Best dumplings of my life. Haven't been there recently but I'll never forget that meal.

I have a bit of a problem reviewing Samira. The problem is that I don't actually know the names of any of the items I eat. I like the rice-thing, and the chicken/hen thing, and the meatball-like things, among others. Samira is located on the downtown square (beautiful) in Bloomington. I only eat there for lunch, as it's not kid-friendly, at least for my kids. They're meat and potatoes, and you're not finding that here. Lunch buffet is reasonably priced, with a selection of 10-12 dishes ranging from rice-thing dishes to the I-could-eat-100-pounds-of-these-meatball-thing dishes. Small salad bar too. It's a cute restaurant in a great location, yet another ethnic place in a town with so many great options from around the world. I highly recommend, especially if you know Afghan food and actually can name what you'd be eating. It's delicious, whatever it is! :) read more

Today was the first day I venture further into Middle Eastern fare - Samira being Afghan. It's ~$9/pp for the lunch buffet, so it's a great way for you to sample many different dishes as opposed to having a 1 plate, 1 option dinner. We started off with a salad w/ balsamic dressing and tabbouleh on the side. Brought it back to the table with a warm basket of bread and 2 pita chip w/ a hummus ball app waiting for us. I tell ya, those pita chips and hummus should be at the buffet table as AYCE. Highly addictive. At the buffet table, you'll see individual buffets (both veg & non-veg) with their own lids to keep the food piping hot. (FYI, there's a place to rest the lid on the wire rack behind the pot while you're scooping) It would be nice if the dishes had a name placard so I knew what I was eating! I had this delicious seasoned rice mixed with shredded carrots and raisins? I thought raisins belonged in desserts, but hey, savory & sweet - it worked. There was some stewed okra, stirfry peppers-squash medley, tandoori-like dark meat chicken, spicy chickpeas, and meatballs in a tangy tomato sauce. There's also single serving baklava placed on the back counter for dessert. Yum! Who would've thought you'd get 5-star hotel dining service at a self-serve lunch buffet? The servers were quick on their toes to fill your water, never leaving your glass empty and the plate exchange to declutter your table. No slow or rude service here! Although they only have a small selection for the buffet - what they have, they absolutely do well. It's very clean, nicely presented, and constantly replenished. I'd like to see them change up the offerings once in awhile - maybe see some kabobs in lieu of the meat dishes and a revolving veggie option as well. Thank you for a great Afghan dining experience. We'll be certain to return if we're passing by! read more

Samira Restaurant - Pita chip w/ hummus app - Afghan Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

See all

Nice surprise in Bloomington. Was feeling middle eastern so gave them a try. Baba was good, lamb kabobs were spot on. And Limencello cake for dessert. I'll be back. read more

This is one of my favorite places in all of Bloomington. A new type of cuisine for me but feels and tastes like the most amazing and comforting meal you've ever had. The lamb kebabs are delicious and do not forget to try the samouka. read more

See all

Delicious food and good friendly service. Nice decor and Lovely view out the front. Like the mirrors and lighting. Fresh delicious salad came with dinner and rice was the best - not sticky or heavy but cooked perfectly. read more

Absolutely delicious, wonderful service, overall nice place to eat. I get the combination platter with soup every time and it's so good without fail. read more

Went here for first time a couple days ago and loved it. We had the Aushak and some kebabs. Flavors were excellent.

Excellent food and service. I don't recall what we had, but it was wonderful. The food was quite garlicky. A very nice environment, with very attentive service. We loved it. read more

I seldom write food reviews but Samira is amazing so I have to leave some notes!! I'm surprised by how diverse and colorful the meal is, and everything looks and tastes amazing. Lamb is really really nice, and I love the eggplant snack (sorry not sure what it's called). I'll for sure try it again soon! read more

Samira Restaurant - Combination Special - Afghan Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

The food was delicious. I got chicken kebab with rice and veggies. It came with a lentil tomato soup which was delicious. I also ordered hummus as an appetizer. If I would have known how good the serving portion was I may not of ordered the hummus but it was so good. The chicken kebab came on large skewer and was cook perfectly. Soft and juicy. The rice with veggies had eggplant with a white sauce that was perfect. To top it off I got some baklava. I definitely over indulged but it was worth it. The server was very hospitable and concerned about my experience. I'll definitely be back... read more

SUCH GOOD FOOD! And really nice staff too! the dal was super good and they were so accommodating for dietary restrictions (i'm vegan). Very nice spot for dinner in Bloomington! read more

Samira Restaurant - Dal! (vegan) - Afghan Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

See all

It was really great. Was a little worried it would be foofi when we walked in because it's a pretty great atmosphere. But it wasn't. Server gave us fantastic recommendations and the food was delicious. Had the lamb kabob with rice vegetables and salad. All delicious. Will be back. #nyc #chitown #foodie read more

Pretty much a must, anytime I'm in Bloomington around lunchtime. The buffet is very good and a great price!

Quality. Hostess, servers, ambiance, food all very good. Clean tablecloth, water kept full, etc. Soup was excellent. Starter eggplant garlic oil spice appetizer was pleasing to eye and delicious. Chicken kabob okay. Baba ganouij was good, sampler platter was very good considering I'm not an eggplant, turnip, squash, spinach fan - the yogurt and spice and tomato sauce are key. My vegan food was satisfying (I'm used to meats) so it's a different sensation. read more

Service is trash..takes forever to bring the food and when they do, it's like they forget about you until you're nearly done eating...ask for a utensil and you'll have to wait 10 min with multiple reminders to get it! Food is way overpriced for the amount you get! On top of everything, you get charged 3.5% service fee for using card..like who carries cash these days?!!!! This has been my experience over multiple visits..def not going back! read more

This restaurant has the most amazing, authentic, Afghan food ever!!! I am originally from Afghanistan and it doesn't get much better than this!! The staff is super friendly and always very welcoming and nice. The owner and their children run the restaurant mostly. It's a very cute, family-owned restaurant! The kabobs are the best!! My husband and I always get two Combination Specials. One with lamb kabob and one with chicken kabob!! read more

Great! The flavors are delicious. Rich and hearty, spicy and sensuous at the same time. I had the vegetarian special, which is comprised of a spinach dish kind of like Indian saag, but not cooked down as much, yellow daal, fried tomatoes (I think) and the most delicious rice. Generous portion and a little pricey, but worth it. The wine was pretty good too. I had the cab. Great service. Glad I found it. read more

I love Samira. Seriously, it has some of the best food in Bloomington. Everything I've ever ordered has been delicious. Their food is exotic, but not intimidating. And always perfectly seasoned. Dinner entrees come with a yummy eggplant appetizer and bread. I like the Cornish Hen Kabob (huge portion!) and the Kurma Tchallao, chicken in a tasty tomato onion sauce over rice. My Dad ALWAYS orders the combination pasta, which has two different kinds of dumplings and can be ordered with meat or vegetarian. The eggplant entree is delicious, comes in a tomato and yogurt sauce. And I love the rice with carrots and raisins that everything is served with. I uploaded a few pics of our entrees. The wait staff is great. I love sitting in the window so you can see the square and people watch. It's maybe not as fancy as Farm or Tallent but it is definitely worth it! read more

See all

This was our second trip to Samira's. The bread and eggplant that comes before the meal are very tasty: acidic with bite. I ordered the lamb kebab, my companion ordered the vegetarian special. We both had soup with our meal. My lamb was beautifully prepared, flavorful and tender. Other reviewers have commented that the chicken kebabs are unremarkable. I would point out that chicken often is unremarkable; try the lamb! We were here on a busy Thursday evening. Service was good and well paced. Prices were reasonable. read more

I loved going to Samira! I went on my birthday with my family and had a great experience. I ordered the Vegetarian Special and it tasted delicious. My favorite part of the dish was the dal. I also loved the rice with raisins and shredded carrots, complimentary bread, and complimentary soup. I would highly recommend going to Samira, it had a wonderful meal and can't wait to go again. read more

Samira's, with its excellent Afghan food, is always on rotation on every trip to Bloomington, where I periodically go to visit family. The kebab platters are excellent, as is the manti and the kaddo etc in the mixed starters platter. Highly recommended! read more

Delicious and good service. Good vegetarian options. Easy to find and usually no wait. Yum! read more

Samira Restaurant - Veg options - bottom is veg pasta and top is veg variety. - Afghan Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

See all

Had never been here and just happened to stumble across it online. Went in and was skeptical just because there was only 1 other seated table. I was told about the lunch " buffet" that was only $10 came with a salad and dessert. Server explained what all came with because it was not a visible buffet. I ordered it and oh my goodness. Absolutely amazing. I will definitely be back. read more

Samira Restaurant - Lunch "buffet" - Afghan Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

What a great find! My girlfriend and I were celebrating her birthday in Brown County In. We had many different choices in Bloomington, but landed at Samira... SO GLAD WE DID! The place was clean, quiet, very relaxing! The service was excellent! The food was beyond amazing! I'd highly recommend trying it out. We went on a Wednesday, so not sure about any other day. I had the "sample" plate, and it was delicious! So many excellent things on it! Prices were reasonable and we'll definitely be back whenever we're in town! read more

I went to Samira's Restaurant last night (January 27, 2012) for my five year anniversary with my boyfriend. We were seated right away at a table in the center of the restaurant. Although it was around 7:45 on a Friday night and the restaurant was bustling, it wasn't over-crowded. We ordered black tea which comes with a pot of hot water with cardamom which imparts a very nice flavor onto the beverage. For dinner I ordered lamb and shrimp kebabs and my boyfriend ordered sabzi tchallo (spinach with lamb over white rice). Entrees come with a choice of soup or salad, and we ordered one of each. The salad is a very average fresh salad with balsamic vinaigrette, the soup is a flavorful tomato lentil. They serve wonderful bread to start along with complimentary grilled eggplant and carrot slices. Our meals were served promptly and when they arrived the scent of the food was wonderful. My lamb was exceptionally tender and the rice was perfectly seasoned, topped with shredded carrots, raisins, and a little bit of a tomato sauce. The shrimp skewer was slightly over-cooked, but still tasty. My boyfriend's lamb and spinch dish was delicious as well. I had plenty of food left over to bring home with me for lunch the next day. Our server was very friendly and attentive and she offered to give us a complementary dessert to bring home with us (we told her we were full, which we were!) because it was our anniversary. She sent us home with a delicious tiramisu. It was a wonderful experience filled with wonderful food, service, and atmosphere. read more

Food was good, no complaints about that. Portions are smaller. Had reservations, and showed up at 8:45 pm. Place was about 1/2 full. They give us the choice of 2 tables, both up front by the host table. The person seating us is also our server. He is handling the entire outside and about 4 tables inside. He is obviously flustered, and doing his best to keep up. When I see the other servers, they are doing about 1/2 the tables he is, and able to be more attentive. I blame whoever the manager is for not keeping a good server/table ratio. We give our order, 2 special combinations and a chicken/hen combo. It's about 9pm. Around 915 the bread, and the eggplant arrives. Then the soup, and salad. Salad is basically lettuce, with a single tomato. Drenched in balsamic vinegerrette. Drenched. As I use my fork to take some, it squirts onto my glasses. 930 our dinner arrives. But they forgot one of the special combinations. Point this out, and he says that they will fix it. Eat our food (Hen is good, but a lot of bones). 950 they bring out the rest. Restaurant closers at 10. We feel rushed and just ask for the bill and a box. Waiter apologizes for the mistake and comps us. ...the refills on our soda. The refills that the menu says are complimentary. WOW! THAT'S what I want. Free refills make up for this. Bill is $65. I give a $100 bill. They don't have change. They have to go to neighboring stores to get change. While waiting for the change, another waitress gives us our bill. ..again. Never was offered dessert as other reviews said they got. Never was asked about dessert. Felt rushed since our meal was split in 2, and didn't get it until the end. The waiter tried his hardest, but was overwhelmed. read more

The food is good but the owner, Anwar, cheats his kitchen workers and does not pay them. when I requested my paycheck multiple times I finally had to threaten him with legal action. anwar then paid me half of what he owed me, then fired me. That's how it is read more

Samira Restaurant - Afghan Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

I went here for my big 19th birthday with all my friends the food was real good I had a great time I got the chicken dish thing and it was delicious I also got the salad and cut up the tomato cuz it was too big you know you can't eat big tomatoes or else you might choke and die anyway then I ate bread with oil and it was really good too and then now im writing this review cuz dis place is da bom ya kno 10/10 eat here read more

Samira Restaurant - Celebrating - Afghan Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana

I love Samira's! I went here for the first time a few weeks ago, and just as anyone else says, it's definitely one of the best restaurants in Bloomington. I ordered the Samarok Lawang and added beef. All in all I think it was about an $18 entree. My plate was the tastiest at the table, although I sampled what my friends had as well and theirs were tasty too! I hear the cornish hen is amazing, would love to go back and try it. Only downfalls- our waiter forgot to bring our wine and we had to ask for it. Also, the restaurant is nice but it gives me the feeling like I'm eating in an Afghan family's dining room with the nice china- which can be good and bad- a homey feel, not so restaurant-y. But the food is A+! Great for a date spot and to get away from college kids. read more

This was so good. As soon as I walked in there were so many scents and spices. Everything on the menu looked good. The hardest part was to choose only one item off the menu to eat. Will be going back again and again. read more

Finally convinced my traveling band of gypsy coworkers to dine here last night and they all remarked, "Why haven't you taken us here before?" We'll, after more than nine weeks in this fine burgh, we finally abandoned our less-than-thrilling Tuesday plans, ambled down to the square and settled on Samira's. It was about half-full on this Tuesday night and we settled ourselves at a finely set table. Our group, a motley crew in various stages of dress and class, drew the eyes of the other patrons but we didn't care as the joint smelled wonderful and we open our menus. The wine and beer selected is modest (especially for Bloomington) but I imagine most patrons don't chose Samira's for their average bar. We got a few appetizers; hummus (great), baba ganouj (good), and veggie sambosa (awesome with an epic cilantro chutney) and they were torn apart. The eggplant and carrot accompaniment was delicious. We ordered a variety of meals (the menu isn't the most clear on what is a combination, etc, but the server assisted) and all the food was well prepared, spiced nicely, and eaten with minimal conversation. We had a slice of cake and the custard/pudding desert (ugh!) and we will be returning in the very near future. read more

Oh my, Bloomington does love its date night places. Because it's not date night unless you have a white table cloth, a server that pretends to be your friend and a $17 pile of rice in front of you. Now, to be fair, it wasn't just rice. There were all of seven little chunks of lamb and what tasted like frozen spinach on top as well. But it was mostly rice. I've been for lunch and dinner. People kept telling us about the lunch buffet, and how it was such a good deal and that we have to go. It reminded me of the Indian buffet on 4th Street but with fewer items. Not the decent Indian buffet, but the crappy one. Yeah, that one. And I'm not trying to equate Bloomington's bad Indian food (that is to say that it really is all pretty bad) to any sort of true representation of Afghan food. Years ago, in Tucson, there was an Afghan restaurant called Sultan Palace. Their first location, right by a mosque, was inside of an old Denny's type place with no remodeling. The service was terrible (usually one of the family members, who were not trained as servers) and it was pricey, but that was really good stuff, and I loved that place. They moved closer to campus (and right by another mosque) and eventually went out of business. It was an unfortunate loss, because I've never been able to find food like that since. Shola was my favorite. It was pressure cooked rice topped with little chunks of lamb, mung beans and a yogurt sauce. I could eat just that on its own at least once a week. But, here, no shola. Maybe the guy's from a different region. The best thing about the meal at dinner was the weird appetizer we got. It was a thin slice of eggplant covered in spices. It was very good and surprisingly spicy. When I got that, I thought to myself "That bad lunch buffet experience was not a bad sign at all. This is good!" But, when the entree came out, I knew I had been right all along. As we walked in that night, my wife had asked me "Are you going to be sad if we figure out that the food is great and we never came here?" I said, "No, I'm confident that it will suck." And it does kinda suck. Pluses: good service, cheap wine. Other minuses: awkward and crowded. I mean, what's with putting people on display in the front window while the host station sits BEHIND them and a wall? Again, if I'm going to spend $17 on a meal, then I'll just go up the street to Topo's. The food is just better there, and it's comfortable. read more

So, I don't like Afghan food. It just doesn't do it for me. My boyfriend is a huge fan, what man doesn't like hunks of meat on a hot sword? He pronounced Samira's to be very, very good. Almost on par with the Afghan restaurants he used to eat at in DC. The man loves spicy meat, I trust him that this was good stuff. The bread was fresh and tasty, the salad was likewise fresh, and the hunks of meat were very meaty. We had some kind of mushroom appetizer that I thought was fantastic The service was excellent, particularly for late on a Saturday when I know the entire staff must have been over it. Even though they were obviously tearing down and setting up for the next day, they did it quietly and I never felt rushed. A word to the wise on the eggplant app they give you, (and remember, I am no expert or fan of Afghan food), that sucker is pickled/drenched in vinegar, something. If you like that sort of thing, go for it, it looked really tasty. If, like me, you think only cucumbers are suited for pickling, give it to your boyfriend. read more

Samira's was a glorious surprise on a horrific trip to Indiana. I have never had such a well-stocked and well-thought out buffet experience. All the dishes complemented each other. Everything was fresh and steaming. All the accompaniments were perfect, with great naan and fluffy rice. I tried a little of everything, with the veggie dishes being my favorites. The zucchini/squash roasted veg one was the best for sure, with the spices in it just making a party in your mouth. The meatballs were divine. The chicken was also great; it just fell of the bone all moist and sweet, perfect for stuffing the naan. I just wish we had Samira's up here in Minnesota. I would definitely come back down just to eat the lunch buffet everyday. read more

Samira is located in a prime downtown spot in Bloomington, right on the square. The decorations are great and their service is friendly, but the food is just not good. Simple as that. It costs around $20 per person, which I have no problem spending if the food is great. I ordered the chicken kabab and was just not impressed. The kabab had no taste to it and the side dish of rice was just gross. While I'm sure some people would enjoy this kind of environment, it's not the place to go for a good meal. I think this is the only Afghani restaurant in Bloomington, so there is a lot of allure to it. read more

I went to Samira after a friend reccomended it for dinner. It was the first time I have ever had Afghani food and I was very excited to try it! I ordered the vegetarian manto, which are basically dumplings.. It came with rice and shredded carrots as a side. The manto was quite flavorless and the sauce on top of the dumplings tasted like canned tomato sauce. The only redeeming part of my meal was the bread that was served before my entree. Overall a lack luster experience. Just because its the only Afghani restaurant in Bloomington doesn't mean it deserves any praise whatsoever. Also, my bill was almost $20.00--- not worth it at all. read more

Best restaurant I've discovered on my visits to Bloomington. Diverse and flavorful menu. Wonderful service!

To be honest, before coming to Samira's, I had never had Afghan food in my life. So you can only imagine the surprise (having lived in NYC and SF) I felt that I would be expanding my cultural boundaries in Southern Indiana. I have said it to many people, and I will say it again, Samira's is the best all around restaurant in Bloomington. Sure, there are some other great restaurants in town, but few that will serve you something that you will be so hard pressed to find elsewhere. Be blown away...order the mantos. The best part, as I fnid many ethnics restaurants to be, a dniner at Samira's is quite affordable. read more

Great buffet and decent price, include enough thing you want, wish they could add more varieties read more

Samira Restaurant - Buffet with hummus bread and desert - Afghan Near Me - Bloomington, Indiana