Bamiyan Kabob - Afghani Restaurant

[Peechie]

Against fear of turning yet another little treasure into another over crowded mediocre affair, I feel that Bamiyan Kabob is under exposed and deserves some respect.

Nestled amongst fast food joints and mini marts in a small-off-the-main-road plaza at 62 Overlea Blvd near Don Mills and Eglinton, Bamiyan is a definite chow pleaser. From the casual dining room and self serve atmosphere one would never guess than the staff behind the open kitchen and counter would cook up such a delicious assortment of Halal Kabobs. All the meats (lamb, beef and chicken breasts) are cooked tender and just right. Dinner portions are served with a generous amount of long grain rice which at first glance seems dry but is moist and delicious, salad and roti at a very reasonable price ($8-$15). One would find it difficult to finish everything on their plate.

While the meats are delicious, there are vegetarian options available and sometimes the rice and roti is enough to make me want to go back.

Try it.

[julesrules]

Thanks - I have wondered about this place which I pass on the bus home from work. I will get off and pick dinner up someday soon.

[sumashi]

I first read about this place in the Toronto Star restaurant reviews. They got a great review from the food critic! I think this place is worth checking out..

[munch]

I tried Bamiyan last week for the first time, I absolutely concur. I was getting takeout, it was a little crowded and loud for eat-in for my tastes, but that was Friday around 6pm. We had lamb and chicken dinners, both good, they also had wraps on the menu for $4-5.

[kerwintoronto]

I'd forgotten about Bamiyan. We went last year on the recommend from TorStar but this was pre-Chowhound postings for me.

2 thumbs up indeed.

[estragon]

Our favourite out-of-the-way ethnic place. Two more thumbs up!
Also a great people-watching scene.

[Jar]

Even in the last year, this place has become extremely busier. Superb Foods Period!!!! Jar

[ctl98]

I went for lunch yesterday I and it was excellent! I hadn't heard about this place but DH and I were in the area and decided to give it a go. It didn't look like much from the outside but it's actually quite pleasant inside. And the food was amazing! I had the tikka kabob and DH had the chicken. Definitely going back there.

[yoyodyne]

Went for the first time a couple of weeks ago and while the interior may be just this side of Mickey D's, the food was excellent! Fantastic kofta and Afghani naan. Healthy and tasty, what more could you ask for (oh and it's halal, natch)!

[julesrules]

They don't by any chance have those yummy afghan leek & beef dumplings with yoghurt sauce...

[Finnegan]

No dumplings, but great kabobs and fresh, warm afghani bread/pita..mmmm. Cheap and very very good, though the decor (while clean and tidy) is reminiscent of a McDonalds (I hate tile floors in resturants)

[ekammin]

They are called ashaks, and are more like a leek and meat ravioli than a dumpling (although I recall an Afghan restauarnt in Vancouver where the owner said he didn't bother with leeks, but just put in meat, since that was what his non-Afghan customers seemd to want). No, Bamyan doesn't have them.

[Jar]

Absolutely, excellent and there now is a location in the Dixie Rd. 401 area on the west side amongst other food places.

[apple_pie]

Has anyone been to the Mississauga (dixie) location? How does it compare?

[yoyodyne]

I've only been to the Mississauga location and the quality of the food is excellent. fresh and tasty. It's a regular haunt of lots of co-workers as well since it's near our office.

[Food Tourist]

Tried the half chicken at the Dixie/Eglinton Mississauga location (in same plaza as Jimbay). Pleasantly surprised by sheer popularity of the place (packed at 9 pm on a Thursday night) and the extra-spicy flavours of the mostly-moist chicken! Cilantro-flecked tomato salad and tomato-chile salsa were good sides. Wasn't impressed by the afghani naan (a bit overcooked). Would definitely return!

This place is the polar opposite of Taste of Afghanistan (i.e. no mantu, no samosa-like creations), and is more of a grill/wrap style casual spot.

[legourmettv]

Been going to the Thorncliff Park location for a long time... love it!

[Yongeman]

The last posting on this thread was a year ago but the place still rocks! I've only been a couple of times, but each visit provided delicious, generous, super-flavourful food for a great price. I dropped in today for a cheap and cheerful lunch. I had a kofta kabob wrap for $3.99. It was freshly grilled, and packed with lettuce, tomato, onion, sauce and hot sauce. A great, quick lunch.
Every posting in this thread is in agreement that Bamiyan is a great place to eat. I don't think that can be said about very many CH threads. Enjoy.

[red dragon]

We've been to the newer location at Markham Road and 14th in Markham a few times. I wish I could say our experience was great. The chicken dinner that I had was dry. The rice was a bit dry as well. The afghani naan was good! The rice pudding, which is more like a creamy pudding was very good. The wraps were imo, not that great. They are a good price, but it's mostly lettuce and wrap. I wouldn't mind to pay more for more meat (I had the kofta, my friend had the chicken). The service at this location, is super, super slow. Three times we went at lunchtime (it was "not" busy) and we took over an hour!

I think with time, they might get their act together, but not sure I'd return just yet.

I wonder how they get their naan so nicely browned all over. It would seem like it was deep fried, which it's not, but baked wouldn't give that all over brown consistency? When I asked one of the staff, they confirmed it was baked. Been looking for the recipe, but none of the pictures looked like the naan at Bamiyan Kabob.

[koknia]

Yeah, excellent food, but waiting 45 mins for a takeout kebab is plain crazy. I would only go back during deep off hours.

[red dragon]

Tried it one more time, and this time, we even called in our order from the office. Got there and still had to wait 15 minutes, and no, the place wasn't busy. I hope they get their act together soon!!

BTW, the firnee (rice pudding) seems to be so inconsistent, one time it was great, the other time, not so great and a skin had formed on the pudding this time around.

[fickle]

And here's a posting a year later that agrees that this place rocks. We needed a place for dinner after the Body Worlds exhibit on Friday and decided to check out Bamiyan based on these postings. Service was very friendly. A bit slow but I liked how everything is made to order so the wait was fine. I had the Sultani Kabob (filet mignon & the kofta) on a gigantic pile of basmati rice with a side of the bamiyan mista salad on the side. My friend had the Chicken Breast & Kofta combo. The meat was perfectly cooked. Tender, juicy and flavourful. Portions were huge so we didn't have any room to try the boulagnee. We'll just have to try it next time. Will definitely return. Half the seating was taken when we sat down around 5pm and by 6, all the tables were full and the lineup for takeout was quite long. I can see why they're so busy, the place is a gem.

[landwhale]

Bamiyan Markham ROCKS!
I have had the sultani kebab,tandoori kebab and the half chicken kebab. The sultani kebab is a total beef blast! Having only been to the Markham location i cannot speak of the others.The service was fast(friday at 830 pm) even though the joint was packed. If you get the tandoori kebab dinner tell them to give you two kebabs as one is not enough!
Bamiyan is my last vestage at that plaza- Tikka Tikka sells old food and SAAGAR(R.I.P) is gone .

[Finnegan]

Love the bread at Bamyan. Found an Afghan bakery at Markham Rd. and Lawrence (just south of Lawrence on the west side) - big sign on the front that say "Sfghan Bread" they cook into in ovens on premises and it comes out so hot that the server wears cotton gloves to handle it. Comes in 3 ft. lengths. Lots of people eat it right there at the little tables provided...sublime. They also sell lots of Afghan Goroceries, candies, etc

[satoorisme]

Oohhh la la, thanks for the tips! I shall have to check it out:) Is it non-Afghani friendly though?

[Jar]

To answer is it friendly, well, everybody goes there and more than once I have had to skip lunch because the place is so good, it is crowded. You may not know what to order, so make up yoiur mind about spiciness and they will help, enjoy!!

[Finnegan]

The Afghan Bread place is very friendly...everyone sitting at tables picking at these hot fresh slabs of bread.

Bamiyan Kabob is also very friendly. Them seem proud of their food and are happy to answer any questions.

[tochowchick]

There's also a place in the Flemingdon Park Plaza (Don Mills just north of Overlea)...can't remember the name...right in the front of the plaza next to the Shopper's Drug Mart...they also bake the Afghan bread and it's yummy...they supply a LOT of walk in customers and also serve it with their meals...like their Mantu dumplings...yum...

[julesrules]

This is a good tip, I work up the street and I like mantu, which I don't think they have at Bamiyan. Now I just have to convince someone to drive me down for lunch :)

[pakmode]

The grocery store is called Saleem Caravan, and though disorganized, it is good. The 3ft rotis sell for $1.50 I believe and the takeout food is very good for the price.

[Finnegan]

Right you are Pakmode...I was a bit confused...there are two afgahn places in the same plaza...Saleem Caravan is the place I was thinking off...the bakwery at the south end of the plaza has a big sign the says Afghan Bread (I haven't tried this place though)

[pete k]

Is this place still open? Any suggestions for Afghan mantu in the GTA area? Mantu is an Afghan variation of dumplings..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manti_(d...

[julesrules]

They have two kinds of mantu at the Flemingdon Park (Don Mills north of Overlea) place mentionned above. I didn't love them as much as my one previous mantu experience. The other food was decent, nothing amazing but good. At 6pm they had a steady trade of people I assume are Afghani picking up bread for dinner. They also sell some bulk dried goods such as excellent walnuts at a good price.

This might be the place:

http://foodpages.ca/riaz-restaurant

[ziggystardust]

I'll weigh in too, Bamiyan is an excellent place; excellent food, very reasonable prices.

[damonster]

Put me down as a lover of this place too, I usually stick with the tikka kabob, but the tandoori chicken is a close second.

[Yongeman]

I have to say that this post magically reappeared just as I was trying to decide what I'd get for take-out last night. I am soooooo glad that I went back to Bamiyan Kabob.

I had the lamb kabob dinner with salad, rice, 'naan', and accompanying hot sauce. Wow...what an explosion of delicious flavours. Even the rice, which looked a boring beige colour, was delicious. The dinner was $11.99.
On a side note, while I was waiting for my meal to be cooked (about 20 minutes), I crossed the parking lot to the Indian Sweets and Samosas place. I had 2 awesome chicken samosas for $1. Very light and flavourful, and a great appetizer too.

[LUV_TO_EAT]

Anyone know what's in the special hot sauce. Tried looking up a recipe to try and duplicate it but didn't find anything.

[Yongeman]

That's a great question LTE. I'd be very interested in knowing too. It's quite delicious.

[damonster]

I call this sauce salsa, mainly because i don't know the proper name. It reminds me of a pico de gallo but blended, I don't really taste anything different in it but the ingredients you would find in a pdg. I don't usually find it overly spicy (hot) but the odd batch it is definitely warmer than others. Thankfully one of my coworkers that orders it with me all the time never touches it leaves me his and I can use both take out containers with my meal.

[pete k]

damonster,

the salad is called saalata, it's an Afghan salad without lettuce. it usually consists of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, cilantro, lime juice, and sometimes peppers.

[Yongeman]

Hey pete k, I think that damonster was referring to the small side dish of what (s)he called "pico de gallo but blended", an apt description of the sauce. I had thought of it as reminiscent of gazpacho.
The salad to which you are referring was on the plate, but included lettuce as well. Both were excellent, by the way

[pete k]

very interesting...chutney's are also very popular in Afghan cuisine, I wonder if it was some version of a chutney?

[bloggo]

We found Bamiyan totally by accident and have been back many, many times. The food NEVER disappoints.
We noticed the Popeye's Chicken in the same strip mall and were headed there when passing Bamiyan, the door opened and these WONDERFUL aromas drifted out. We walked on to Popeye's, but on entering were hit with the aroma of hot fat! Retreated back out the door and into Bamiyan which fortunately had a printed menu explaining each dish in English. The half-chicken is great, the Choppan Kabob (seasoned beef), the lamb, the naan bread. Everything is great. If there are 2 of you, get 2 entres with just salad & naan, and split an order of Kabili rice. Basmati rice with carrots, almonds & raisins. Sensational and REALLY filing.

[Yongeman]

Love your story about Popeye's being your destination, bloggo...perfect.

[BamiaWruz]

Love your story too. And agreed on the Qabli rice, very good!! I just wanted to say that if you haven't tried Pamier Kebob in Brampton then you should, it's a simliar atmosphere but the food is actually better imho!