel. Following the demise of Haj Ali Akbar Raftari, his sons Haj Abolghasem and Haj Mahmood Raftari took over the business.

The Restaurant would pay attention to hygiene so much so that for the first time in Iran it considered the obvious right of customers to inspect the kitchen before ordering. The location of the kitchen made customer inspection quite possible. The high quality of food which was the talk of the town prompted another expansion in the business. In 1975 Mahmood Raftari who was veteran wrestler, supervised an overhaul of the restaurant and turned into a four-story Structure built on 1560 meter-square expanse. The number of personnel rose to 50. The expansion made it possible for the restaurant to play host to parties and services to that end hall was built.

In 1985, Nader, the son of Mahmood Raftari, returned from Britain. Because he took a great intrest in the job, he joined in as ordinary worker in the restaurant operating under supervision of his father and uncle. His growing interest perseverance saw him take over the business in 1990. His management proved successful. In 1999, Nader Raftari opened a new outlet in high-rise bulding in saadat Abad in western Tehran. The new outlet which occupies two stories of the high-rise bulding is 1150 square meters in area. The area on one floor is reserved for ceremonies and parties. The actual restaurant is on the top floor of the building and offers a wonderful view over Tehran. At present, the number of its personnel stands at 60. The restaurant dishes out an average of 2000 meals each day.

In 1999, Nader Raftari opened a new outlet in high-rise bulding in saadat Abad in western Tehran. The new outlet which occupies two stories of the high-rise bulding is 1150 square meters in area. The area on one floor is reserved for ceremonies and parties. The actual restaurant is on the top floor of the building and offers a wonderful view over Tehran. At present, the number of its personnel stands at 60. The restaurant dishes out an average of 2000 meals each day.

It seems passion for the food runs in the Raftari, the daughter of Nader, shows enormous intrest in the profession and is preparing to take over management of the restaurants. Nearly a century of experience and efforts by the Raftari family, the high-quality food their restaurant serve, and customer satisfaction have enhanced the prospect of the future expansion. We're planning to set up restaurant in many other countries including the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait in the near future to let people of those countries enjoy Iranian specialties such as chelo-kebab, Baghali Polo and Fesenjan.