Between local heritage and global aesthetics: Bourdieusian perspectives on Tehran's cafés

This article explores the recent proliferation of cafés in central Tehran. Drawing on Pierre Bourdieu's concepts of field , habitus , and cultural capital , in dialogue with theories of glocalization and cultural hybridization , the study analyzes how these cafés function not merely as consumption venues but as hybrid cultural fields. Based on ethnographic fieldwork—including interviews, observations, and visual analysis of 18 cafés—the research reveals that these spaces enable middle- and upper-middle-class youth to perform social distinction through hybrid tastes and symbolic practices that blend local heritage with global aesthetics. While established in repurposed historic buildings, these cafés incorporate digital tools, cosmopolitan design, and layered sensory experiences, allowing patrons to express aspirational cosmopolitanism without rejecting Iranian cultural codes. The study contributes to the literature by extending Bourdieu's nationally grounded theory to global urban contexts, introducing the concept of glocal cultural capital , and theorizing cafés as key infrastructures of hybrid cultural production and symbolic urban change. Ultimately, it argues that trendy cafés in Tehran are not ideologically neutral spaces, but socially selective fields where modernity, refinement, and cultural belonging are continually negotiated. • Cafés in central Tehran shows a growing interest in valorization of heritage. • Cafés in Tehran represent glocalization and cultural hybridization. • Bourdieu's theories provide a valuable framework for studying cultural consumption.