Bamiyan
- Nearest Transit:
28th St-Park Ave S (6)
23rd St-Broadway (R, W)
- Hours:
Mon-Thu 12:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 12:00 p.m.-12:00 a.m.
Sun 12:00 p.m.-11:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: No
15 Reviews for Bamiyan
I can't say that I know what Afghan cuisine is like but if it's anything like Bamiyan, then just tell me where to show up. On a cold rainy night the sweet tea that they serve is heaven. The decor is inviting and once you've sat down feet crossed at one of the low tables, you won't want to get up. The food isn't amazing but it has a very home feel to it and it's sort of like you've been invited to a friend's house and their mom or grandma just cooked you a meal. Food is simple but filling and while you're there, it's almost as time was going at a different pace, a gentler, more old-fashioned pace.
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Amazing! I freaking love Bamiyan's. Many special times here, birthdays, first dates, going away parties... sigh. Good times, good times. (I left my heart at Bamiyan's) :(
Here are my faves: (editor's note - I don't know how to spell nor properly pronounce these items. That doesn't mean I love it any less)
*Koobideh - looks like Mr. Hanky on southpark. But it tastes like the most yummiest/oniony hamburger.
*Chutney - an absolute side sauce to drown your food in
*Kadu Chalow - butternut squash puree. Perfect amount of sweet and salty
*Mantoo - beef dumplings. nuff said.
I've never had Afghan food before, but my GF and I walked by and felt like trying something different. The first thing that I noticed when I walked in was that there 3 or 4 low tables to the right of the entrance. You have to slip your shoes off before sitting on the pillows by the table. Looked like it would be a cool place to sit and eat. But, we didn't get seated there...maybe next time.
So the dining room is nicely decorated with tapestries. The main dining area isn't too big, but it's not too small either. Probably 10-12 tables.
We had the fesenjan as an appetizer. Fesenjan is pieces of boneless chicken with walnuts and pomegranate juice. YOu could taste the sweetness of the pomegranate and there was a slightly sour taste to it. It was different, but I'm not sure if the chicken was supposed to be hard. it reminded me of jerky more than tender chicken. I don't have anything to compare it to, so I guess it was OK.
For an entree, I had the Quorma Sabz with Lamb - basically lamb and spinach served with basmati rice. While I was eating it, I thought it had a familiar taste but I couldn't put my finger on it. After reading someone else's review, I realized that it reminded me of a similar dish in Indian restaurants. It was good and the portion was pretty generous.
Although the food was pretty good, the service was pretty bad. There were only 2 waitresses working that night and they seemed like they were run ragged. However, even if they are busy, they should still come by and take a drink order or check up on us during dinner. I'm not going to rail on them for the service, but it did make it a less than pleasurable experience.
I give the food 4 stars and the service was a -1.
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I knew this evening was going nowhere good when my friend Stefan and I both ordered Jameson's on the rocks (natch) and the server told us
"Uh we don't have that, but we have Captain Morgan."
What the eff!?
A) Captain Morgan= Spring break
B) that.is.rum.not.whiskey
Anyway, we plowed through the evening. The Kadu is amazing though I'm not sure how you could make pumpkin in fried dough taste bad if you tried.
The bread was not anything special in my opinion. It tasted like store-bought foccacia. My chicken fesenjan tasted like they'd cooked it for 24 hours straight. Or maybe they ran out of chicken and decided to steal some hobo's shoes and use those instead.
Stefan liked his lamb, though I didn't think it was anything special.
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Afghan food is interesting. It's like a cross between Indian and Mediterranean. What you'll see is rich sauces, but not as heavily spiced or buttered or creamy like Indian food. A lot more use of yogurt. It'll either be somewhat sweet or somewhat tangy.
First, try the Persian tea. Strong cardommom flavor. Very good.
We had the Hummus and Kadu appeteziers. The Hummus is very good- not runny or sour- just high quality hummus. It's absolutely delicious with the bread. The bread is incredible. It's sort of like Foccaica. Anyway its very tasty.
The Kadu was tremendous. Its basically a turnover filled a pumpkin filling that has a slight cinnamon flavor. There are 4 pieces in the order and while I had two I could've eaten five of them. Its served with a yogurt dipping sauce.
I had the Lowand Chalow, though I probably should've gotten the Fesenjan. It's not bad, but its not particularly bold. Chicken in a yogurt sauce (yes more yogurt). Served over standard basmati rice. They mix in a little onion and a little spice, but overall while its good you can't help but feel like you should've ordered something with more stuff in it.
My cousin had the Bouranee Bounjan which is an eggplant dished. Baked pieces of eggplant topped with a yogurt/tomato sauce and garnished with mint. It essentially tasted like eggplant in salsa. Not bad, but sort of a weird dish. Who puts salsa on eggplant?
On the dishes were served sort of cold. I understand there was a lot of yogurt on everything, but no one wants a cold $15 entree. Plus it was like 18 degrees outside. Heat it up man!
Anyway, all in all some pretty interesting dishes and great appetizers, but it ended up being quite expensive for some pretty basic food.
I think If I went hear again I might focus on a bunch of the smaller plate appetizers (there are appetizer portions of some of the entrees). And then maybe split a kebab with someone if I was going with another non-veg eater.
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My fooding partner and I decided that we wanted to expand our knowledge of Afghan food beyond the realm of the kebab, and were pleasantly surprised with this sparkly, dimly-lit, and atmospheric restaurant. The women who waited on us were kind and efficient, and my food *which consisted of steamed scallion dumplings topped in a yogurt and vegetable-laced tomato sauce* was tasty and somewhat unusual. I can't put my finger on it, but the combination of flavors was pleasing to my tastebuds. I'll definitely return to try their other dishes; they sound very tempting.
Pluses: the bread is really really really good, it has that crispy on the outside but soft and moist on the inside texture that makes baby Jesus giggle.
Cons: my fish curry was only so-so. Now I'm not sure if fish curry is really an Afghan dish or they just tossed it in there because there are some annoying pescatarians like me out there, but it didn't really come off as anything special. Also the service was a bit slow, but we were there for a birthday party so we didn't mind too much.
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Go to Bamiyan.
Get the Kadu appetizer.
Trust me.
You will thank me later.
They are pumpkin-filled pastries served with a yogurt dip.
I'm pretty sure "Kadu" translates to "crack." Because I'm ADDICTED!
This stuff is TOO delicious.
Also, the Hummus is divine, as is the bread (& they will give you more if you ask for it). Get the hummus fo' sho.
As far as entrees go, I feel like the menu here has something for everyone... Basically half the dishes are sweet and half are savory/spicy (be sure to ask for extra spicy if you want it).
I wasn't thrilled with the wine last time I went (they only serve one red by the glass... Guess I'll have to try a bottle of something else next time ;)
And oh! the decor! It's just lovely... The door, the cushions, the ceiling, everything. You can sit at a regular table, but I recommend going for the ones on the floor by the windows. Eating is just more fun when you're sitting on a giant pillow on the floor. These tables are also good for playing footsie.
And don't forget to try the Kadu!
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UPDATE 6.19.07: I am adding a 5th star for Bamiyan. There is literally nothing bad about this restaurant except that red wine by the glass. Easy fix: get a bottle and drink more than one glass of wine :)
Also, I've been getting (and fulfilling) kadu cravings on a regular basis. I'm so in love with that damn kadu.
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I stumbled into this incredible afghan restaurant a few years ago and have been making converts ever since.
Kadu is incredible. Little pumkin filled dumplings with yogurt dip. The sib chalow is also a favorite. It is apples simmered in cinnamon. I would recommend getting one savory dish and one sweet dish and sharing.
If you have never had Okra before this is a great place to try it. They simmer Okra in a tomato sauce with other veggies. Its absolutely yummy! You can also request that they make things spicier or milder. In the Okra case, I would go spicier.
Otherwise, the food comes really quickly and is always hot. Thats good and bad. I have burned my mouth on Kadu a few times because I get too excited. Defeinitely try this place! It is addictive!
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DE-licious.
Everything was good-- the Fesenjan (sweet and sour tender pieces of boneless chicken, simmered gently with walnuts and pomegranate juice), Sib Chalow (fresh apples simmered with split peas and cinnamon) and Quorma Baunjaun (eggplant sauteed with onions, green peppers & tomatoes). Entrees range from $12-15.
The flavors were amazing. We finished with Turkish coffee and Phirnee (creamy rice-flour pudding with pistachios and rose water). Soooo goood.
They also have a great atmosphere with cushions and low tables and the waitress was friendly.
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I went there tonight with 3 friends and we all enjoyed it very much. we started with the beef wrapped in yogurt dill grape leaf and the butternut squash. the bread is also yummy to dip into the appetizer sauces. one of us had the grilled chicken, 2 of us had the dill yogurt chicken and the 4th had a chicken stew (all over basmati rice). our waitress recommended a nice Cote du Rhone which was only $22 and surprisingly very tasty. will definitely be coming back to this place! total bill came to $30 per person including tip.
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I really enjoyed my lunch at this restaurant. I was one of maybe 4 patrons in the place. I enjoyed how quite it was with no one else around. These service was also very nice, might be because there were so few people in the restaurant.
I started things off with the Bulanee. This was very good! I then moved onto my entre, the Lowland Chalow. I initially wanted something else (they were out and this was a few weeks ago, so I forget) but the Lowland Chalow turned out to be very good. Next time I am in the city I will def return here.
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This is a great little place my old roommates introduced me to a few years back. The atmosphere is great...intricate tapestries, floor and table seating, and ethinic music. I highly recommend the pumpkin appetizers (bulanee?) and the Lowland Chalow (chicken dish). Both are absolutely scrumptious!
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this place was great....i cant remember everything we ordered...but i know we got something eggplanty, something with yogurt (maybe the pumpkin appetizer)...the lentil/apple thing was too sweet for me..but everything else was good, and i love eating on the floor cushions.
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This place has good food but the service absolutely sucks. If you are into overwhelmed sweaty waitresses scurrying around this place is for you. I ordered the Ashe soup ($4.50) a vegetable soup you can request with meat. I did but it wasn't in there.... The hummus $6.95 was plentiful and delicious but alas not enough bread. The Shir-chay tea is worth the trip sweet and delicious a pot will be enough for 2 it's $4.95 ask for 2 glasses otherwise you won't get 'em. My entree was the Kabuli with lamb has sweet raisins and shredded carrots with big chunks of lamb was worth every penny of my 12 bucks. I asked 3 times for water (nicely of course I have a fear of some p.o.'d server spitting in my food) They brought the appetizer soup and main entree at the same time with no utensils. The shrimp curry was unremarkable...... I thought the food was good but the service was amongst the worst I've ever had. I talked with the manager after dinner about the service he was apologetic enough and the food was good enough to maybe get me to return if I'm in a forgiving mood.
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