Shinwari — Restaurant in London

My recent visit to Shinwari was nothing short of a culinary nightmare, leaving me with an unsavoury taste in my mouth, both literally and figuratively. The experience was so appalling that I feel compelled to share my unfortunate encounter.

Upon perusing the menu, my party and I decided to indulge in the much-praised Dum Pukhat, only to be greeted by a dish that was not just disappointing but outright repulsive. The aroma alone was enough to raise concerns, and upon closer inspection, it became apparent that the food was rotten. Shocked and disgusted, we promptly brought this to the attention of the staff.

Incredibly, instead of offering a sincere apology or acknowledging the issue, the staff seemed indifferent and exchanged the dish without a word of explanation. Hoping that this was just an unfortunate hiccup, we decided to give the restaurant another chance and ordered the Lamb Karahi. To our dismay, history repeated itself, and we were served another dish that was nothing short of inedible due to its rotten state.

To add insult to injury, when we received the bill, we were appalled to find that we had been charged for both the Dum Pukhat and the Lamb Karahi, despite the fact that we had returned both dishes untouched. Attempts to discuss the matter with the management were met with a dismissive attitude and an unwillingness to rectify the situation.

The blatant disregard for customer satisfaction, coupled with the audacity to charge for inedible food, has left me flabbergasted. A basic tenet of any reputable restaurant is to ensure the quality and safety of the food they serve, and it is shocking that Shinwari failed on both fronts.

In conclusion, I strongly advise potential patrons to exercise extreme caution when considering a visit to Shinwari. My experience was not only a gastronomic disappointment but also a stark reminder of the importance of customer service and accountability in the hospitality industry.

I would request food authority to take action against...

Tried out Shinwari yesterday evening for the first time. When we walked in there were no staff to be found. Customers were eating but we couldn't see any staff?! We were walking around, calling out "Hello! Hello" for a while until someone came. The food took a long time to arrive. We asked for tap water but they gave us bottled - cost £2.98 for two bottles. Then we ordered the Lamb Karahi 1/2 kg which cost £15.99. I've never seen this before but you can order most of their dishes as either 1/2 or 1 kg portion. In terms of the menu, it was rather small compared to other places I've been, as in they had a few lamb, a few chicken and a couple vegetarian dishes whereas other places usually have much more choice. The lamb 1/2 kg dish was just a basic bog standard size. Enough for one person. It was served on the bone and tasted really good. We also ordered the traditional naan, which is that giant naan that comes on a stand, which you can find at some Afghani places. The naan was £1.99 - delicious and a bargain! We also ordered the plain rice which was £4.99. It wasn't normal plain white rice as you would think but it was brown. I'm not sure what they did to it but it tasted so good. I literally could have eaten just the rice by itself. However, the service was terrible. We were just left waiting around for the whole evening. Even when we wanted to pay and leave we were just sitting there waiting for someone to take the cash. And then they gave us the wrong change. The food tasted great but it was ridiculously expensive. Definitely not worth what we paid ( came to "£25.95 all together) and the service...

An Afghanistan/Persian restaurant located in Ilford.

The food was nice as I've only been here once. Apparently all their meat or many of their meat are all steamed, i had steamed lamb which tasted so good, plus the steam allows the meat to come off the bone so easily. The naan bread I had was so big man, very massive. Spinach tasted very very nice too and the drinks they did were not your typical soft drink like coke, fanta etc. They are stuff like wine, lassi drink.

The decoration was VERY nice. It had Afghanistan items and props displayed all over the shelves. The chairs and tables had a luxury Eastern like design. Basically going to the restaurant felt like you are going to a native Middle Eastern inspired place. If you don't like to use table and chair, they have a lounge area where you can just sit on the carpet and eat your food like how they would do in Persia or Afghanistan. Also for the plates and dishes, you don't get food on plate. You get a specially crafted dish plate or cup suiting the Middle Eastern style. Although some stuff and interiors felt like the painters did not do a good job, or items are wearing out and need replacement.

The service was nice, food did not take that long to be prepared. You pay by cash or card I think, but we paid by card when we went. No sweets or treats when you pay for your bill though.

The cost I would rate moderate and expensive. For 2 people you would pay like £23. However since we were two, we had to share the food. So i would rate the place as expensive. However the decor and food are well done, displayed and...