I don't usually leave negative reviews, but this was my second poor experience with the same server, so I felt it was worth sharing. I'm a local customer and live just a minute away, so I've visited more than once. I came in for lunch today with my wife and our 1.5-year-old son. After placing our order and sitting down, the server loudly yelled from behind the counter for us to come get our water. It felt uncomfortable and unprofessional, especially with a young child. When I placed my order, I asked for extra white sauce, and I asked again when the food came out. Both times, the request was ignored. I also mentioned that we hadn't received our drinks, but instead of addressing it, the server again yelled for us to get the drinks ourselves from the cooler. The food itself was okay, but the bread was very poor--hard and barely edible. I even called the restaurant later in the evening to share my concerns, but was told the server was off at that time. Overall, very disappointing experience, mainly due to the customer service. I hope this feedback is taken seriously and leads to improvement. read more

came in on late evening. not too busy. But maybe only 2 workers at the time service slightly slow. so be prepared if you're coming in hungry. Had the lamb lawand dish first time very hearty and filling with rice and greens. simple dish but amazing flavor, came with some bread on the side as well - complimentary. good dish for the cold weather. I also had the chicken samosa. More flat in presentation then typical types. still tasted good with the green sauce on side. About 6 pieces? You will be stuffed after finishing both. Price $30+ read more

Kabobi By The Helmand - Chicken samosa - Afghan Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

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I ordered delivery so no note on ambiance, service was quick. The food! I ordered the Kabobi lamb chops which came with rice. If the meat was any more tender I could have eaten it with a straw!! The flavors were amazing, I am still talking about how much I want to go back. The rice was light and fluffy, I enjoyed the raisins especially. Both sauces were wonderful additions. read more

Kabobi By The Helmand - Kabobi Lamb Chops..... So amazingly delicious. - Afghan Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

I've been wanting to try this spot for a while, and after today can say I am not impressed. The portions are so small. The chicken and beef tenderloin costs $35 but comes with 2 pieces of beef and 4 chicken pieces. 1/4th of a bread. Even the rice serving is not generous. This might be the first kabob meal where I actually finished the chickpeas due to how little food came in the combo. As for the taste, the beef tenderloin was delicious. It's carrying this whole review right now. The chicken was unimpressive. Tastes very bland. And even the white sauce didn't make it taste any better. There are other items to try, I haven't given up on this spot just yet. read more

Six of us were staying in a hotel near enough to walk to this restaurant. The server suggested we order the family-style meal, so we did. Wow! Everything was so delicious! Dish after dish was brought out, each with its own unique taste. Vegetables, lamb, meatballs, rice, all tasted great. Two oldsters, two 50-somethings and two teens gobbled it all up. read more

The food here is delicious. My favorite was the Kabuli Pallow which is an Afghan rice dish with the most delicious tomato sauce, and very tender meat. For those who are sensitive to spice, you will definitely enjoy the food here because it's not as spicy without compromising on flavor. The chicken samosas reminded me a little of the texture of crab rangoons, still crunchy but a bit airy! Super interesting and also delicious. The ambiance is quiet, simple, straightforward - you order food at the register and seat yourself. It's great for a casual dinner. The staff is very nice. We will definitely be back. read more

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This was my second visit here and both experiences were very similar. Consistency is important to me when visiting a restaurant, and this place delivers in that way. I ordered the Chicken Lawand both times, and it was just how I remembered. The chicken is flavored well and really tender. The portions are pretty generous for what you are paying. I always leave this restaurant feeling satisfied and full. Service can be pretty slow and somewhat non-existent here at times. That's why I knocked it down one star. Both times, they only had one individual manning the register and the tables. read more

Kabobi By The Helmand - Chicken Lawand - Afghan Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

The lamb shank at Bkabibi is on another level. Perfectly slow-cooked so the meat falls right off the bone, rich in flavor, and seasoned just right. The sauce is deep and savory, with just enough spice to keep each bite interesting. Paired with their fresh sides, it's easily the best lamb shank I've had in years. Service was warm and attentive, and the atmosphere made the whole experience even better. If you're anywhere near here, make the trip -- the lamb shank alone is worth it. read more

Kabobi By The Helmand - Lamb shank - Afghan Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

Kabobi is a good food option in the neighborhood. I don't think it's fair to compare it to other kabob places but moreso the local options. Perhaps it's because there are so many good kabob-type places in the DMV that you'd be expecting too much if you wanted an authentic AND reasonably placed meal in walking distance of so many residences. My main point is that it's overpriced. I think it does try to situate itself as a niche-type restaurant but it's a bit hard knowing that barely 10-15 minutes away, you'll have so many Persian/Afghan options. So knowing all of this, would I pay for the convenience? Perhaps. Though it's not really the type of drinks/wine/chill vibe, I do think that it's an okay option. read more

Kabobi By The Helmand - Afghan Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

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The good things first, we came for our lunch earlier today and the wait was very little and the service was good. Ordered the food, which arrived in less than 15 minutes and tasted pretty decent. The not so good, for the price paid the quantity is meager and the furniture is really uncomfortable. Also there isn't a whole lot of parking nearby as most of the patrons are probably the folks from the nearby offices and houses. I ended up parking in the 2 hour street parking. read more

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This place is consistently good. The food is consistently good and very few times have my girlfriend or I ordered something we weren't a fan of. The lamb dishes are typically my favorite. They are delicious and flavorful and usually have the best sauces. They also serve beer and wine if that interests you. The service is usually good. They don't take more than 15 mins usually but the food is made fresh so it's worth the wait. The ambiance isn't something I've really paid much attention to due to only ever doing takeout. But it's a nice casual environment with some traditional decorations. It's conveniently located to a lot of apartment buildings (including ours) which is nice for us since we can just walk there and back. Definitely recommend trying it out if you're a fan of Afghan food. read more

Kabobi By The Helmand - Afghan Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

I've come here over several times now and I always enjoy my food. I usually do a to-go order. My go to items are the lamb stew with rice, the seekh kabob (grilled lamb kabob), and the chicken wraps. The service is good. I normally do a to go so I don't get the full dine in experience. But whenever I do come, the folks eating always seem pleased. They have really nice decor and ambiance. They also have wine and beers. Overall I love my experience here and I keep going back! read more

Kabobi By The Helmand - Came here for the first time in 3 years and I'm already blown away! - Afghan Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

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I used to remember how good it was but this time I was disappointed with the quality and flavor . I even tried it out 2 times in 4 days apart . The flavor of the chicken kebab is all salt and no spices like used to be . It's only taste salty . The nan first day was made fresh the 2nd time I went was this eu buy at the store cold and not fresh . Chicken pieces also shrunk but price remain same . $18 . Not consistent with flavors and quality control . Won't me my choice if I choose kebab in that area . read more

Guys wtf is this? I ordered the sloppy lamb via UberEats and it came in a tortilla?! If I wanted a burrito I'd order Mexican not this. There was no phone call from the restaurant about this either. read more

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Went out on a date night with my wife and decided to try this interesting small restaurant. The decor was intimate but simple. Layout of the table was interesting as there were two long tables amongst other small 2 seats table. We were able to find a two seat and settled in. Looked at the menu and decided to start with Bowlawni small plate. It came out as 4 piece along with the mint yogurt sauces. They also gave us a naan basket, which was fresh and delicious. For entrees, we went with the Seekh Kabob and Lamb Shank. I've gotten lamb kabob at other middle eastern Kabob places and it was never this tender! Watch out for that spicy turnip. Not extremely spicy heat wise but last a while in your mouth. The Lamb shank has the meat falling off the bone. I only wish there were a little bit more meat on the bone and maybe a little bit spicy. Overall, I had an excellent experience and would definitely return to try other dishes along with the lamb shank and kabob. I would say if you like lamb this should be a restaurant on your try list. read more

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Every time I come, I order the same thing: the Seekh Kabob wrap. It's perfect. Just the right amount of food. Comes with this really fresh sauce. Filled with salad. I've also had the chicken samosas, which were excellent and I would order in a heartbeat. I especially like this as a safe stop during travel. It's rarely too busy, the food is always good, and you can grab a drink if that's your thing. The mint lemonade is also good if you want an NA option. read more

Terrific place for lunch. Food was great, service was awesome, parking was easy. Highly recommend.

Ramadan buffer was good but we were misled. We called ahead on a Saturday and specifically asked if the entree was a buffet or we'd have to pick one from the list. They said on weekends everything is buffet so we got there only to be told we had to pick one item for main. The appetizers were good though especially their eggplant dish. I ordered mixed platter which was disappointing. read more

This was my first experience eating Afghan food and boy i wasnt disappointed. I ordered the chicken samosas as appetizer and the chicken inside was ground chicken and Boy was it seasoned to perfection. Also, the table was served with naan that comes with 3 types of sauces which was super delicious. For my entrée I had the lamb of shank and it was definitely falling off the bone. The meat was seasoned well and it was quite filling. The rice was a favorite which also had had shredded carrots and raisins on top. It had a sweet touch to it. Highly recommend and when i come back into town this will be a staple. 10/10 read more

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Delicious meal! We stopped here after visiting the Udvar Hazy museum. We got a family style meal with beef chicken and lamb on a rice platter. We also got hummus, an amazing eggplant dish and a delicious pumpkin dish. We enjoyed the baklava for dessert as well. read more

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This place is tucked away behind a ton of construction which is highly unfortunate cause this is a pretty cool place. We wanted something a bit different for dinner near the airport, and stumbled across here because of the good reviews. The service is excellent, and it was my first time trying an Afghanistan centered restaurant. My only regret is not trying the kabobs here--I'm sure it would've made my experience even better had I done so! Food: Banjan Borani: this is so good, like criminally good, like I don't even like eggplant and this dish was delicious. Please order this for your table when you're here Kabuli Pallow: I don't think my tastes are refined enough to enjoy this, but the overall dish tasted pretty bland and the lamb was kind of mediocre--I would order the kabobs over this tbh read more

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I maintain that The hot level is on-point however it's 3 years later and still nO Vegan options. The "option" to eliminate is unacceptable as nowadays there are Vegan versions of everything everywhere. since I went Vegan I cannot order from here anymore. Thankfully for me, countless other places exist offering cheeses, meats, yogurts made from plants :), too bad as of today, this ain't it read more

Picked up my mom from Dulles and was looking for something that wasn't a chain restaurant or something she couldn't readily get in SC where she's from. Found Kabobi on Yelp bc it was close and had good reviews so we decided to give it a try. We decided to sit at the bar, and were looking at the menu, unsure of what to get (it was our first time trying Afghan food) and luckily the owner/GM Khaleeq came and took pity on us and walked us thru the menu. He was super personable and friendly and chatted with us the whole time we were there. I love that he explained the menu in detail without judgement and although my mom generally is not a fan of lamb, he convinced us to try 3 of their lamb dishes and she's now a convert! She raved about it the whole way home. What we ordered: BOWLAWNI SMALL PLATE (Pan-fried twin pastry shells filled with leeks and spiced potatoes, garnished with yogurt mint sauce) first of all, YUM. These were like little pockets of flavor, and the dipping sauce was *chefs kiss* BANJAN BORANI SMALL PLATE (Pan-fried eggplant seasoned with fresh tomatoes and spice, baked and served on yogurt garlic sauce.) if I didn't know this was eggplant I never would've never guessed. It tasted more like either pumpkin or zucchini. It was so flavorful and you HAVE to get the fresh bread basket to dip in the sauce. QORMEH KOFTA SMALL PLATE (Spicy beef meatball seasoned in sun-dried baby grapes, turmeric and Afghan spices cooked with green peas, fresh tomatoes and corn served with house serrano pepper chatni.) my mom is super boujee about her meatballs and she rarely likes any that she hasn't made herself and she absolutely loved these. I also thought they were delicious. KABULI PULAO (Afghan style rice baked with chunks of lamb tenderloin, raisins and glazed julienne of carrots, served with a side of sweet & spicy turnips.) First of all, the sweet and spicy turnips (shalgum) are friggin amazing. The lamb in this dish was tasty and cooked perfectly and the pulao rice was so good! LAMB LAWAND (Boneless lamb, slow-cooked with mushrooms, tomatoes, herbs, garnished with yogurt & sour cream, served with challow rice and side of sabzy (Sautéed with onion, rhubarb, garlic and a touch of cinnamon)). I absolutely loved the flavor of the sauce in this dish. The lamb fell apart more like pot roast and it definitely felt similar to that with the mushrooms. DWOPIAZA (Seasoned tenderloin of lamb cooked with onions, sautéed with yellow split peas and tossed with onions lightly marinated in vinegar, served with pulao rice and side of shalgam (sweet & spicy turnips)) this was my mom's favorite of the lamb dishes we got. I absolutely loved the pickled onions and split peas and as a whole the dish was so delicious. FERENY (Cardamom pudding (no egg) with fresh berries and fruit). Khaleeq mentioned that they use this as a palate cleanser at the end of the meal to get the strong flavors out of your mouth. It was very subtle and definitely did the job! I'm sad that this is so far away from my house, because I wanna eat here like once a week. Everything from the service to the food to the atmosphere was 10/10. My only slight complaint is that it seemed like the AC was out and it was very warm inside the restaurant especially sitting as close to the kitchen as we were. But the food was so good I'd gladly eat out in the heat again, it's so worth it!! read more

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Amazing food. I've had the Kabuli with boneless chicken, the chicken lawand, and the veggie soup. All so so good.

Truly phenomenal food. Staff is super friendly and the restaurant is clean. I have yet to try something I didn't love!! Highly recommend the Seekh wrap. The ice cream for dessert is a must read more

We had the lunch bowl special - Chicken and Veggie (cauliflower). Really good food. Will return soon.

Rice was a bit dry (crunchy peices). Lamb was good but nothing exceptional. Chicken was alright. Bolani was good. Overall good food but nothing amazing. read more

Simple Afghan food close to the airport. I got lamb with hummus, a double serving of bread, and chicken skewers. read more

Food was great, lady working there wasn't friendly at all, gentleman making the food and serving was super nice. I understand the culture being from a similar part of the world, but this lady's attitude and demeanor is what leaves a bad impression. Try smiling and thanking your customers for giving you their business. read more

This place is super hidden in an area that's basically still being built. Once you find the right dark alley behind some construction zones, you'll see the bright Kabobi sign, next to a Vietnamese bar. The menu is really cool and very unique, even compared to other Afghan places I've been to. The chicken was the juiciest, toastiest, yummiest kabob I've ever had. The rice is great. The lamb was amazing. The seasoned squashes and root vegetables and everything just "chef's kiss." I will say the restaurant itself has a bit of a weird setup, just a little cramped and feels like you're eating in a warehouse. Also a bit pricey for what you're getting IMO; you can go to Moby Dick or something and get food that's not much worse for way less/bigger portions. The chai latte was really great, perfect cardamom balance. I would come back! read more

Food was well presented and very tasty, but on the spicy side. I had the special of the day, lamb on spinach, while my husband had Chicken Louwin. We hung out talking with friends afterwards. More people need to find this hidden gem, tucked away in a mixed use area near/ Behind the Herndon Metro. read more

I tried this place for the first time with my friend! I have been looking for a home with good Kabobs and decided to try this place after reading all of the fantastic reviews and this place did not let me down! The outside sign is very cute and the inside was spacious and cute. It had a high-end vibe but was also very cozy at the same time. We got the Lamb Lawaand and the beef kabob as it was recommended by our very nice server. We also got a breadbasket which was so worth it ( get this instead of the Naan because it's basically a basket of naan!) The lamb was tender but if you are not a fan of lamb I would maybe get something else! it was very good in my opinion but it did have the lamb smell overall it was very good! The rice and the spinach side were so yummy. The beef kabob was also very tender and was perfect with the chickpea and spinach side and the rice! Price was average and could be considered expensive but for the portion, I would say worth it. Would definitely come here again! read more

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We decided to give this place a try due to its high rating, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to the hype. We ordered a couple of different types of kabobs and some chicken, but both were very dry and overcooked. It was a letdown. There are other spots in the area with much better food. Surprised by the high ratings -- definitely not worth it in my opinion. read more

The food is excellent; the service even better. We dined for the first time at Kabobi at the Helmand tonight with our two kids. It was a fantastic dining experience. The boys loved the chicken kabob and the chicken samosas. The owner was kind enough to bring by some other boneless chicken which they loved. Both my wife and I had the vegetarian specialities. She opted for the veggie bowl and I opted for the cauliflower and chickpeas. Both were filling and the taste was spot on. One of the highlights for us was the fresh baked bread and hummus. That type of bread is symbolic of high end restaurants and so we were in for a treat finding it locally. My wife who is from Baltimore tells me the Helmand is a landmark restaurant in Baltimore. To have a taste of that near us is truly delightful. We will be back and recommend it highly. read more

Damn Yelp, you didn't disappoint this time. This place isn't a joke with its 5 star yelp ratings and overwhelmingly positive reviews. I love afghani food. The rice, carrot and raisin medley is an awesome combination. Toss in some chicken or some lamb and you have the perfect meal. This place does it perfectly. I tried 3 of their menu options: lamb shank, chicken kebab bowl, and the lamb kabuli palow. All of them were truly amazing. The rice was cooked wonderfully - but that's the easy part. The meat was absolutely tender in all 3 of the meals I had. That's hard to come by - sometimes I have meals where the lamb or the chicken is tough. In all of the meals, the meat was strongly flavored in rich spices. My only recommendation would be a yogurt/white sauce to balance out those rich strong flavors. Other than that, a wonderful meal. My favorite meal would have to be the lamb shank - one of the best I've had. The best value is probably the chicken kebab bowl. In terms of prices, it may look pricy but it's worth the price for the quality and quantity that they give you. They do NOT skimp on the protein. Ambiance wise, it's newly renovated with wide open space so that gets a 5 star in my book. The bathrooms were nice and clean too. Customer service was great. The cashier was very helpful in his recommendations and service. All in all, 5 star experience across all aspects. Really wished this was in my neck of the woods. For now, I will only have an extra to-go meal to remember them by. Till next time if I'm ever passing by. read more

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This was my first time ordering from this restaurant through DoorDash. The food was good, but my request to substitute the shalgam for sabzy was completely ignored. It would have been nice of them to look at the special requests section of the order. The shalgam was just way too sweet for my liking, but the chicken kabob and shornakhod with cilantro vinaigrette dressing were quite tasty! I would give this place another try sometime. read more

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I chanced upon this little gem a few months back while flying out of Dulles airport. Visited it again today while in the area, and it is definitely worth a visit. The location is surrounded by buildings under construction currently, but it is not really a bother. They have ample seating inside and outside. There a few beers on tap, and we tried the lager and Pilsner, and they were pretty decent. The lamb chops is the dish that you must try here. They are well made, cooked to perfection; enough for the meat to be tender but not too much to come off immediately. The chicken kebabs were also really well done. The seekh kebabs were a bit chewy and so was a disappointment. All the dishes are served over a bed of rice (pilaf) and it is delicious. The sides we tried were cauliflower chickpea, mushroom and shulgum. All very delicious. Our server was pleasant and friendly and we had a great time eating here. read more

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Just moved to Herndon. I was searching for a kabob place that offers kadu (pumpkin w/yogurt) and found it here. Chapli wasn't available, hopefully can try next time. Otherwise everything was delicious! My new favorite spot & will certainly be back for more. Thanks! read more

Love this restaurant. When I'm in the area, I make it a point to eat here multiple times. If they have them as a special, the pumpkin bowlani are amazing. Love the awshak and cauliflower chickpeas. read more

I am staying in a hotel nearby and decided to try Kabobi. I took my food to go and everything was delicious! If I lived here, I would definitely come back. read more

Kabobi By The Helmand - Menu - Afghan Near Me - Herndon, Virginia

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