Dining in Achaemenid Persia must have been a spectacular affair. Gold and silver vessels seem to have been plentiful, although only a small number - mostly found in burials - have survived to the present day. The craftsmen who made them were highly skilled and came from as far away as Egypt and India. They cleverly combined standard techniques such as casting, hammering, chasing and inlaying to create complex forms or patterns.

Ancient Persian cuisine was highly developed, with speciality cooks, armies of servants and elaborate dining etiquette. Seating plans were complicated and banquets were typically composed of several different courses. Fruit, nuts and saffron are among the classic Iranian ingredients which originated in the Achaemenid period and are still used today. One account lists the ingredients for the king's dinner as 'sweet grape jelly, candied turnips and radishes prepared with salt, candied capers with salt, from which delicious stuffings are made…' (Polyaenus, Strategemata IV.3.32).

Drinking wine and beer was an important part of public banquets. Guests drank through straws or out of deep bowls, straining the residue through filters or sieves. Sources suggest that when the royal court travelled, they took supplies with them; the court of Cyrus was said to travel with 'water, ready boiled for use, and stored in flagons of silver' (Herodotus, History I.188).