659137 Tue Oct 13 09:55:09 -0700 2009 8 5 Texas 0 5099704 We went last night to try to get in before the weekend crowd. The food was extraordinarily good. As advertised, they serve small plates of Spanish, Middle Eastern and Indian food. The plates are lovely and delicious, but are indeed small. I would recommend that if you are going to share, that each order be shared by 2 people. That seems to be how they are set up. For instance, the fried squash blossoms stuffed with house made haloumi cheese (my favorite taste of the night) came 2 to an order. The plates are generally in the $7-10 range, with a couple pricier ones. We also had peekytoe crab fritters, a white bean and clam stew with chorizo foam, a chicken sausage kabob with apricots, cumin and saffron infused cauliflower, and haleem (which was ground lamb porridge with lamb kebab on top). Other than the Naan, I don’t think that I ate anything last night that I had ever had before. It was all amazing. The service, as expected, was excellent. We were greeted warmly and the manager stopped by to talk with us and thank us for coming. It was all very smooth and not overbearing. Chef Pyles was in the kitchen, but we saw him walk around some. The room is nice. Except for a beautiful, underlit onyx bar, it’s not over the top. In fact, the tables and chairs felt fairly ordinary. I wonder if the permanent furniture hasn’t come in yet. We had six plates, an order of naan and 4 glasses of wine. The bill was $88. Fun night. I can’t wait to go back. Tue Oct 13 09:55:09 -0700 2009 254843 dfwtexex 1 5100566 Thanks for the review. Was it crowded and are reservations recommended? Tue Oct 13 14:09:01 -0700 2009 5099704 13609 Scagnetti 2 5100645 They have one of those quirky no reservation policies except for large parties. On Monday night, the room was comfortably full, but there was no wait. But, it just opened on Thursday. I bet that pretty soon, the weekends will be a scene. And since this is TX/OU weekend, that will probably start right away. Tue Oct 13 14:39:11 -0700 2009 5100566 254843 dfwtexex 1 5107141 I think those tables are Zebra Wood, which are NOT cheap. Thu Oct 15 22:07:13 -0700 2009 5099704 267336 JasonB 2 5109137 I don't think Stephan Pyles does anything, "cheaply". Fri Oct 16 16:07:37 -0700 2009 5107141 138174 twinwillow 3 5109146 It was a truly incredible experinece and one I will soon repeat. I was amazed that we could have a wonderful meal at even more wonderful prices. And no, Stephan Pyles is a class act, and his decor is a work of art. Fri Oct 16 16:11:34 -0700 2009 5109137 277493 DallasDude 4 5110902 Totally incredible is right. SAMAR is the best Indian restaurant, the best Spanish restaurant and the best Middle Eastern restaurant all in one place. This is what Chowhound is all about! Sat Oct 17 15:31:02 -0700 2009 5109146 254079 OCNC 1 5115707 The tables were custom made by a local furinture maker Mon Oct 19 17:15:03 -0700 2009 5099704 1117228 kush 2 5141060 glad to see that hounders are as passionate abt their furniture as they are about their food. Thu Oct 29 13:43:42 -0700 2009 5115707 15639 AussieGirl