Sarban - Utrecht — Restaurant in Utrecht

We had an incredible dinner here! We were a bit nervous because we couldn’t find the menu online in English but the photos of food looked delicious. It turns out the photo of the menu uploaded here from a year ago is mostly still accurate, except for the main dishes.

We booked a reservation online through Google Maps about two hours in advance. We arrived 10 minutes early and the host brought us to a table immediately. Dinner is € 39.95 and is served as either à la carte (choose your appetizer, main, and dessert) or as a “surprise” (you receive a mix of smaller dishes that will let you taste 60-70% of the entire menu). We did à la carte and shared our plates. Our appetizers were the Qorme Morg (chicken thigh pieces in caramelized onion and bell pepper sauce) and the Aashak (leek and scallion steamed dumplings). We were told that Aashak is a traditional Afghan dish served during ceremonies or special events. Our plate had 2 large dumplings (delicious) and a generous serving for the chicken thigh pieces. One piece of naan was served for the table (the two of us) to share.

Our mains (see photo) were the Salang Dish (lamb with caramelized rice in carrots, raisins, etc with side dishes of daal (lentils), kofta (meatballs), and sabzi (spinach) and the Lunkhd Dish (tender lamb with potatoes) with a side dish of sabzi (spinach). We had salad (diced tomatoes) with sauce to share between us. We both had the traditional Afghan ice cream. You are served two scoops of ice cream with a small bowl of pudding. It was creamy, sweet, and delicious. An incredible end to the meal. We also had two teas (€ 3.25) - a rose tea (with rose petals) and a ginger tea (with ginger chunks).

Overall, the service was wonderful and the restaurant was beautiful. We thoroughly enjoyed the food! We were only a bit sad that they do not offer take-out containers and we couldn’t leave with the leftovers. We found the servings to be very generous and we were not able to finish all of our dishes.

We spent a total of € 100 here for two people. It...

TL;DR: Disappointing Service Despite Good Food

We reserved a 2-people dinner date at Sarban, but unfortunately the experience was marred by poor service from the get-go, despite the food being quite good.

Upon arrival, we waited around 30 minutes until we were asked for our drink orders. Following, our three-course meal took an excruciatingly long 2 and a half hours from start to finish. This is, for us, far beyond an acceptable time frame for any dining experience which consists of starters, mains, and dessert.

Moreover, throughout our meal, the staff's attention to our needs was minimal. Our glasses were often empty, and it felt like we were left to fend for ourselves most of the time. It was clear that the staff were either overwhelmed/understaffed or simply inattentive. My bet is genuinely on the former.

On a more positive note, the food was well-prepared and tasty. However, the quality of the food could not compensate for the excessively long wait times and the lack of service.

In summary, while we were offered good food, the service was significantly lacking. I hope the management can address these service issues to improve future dining experiences.

P.S.: we sat outside, on a Saturday with nice weather, so the experience might differ significantly if we had sat inside...

Our group celebrated a birthday with the chef’s surprise menu (starters with Afghan bread, main dishes with flavored rice, and desserts). We highly recommend the chef’s surprise menu. The quality, freshness, and deliciousness are on the mark for dining enjoyment. The house wines are nice compliments to the meal. The drink menu has many choices with bar and coffee choices at prices lower than expected. The reservation was at 20:15 on a busy Friday. We were seated earlier than our reservation time as our table was available and ready. The restaurant was full with couples, families, and friend groups with a pleasant hum of happy people noise from 20:00 - 22:00 (departed for our train and missed our opportunity for coffees). At the end of the meal, our birthday guest received a special dessert drink, the liquor is heated at the table for a nice presentation and experience. The staff were busy but attentive to the guests. Dutch and English menus are available. There’s an opportunity to create more atmospheric elements at the tables. We wanted to relate this delicious food to its homeland, to learn more about the Afghan food with its historical and cultural origins. We look forward to returning for another...