Even English food is better

Iranian food is relentlessly dull and it not surprising that fat people are few and far between in Iran. In Qazvin a city of one million people, there are just five restaurants and even here I am stretching the definition of restaurant to include a large space with tables and chairs (there are only three hotels in the city as well). To be fair there are many places that sell sandwich/burger type food and often that food is very tasty but restaurants as we know them scarce.

Even more surprisingly, there are even fewer places to drink tea or coffee, and with alcohol completely banned, a bar is just a dream. I am left wondering where Iranians socialise, because it certainly isn't any where public.

Qazvin has just one nice cafe in the old bazaar and I was intrigued to notice one of the staff quietly whisper to a couple who were being over attentive to each other that they should be more circumspect. Not that they were doing anything untoward, apart from the man trying to remove something from the woman's eye and taking a very long time to do it. 

A lack of money is probably the key to a lack of restaurants and I just assuming socialising is done in the home and not in public.