Samaan Restaurant in Cambridge

Without a doubt, this restaurant hits all the marks for a memorable dining experience. The atmosphere is cozy yet lively, perfect for both intimate dinners and gatherings with friends. Food is simply delicious! Every dish bursts with flavor, showcasing the chef’s skill and dedication to quality ingredients. And the staff They’re incredibly friendly, making you feel right at home from the moment you step through the door.

Great food and service. Would really recommend.

We like all about this restaurant..friendly staff,tasty meals and quick service..Thank you

Amazing food and service! Thank you for having us on Eid!

Fairly average Turkish but portion shrinkage even with the cost of living crisis we've all adjusted to in most restaurants felt disproportionately small...

We went as a big group and everything was delicious. Everyone was very nice. I love it

The foods are amazing. They came hot and quick. The staff were very friendly and kind. Great restaurant in Cambridge!!!

This restaurant is one of the best restaurants i went to, 100% recommended! The staff was really helpful and quick with serving. The lamp beyti l’ve had was really warm and delicious - soups were great as well! I want to thank all the staff especially Gamze for her help. I’ve had a great time with my friends. The atmosphere was fantastic! I definitely recommend it!

The food is good but service is hit and miss. The last time we visited, it was daytime and fairly quiet in there but the server told us he was busy when we asked if we could order. Not a very welcoming atmosphere on that occasion whereas on our previous visit we had a good server. I really enjoyed the calamari and the mezze selection most of all.

We were not so sure at first but when the food came everything was good!

Came here for a meal one night and it was so impressive and hospitable that we decided to hold our Nikkah meal here. The owner organised a fantastic spread that went down well with all our guests!

Very authentic middle eastern cuisine in Cambridge. Reasonably priced, generous portions, friendly host, ticks all the boxes for me. Lovely decor with middle eastern music in the background adding to the experience. A must try! I highly recommend trying Kozi & Bamia!

Good service. Allowed us to pray. Food was lovely.

Not a fan of chicken shawarma but definitely recommend lamb special kebab and meze plate. It would be great if they don’t serve bulgur and rice pilav together in the same plate (nearly in all kebabs) and replace one of them with potatoes or one of the mezes in the meze plate.

Absolutely fantastic! The chicken shish and chicken Shawarma are spectacular. The hummus and falafel are swoon-worthy. I cannot wait to come back! We enjoyed every second

Lovely food - very generous portions and tasty. Nice family environment.

You can eat amazing kebab and stew , and so on in an cool atmosphere. fantastic polite and friendly staff, An amazing very kind and polite welcoming manager. Every time i go there i feel like i am home, We were there yesterday and still my taste bud is dancing . 😋😋😋😋☺️☺️☺️☺️

Average food.Portion sizes are too small and not worth the price. Friendly staff .

The lady was very kind. The food and service was great. The tea an baklava were awesome. If you can speak Farsi, you can practice with her.

Saya suka restoran ini, tidak terlalu ramai saat saya datang. Pelayanannya sangat ramah dan makanannya super enak.

Really good food at great prices! I had the sea bass and it had the most amazing crust while the meat inside was very flavorful and tender. The service was friendly and fast as well!

Lovely food here and big portions. Staff are very friendly and welcoming.

I would (and I will) recommend this place to everybody, and Chef Jamal deserves a special mention Then, from the food: I was pleasantly surprised; every single bite was delicious, but, in particular, I fell in love with the halloumi, simply superb Thank you very much for the excellent experience

Definitely recommend best high quality food all ways feel healthier when I eat that place 😋😋

I'm not a regular at any restaurant, but Samaan has by far the best food I've had in one. Our waiter, Jamal, was very attentive and provided excellent suggestions to accomodate our tastes, and made sure we felt comfortable and had everything we wanted. Highly recommended.

We went on a Monday evening and the food was truly very bad. We ordered the Samosas and clearly they cooked them from frozen into the fryer to the point that when I was eating them they were cold on the inside (frozen) because really they were cooked form frozen. Also the lamb samosa was spicy but it was not mentioned on the menu that it was. We ordered a plate of chicken shawerma and mixed grill as well and both were really below average. The chicken shawerma didn't resemble any authentic shawerma. The service was ok. The atmosphere was really bad. There was some device that was loudly making some pumping noise or something and the staff just left it running. It felt like really sitting down in some very badly managed place. Not going again.

Good quality food and excellent service. Good value for money.

Food was amazing, everything was cooked to perfection right down to the rice which I might add was full oh flavour.

We had a nice time at this place. The restaurant is clean and the staff very friendly. My only complaint was the size of the portions in relation to the cost of the dish. They could do better esp on the mixed grill for two to share. Apart from that I would give it another visit.

Had a lovely romantic date here. I don't usually leave reviews but I had a really great experience, particularly due to the wonderful service! Haley was very friendly, and it helped to elevate the wonderful experience already provided by the perfectly calm evening atmosphere and delicious food. I would absolutely recommend this restaurant to anyone and everyone, and I'm looking forward to going back.

Best Turkish restaurant I even went to. Excellent and authentic food, great service and I cannot say a single bad word. Would visit again

I went for dinner and the food was delicious and also very cheap .I got a vegetarian wrap and the flavour was amazing ! They have plates from £6 to £15 and the main plates are quite big , if you are like me maybe you can even share with someone and also eat very very cheap . The Arabic music in the background was very nice and it made the experience even better. Before leaving they gave us a dessert for free and I found this so so lovely , the staff was super nice too . I’ll definitely come back ☺️☺️

The food was really nice and the service very pleasant - makes for a nice dinner out!

very nice food and friendly service guys

Food is great and service is even better! Would recommend to all

Lovely food and service, atmosphere perfect on street level… basement level not as great

Good food but very average. Nothing special.

Ordered via Uber eats. Said portion for 2 didn’t even feed 1. Small pieces of meat. No sauce provided Genuinely disappointed given the price paid.

A hearty portion of great food, served timely. Sneaky service charge whacked on for a bloke to just silently dump your plate on the table and take it away after without uttering a word. EDIT: In response to the owner's comment, I ate at this restaurant one evening and then decided to review multiple other restaurants at the same time once I made this account. Threatening unfounded legal action against honest customers is not a good look for your brand.

My friend and I visited this restaurant on the 13th April. And what an absolute pleasant experience it was. I was absolutley shocked to find out it had only been opened for 10 days. The interior is absolutley stunning, with traditional pieces decorating the entire restaurant. It screams upmarket. The restaurant has comfortable seating and has placed all their furniture so that it has ease of access. They have seating both ground floor and underground. We were seated on the ground floor. Moving onto the important part: the food! Delicious succulent meats, flavourful rices and salad accompanied by a HUGE naan. They have the portion sizes absolutley spot on and you even have enough for lunch the next day. My partner and I can eat A LOT but even we were stumped by the portions. My partner had a mix kebab that could easily feed two and I got the mixed shwarma. Chicken wings, kebab, ribs, shwarma and two types of rice. The meats were succulent and cooked to perfection. Beautiful chargrilled taste and piping hot. Service was brilliant, staff attentive to orders and customer needs. All smartly dressed and overall very friendly. We paid just under £30 and what an absolute steal that was. You get what you pay for, excellent service, huge portions of delicious food and a beautiful restaurant. I have experience in new restaurants and food and therefore was pleasantly suprised. I was watching carefully once the waiter had told me they had been open for 10 days and everything flowed beautifully. We will definetly be visiting again.

We enjoyed our meal so much that we went two nights in a row! Food was amazing and so was the service - very friendly and welcoming. Hope to go back again.

The atmosphere was absolutely spectacular and cozy!😜😜when you walk in you feel welcomed by the staff😁, food was an 11/10 I recommend the mixed grill😊😊🍷🍷😊😎😎

I done a like and share on Facebook for competition won for 4 went this evening lovely lady called Hayley dealt with us lovely lady the starters main dessert was amazing will defo go back also had hot drinks tea coffee cold drinks all done well thank you for haveing us this evening we will be back and letting people no about yours food and restaurant:)

Very pleasant atmosphere and especially a waiter! Definitely 5-star food and service!

Very good place . Recommend to people who like good service and tasty meal . Halal food .

Nice food, decent price, hygiene level be better.

Great food got a platter for 2 will definitely be back👌🏾

Amazing atmosphere, outstanding customer service provided by Iftikhor and super delicious food 🙌

Amazing service and delicious food! Staff are very friendly and welcoming and the restaurant has a lovely atmosphere. 100% would come again.

I like the way food was served. Very good and scrumptious. Shisha is the ample room for family gathering.

Thank you so much. We visited with our child who has many allergies and the staff was happy to warm up our own safe food . We enjoyed the platter and the tea was top notch. Baklava was so moist.

Lovely place,, great atmosphere, with friendly and helpful staff.. The food was very tasty and we had a superb cup of mint tea and baklava to finish off.. Definitely recommend 😋

Very tasty food, both fish and meat Nice atmosphere, very kind and helpful owner. They also support Ukraine and sponsored Ukrainian refugees. Highly appreciate their help and impact.

We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food. In the six years that I have lived in Cambridge, I have never eaten such good and well-cooked meat. The staff is very kind ❤️

Absolutely delicious food - the chicken wings were literally the best I've EVER had! Everything is halal (by which I mean proper halal - no alcohol onsite). The lamb and chicken shish are both insanely good, as is the rice, couscous and chicken shawarma. And of course the baklava!! Yes, we ate a LOT here - it was irresistible. The service was excellent and the ayran is the perfect accompaniment to the meal (and very good value). Definitely recommended for anyone in the area who loves good food!

The food was amazing and the staff are very welcoming and helpful Portions are a very good size also

Comparatively less price but good food.

Fabulous food. I had the lamb shank. It was excellent. 4 people ate . 80 pound. Can't go wrong here

Recently we visited Samaan's restaurant as a family. The food was fantastic and the service was excellent. The atmosphere was relaxing and the place was clean and tidy and the price was reasonable. The staff tried their best to feel us welcomed and the service was very good. I unconditionally recommend it to all those who love Mediterranean cuisines.

Was very impressed with the food. Excellent service. Would highly recommend and look forward to coming back when next in Cambridge

Yemekler çok lezzetli. Şef orta doğulu ve çok ilgiliydi. Her şey için teşekkürler

Such delicious authentic Turkish food. A treat for the tastebuds. Something to uplift heart ❤️ soul and taste buds. Thanks.

Went for a family lunch during a visit to Cambridge. I was slightly underwhelmed by the quantity of food with the full platter (£60, pictured). The negatives - The rice was wasn't heated enough. The lamb cubes were overcooked and some pieces were burnt. The positives - Halal food. The chicken shish and salad which were both excellent. Warning: The difference between the jumbo platter and the full platter is only half a chicken, but it's £15 more expensive! Their platter offer needs revisiting.

10/10 food after visiting the university!! Great staff and great food Halal, would definitely recommend!!👍🏾👍🏾👍🏾

Sanırım yakın zamanda şefleri değişmiş, her şeyin tadı muazzam! Özellikle mercimek çorbası evimde gibi hissettirdi 🌸 ambiyansıyla yemekleriyle çok sevdiğim bir restoran kesinlikle ziyaret edilmeli

The food was good, but bad service. The menu. Buying items separate is cheaper than buying a platter.

My sister and I were invited to this restaurant by a couple of friends of ours, before they moved out of Cambridge, on Friday 29 June 2023, we all arrived at the restaurant, sat down and ordered drinks, as it was a hot day we all had fruit juices and bottled water, our starters were two shared plates of mix hot meze platters for four people, which were halloumi, calamari, falafel, sigara borek( turkish cheese rolls) and sausage. Our dessert was Turkish Baklava, with Mint tea to finish, our meal was very good.

I’ve eaten in way too many Kurdish and Mediterranean restaurants in my time, but Saman is by far one of the best. Good food, clean place, and lovely staff. We had a great meal and a great service. Definitely worth going to if you are ever in Cambridge.

We arrived and was waiting at the door for 5 mins before someone greeted us, even though they saw us there. Then waited further 10 mins for them to clean up a table. Service was very slow, one of the chaps who was waiter looked like he didn’t want to be there. Only the lady who took our order was good & helpful, restaurant wasn’t even busy. Food was ok, portions were very small & the sharwama plate was not Sharwama, instead it was just chicken pieces cut up. Overpriced for what the place is. Ok to visit if you’re really hungry, but I’d go elsewhere.

We were a bit disappointed with the taste of the food, we found it a bit bland. Also the potion of the platter was not very big in comparison to other restaurant we have been too.

Excellent food and service, they kept the restaurant open longer than usual just for us. Thank you.

The restaurant is not good at all. The food’s quality was not appealing. The price is very expensive. In addition, the plater is not even worth the money.

Very disappointed. Thought it would be authentic. Selling ice cold naan bread. Why would you do that? Naan is supposed to be oven fresh. No authenticity of food. The grill was a disgrace. Felt like everything was already made as the food arrived within 3mins of ordering it. How can food get BBQ'ed in 3mins? Selling fries in the name of chips. Selling prepacked drinks in the name of authentic drinks. Service was next to none. And for the portion size they charge alot. They need a full overall and sort out their food 1sr of all & then avoid sitting next to the customers and having loud chats. People come to eat and have a chat between themselves not listen to your loud voices. A waste of time & money. STAY AWAY

Équipe sympa très bon accueil Repas très bon et copieux Le thé ainsi q’une pâtisserie nous a été offert Je recommande

Place was a little busy, but the service being in the downstairs seating area was terrible. We had to keep reminding them to get napkins, even the sauces came 5-10mins after main dishes! Food was not value for money, half the giant plate was salad only. Food was good & bad. Not many halal spots available in Cambridge. Overall a below average review.

Lovely food, good service, attentive staff. Would definitely recommend and will be back again.

Amazing food from quality and taste perspective. You will enjoy the service. Please try to reserve the table especially during weekends. Real Kebab taste. Wow.

Excellent food !! Good service!

Visited on a Friday night with family (including a baby...for which a highchair was provided). There are 2 floors with seating...we sat downstairs. The restaurant is well decorated in traditional Arabic design and is very clean. We were met with a warm and friendly greeting by Haley. She was close at hand throughout our visit and we felt looked after and relaxed. We shared both the cold and hot Mezes and they were delicious! I had intended to get photo's of all dishes but we all got over-excited and jumped straight in when the starters arrived! The main course came out as a sharing platter. It was beautifully presented...absolutely spectacular! The meat was all cooked to perfection, the rice was fluffy and the salad was really fresh! The drinks we had were also amazing! Mojito (mocktail) and the Samaan Special, which was a blend of fruits. We had a lovely evening and look forwards to our next visit 😀

Good food, generous portions, and really friendly staff. The complementary Turkish tea had a lovely flavour too. Would recommend 👍🏼

The spices/seasoning taste just right, very generous portion too 😋 Thank you for the complimentary dessert! 😃

Great taste and atmosphere. You should definitely come and taste the Middle East foods. Especially Lentil soup was awesome.

Not only were the staff attentive and caring but the overall taste of the food is incredible. This is definitely a hidden gem among Cambridge- must visit!

The food was really nice and the service provided by Iftikar was great - I would definitely recommend.

We went to Saman Restaurant during our visit to Cambridge. They offer halal, Mediterranean food. Food was really tasty. Excellent service by staff. Parking is located to next road close to Prana Indian Restaurant. Definitely worth visiting if you are looking for a halal restaurant.

Staff were lovely and attentive. Relaxed atmosphere and clean crisp decor with splashes of colour from beautiful hanging lamps. Food was tasty and fresh.

My experience with this restaurant was not good at all. If you are a foody and want to please your taste-buds, this is not a place for you. The food was extremely bland and flavourless. I ordered chef special lamb shank which mentioned a special "red sauce" - this sauce was probably made with something that tasted like bottle gourd which absolutely did NOT complement the lamb shank. The lamb itself was cooked well to be fair but again with poor seasoning and sauce, it was just a waste of a good piece of lamb. The second dish was mix platter which again lacked any form of seasoning and rice with it werent cooked well. The place was very crowded and not enough space to walk around. The food costed me approximately £25/head and I've had much much better food for half the price! However, the main reason for me not going to this place again would be the bad food.

Absolutely 💯 amazing food,much better than expected.Iftikhar provided outstanding customer service. The restaurant had good ambience,and a relaxed laid back feel to it.I ordered sheesh wrap,chips and a chilled lemon juice For dessert had Bakalaw and ice-cream.Everything hit the spot 👌 and was on point.

Anyone would be satisfied by the taste of food, hospitality and smiley welcome to the customers. Small place but not congested. The full platter was ordered which was a mind blowing unique taste. Still have the craving for the food. In comparison to other Kurdish, Iranian, Turkey cuisines in the UK the amount of food and the price is extremely high! Didn't find their parking and also no place in the road side parking but there was a nearby Council parking place which is narrow but fair fare.

Tasty middle eastern food. They do not serve alcohol or allow you to bring your own alcohol in. Chicken wings are really good.

Wasn’t too sure of this place when we went in, but omg the food was soo delicious!! Really good value for money. We ordered a jumbo platter and a large pot of black tea with Cardamom for 5 people. The rice was just amazing, so was the lam and chicken on the platter. Platter came with a lot of salad, and bread and a couple dipping sauces. Everything was really good and yummy! Will definitely visit again for sure!! The staff were really friendly as well and constantly checked in to see if we are okay or needed anything.

It was arranged by the organizer of our training programme but I really appreciate that this place is chosen for our lunch. We had mix platers for 2, rice with chicken & lamb and well, the food portion was generous and we were unable to finish the share portion. Chicken and lamb were well cooked and very tasty I wish I can stay longer so that I can revisit the restaurant. Definitely recommended especially for those looking for halal option.

Amazing as always. The service is impeccable. The waiters really tailored our service and ensured that we felt very welcomed. Overall such a lovely experience, with fantastic food. . Will definitely be coming again 10/10 ☺️

Very much a hit and miss experience. I've dined in Samaan in the past and it's been excellent all round with fresh food and attentive and speedy service. This year, the service has been terrible with the male waiters (on both occasions), coming across as lazy, inattentive and rude. On one occasion the waiter had to be informed the manager(?) to acknowledge us and take our order and then spent the rest of the evening, sniffing and sneezing around the area, grossing out the customers instead of taking himself out of sight and attending to his hay fever/cold. The most recent occasion was also disappointing as once again the service was poor and the male waiter was rude and inattentive, and to add insult to injury, at the end of the evening, we were charged a service fee which we only noticed when it was too late. The food itself is lovely, although the portions do seem a little stingy of late and the man who offered me a bag to take away the remainder of my food was kind (shame he wasn't the one waiting on customers). The seating could also be spaced out a little more, or at least don't seat customers so close to each other!

Average foods and terrible service

Good food, well presented, clean tables, friendly service. Restaurant wasn’t too busy.

It’s absolutely disgusting place to have lunch. Nothing good for both services and he food, there is no taste on their food. Not recommended at all.

Delectable! The cold mezze platter had some seriously addictive dips, and the mixed grill and baklava had show-stopping flavour. Kind staff and comfortable interior. Can’t wait to go back!

The food was very good and the presentation was lovely too! Service was just about ok, same with the atmosphere. Overall, I will say that when in Cambridge, be sure to visit for good, well seasoned halal meals !

Food was good, chilli sauce was spicy which was nice. Unfortunately it wasn't anything amazing. Very basic service and atmosphere. But affordable and nice.