We went to Maiwand Restaurant one Sunday lunch in May with a group of friends, after being…read morerecommended this place. I have had Afghani food before and always really enjoyed it so was looking forward to trying a new restaurant. The atmosphere when you enter is very warm and calm, with beautiful decorations and lighting on the walls, and the service was courteous and professional. However, it was the food which will lead us to return to this place. The rice dishes were outstanding... with one vegetarian in our group, we had the rice with spinach but we also tried the rice with lamb. Both were excellent. The lamb was very tender in all our lamb dishes (we had three different ones) and the dumplings and starter pastries filled with leek and potato, which we have never tried before, were delicious. This is a great place for groups of friends to have a nice meal at good prices and whilst they don't have a license to serve alcohol, they do allow you to bring your own drink and there is even an off licence next door if needed. There is also parking directly outside the restaurant and also on nearby side streets. Having had a lovely, relaxing time at this place, combined with delicious food and good value prices...we will be back.

Namak is my go to spot after Watan in South Hall…read more I am in no BS mood so I will keep this one straight. I always order the same food when I am here from Namak Mandi. The service is quick. The food is ready on time. The Kabuli pulao is great. The rice is fluffy, the meat is falling off the bone, and every bite is flavorful. The chapli kebab is soft and juicy. It hits all the spots. The chicken charsi karahi is okay at best but you can't have all you want. I haven't dine in inside so I have no idea about the ambiance but the food is great so I will eat it under a bridge if I have to. 4.1/5 definitely recommend!

Worth a visit for the chapli kebab alone and amazing sized Nan for 2-4 people…read more I have had better mixed grills but good size and value for money. #london #kebab #londonlife #foodiesofinstagram #foodie #foodreview #foodporn #food #grill #chaplikebab #mixedgrill

Good food! This small family run restaurant is a great…read moreoption for dinner in Islington! The food is delicious and has a lovely home-made quality about it. Come early or make a booking!!

Affordable and tasty - a great place for a lunch break…read more It may look like a takeaway place but you can actually sit down and eat. As you walk in, you only see one communal table, but there is more tables upstairs. The menu is very straightforward. Four veggie options and four meat/ fish ones. You get a side of rice with your main. That's all. We had a aubergine dish, a daal and a fish stew. Aubergine was a bit bland, but everything else was good.

Unforgettable Christmas Dinner at DARBAR Restaurant!…read more We had the most incredible Christmas dinner at DARBAR, and every dish was an absolute masterpiece! The flavours, the quality, and the warm ambience of this amazing restaurant blew away my entire team. We tried the Lamb Karahi (Karahi Goosht), Afghan Fish, Chicken Kebabs, and Lamb Kebabs, each cooked perfectly and bursting with authentic Afghan spices. But the star of the night was the Qabuli Palaw--honestly, it was out of this world! We've never tasted rice so flavorful and delicious. Afghan cuisine stands apart, and DARBAR is the best place to experience it. We can't wait to come back for more! #AfghanFood #AuthenticFlavors #DARBARRestaurant #ChristmasDinner #LambKarahi #QabuliPalaw #AfghanCuisine #FoodieExperience #BestAfghanRestaurant #LondonEats

We attended a business dinner with a few colleagues and had a wonderful time. The service was…read moreexcellent, and the food was delicious, especially the lamb kebabs and chicken kebabs. The restaurant is very clean and spacious, spanning two floors with many tables both on the rooftop and the first floor. It's a fantastic venue for business dinners and meetings.

This place has an amazing ambiance, takes you straight to Persia. This place is great for big…read moregroups or to host a gathering in. My husband and I got the mixed grill for two and changed the saffron rice for Afghan qabuli instead. The meal was delicious! We also got the lemon mint rosewater drink, and I was not a fan of it. It definitely wasn't freshly squeezed, just some biter lime juice out of a bottle. Customer service was great!

I stumbled across this place at radandom. It was sometime between lunch and dinner, and the…read morerestaurant was empty, but my companion and I decided to give it a go, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I'm not terribly familiar with Afghan or Persian food; this restaurant makes me think that I should become better acquainted with it. I ordered the saag chello and naan -- which sure *sounds* Indian (I believe that would roughly translate as "let's go spinach" in Hindi) -- but the flavouring was very different. Anticipating the standard subcontinental smack-you-upside-the-head-with-the-sledgehammer-of-spice, I was rather surprised when the saag actually turned out to be quite mild. Initially it struck me as somewhat bland, but the more that I worked at it, the more I appreciated the lovely and refined spicing. By the end of the meal, I was quite thoroughly sold on it. The naan was likewise lovely -- fresh-baked in a bread oven at the front of the restaurant, and covered in sesame seeds -- and a side of houmous did not disappoint. After the meal, my companion and I ordered a pot of mint tea, which was simply divine, and served from an elegant set of painted glassware. All in all, a very good experience.

Very nice Persian restaurant with good food and service. I…read morehad 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.

Mixed bag here. Some mediocre food and some really good food but nothing my husband and I would go…read moreout 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.

Tried this place during my lay over at London.. this isn't the authentic afghan food but the food…read morewas still pretty decent.. even on a busy evening we were seated quickly because of reservation. The server were great and attentive and took good care of our order and guide us to order just enough portion for I utter group. The place was nice and clean with decent lighting and space for large group. The excellent service and food earns them five stars

After a flight delay and an unwanted hotel airport stay, my wife used it as an opportunity to hit…read moreSouth Hall for some south Asian food. Two friends recommended this spot. So first. Service. They are busy. Very busy. It's hard to get anyone's attention. When we did, the young women was in a constant rush and a little rude. As an example - I placed our food order and also asked for chai. She abruptly said "no too busy go somewhere else for that." Later, I saw other people order and get chai after their meal at the table next to us. There was another guy running back and forth. I must have asked for water 4 or 5 times before he finally just dropped a bottle off on the table while running by with no glasses. Getting the check was an ordeal. So finally I just walked up to the counter and asked for it at the take away register and the same rude women said "just pay here". I gave her my Amex and it wasn't going thru she just kept saying "decline". She did it two or 3 times. Then I said "do you take Amex". She says "no only visa MasterCard." I don't expect white glove service at spots like this, just don't be rude. Maybe say I'm sorry we are too busy tonight. Anyway. The food. That saved the day. Seekh kabob 5/5 Afghan Naan 5/5 Chicken tikka 4/5 Saag paneer 3/5 Nihari 2/5 Chutneys - 2/5 I normally take an average and round up. They get a 3.5 on the food only. I'm rounding down this time because of the service.

Incredibly good food for very little money Friendly service…read moreand authentic look. Good place to share food with friends

My husband and I had the lamb Kabuli and chicken sabzi. First of all the portions are huge, so make…read moresure you share whatever it is you order. The kabuli was amazing, the chicken spinach dish was alright. The naan was great. Overall this place is great for groups and couples.

Delicious food, great value for money!!…read more I've been here several times now. Both for eating in and take away. All I can say is the food is amazing. Very fresh and authentic. Staff are friendly and very accommodating. For the quality of food and price it's definitely value for money. Would def recommend it.

We didn't like it. We travelled along way because a friend recommended it…read more The service was awful. The waiter seemed uninterested, unenthusiastic and unhelpful. He couldn't bother to tell us more about the food. The decor at the front with its sit down area wasn't for us. It was close to the entrance and felt too exposed and dark. We chose to sit down at a table. The chairs were uncomfortable and heavy. The whole decor was shabby. Whike we were eating, the waiter started spraying a table next to us with a disinfenctant. The spray trravelled to our table. It was awful. They shouldn't spray clean tables when people are eating. The room needs decorating. It's dirty, which makes me think that th kitchens are dirty too. Food was bland. Think of a curry with no spices and no sauce. Im sorry to say that I won't be going there again. I'm going to continue going to Knightsbridge, Kensington or edgeware road for Persian food. Go eat where real Arabs eat. Try the maroush in edgeware road. Ths Ilford restaurant is basically disgusting.