Upmarket eatery serving Afghan recipes including kebabs & dumplings, plus wine. Based on 602 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.5 stars. Price $$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Curbside pickup ✔️ Delivery
Address:
100 W 6th St, Bloomington, IN 47404
Phone: (812) 331-3761
Website: http://www.samirarestaurant.com/
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday
(Labor Day)
|
5–9 PM
Hours might differ
|
| Tuesday | 5–9 PM |
| Wednesday | 5–9 PM |
| Thursday | 11 AM–2 PM, 5–9 PM |
| Friday | 11 AM–2 PM, 5–9 PM |
| Saturday | 5–9 PM |
Menu
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Reviews
Boris Nemirov
Awful experience with dinner at Samira tonight. First, I made a reservation several days in advance for 7:30PM and confirmed it. However, when we arrived today at 7:30PM, we were told it would be a 15-20 min wait. So Samira knows how to take the reservations, but not how to actually honor them. Second, the service was horrendous and among the worst I have experienced in a long time. Our waitress (red hair in a ponytail) was really bad. Everything took forever. Our drinks took 30 min. We ordered iced tea and 25 min later were told they did not have any. Lemonade took 45 minutes because, as we were told, it was being “freshly made”. Appetizers took a total of 50 minutes to come out and both the Greek and the cucumber salads had more onions than anything else. I asked for more water at least 3 times and it still took forever. It was never brought without me asking a number of times. When I asked why everything it taking so long, instead of an apology, the waitress very rudely responses “You can see yourself that we are busy” and just walked away. The main courses luckily did not take as long and some were actually pretty good (lamb, chicken and shrimp kebabs were good, the Manta was not, side dishes were bad). My wife asked for a second glass of wine, but it was never brought. We wanted desserts, but given our horrible, rude and slow waitress, we did not bother. The check came quickly, but the credit card receipt to sign took 20+ minutes. At that point, I saw that the bill had lots of mistakes on it – we were still charged for the iced teas that they did not have and for 2 Greek salads instead of 1 that we had. I told the horrible waitress and asked if making the corrections would take another 20 minutes. She rudely responded “Yes, it just might”. So, overall, while some of the food was relatively good, the service was terrible both in terms of my reservation not being honored and the terrible waitress. There was also a very large group sitting in the middle that was so loud, they were making my ears hurt.
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Fb Nnnnbn
Went to Samira with my girlfriend and it was amazing! I’ve been to this restaurant a few times over the years and it never disappoints. The food, atmosphere and service are all excellent! I highly recommend Samira and will be back soon. Many thanks to the staff for a most enjoyable dinner!
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Mychal Doering
First time for us to visit
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Charles Vega
Samira is one of my top 3 restaurants in Bloomington. The food is always great and the atmosphere is very nice. They provide bread with some spicy roasted eggplant, both are delicious. I also enjoy the hummus appetizer, it goes well with the bread. Their Sambok appetizer was also quite good. Mushrooms, peppers, and onions in a savory sauce! My favorite entree to get is the Quabilli Pallao with Lamb. It is lamb cooked in a tomatoey sauce served over rice and topped with shaved carrots and raisins. The flavors are so Unique, unlike anything I have had before. The lamb combination kebab is also excellent because it comes with lamb, rice, a Samosa, and Momo (dumplings). You can also get Momo as an entree but I view it More as a side or an appetizer for the table. Each entree also comes with lentil soup or a salad. I have only had the soup and it is very satisfying. I have always received great service at Samira, the servers are all very kind. They recently updated the interior, and wow! The walls are darker and feature mirrors throughout to make the restaurant feel more like a fine dining experience. They also changed the two tables by the window to feature raised floor seating for those who want a more authentic experience. I recommend Samira for anyone wanting great food in Bloomington.
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Gabby Martin
Great place! People were super nice and the food was great. I ordered the combination special with lamb and my friend ordered combination of rock cornish hen and lamb. We received complimentary bread and eggplant which was delicious. I got the soup with tasted amazing and my friend the salad which smelled fresh.
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bella z
Service was a bit slow but gorgeous interiors and good food.
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Heather B
I had never tried Afghani food before; this was lovely. We went to the lunch buffet (currently Thursday and Friday only) so we could try as many dishes as possible. I don’t know what anything I ate was called, but I really liked the creamy chickpea dish and the spiced chicken thighs. The buffet includes a basket of bread and a piece of baklava. The baklava was particularly good, not super sweet, airy and delicate. The bread was similar to focaccia, which surprised me, but it was great.
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Hope Flores
Enjoyed dinner at Samira. Food was tasty. Hostess was attentive. Waitress answered questions, was friendly and handled several tables at a reasonable pace. The combination special with lamb kabobs (medium rare) were delicious!
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Caitlin Behme
Our first time eating at Samira’s did not disappoint. The dumplings were delicious, perfectly seasoned and steamed and the lamb was cooked perfectly in a tasty sauce. Highly recommend for a different flavor! Service was decent and the atmosphere was calm and inviting
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Lynae Phillips-mitchell
My husband and I had the most disappointing experience here tonight. We’ve eaten here many times over the years and would have recommended it highly, until tonight. We came in and the restaurant wasn’t very busy for a Friday. The hostess went to seat us and when she poured my water I asked her for sparkling water for my husband (he doesn’t like tap water). We then waited for nearly 15min for someone to take our order. I kept trying to get the hostess’ attention but she ignored me. We were just about to get up and leave when the server came and apologized that the hostess had neglected to assign us to a server and took our order. At one point I asked for more water. I heard her ask the hostess, who refused. I watched the hostess multiple times go around with the pitcher, never once stopping at our table. The server brought a free dessert to the table to make up for the hostess’ behavior, but honestly by then we just wanted to leave. I asked about the grilled eggplant, which is normally complimentary, and at first was told there wasn’t any despite just watching another server give it to 2 tables. She then came back saying that she misunderstood what I was asking about and had some in a container. Again, at that point we just wanted to go. I’m not sure what the issue was with the hostess but I have never felt so unwelcome in a restaurant. I appreciate that the server tried to make things right but the whole thing was very uncomfortable. It’s a shame. This has been a place I’ve really enjoyed over the years, but I’ll have to think long and hard about coming back.
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