Taste of Samarkand

Think middle eastern food meets the very west of Russia and you’re close. Terrific value. Informal but willing service. Our waitress made great recommendations. Salads very fresh. Kabobs yummy. No regrets and $ 25pp with tip can’t be beat.

Food Wasent the best waiters where horrible took forever for the food to come to the table

Please, please, give this place a chance, if you like to eat & enjoy? This is the right place, today it was my first time & for sure not the last time, number one is The waitress war very kind. Professional, the beef was out of this world, the Lola is the best. Of the best, I got home all the way to New Jersey so excited. This place deserve 5 Stars Plus A Plussss.

After reading the reviews, I was alittle hesitant trying this place, but it actually was good! We had a reservation of 12 on a Sunday night, no problem seating us, the table was reserved when we arrived, even when we were not all there yet we were immediately seated. The staff was friendly, good service, and the food was good.

Edit: Map is fixed now!
The food here is divine, and they give you loads of it. Service was kind of disorganized (yet friendly) but I think it’s because they’re still working out how to cope with popularity ever since they appeared in the Times. That’s what brought me to try Taste of Samarkand and I’ll definitely be back. Cornish hen came on a giant platter with lots of cilantro and garlic and was easily enough for two meals. Eat all the bread — it comes straight out of the oven steaming hot. This place is great for something different.

I don’t know why this place has bad reviews, they definitely don’t deserve it. They are very attentive, great with customer service, has plenty of servers walking around and can handle their dinner rush. The food is also amazing tasting, especially for the price they sell it at compared to other similar establishments. The inside decoration is also very thoughtful, articulate and creates an authentic homey feeling. Overall, I think this is a little gem that should be visited by anyone craving an ethnic taste.

I so wanted to love this place. The food is actually very good. But unfortunately, after some questionable incidences, my group of 15 people left with a bad taste in our mouths and will not be returning.
I had made reservations about a month ahead of time since we were a group of 16. They gladly accepted my reservation. The day before our reservation date, I called to confirm, and again, it was no problem at all. I was looking forward to this dinner since they got a terrific write-​up in the NY Times! When we arrived, I noticed right away that they intended to cram 16 adults into a group of tables which were meant for about 12 people. I immediately asked them to add an extra table so that we wouldn’t have to eat elbow-​to-​elbow. I was refused. They said they had to keep more open tables in case they got other customers. Note: there were plenty of other empty tables available since it was only 6:30pm. So… instead of taking care of their current customers, they opted to take care of possible future customers. Strike one! So now we are off to a bad start.
I ordered a large variety of food; plenty for 16 people. Both waitresses kept trying to up-​sell me on other items. I kept telling them that we had too much food as it is and didn’t want to order more food. I told them that we would try the other items on another visit. But again, they kept trying to up-​sell me. Big turnoff and I just ignored them. Strike two!
Some positive aspects: The restaurant was nicely decorated and charming. To be honest, the food is actually very good! Everyone said the food was quite tasty and unlike anything we had before. Prices were very reasonable and it’s BYOB, with a liquor store conveniently down the block! Everyone was really enjoying the dinner/evening…then…
Strike Three!: I asked for the check. Note: EVERYONE SHOULD CHECK THE CHARGES BEFORE PAYING THEIR BILL!!! There was a mysterious charge of $ 24…no explanation. Good thing I noticed! I questioned the waitress and she said it was a «reservation fee»…WTF!!! Really? They charge to make a reservation? Why was this never mentioned when I spoke to them on the phone on 3 separate occasions? I asked to speak to the manager… then was told there was no manager. Really? Nobody in charge but the waitresses? I don’t think so! The waitress later came back and said it wasn’t a reservation fee, but more of a «service fee». I then asked her if this fee is just part of their tip? She adamantly told me, NO, it was NOT part of their tip and that the management keeps this fee. (ok, so now there IS management! lol). Well, I was arguing with the waitress for quite some time and it got a little embarrassing and frustrating. I didn’t want to make a scene, so I just stopped arguing with her, with the intention of NOT paying this fee and just leaving the usual 20% tip, and letting them duke it out with their management. The waitress later came to me and said oh we will give you a discount on the fee. Discount? Really? I ignored her. She came back to me again, after 5 minutes and said that they would waive this fee for us. This whole incident was extremely shady and totally left us with a very bad taste in our mouths. This is so unfortunate because many of us had said we were looking forward to a return visit to try their other menu items. Most of us will not be returning. Especially not with a large group. They ruined their future business with their greediness.
Note: one of our diners actually emailed the owner, and the owner responded by saying the «reservation fee» is necessary since many times, patrons with large groups do not leave enough tip. So this reservation fee is actually part of the tip. Who do we believe? The owner who stated the fee is part of the tip; or the waitress who stated that this fee is kept by management and not part of the tip?
Btw, when we left, there were plenty of empty tables. There was really no reason to cram all of us in such a small space. Just sayin’!

This was the fourth time I went to this fairly new Uzbek restaurant new to Woodhaven blvd. Each time before was fine. This time myself and my husband (he is from Uzbekistan) decided to take my dad and my family here for my dad’s birthday (who are not from us Uzbekistan nor are they Russian) I was so annoyed with the night and actually signed up for Unilocal just to write this. We were seated and given menus. After this we waited an extremely long time for anyone to ever come back. Instead the waitresses went to every other table as well as dried dishes and glasses while we waited and waited and waited. Even after calling one over to the table. Nothing. Speaking of waitresses the place was packed had only 2 waitresses who set up tables, served, cleaned up tables, dried dishes, answered phones, and prepared take out bags. When she did finally come multiple things we asked for we had to continuously ask for over and over. Everything time she made a trip to our table with a dish we would ask and still nothing. This included wine glasses, shot glasses, wine opener, sparkling water, water, and ice. Which finally after asking 4 times she said there is no ice (which I thought was very odd). Btw no language issue my husband spoke in Russian entire time. Once we got everything, night was getting better. Later that night two different sets of younger crowds of I don’t think they were Uzbek but from neighboring countries who were loud, screaming, getting up and down, and continuously getting up by our table and yelling back and forth at one another. This is suppose to be a quaint restaurant not a club. They were extremely rude and no one said anything. They also started pumping very loud Russian rap music. Though all night a normal volume Russian pop music played. Iam assuming this was for them. The waitresses seem to over cater to them. I than watched4 Americans come in for a table. Were ignored and finally told to wait. Than 4 Russian guys walked right in and sat. I was listening to conversation they didn’t have reservation. Finally about 10 min later they gave the American guests a seat. This is last time I go here for sure. Seemed like maybe if your not Russian they don’t care much.