Ariana II

wonderful! friendly staff, delicious food!

Ariana II is amazing!!! Great value and really friendly staff. Restuarant had a 20-somethings vibe the night we went. The set course is an easy choice as it gives you a variety accross the board - the 2 person set could feed 3 easily. Defo go back there again.

Ariana II is a fab restaurant.... I love it, staff are so friendly and food is great - a must when you are in Kilburn! Linda

It was love at first bite in my case. With a family that had got fed up with eating Xmas dinner left-overs, we decided to have an Afghan dinner last night, and everyone loved it. Exceptionally good food - I have had Afghan food, but the aushak (the Afghan ravioli) were exceptional - and great service. I'll be back - and the prices are more than reasonable: In spite of trying out most of the menu we ended up paying only just over 30 pounds (plus tips, of course). It is Bring Your Own Drink, but that is just one more plus

What resturant is opened on Xmas? Ariana2 my favourite Place !
On Xmas and you wouldn't believe how much fun its to talk about make up and shopping with the two lovely waitresses!! They are open NEW YEAR ASWELL

Lamb shank , Aushak , Firnee , Mint tea AMAZING SERVICE !
definitely going back!

LOVE IT !! No Word cant explain!

Magnificant! The best service, she was so friendly, we even got her name :). The food was nothing but beutiful and tasted like mwah! the portions were large and you will certainly get full!
Must try if you visit london.

Excellent. Amazing value, great service, exciting and tasty food.

Only negative - it was very hot in the restaurant!

spicy okra was fantastic. so was aushak. mantu was divine. overall excellent. will be back for more.

The other half and I went last night and it was an utter delight! The staff were all charming and the food was delicious. The aushak was just divine and it's all so affordable. Ariana II has just shot to the top of my recommended restaurants but as it's so unassuming from the outside I probably wouldn't have gone in if not for this review.

Went last night with a friend, fantastic food (we had Kabuli Palow - try it!), really friendly service and terrific value - Time Out claims this is not a "destination restaurant" - I live in E1 and I'll be going back to NW6 soon and with one purpose!!!

It was Konrad's birthday and I took him there as a surprise. Food was fantastic and staff extremely helpful and nice. Dumplings for starter were my favourite, as well as rice with raisins and pistachios. Our lamb was cooked to perfection (Kabuli Palow). At the end they asked if I'd like a dessert with a candle which was a really nice gesture. And our waitress Samira also sung Happy Birthday to Konrad. Amazing evening. We'll return with friends.

Myself and my girlfriend have just eaten here and it was very very good. We had the menu for two (£25) which included two starters, two mains, a dessert and two drinks. All of the food was exceptionally good and the staff were all really friendly. We've had the pleasure of eating out at many London restaurants, high brow and low brow, and in terms of service and food this is now right up there as one of the best meals we've had in town. We look forward to our next visit!!

The food couldn't have been better - delicious and a vast quantiity. The waitress took a personal interest and could not be faulted. I had lunch there, and for £8.00 which included sparkling water and a coffee with cardomen, it was a real bargain. I hope to return again and again.

Amazing amazing food. I would suggest talking to the waitress and getting her recommendations - she was spot on and everything we ordered was delicious. I had been once before and picked dishes myself and was a little underwhelmed as clearly I had no idea what I was doing. BYO is a total bonus too.

Very nice staff...especially our waitress. We had lovely dumplings for starters as well as a yogurty starter with shallots and a yummy nan, then lamb in an aubergine stew with rice and lamb skewers with rice. Generous and tasty portions. Total £25, will go back.

Excellent! We - a party of four - knew nothing about this type of food and so let the waitress choose for us. We couldn't have been happier with her selection. Aushak as well as Mantu were wonderful, and so were a lamb and a prawn dish. The service was attentive and helpful all round, and the corkscrew worked, too. Really good value for money - we'll be back soon.

I think its the best restaurant in the world and some staff named waris he was very polite.

We went there, very bad service, we had to wait more than half an hour to be served, then the they brought wrong food, they took it back the food was very cold and then the staff was very rude.

I would never go there again.

When I read the review below (tom's) I thought I wasn't on the right section. I truly don't know why any one would write bad reviews about his place ...oh well, any one except competitors perhaps! I totally agree with Timeout and with the other reviewers.
My boyfriend and I moved to Kilburn last year. On our mission to find a local 'favourite' restaurant we started trying all the cafes and restaurant of Kilburn High Road. The search was over when we arrived at Ariana II. Very rare to find hidden gems so unpretentious like this around London! The food is simply delicious: I had Kabuli chicken and by boyfriend the lamb. The portion are huge and the meat is so fresh it melts in mouth. We also had delicious starters -aushak and hummus- accompanied by naan (the Afghan bread) and the typical yogurt drink I can't remember the name of (sorry). The service is excellent, the two people working there are very friendly, kind and attentive. We have now been there almost every week and never been disappointed once. Oh, and the prices are very low for the quality of the food!

Absolutely delicious.

I have walked passed this place many many times but on thursday i thought let me pop in with a few of my friends and try the food .
K-PALOW
The lamb shank might have been one of the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. The lamb was soft and juicy - it almost melted in my mouth!

Bloneen kadoo , Budinjan buranee , Aushak

Other gorgeous items were the pumpkin and yoghurt and the aubergine and yoghurt and the dumplings that we called them the afghan ravi olie they were covered with meaty sauce and yoghurt topping slightly spicy but breathe taking
.
Food 10 .. Service 9 ..Atmosphere 9 ... Value for money 10

The waitress and the boss were very friendly.

Also there is a few comments on timeout that i do not agree with dont believe it till you go to ariana 2 and try the food !!

Great place. Cannot wait to go back!

I had to visit this little new afghan place in kilburn which was much talked about and given a great review by Timeout. I was rather confused alittle to read 1 bad review on urbanspoon about the place and wasn't sure what to believe, all of this was changed when i tasted the great Kabuli Palou which was a lamb shank covered under brown rice topped with carrots raisons, pistachios and almonds and realised that TIMEOUT was right once again and that I had found my new favorite restaurant in London. would recommend it to anyone but watch out since there is a big crowd on weekends so you might have a wait. Service was great all the staff were helpfull and very attentive.

Arrived in a party of 4 on Sunday evening, the service was very prompt and friendly.
We were unfamiliar with the menu so we opted for a meal for 4.
Our waitress was very attentive and picked the dishes for us which were all Afghan
The food was excellent and well worth the price, £50 for 4
highly recommended.

I've tried afghan food alot but arianas food Is just breathe taking . The waitress and the boss both serived us with kindness and respect .

Went there last night and was confused about what to expect - Timeout says it is great, but user comments were very mixed. Pleased to report that Timeout was right!

Food was superb and very well priced. They don't have a alcohol license, but you are more than welcome to take your own wine. Food was very prompt and there was a real difference in taste.We weren't hurried and had a very relaxed, tasty meal which had a phenomenally fresh taste.

Would recommend!!

Arrived with a party of 6 on a Saturday evening at the time for which I'd booked a table 4 days earlier, but no table. We had a 20 minute wait in a basement before being shown to our table, then a 25 minute foodless wait till someone came to take our order. Half way through the waiter (?boss) suddenly said it would be better if we allowed him to make a selection of starters and main courses for us, and any we didn't like would be on the house. We agreed.

Starters trickled in over the next 45 minutes in the shape of a plate of humous and 3 nan breads. So, no selection and not much food for six by now ravenous people. Finally, 11/2 hours after we arrived, the mains came. They were fine, but were all identical, so again no chance of tasting a range of their dishes. The bill did come quickly, but no sign of anything on the house!

The food was good, without being sensational, and the staff were friendly enough, but the service seemed on the verge of collapse much of the time. On the basis that our experience could have been atypical I might try it again, but mid week and with a smaller party.

I'd like to give it more than 3 and I have no doubt it has the potential once it learns to cope with the mad rush that this great review has caused.

The starters were great - we opted for the leek dumplings as per the TO recommendation, also the spinach fried dumplings and a few options of the pastry turnovers they had recommended.

Just like Trevor who reviewed a week or more ago, the lovely chap was dead keen to sort out our mains. I managed to get the lamb shank dish but my 3 other diners had the mixed grill. We only agreed to it as we thought he was selecting a popular chicken, lamb and ground lamb dish and we would all share. But sadly they were all the same and all too much. Of course this kind of dish is available anywhere and it was definitely not a winning dish that would give you any reason to return.

I would imagine all the starters are great but you could certainly assume that every main will cover 2 people. They are huge.

I will go back but I will insist I order :-) The place was packed but the team were trying their best and the service was more than fine.

Went here on Friday, based on Time Out's review - wasn't disappointed! The food was AMAZING. Gorgeous starters, including cheese and spinach samosas, followed by a lovely steamed dumpling concoction for main. My boyfriend got a lamb shank - it was huge! No worries about small portions here. Some of the best food I've eaten for years, hand's down.

The only gripe was the waitress was a little flustered, and delivered the wrong food initially, followed by the wrong card for payment! But the staff couldn't have been friendlier, in particular the waiter, especially as they were packed out that evening.

Great food, great price! Will definitely be back.

Really disappointing. After reading the glowing review above i expected something a bit special. But no, it was distinctly average. The starters were ok, ravioli and the mashed aubergine tasted good, but the main course was a let down. The over-enthusiastic, almost overbearing owner insisted on ordering the mains for us. Big mistake. We all got a big plate of grilled meat with salad, including one of those chewy reconstituted lamb kebab things you find in supermarkets like Iceland. Oh and the salad was drizzled with thousand island dressing(!). Really not special enough to make the trek up to Kilburn. Theres much better Middle Eastern to be found in town, like Edgware Road.

My experience at Arian II was delightful; this is undoubtedly one of the very best restaurants in London. On both of the occasions that I've dined there the food has been simply divine. If you're looking to impress, this is definitely the restaurant to do it in. I would recommend everyone try it out

The food is fabulous ...I love Afghan food and it’s excellent news that there is a new one opened close to where I live.

The very first time I tried Afghan food in 2001 and ever since love it. Great food, Great Mixes, and the extraordinary smell .