I came into this restaurant being slightly apprehensive due to unfamiliarity. I was greatly impressed. The place is not much to look at from the outside, but once you step inside the atmosphere takes you to another place; a place that creates fantastic foods (especially the Ashka, which we ordered a second helping of). I highly recommend this place, even if (or especially if) you are unfamiliar with this type of food. I promise you will enjoy it.   Our only complaint was that we had mentioned we are vegetarian and one our dishes initially came out with meat on it. They immediately fixed the error though and the dish was great.

All I can remember right now is the terrible service so giving this place a "below average" rating for one visit. Our reservations were for 6:15 and we got there at 6 with only one patron sitting at the bar. It was to be a special event night with buffet dining only. We sat down at one of the bistro tables in the bar area only to be ignored by 2 wait staff and a gentleman who we found out later was actually the owner. After waiting for over 10 minutes I walked over to one of the wait staff to ask them if we were supposed to go up to the bar ourselves for a drink or wait for a wait staff person. At the time there was no bartender. She replied that she "was not sure" and "would have to ask someone" but after leaving she returned to checking on the buffet items and not helping us with a drink. After 5 more minutes I got up again and went over to her and she came back to our table to take our order. One of the diners in our group - who had gotten there earlier - said that it was actually THIS waitress who had made her a drink before, so, why did she act like she didn't know with me when there were 3 new customers? We went on to get a table and then go into the small buffet line and then I noticed that a young woman was clearing our table - the one we had just been seated at - and removed all our water glasses and drinks! Three purses were still hanging over our chairs so not sure why it looked like anybody had left, especially when nobody else had even started eating yet. Very weird. As we continued to eat our dinner - which was only pretty good due to some very dried out items that had sat too long in the large buffet pans - the owner continued to come over to socialize. Each time he did this he interrupted whomever was speaking, not apologizing for interrupting, and only wanting to tell his stories "of the homeland." Although we certainly appreciated his sociabililty we thought it somewhat rude to just continue to interrupt the conversations of those at a table you are serving. Before we were even asked if we wanted anything else, another drink perhaps- maybe some coffee? we were given our tab - by the waitress who first ignored my request for a drink. But, we are willing to try a second time and order off the menu and see if the service improves. There is just no excuse for ignoring patrons when they walk in the door..............

Although the food is tasty, there were too many negatives for me to recommend this restaurant to anyone. The portions are quite small, especially in relation to the price. The service is rather slow and inattentive, and the decor is lackluster. I noticed that another reviewer commented on how they don't "rush you through dinner." lol Yeah, that's for sure. Though frankly, I haven't had problems being rushed at restaurants. It would be nice to have them take your order, bring your food and when you're done, bring the check in a timely fashion though. That didn't happen here. And even though I do like the food, I have to say that for less money, you get more food and better service at any of the area's Persian restaurants. The cuisine is similar, with the Persian food having a bit more zing to it. I've found both the service and the decor in all of the area Persian restaurants to be superior. What really put me off to Bamiyan was a sneaky trick our waiter pulled (I suspect he was also the owner). We said we didn't want the rice that is included with the meal, so he very cordially suggested that we could instead select a second vegetable. When the bill arrived, he had charged us for the second vegetable, which at $4 each for a tiny portion of spinach, added significantly to the total. I questioned him gently about this, and he acted as if it had been a special request on our part, told us that "it says on the menu" that there is a charge for all substitutions, and essentially squeezed us for the extra charge. I'm not gonna put up a fuss over it, which I'm sure is what he was counting on. But it was shady and makes me feel negatively towards the place. I'll certainly never go there again. I also noted that they owner had parked his personal vehicle, decked out with Bamiyan ads, in the best parking spot directly in front of the door. No big deal, but it reflects the attitude of the place, where customers don't come first.

We were looking forward to Persian food or Afghan type cuisine. We were disappointed with the food, poor service and prices. We will never go back. If you are looking for good Persian food - go to Shahrzad on Sunrise or Famous Kabob on Fulton.

Loved the food and the atmosphere is gorgeous. You will be transported to a high end restaurant in a big city as soon as you step in. The service, food and atmosphere are all 5 stars! Love this place. Try the pumpkin side dish! Yum!