Fancy going out for dinner in Hamilton but bored of ordering the same thing every time?

For this list, I wanted three restaurants offering three completely different types of food.

No comparing three pub lunches or three Indian restaurants this time.

We’re travelling from Afghan food to Japanese street food and finishing with Thai cuisine – without actually leaving Hamilton.

Here are three Hamilton dinner spots to try when you fancy something a little different.

🇦🇫 Qabeela Shinwari – Afghan Food

First up is Qabeela Shinwari Restaurant on Burnbank Road.

Qabeela Shinwari specialises in Afghan food alongside an extensive selection of grilled meats, curries, karahis and other dishes.

The menu is massive.

There are charcoal-grilled kebabs, Afghan specialities, rice dishes, biryanis and a huge selection of chicken and lamb dishes.

For anyone who hasn’t tried Afghan food before, this gives you something completely different from many of the more familiar dinner options around Hamilton.

What I Tried

– Afghan Tikka

– Chicken Wings 

– Shinwari Lamb BBQ

– Kahari Chicken Curry

– Pilau rice

– Garlic Naan

What I Thought

Far too much food 😂 but we made a good go of it. 

Afghan tikka starter 

This was probably my least favourite of the dishes. Just wasn’t to my taste personally. Wouldnt say it was bad in anyway but just not something I had a taste for. 

Chicken Wings. 

These were lovely.  The coasting on these whatever it was really hit the spot for me. Defo one of the bright spots of the meal. 

I could have just ate a big pile of these. 

Shinwari Lamb 🐑 BBQ. 

Much like the tikka starter I wasn’t overly fond of this either.   Too similar to the starter as well and would exchange this out if I returned. 

Karahi Chicken Curry 

Really enjoyed this.  Nice tasting sauce with very flavourful on the bone chicken.  🍗 

If you don’t like bone in chicken then obviously give this a miss. 

Would defo order a similar curry again. 

Now for the star of the show. 

Pilau Rice

Never thought I’d say a plate of rice was my favourite dish but I really really enjoyed this. 

It was beautiful.  

Came with raisins and shredded carrots.  Which if you told me before hand I’d have probably rejected it but I’m so glad I tried it. 

Overall I wouldn’t say I was blown away by anything other than the rice 🍚 but we did enjoy the occasion and I’m Glad we went. 

Location: 49–51 Burnbank Road, Hamilton, ML3 9AQ.

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🇯🇵 Salt – Japanese Sushi & Street Food

Stop number two takes us in a completely different direction.

Salt – Hamilton on Cadzow Street specialises in modern sushi and Japanese-inspired street food.

Even if sushi isn’t your thing, there’s plenty more available.

The menu includes dishes such as chicken katsu curry, ramen, bao buns, yakisoba and Salt fries alongside a large selection of sushi rolls.

That makes Salt an interesting option if you’re visiting with someone who loves sushi and someone else who would rather stay well away from raw fish.

What I Tried

• Pork Belly Ramen
• Frickles
• Loaded Fries

What I Thought

Recommend so many times and tbh I put it off because I wasn’t sure it would be my type of food. 

Boy was I wrong on that one.  I loved every wee bit of this meal. 

So they were doing a do lunch  menu for £12 where you get a main and a side. 

I went for pork belly ramen and frickles. 

They have a good selection of Gluten Free items as well which is why I chose to take my sister. 

The staff couldn’t have been any better at explaining what was suitable and what changes they could make. 

The ramen bowl was OUTSTANDING. Absolutely loved every bit of it. They said it’s a smaller portion on the lunch menu but it was defo still very filling along with everything else we got. 

The frickles are magic. 

The sauce on the loaded fries was superb. 

I will 100% return here to try more because this was a top tier scran imo. 

Location: 115 Cadzow Street, Hamilton, ML3 6HG.

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🇹🇭 Pad T’Aye – Thai Food

Our third dinner takes us to Thailand.

Pad T’aye Hamilton is on Campbell Street and offers a completely different menu from our first two choices.

The menu includes Thai dishes such as Tom Yum soup, Thai fish cakes, green Thai mussels, pork laab and Crying Tiger beef bites, alongside its selection of mains and specials.

So within three Hamilton restaurants we’ve managed to go from Afghan grilled meats and rice dishes to Japanese sushi and street food before finishing with Thai cuisine.

Not bad without leaving town.

What I Tried

• Chicken Skins
• Crying Tiger Beef Bites
• Chicken Koh Soi

What I Thought

Can someone say perfect starters. 

These are defo up there in the top echelon of starters I have had in a long time long time. 

Let me tell you a big massive plate of each of these and I would have been happy to end the meal at that. Both unbelievable. 

I had the chicken Koh soi after it was recommend as the chefs favourite and it didn’t disappoint. 

It was like a mixture of a curry and a noodle dish with chicken  

I’m not  normally a massive on a coconut dish but this defo gave me a new fondness for it as this really hit the spot. 

A special shout out should go to the wee side dips sauces. Some of them were next level. 

Overall this was just quite honestly fantastic.

Location: 32A Campbell Street, Hamilton, ML3 6AS.

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Three Hamilton Restaurants – Three Completely Different Dinners

That’s exactly what I like about putting together lists like this.

You don’t need to travel into Glasgow every time you want to try something different.

In Hamilton alone, you could choose:

Qabeela Shinwari – Afghan cuisine
Grills, kebabs, curries and Afghan specialities.

Salt – Japanese sushi & street food
Sushi, katsu, ramen, bao buns and more.

Pad T’Aye – Thai cuisine
A completely different selection of Thai flavours and dishes.

I’ve visited all three, and I’ll add my individual recommendations above so you’ve got somewhere to start if you’re planning your first visit.

Three restaurants.

Three cuisines.

And three very different options for your next dinner in Hamilton.