The portion sizes are actually horrendous in this place. They charge so much for so little food. I’m glad I went in the ‘Eat Out To Help Out’ scheme as I will never pay full price for this restaurant. A portion of roast potatoes is only 4 potatoes. The kebab was dry and tasteless. The food was very tasty but the prices and portion sizes were a huge let down. The staff members were very friendly and nice. The food was made fresh and was very warm on serving. The desserts were really nice and sweet with tons of flavour but they use supermarket branded Oreos and the biscuit was super soggy and stale. #middleeasternfood #kebab #mileend

A true local gem which deserves far higher than its current star rating! We have been coming here more than a decade and have been served dozens of times and the food has always been consistently fantastic, and portion size good. In fact today (takeaway order) was the first time they made a small error (we ordered 40b shirin pilau and got 40c - but still delicious though 40b is still our favourite). It’s still one of our favourite restaurants in London. There's no way some of the negative reviews on here are genuine! Likely jealous competition trying to jeopardise! 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.

I was very curious to try this restaurant for the mixed review and unfortunately, this restaurant didn't reach my expectations. We wanted to try a mix of starters so we ordered that, the waitress said that the mix was for 4 people and it was a ‘selection of the chef’ as described on the menu an the price was 23£. We were expecting a many different starters with a great variation of them but instead, we received a plate of 4 dips with a lot of bread. I was so disappointed. Food was average. Nothing special that blow my mind, but the price was just unjustified for such a portion. So don't order mix staters you'll be disappointed. Try something else instead.

We came here straight after opening hours for lunch so they were still preparing but we were seated and given a happy reception. We ordered starters and mains and they we could feel freshly cooked. The bread oven wasn’t ready yet so we got extra rice instead which we didn’t mind. The staff were really nice and the place was clean and well presented.

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.

According of price food is not good . It’s not worthy of money .. khyber grill is best ❤️ Price is so high but food is not like that 😬. Curry was 4/5 days before . Not any fresh food in here . Coz it’s not a busy restaurant. Fully disgusting. Cannt eat . Pay my bill .

Great restaurant with sone super tasty dishes. The food was authentic Irani/Afghani whatever you may wanna call it and the portions are huge. I loved their shish kebab and the chicken wings. The prices are also rather cheap considering it’s London and the ambiance was neat and very persian.

Just stumbled upon this restaurant in my neighborhood. Surprisingly, it's been around for the last 12 years, yet I never noticed it before. Can't quite recall the name of the meals we ordered, but the dish in the photo, labeled as number 44, is definitely a must-try. Oh, and their traditional ice cream? Absolutely delicious. Honestly, everything we had was top-notch, a solid 10 out of 10. Safe to say, I'm now a huge fan of Afghan cuisine.

I love afghan food and was excited to eat here as I was craving some land and rice. We went in and the person I was with ordered a starter , something like a soup and it had a hair in it. The waiter took it back and brought a fresh one but by this time my company was unsure about eating here and asked if they sure no hair in the new one , the cook came out and was quite rude and didn't even offer an apology for a hair being in the food. I got my rice but the mood was already spoilt and I didn't enjoy. Ate half because I was hungry and took the rest to go. It was ok but there are better restaurants around

This restaurant is so underrated ! I loooooove this restaurant The food is one of the best persian i had so far in london, the portions are very good for 1 person. Their rice however you order it just very well cooked, the Naaaan is freshly made deliciously. Minced meat and the lamb shank were very very tasty very well cooked tinder comes off the bone The staff were smiley and lovely The atmosphere is family friendly, they also have outdoor seating for shisha Very good location not too crowded with the traffic.

Very pleased with this charming place! Tried their legendary national dish Kabuli palaw and it was amazing! If you're a fan of meaty dishes with rice then this is the place for you. Very friendly and welcoming service too. Foods aren't too spicy or salty. I highly recommend.

Yesterday I was there. Very disappointed with the service I received. Staff she was rude.food was dry.. Overpriced.. Waste of money.. Very bad experience...

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.

Did not like the food staff was rude and kept looking at you eat till you finished made me feel so uncomfortable

Wow lovely food I got a delivery to Clapton I love the pileu and lamb shank where tender the nan was great ?❤️ thanks

Rubbish food, I was there with my friend yesterday, I took my food away for today but when I wanted to reheat the food I realised the food has gone sour . And also my friend get sick from yesterday. I put the stew in rubbish. Waste of money not recommended at all.

This place is just heaven, the food is great, large portions! They have all the super unique Persian dishes such as ; Albaloo Polo - a cherry rice with chicken! This is a Tehrani dish’ a must try. As a Persian myself I give this place 10 out of 10. Also the staff is so adorable, love the staff. I love speaking Farsi with them, so we all have blast chatting away. They always make me feel like it’s home. Love love love.

The food used to be good but the quality became bad and so was the behaviour of the staff. Especially this Turkish woman who’s part of their staff. She was rude numerous times to a lot of customers. Wouldn’t recommend this place at all!

Horrible mixed grill. All food was so much salty.And very small portions.

Food was nice, restaurant is very dark inside, 20% service charge was added to the bill without me knowing.

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.

NOT THE GREATEST FOOD, ITS OK. ITS A BIT LIKE STANDARD TURKISH GRILL FOOD. LAMB CHOPS ARE OK BUT IT WAS SERVED WITH LOTS OF PLAIN WHITE RICE. COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU WOULD EAT THAT MUCH RICE WITH OUT SAUCE OR SOMTHING. ITS IT'S SIMPLY WHITE RICE. THE AUTHENTIC AFGHAN LAMB SHANK ON BED OF RICE DIDNT REALLY LIVE UP TO STANDARDS. LAMB SHANK NOT ALL THAT, THE RICE IS FLAVOURED BUT THAT TOO IS LACKING THOUGHT AS THEY PUT SWEET RAISINS IN THERE. JUST GO FOR SIMPLE KEBAB AND YOU WONT REGRET IT. YOU CAN PARK IN THE GYM CAR PARK NEXT DOOR FOR £1 AND STAY 2 HOURS.

Amazing Afghan restaurant in Mile End. Ordered the wings which were grilled perfectly. The mains were also delicious

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.

Delicious food, especially the bread 🤤 really beautiful interior too

Shockingly bad service and food. Could be the worst restaurant in London. Great option if taking an enemy for dinner! I organised a dinner with friends here based on reasonable reviews. They couldn't be further from the truth. We were offered a seat at the back of the restaurant, which was offered to someone else whilst we sat there waiting for it. After a handful of requests we were finally given a table. Waiters in the restaurant should be given an award for most miserable staff in London! We were so polite and friendly yet it would have been easier to get blood out of a stone than a smile or even a passing show of enthusiasm. I wonder if they were being kept hostage? After almost 30 mins of trying to get someones attention we finally ordered drinks. The waiter was literally acting as though he was signing his life away to us as scribbled 2 diet cokes and a bread basket. After another 20 mins we received our bread and had to remind them about our drinks. It was £22 for 4 bowls of dips and a bread basket! Dips were bland and about as exciting as an office lunch. After 2 friends joined us we again had to try for 10 mins to get the attention of a waiter. A lady came over with pretty poor attitude, again everything felt like the biggest chore. We kept the order simple with 2 mixed meat platters and an afghani rice. Food arrived 20 mins later, we were then given the smallest starter plates to eat our mains, thankfully a drinks order was taken. The meat was tasteless and boring with the addition of 5 random roast potatoes, which even aunt Bessie's wouldn't have been happy about. The qabuli pilau was also an absolute shocker, bland, oily rice, lamb had no flavour. After finishing the meal we tried to get a waiters attention for 10 mins with no luck so we had to go up to the counter for the bill. We flagged to the manager that we didn't have a great experience and that we waited a very long time, his response was to look around to the 6 or 7 tables and say its a very busy night, no apology. Having worked in the restaurant industry for 15 years and eaten in 100's of restaurants across London I can happily say this is by far one of the all time worst. If this is the state of Afghani food in London then there's definitely room for competition. Was it a bad night? Seemed to be service as normal. Please do yourselves a favour and don't waste your time or money. Even with the 'Eat Out' discount this was the most regrettable restaurant visit I've ever had.

It used to be my favourite restaurant but the quality this time just wasn't the same as before..something was missing the qabli pilao and the prawns were almost tasteless :( Chicken was still great though.

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.

One of my favourite places in London for the food which is always freshly prepared, smells and looks amazing and the taste - simply “wow”. Staff is truly helpful, always greeting and serving customers with smile. They also serve shisha so if you’re looking for a nice place to both eat and relax after their generous portions whilst puffing shisha and sipping chai - that’s the place to go. Only issue I have is the parking outside ?

Really decent home made food and service. They really make an effort. Thanks gents!

Used to my my go to spot because of how authentic and quiet it used to be here, staff were all family based and so welcoming and kept really good relations with their frequent customers. I really honestly miss that family I believe they must’ve cooked the authentic food too. After lockdown I took my friend and it was disappointing, i noticed different staff to what I was used to but i wasn’t fussed as I had been craving this place’s food. food just seemed bland and less Persian/more Asian spices used as everything had same flavour dna. Completely different to what the place used to offer.

Delicious, authentic food with friendly staff. Definitely recommend!

Totally rude staff! Stay away if you are looking for good service. Initially wanted a takeaway then decided we will actually grab a table and eat. After a lot of huffing and puffing from who seemed to be manager and saying it’s more expensive to eat in he decided we can sit down. Please bare in mind eating in and takeaway is same prices. I then asked for the menu and there was even more huffing and puffing. All I can say the staff are super rude. Dined in last week food was mediocre but the service was a good 3/10. They really are not bothered about service. Honestly if you are looking for a decent dining service stay away. Not amazing food and bad service I would never be coming back.

Tasty food, kind and welcoming staff, lovely atmosphere and very reasonable price! I had a great experience here :)

Food is good but definitely could be better, the meat is sometimes quite flavourless and dry. The Qabuli Pilao however is decent. Outdoor seating is nice, the shisha isn’t great.

Amazing service, we had a friendly waiter called Hossein. The food was prepared and served quickly. All the dishes were delicious. All in all very pleased with our experience - would highly recommend!

THE BEST FOOD I HAVE TRIED IN LONDON

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.

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 .

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.

Been here over and over. Love the food, good value, nice environment. My go to is the Salad-E-Olivieh and the Mixed Grill to share between 2 people. The meat juices flowing into the pitta/bread 🤤

The food was great!!!

Ariana is one of those restaurants that you simply keep returning to. Whether it be in a day, week or a month, the food cannot be replaced. From the hearty portions, the perfectly seasoned dishes, to the fantastic staff, this Middle Eastern Farsi oriented restaurant is a must try for any food connoisseur.

I can still taste the lamb in my mouth lol Very good food!

Omg the food here is AMAZING!!! So tasty I cant believe this hidden gem exists in east London! I was looking at the bad reviews and csnt believe what people are posting here! It is MIND-BLOWING AND DELICIOUS!! Definitely give it a try! The portions are too big for me though...smaller portions might be better but that depends on your stomach size!

Had a lovely dinner at Ariana on a Friday night. The bread was freshly made and delicious with the baba Ganoush. We ordered the mixed grill for 2- sadly they don't do it for one. The chicken was succulent and flavourful, as was the minced lamb kebab. The lamb chop was disappointing though and too rough to eat. We also ordered the seabass which was also a bit dry... Service was good and the food came so quickly. Loved the BYOB.

I went here last week with my husband and children and the food and service was amazing. We will be back again.

Very friendly staff and delicious food. It was such a nice experience.

Extremely nice and friendly service, everything is so good and fresh. Man who was working there was making naan bread right in the front of the people. You can try real Persian food. I strongly recommend this place!!!

I love the dishes here. Not all dishes are good but few are excellent.

Food was delicious.

I had the lamb shank which was kind of average but tasty. Only reason I wouldn't come back here is because of the service. Had to ask waiters 3 times before getting up to ask someone for drinks. They were not busy, just understaffed.

Less staff in the busy time ! Ordered chips 10 times for our kids they forgot it. Not friendly, bad customer service

I called them today at 12 am to book a table and they said they don't do booking just walk in. When we arrived there at 6:30pm all the tables where with "reserved" sign, when I asked the waiter why I got a wrong information on the phone that they don't do booking I didn't get any answer from him At the end he offered us a seat outside where it was a shisha place and the weather was horrible and raining we told him that we prefer to sit inside . He went to speak with his manager but at the end completely ignored us, no information, no answer, at the end we left and nobody even bother to talk to us. Very bad service, definitely they don't care about customers, not coming back anymore .

Hussain gave us amazing service with a smile. Very swift and excellent service. Very nice atmosphere. Food was very good.

Tasty and nice food.

Very rude management, they had tables available and booked me , as soon I ask 50% min to Wednesday discount, they said yes but we are full , then I went on Thursday , they reheating old food , the owner is very rude not Afghan, he is Iranian , they tell Iranian food

(Translated by Google) Interesting combinations of flavors. You can try dishes of a different culture. Well seasoned and tasty. (Original) Ciekawe połączenia smaków. Można spróbować potraw innej kultury. Dobrze doprawione i smaczne.

excellent food and customer service.

I've been to this place several times and enjoy their food a lot. This place has an indoor dining and outdoor for food and shisha. The food is halal and also have a prayer space at the back for those who want to pray. Their mixed grill dish is one of the best mixed grills I've ever had. The meat was tender with nice seasoning and was delicious. I must say we were over charged considering that they were doing the 50% government discount scheme. Their mixed grill for 2 is normally £25 (see menu on the website) and we've ordered for 3 which supposed to be cheaper than for 4. But we were charged about £59 before the discount. I didn't realise at the time of paying but they should have paid a bit more attention. We've had 3 J2Os and no starters. Mixed grill for 2 is £25 as advertised on the website. £12.50 per person

Allways nice food and good service

Hearty food and nice atmosphere at this place

Great atmosphere, great waiters

Try the traditional Afghan lamb

Good food, first time I ordered. Good service. But potions are small. I spend 30£. I hope next time good portions and maintain a same quality.

Good value and delicious food, looking forward to my next order!

Excellent food, especially the lamb dishes are a delight.

Lived very close by for years and never paid Ariana much attention but had a takeaway during lockdown to support local businesses and the food is incredible. Nice service, great value and outstanding food. Beautiful saffron rice, heavenly ice cream with pistachio, delicious diced chicken.

Went here with my wife to be, was an amazing experience. However terrible food, wouldn’t recommend going here to eat.

Had a family meal here and it was a reasonably priced, enjoyable experience. The food was tasty and fresh and the portion sizes were good. It would've been nice if the management had been a bit more welcoming and said hello etc. A bit poker faced. Also, the mains arrived while we were halfway through the starters which made us feel rushed - this isn't really good practise. Overall it was an enjoyable meal and worth a visit.

Very happy that this place exists in Mile End. Highlight of the area! The coriander chilli chutney is ??????

Food is good but the Turkish lady stuff is very arrogant, I guess she’s the owner and doesn’t have the etiquettes how to treat customers. I used to go everyday but since she mistreated us for telling her that there was too much salt in the food. We have stopped going there anymore. I hope you guys don’t experience such behaviour.

I really enjoyed the food at Ariana. Kabobs were delicious and tender. Staff were very friendly and the bread was hot and fresh. Salad Shirazi was a bit bland, and could be a bit more exciting. Prices were very reasonable and portions were generous. Would definitely recommend it over Hafez.