A new restaurant has joined the eating scene in East Watertown, with a familiar team behind it. Caspian Persian Cuisine opened at 72 Bigelow Ave. on Jan. 1, 2026 led by the former owners of Molana, the eatery that operated in Watertown Square for more than a quarter century.
When Moshen “Moe” Tehrani and Hadi Eghbali closed Molana in June 2025 they had a decision to make.
“We were thinking of maybe retiring, but this opportunity came up,” Tehrani said. “We grabbed it.”
The opportunity was the space formerly occupied by Shiraz on Bigelow Avenue, which closed in 2024.
“My partner and I were thinking of cutting back, but this opportunity came,” Tehrani said. “We were in the same business for 26 years, yeah, so I think it was a good idea to start this. And it’s a nice location. We have a lot of customers that are following us throughout the years, supporting us.”
Eghbali was once featured on WCVB’s Chronicle, and has been cooking for more than 50 years, starting when he was young growing up in Iran, Tehrani said.
“When he was seven, eight years old, coming home from school, he used to go into the kitchen, stand on the chair, and look at his mom cooking,” Tehrani said. “So he really loves cooking. When he cooks, he really takes his time making sure everything comes out right. He really has a passion.”
The dishes are made with fresh, quality ingredients, Tehrani said.
“We use the best quality USDA Choice meat with the best fresh vegetables and imported ingredients,” Tehrani said. “We make our food daily fresh, and everything it cooked to the order, so we don’t have any pre-cooked kebabs or meat. They come in the morning and prepare everything.”
Fans of Molana will find their favorite dishes at Caspian, plus more.
“The menu is going to be the same, but there’s going to be more variety than we were offering before,” Tehrani said. “More authentic, traditional Persian food, like we have the daily specials, soups and stews and we added some filet mignon and lamb neck and lamb chop. And we are going to have weekly specials.”
Courtesy of Molana
Beef Soltani is one of the Persian specialities that was served at Molana and is now available at Caspian Persian Cuisine.
Caspian will also feature live entertainment.
“We are going to have live Persian music,” Tehrani said. “It’s gonna be good. Families can come and have fun.”
They took over the space in August and have been renovating the restaurant and getting the permits in order. The restaurant is in the process of transferring over the full liquor license from Shiraz, Tehrani added.
Along with the new location came the new name, Caspian Persian Cuisine.
“Everybody knows Molana, because we’ve been around for 25 years, 26 years,” Tehrani said. “We just want to attract new customers. So that’s why we changed the name to Caspian.”
The name comes from the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water that is located in Iran. Tehrani said it is known for its seafood and caviar, and it is also a popular place to visit.
“Since we were kids we went there,” Tehrani said. “Everybody goes for vacations, for fun, to the northern part of Iran.”
Tehrani said the new spot is convenient for the Persian population of the Boston area.
“The location is very nice, because the Iranian Association of Boston is located nearby,” he said. “I see there are a lot of events are been held at the Hellenic Center and the Armenian Cultural and Educational Center. I think a lot of Iranians travel through Watertown because of the variety of supermarkets and bakeries and restaurants.”
Caspian is open seven days a week from noon to 9 p.m. It also offers catering and private events. Take out and delivery orders can be made by calling 617-393-8335, and will be available on delivery services. See more information at www.caspianpersiancuisine.com
