Ariana Restaurant

Thoroughly enjoyed trip to Ariana one of the nicer Persian places in town. The kebabs were juicy and flavourful. The desserts were pretty good, the pistachio ice cream can be skipped or just ordered for the small matka that you can keep. Overall, genuinely enjoyed the meal there.

What a lovely place to eat! I came here on a whim as it was on the way to the location I was going to - what a great choice that was, the atmosphere was very nice can’t wait to come back and sit in the garden area in the summer and the food was top tier, I went for a lamb kebab with rice and wow flavours wise it won’t be topped! Thoroughly enjoyed, if I did have one critique the tables were slightly sticky but I’ll definitely be back.

The presentation was good but the food was terrible - I’ve had qabuli pilaw in many places but this one for sure is the worst. Completely flavourless and you can tell it isn’t fresh. My sisters had a curry which they mentioned was too zesty and tangy so they were unable to finish it. The rice was good. At the end, we didn’t want to pay the service charge seeing how bad the food was. The food itself was already very overpriced. When my sister asked for it removed from the total, a very rude blonde front lady replied saying “why?!”. If a customer requests for the service charge to be taken off, the customer isn’t required to give an explanation. The manager was lovely though and allowed this. Overall, I am disappointed and do not recommend.

Love love love this place. I tried the one in Kilburn and Mile end. Very huge portion for the price in London. I always go for the skewer. The fresh flat bread and hummus are very tasty, highly recommend that. Would go with just bread, hummus and somekind of skewer. The employees are also so kind. One time I went in fasting and the lady gave me a very tasty pudding. So heartwarming, thank you so much.

The most beautiful and authentic Afghani food very flavourful and tasty best restaurant I've ever been too the Qabeli palaw was so amazing my favourite meat so tender. The atmosphere was so lovely very great afficent service and freindly and warm place calming I would 100 percent recommend going . Man ashiq en lezet lazar . Man ehsas khosh astm. Tashakor Alle lazar. I will definitely be coming back .

Excellent food. We had the kabuli pilau and shami kebab, my son had lamb chops and he loved it. To finish of the meal we had mint tea. Will definitely come back. Staff are very friendly as well.

Friendly staff. Good service. Went there tonight with work colleagues 18 people the restaurant was able to accommodate us in one section of the restaurant. The starters were nice with freshly made Afghan flat bread. I had the mixed grill platter and Kabuli rice lamb shank. The mixed grill was meh. Nothing amazing. Only the chicken kebab was nice and juicy. The Kabuli rice was also meh. The price was relatively high per head. I probably wouldn’t go there again.

The food they *actually* make is really good and well priced - recommend the Kubideh and he Qabuli Pillaw. That said, no self-respecting restaurant should be serving starters, such as Hummus, that they do not make themselves and are instead cheap store bought, and if you insist on doing so then you need to make this extremely clear to customers, both in the menu and verbally. We ordered the hummus and I could not swallow it given how terrible it was - this is not expensive or difficult to make yourself fyi server confirmed it was store bought on questioning. I will return but will not make the mistake of ordering any starters again.

A true local gem! We have been coming here nearly a decade and the food has always been consistently fantastic, and portion size good. I would go as far as to say that it’s one of my favourite restaurants in London. There's no way some of the negative reviews on here are genuine! We moved away from the area in 2018 and so have only been picking up takeaways occasionally when in the area - and recently when I popped in to collect - I met the owner briefly and it was so endearing to know he remembered us and our favourite dishes & deserts. Recommended: Qabuli Palouw lamb shank with rice cooked with fried carrots, raisins, almonds and pistachios and Shirin Palouw Rice with orange peel, almonds, pistachio, and grated carrots. Served with grilled boneless chicken The chicken is more deeply marinated than anything I have ever tasted elsewhere and always cooked well. If you’re dining here - I highly recommend the mint tea while you’re waiting…. And for desert the Afghan rice pudding is divine.

Friendly and fast service, delicious food, and generous portions for a good price. We had the qabeli palaw and chicken skewer. The chicken was expertly spiced and grilled; juicy and soft with hints of crispyness on the outside. The palaw is definitely worth getting! It came with a full lamb shank underneath the pile of spiced rice cooked in the broth of the lamb, carrots, pistachios and raisins. The meat was juicy, tender and fell off the bone easily. Both dishes were huge. I’d recommend getting a palaw to share - perhaps add one of the smaller dishes dumplings or something similar if you’re really really hungry. The place has a tandoor in the seating area, allowing you to watch naan bread being made to order. They also offer hookah smoking in the outdoor area.

Directions to Ariana Restaurant with public transportation

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