Bamiyan

Not recommended. In a city full of gastronomical oases, this, unfortunately, isn’t one. The kebabs we ordered were not that great and portions were on the small side. Worst of all, one of the servers and a barman left the premises halfway through our dinner and left only a young waitress in charge of serving, taking orders, seating new customers and mixing drinks (who did an admirable job). I suppose the place is worse that I thought because they closed down before I could finish my review! Good riddance.

Super annoyed that this restaurant has closed. Thought the food was good but my favorite part about it was that you were able to sit on pillows and enjoy your meal. If it’s closed its definitely because there wasn’t enough traffic and not a good location. The food could not be the reason for its closing since they always had a High rating

This was an amazing experience. We found it randomly and never had this type of food before. The spinach dishes were excellent as well as garlic naan. It was a cozy atmosphere and we enjoyed sitting on the cushions. Delicious we would love to return soon!

Recommended by my friend ages ago. Despite being told that there was a change in management it food was delicious. Started off with the butternut squash and roasted eggplant. Perfect segway to open the appetite especially with the bread. The chicken kebob with persian rice may look small was extremely filling (all those nuts and raisins in the rice made a good balance with the carb fest). The topper was the free dessert. Thank you Unilocal.I had the Phirnee which was light and sweet with a little bit of crunch. The vanilla/​almond combination was to die for. I should have had it with tea but i was being a cheap ass. Word of advise, trying to get off the floor when your extremely full is a sad sight. I literally had to roll and be assisted. The décor was beautiful and the service was amazing. Mos def going back when i get my tax return (yes it is an enjoyable and pricey experience)

I’ve been working my way through the menu and everything is amazing. I really like the sweet potato appetizer and the chicken on naan with nuts. Everything I’ve tried so far is great!

Beautiful ambiance. The floor seating by the window is delightful. Beautiful drapery, cultural music, and mirror art. Very comfortable and cozy.
Food is solid. Everything is consistently good. Rice dishes are amazing! The best palaos I’ve had.

New Owners… Not the same!
It had been about a year since I’d been to Bamiyan. So, I was so happy when I saw the interior had been beautifully redone; it looks gorgeous inside! It was the new menu that was the first clue that other things would be different. When the first appetizers came, we thought they had made a mistake, but unfortunately we had! Food by the exact same name on the menu was completely different. We asked and were told that there were new owners and I almost cried! This used to be one of my favorite places in the city! While the presentation was nice, the food seriously lacked flavor. The food wasn’t bad, but it didn’t have the bold, wonderful taste that I had gotten used to!
If you’ve never been before, you may enjoy the food. But, if you loved Bamiyan in the past, save yourself the disappointment!

Happen to walk by this place. There was a nice place on the edge if the restaurant where you can sit on lounge chairs on the floor (shoeless) which was great but hard to eat hummus and food meals while lounging :). it was nice and quiet too!
The portions are huge and the hummus dishes ate just as good as hummus kitchen. will come here again :).

The service here is outstanding !! The waiter and managers are so nice my boyfriend had problems with his food and they changed it for something he liked which is always a plus ! No one should be stuck with food they don’t like :(i recommend them

Great food. Great dessert. If the meat was «halal,» then I would have a much better opportunity to try out the meat dishes. Yet, even without so, excellent service and food. Could improve on the hookah however.

Arrived at Bamiyan with a friend who had visited the restaurant previously (when it featured an Afghani menu). Now under new management since November, the menu has changed and includes more Persian focused food.
We arrived on a hot summer night and were offered the option of the air conditioned Hooka lounge or the warmer main dining room that was having some AC issues that evening. We selected the main dining room for it’s cushioned floor seating, low lighting, and large windows allowing us to constructively criticize pedestrian fashion.
This type of setting would make for a good date-​night spot. Or a spot to get cozy on a cool autumn evening. But watch out for sweaty gym socks — you have to remove your shoes before being seated in this area.
Our glistening server was great. He got down on our level (floor seating), maintained a cheerful demeanor, and took plenty of time to answer our (many) questions about the menu and make recommendations based on our preferences.
We ordered Persian rice ($ 6) and two vegetarian entrees Persian Moussaka and Grilled Vegetable Kabob ($ 17 each).
A complimentary basket of bread also came with the meal. I’m not sure if this is standard or was related to the Unilocal check-​in. There seemed to be a little confusion about it & arrived just before our main meals came out. The bread was a little dry, but that didn’t stop me from devouring almost all of it in an attempt to soak up the delicious green sauce & olive oil that accompanied it.
Both of the vegetarian dishes were delicious. And even though we arrived here starving, we couldn’t finish everything and had to take some home in boxes. If I was doing it over again, I’d skip the rice. It was fine, but the main meals were filling enough without it. Plus there were more interesting looking appetizers.
The icing on the cake (or should I say the cheese on the phyllo dough), was the free dessert thanks to checking in on Unilocal.We were already stuffed from our entrees, but the main meals were so good, we didn’t want to miss trying the dessert too. We selected the kunafe, which was very rich and sweet. This richness prompted my friend to compare it to a ‘festival’ dish — decadent, but not eaten on a regular basis. Apparently the kunafe is the house favorite, but I preferred the creamy custard phirnee.
Our service was attentive and the owner brought out our dessert and checked on us at the end of the meal to make sure that we were happy with everything. I appreciated the personal care he put into our dining experience and I left with a positive feeling about the restaurant.
Bamiyan seemed to attract a mixed range of customers. Other patrons included a couple of older women dining together, guys in ties post-​work, and a group of millennials ordering tequila shots. I’m curious to see how this restaurant continues to develop under new management and a contemporary Persian menu. I’d certainly return again for their vegetarian dishes.

I’ve been going to Bamiyan for the past 7 years. FYI– This is an Afghani restaurant not Iranian/​Persian as it is incorrectly classified.
I’ve brought many of my friends and dates there. The food is always fresh. Meat is always tender and all of their dishes are very flavorful (Yes I’ve tried everything on the menu). Service is always impeccable. The owners and waitresses are very respectable and care about their customers. It shows in their demeanor. I’ve never been disappointed in all of the 7 years I’ve dined there and will keep going as long as they’re around. Customer for life :)

The décor and ambiance of this place are amazing. The outside has a beautiful mosaic and the inside has multiple seating options (cushions and floor seating as well as tables). They keep the back room where the hookah is lit by candles so it’s very intimate and relaxing.
The service I experienced was great-​very friendly and attentive, no complaints.
The food is a little pricey but delicious. My friend and I tried the sambusa which was superb, and the ground chicken kebab with saffron rice. This was a perfect mix of spicy and sweet! The saffron rice was impeccable-​and completely different from any other rice dish I’ve had. They mix it with almonds and oranges and it serves as a great balance to the spiciness of the kebab. Kudos to the chef.
The hookah is very decently priced ($ 20), and they have a good selection of flavors. We tried the apple and it was excellent if a bit strong.
We also got the free dessert since we checked in on Unilocal and it was delicious.
Overall it receives 4 out of 5 stars based on the price. Everything else was spot on.

Nice place for dinner. Lovely atmosphere at night with floor seating, awesome hookah hangout place, and loved meeting the owner. Main reason for 4 and not 5 stars: sometimes the service isn’t consistent, and the food is pricey.
ATMOSPHERE/​AMBIANCE/​DECOR: (4.5÷5)
Love love love the décor and ambiance except for the music being a bit loud sometimes. Looooove the floor seating. It’s very relaxing and I like getting away for a hangout here.
FOOD: (⁴⁄₅)
Everything was pretty tasty, just a bit pricey. Their pumpkin or squash turnover dumpling things (SORRY I FORGET WHAT IT IS EXACTLY) was REALLY tasty. I think you get them for free when you check in with Unilocal.They’re TASTY.
SERVICE: (⁴⁄₅)
The first time I went, I had the funny pleasure of meeting the owner, who caught my boyfriend and I checking the place on Unilocal.She told us that she wouldn’t be disappointed if we came in to try, and we were definitely thrilled!
However, I’ll say that after coming about three times over two months, I found things a bit pricey and was sad that the service was’t consistently as awesome.
I LOVE THEIR TEA. It’s very sweet though and that may not be for everyone.

I honestly don’t know what to say. I guess I can say, Bayiman is NOT a Persian/​Iranian restaurant. I could say that because I took my bf to this restaurant and he is Iranian. He said none of the dishes that we had resembled any Iranian dish he ever had; it was more afghani. I was disappointed nonetheless.
App: scallion dumplings with meat sauce and sambusa. Both app was appetizing especially the dumplings
Entrée: seared tilapia with cilantro potato patty and a weird sweet cream sauce and koobideh kebob with white rice again, the rice had a hint of sweetness to it. First bite of tilapia, I was in heaven, but as I ate more and more, the fish got saltier and saltier to a point that I couldn’t even stand to take another bite. Big disappointment! Koobideh also didn’t look like a big hit as bf left half the plate (that’s not like him at all).
Dessert: check please! At this point me nor bf didn’t want to be in this place anymore.
Décor was middle eastern-​ish and in my opinion was nice, bf begged to differ and pointed out the water damaged cracked ceiling that we were sitting right under.
Atmosphere: it was dead for a Saturday night, I should’ve taken the hint.
Service: was good and attentive
Will I go back? Unfortunately, no.

I have said it many times, I am a stickler for customer service. And this place has knocked it out of the park with awesomeness.
I received a lovely follow up email from the manager and he has handled this situation beautifully.
I am very excited to go back and give them another try next time we return to the city.

Very good customer service although the server could have done a better job explaining the menu.
The drinks were not great. They do not use high quality alcohol… (Good thing I travel with my personal flask).
The food is great. I liked the sambusa turnovers more than the kadu. For my main dish, I had the tilapia served with a potato cake — it was delicious! This was my 1^st experience with Afghan food. I’m glad I had a chance to try something new. I was there for a bday dinner party. We occupied the back room which is really cozy. I loved the Persian background music — made the dining experience feel even more authentic! And of course, hookah lamps are available for order.

4 girls in search of hookah in midtown east stumbled upon Bamiyan. We went to the back room, which is where you can smoke hookah. Rose hookah is great quality! We also had mint, pomegranate, or early grey tea. Service was okay.
Kitchen closes at 11pm FYI. I wanted to use the Unilocal deal to get the free kadu but couldn’t.

We used to go to Bamiyan with a friend of ours who lived on 23 & 3^rd — but he moved.
Very good food and service — décor was a bit old and worn looking.
Aushak, Kebabs, Grilled Lamb Chops (pricey but so good) and long-​fluffy rice.
Eggplant.
Pumpkin/​Squash.
Goodies.
Wonderful!

This is the sort of place I like to eat at. It is a good quality Afghan restaurant that serves home cooked style food at good prices with unpretentious décor. For the appetizer, I had the boulanee. It’s a crispy flaky pancake type pastry filled with scallions. A tasty fried treat and it comes with a yogurt dip.
The entrees were the Kabuli Palow (browned basmati rice with diced carrots and raisins) and Shabzi Chalow (a sauteed spinach stew with white rice on the side). We had both of these with lamb. Their lamb was stewed and was very moist — it’s texture reminded me of the beef stew you often in diners. Both of these were good entrees. The Kabuli Palow was sweeter because of the raisins and the second one was slightly more bitter tasting. We also shared a pot of Afghani tea. As a tea drinker, I liked it. It has a strong distinct herbal taste to it.
It was a good meal and appears to be well run by a friendly staff.