Very nice Persian restaurant with good food and service. I had a Mantoo that I liked although it may not have been the best value for my bucks as there wasn't much meat and it cost more or less like the skewers, etc. read more

Ariana Restaurant - Persian/Iranian Near Me - London, XGL

Mixed bag here. Some mediocre food and some really good food but nothing my husband and I would go out of our way for again. The staff though is nice and even when we left, a man rolling the dough for the flatbread gave us a sincere thank you for coming. The decor is also very cool, with walls painted a warm mustard brown colour and tchotchkes everywhere. The menu in the restaurant is slightly different from the online menu, which is a bit annoying as a vegetarian bc I was really eager to go here based on what I saw online. We ordered the panir-o-sabzi to start and whilst a big plate, the description didn't match the meal. I expected feta cheese blended with tarragon, mint and walnut, almost as a spread, with walnuts. Rather it's a big salad with radish slices and 2 halves of a pretty tasteless cheese, and walnuts. Piping hot bread is served with it. Next I ordered the mirza gasemi which was the best-tasting dish of the night: a soupy mix of aubergine, whet and tomatoes, it was perfect with the bread. My main, the ashak, was a big dish but a big downer: very bland despite the heaps of sauces. My husband got the grilled chicken with a specialty rice of orange peel, almond slivers pistachio and grated carrot and salad: again a huge plate. The orange peel was the most distinctive, delicious taste, basically caramelized. My husband loved the spicy green sauce that accompanied his meal. read more

Ariana Restaurant - Very good aubergine starter on the left and boring cheese starter on the right - Persian/Iranian Near Me - London, XGL

a baked aubergines with tomatoes and egg GBP 4.50 - I think the aubergines were slightly burnt rather than charcoaled. But otherwise, was a nice warm dip with the bread. houmous GBP 3.95 - good texture with little chuncky bits but lacks seasoning and the punch of garlic. bread GBP 1.50 - eat while it is warm because it gets crispy when it is cooled. mantoo GBP 8.95 - wheat flour stuffed with minced lamb and onions, served with yoghurt, dry mint and meat sauce. The pasta was light and not cloying on the teeth. Stuffed with generous filling of meat and sauce, it was my favourite. portions of marinated whole poussin, charcoal grilled, served with saffron steamed basmati rice and grilled tomato mixed vegetable GBP 8.95 - the poussin was moist, full of flavour and I was impressed by the portion size! stewed finely diced lamb cooked with aubergines, split peas, tomatoes, dry lime and served with saffron steamed basmati rice GBP 8.95 - delicious tender meat, well cooked aubergine and the tangy flavour from the dried lime was marvellous. Yum! spicy chilli relish with walnuts - served alongside the mains. With my Asian heritage and the ability to tolerate the chilli heat, I would say that this chilli sauce is on the scale of 2/5 but my European hubby rates it at 3.5/5. A bowlful of rice with this chilli sauce for me, was exquisite! persian ice-cream GBP 3.00 - saffron ice-cream with pistachio nuts. It was delicious but not if you have more than three teaspoonfuls where then the only taste that lingers in your mouth is the sweetness. Not very nice after that because I had to wash it down with water. freebie for writing this review, or if you're connected in any way to the owner or employees. read more

See all

Great Afghan food and wonderful ambience - excellent service and good value! Even though I give it four stars, it's because five reserved for extremely rare ones. Really, what else could you want? This place is really neat, very good decor, good value and excellent quality food. I'm rather picky with Afghan food, but Ariana in Mile End do it very well. I feel like they treat their employees well too. If you've never had Afghan food, this is the place to try it - and if you're craving Afghan food, then this is the place to quench your craving. read more

I've been meaning to write a review for Ariana for quite some time and somehow kept forgetting. And shame on me, because Ariana deserves LOTS of praise. Shared the mixed starters with my family. Not a bad dish among the mix. I'm particularly fond of the Kashk and the Mirza Ghasemi. Both eggplant, so if you're not a fan of eggplant, stay away. But if you ARE, then definitely try these! Also had the Dal Adas, which was lovely too. Had the Barg va Kubideh as a main (usually called Sultani in my experience) and it was fantastic! I ate far, far more than I should have. Forget all other Persian restaurants and make your way to the East End. read more

Great Persian food. Real surprise because all along the road we have friend chicken places and kebab shops. The flat bread is amazing with the eggplant starters and the Kabuli palow was super, the lamb is so super cooked the meat is lovely and tender, falling off from the bone. The prices are very reasonable. Note - No drinks are served so carry your own wines etc, they provide the glasses :-) read more

We finally made it all the way to Mile End to try Ariana. Nava had been urging us to try it ever since we had a failed Iranian experience at another London restaurant. So we girded our loins and went all the way into Zone 2. So the food is pretty fantastic. We ordered a lot. A bunch of dips consisting of eggplant dishes, a chicken salad, some pickle, and hummus. Word of advice, avoid the hummus. It's pretty bland and terrible. All the other dishes were fantastic with my favorite being the chicken. One of the eggplant dishes was so good that the other half said we had to order another. We also got loads of bread to go with it, and the flatbread here is amazing. (Plus you walk in and see someone making it! How cool is that?) For mains we split four dishes. A lamb shank covered in a seasoned rice with raisins, grilled lamb, a chicken stew and a lamb stew. Everything was pretty fabulous. In fact, the minced lamb skewers were so good, the other half decided we needed some more, so we got another order. The stews are tasty and unusual, so if you feel like something in sauce, go for it. There's also some sort of spicy green paste they serve things with, and it made everything so much better (at least for me). We even splurged and got some cardamom tea and desserts. I had the "Persian Sweet" which was kind of like a sweet, baked cream of wheat. Not too shabby. They lose a star for the service though. It was hard to get anyone to come to our table, and we were consistently asking for water. And anything really. Also, they don't serve booze, but you can bring your own wine and they will provide glasses. So you can either hit up the off license across the street or plan ahead and bring something nice. (The Lebanese wine we brought was quite a good choice.) read more

This restaurant is a culinary surprise. On entering you might think it was once a Hawaiian themed boozer in the style of a souvenir tray your aunty brought back from Teneriffe circa 1992. However the food is GREAT. The first time I went with a friend who has a Persian father it happened to be Persian New Year. Upon discovering my friends ancestry the owner cooked for us off menu and charged us a tenner each for about 5 courses. It was delicious. Have been a fair few times since. Large outdoor eating area out the back right on Mile End park. Been there with my sister's children too and wasn't charged for their food. There is also Shisa. Food is great, service is friendly and very accomodating. AND it is bring your own. Always ends up costing between 10 and 12 quid. read more

Amazing food. Platter was huge easily 5 people could have eaten it. They even gave us a few freebies. Amazing service & hospitality! read more

See all

A great gem in the s**t hole that is mile end. It is a family run business, they had put in a lot of effort to make the place their own. Staff are really nice and laid back because they want you to enjoy it to come back, as it is their livelihood, not because they are hoping for a big tip. Food is really simple yet tasty. You get some interesting flavours. It is very reasonable as well for the amount you get, am not that knowledgeable on Persian food so not much to compare it too. Go in the summer and sit outside under the pretty self made balcony which overlooks mile end park. Oh they have a lot of different Shisha as well, and its BYOB. A real mixture of people go there and it is an interesting non commercial place. read more

I really enjoyed the food at Ariana. Kabobs were delicious and tender. Staff were very friendly and the bread was hot and fresh. Salad Shirazi was a bit bland, and could be a bit more exciting. Prices were very reasonable and portions were generous. Would definitely recommend it over Hafez. read more

I found the food to be OK but nothing exceptional. I think it was a bit overpriced. Service was friendly. read more

Environment is very warm and comfortable. Food is very good, but not the absolute best Persian I have had. The bread is cooked fresh in front of you and is delicious. Come prepared to overeat!! And don't forget to have faludeh for dessert. read more

An absolute gem, authentic Persian/ Afghani fare in a wonderful setting on the edges if Mile end Park! Have been here multiple number of times and each time come away savouring different flavours and wonderful memories. All the food right from Kebabs, grilled chicken wings, Pilafs, Ghorme sabzi , the sweets especially Phalodeh, all finger licking goodness! The lavaash or bread is do yummy one could just eat that on its own! Good food, I believe doesnt have to cost the earth! read more

Absolutely LOVE the food here. Me and my colleagues regularly have working lunches here and cannot fault the service. The Rice with Orange peel is to die for, actually most of the menu is off the hook amazing. It is a bit pricey and can be quite dear to the pocket but the food makes up for it. read more

Great quality food, quite a find in an area with not too many good places to eat. Flavours are delicious, freshly cooked bread, perfectly cooked hallumi, great service and bring-your-own. Oh and prices are pretty reasonable, and they have outside seating next to the park. Only downside I can see is that it can get a bit hot with that wood fired stove in the restaurant in the summer, but highly recommended read more