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Afghan Bistro

4.7 (1.1k reviews)
ModerateAfghan, Burgers, Soup
Closed • Closed
Updated over 3 months ago

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Afghan Bistro Afghan Restaurant Photos

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AFGHAN BISTRO ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - Afghan Bistro

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Mantu Entree (Beef)
Salma C.

Delicious Afghan food in an intimate, homely, and cozy setting. Came impromptu on a Saturday night for dinner. Had to wait less than 10 minutes to get a table for two. The menu has so many options which made it difficult to choose. Ended up trying the Beef Mantu (Dumplings) and one of their specialties of the day, a Lamb Shank Karahi which had jalapeño, garam masala, and lots of veggies like eggplant, tomatoes, pickled onions on top, etc. The Mantu was a lovely appetizer and delicious while the Karahi was flavorful and tasty. Also tried one of their mocktails which had Mango, Saffron, and Lemon- that drink was a little disappointing as I could tell how it was made exactly and wished it was more elevated for a restaurant, but not bad. Overall, I enjoyed my meal here and loved trying traditional Afghan dishes beyond kabobs.

Sheer Yakh station
Rahul D.

I've been wanting to check this place out since it opened. I happened to be around the Alexandria area after visiting a nearby Hindu temple, and decided to have an early dinner. Reviews have been raving about how the food is authentic and flavorful. Personally, I have always found Afghanistan to be a fascinating country and culture. Honestly, when you take time to educate yourself about a misunderstood country, you develop an appreciation for it and learn to discard misconceptions about it. Okay education over... now onto to the food! I started off with the Bolani. A thin, crispy flatbread filled with potatoes and chives. Have this with the homemade chutney and white sauce! Next came the Aushak, an Afghan dumpling filled with lentils, onions, and spices. These were good, my only feedback would be to add more filling in the dumplings :) The garlic yogurt sauce was a great topping, and the dried mint added a subtle coolness as well. They also had Vegetarian Mantu (another famous Afghan dumpling dish typically served with a meat sauce) but it's only available for catering... sigh...if only I had a big event to host. Lastly is the star of this place, the Sheer Yakh (Ice Cream). For those unfamiliar... think of the Indian/Pakistani Kulfi, but a soft serve version. I can tell this place became famous for the dessert because of the way it is made, and let me tell you, it is NOT an easy job. They have three stations where massive amounts of ice and rock salt are poured, and in the churning process, the cream deposits start to thicken and small ice crystals form in the mixture. You can definitely get a good amount of both in every bite! It's sprinkled with more cream and grounded pistachios. Unpopular opinion, I am not a fan of Pistachio, but I liked how the nuttiness complimented texture. Customer service was pleasant too. The staff speaks mostly Dari/ Pashto, and according to one staff member they are recent arrivals to the country since the Taliban took over. Nonetheless, this restaurants adds to our ever growing diverse community. Give this place some love and support!

Lamb & Beef Tenderloin
Fiorella H.

This is definitely Springfield's Hole in the wall, because how is this quaint bistro, that serves amazing traditional Afghani flavors, Michelin star recognition service is in the middle of nowhere (a plaza next to a gas station and close to a bunch of storage/machinery supplies warehouses). We just came recently to celebrate my friend and my husbands birthdays, since we all enjoy the food and the serene atmosphere to catch up with friends. They usually provide freshly baked bread with chutneys on the house. I've had this afghani bread in several other restaurants, but here has the perfect balance of soft crunch and chewy, perfect for dipping! We got a chutney assortment, red one is closer to a savory pepper jelly and the green one is a mix of a jalapeño-cilantro pesto with some acidity almost like a chimichurri! The yogurt-herb one has some hot kick (probably some green chili) my favorite is the mango chutney, sweet and savory perfect to balance the spicy ones! We had the dumpling appetizer platter, usually both Pumpkin and Aushak (leek & scallions) one comes with minced beef on top, although the waiter kindly set it on the side so I can eat it since I'm pescatarian. I love the pumpkin one so much, the butternut squash is cooked to perfection, the sweetness of the squash works so well with the yogurt sauce and mint on top!the leek one is a lot less interesting if you don't put the minced beef on top (for non vegetarians) I like to put some of the red chutney on top for extra flavor! The party enjoyed the Mantu which is stuffed with minced beef topped with carrots and peas qorma. So far we all loved the pumpkin!! I ordered the vegetarian qabuli combination platter! It has all my favorite things! Four variations of their veggie forward dishes: sabzi (slow cooked greens and herbs) nakhoud (chickpeas cooked in tomato), kadoo (pumpkin/butternut squash) and baadenjaan (eggplant cooked in tomato) served with qabuli rice. I just love this dish because I get to enjoy all the vegetarian options at once, even though the chickpeas and the eggplant are "stew-tomato-ish dishes" the spices used on each one (chickpeas are topped with fresh cilantro while the eggplant is topped with the characteristic afghani yogurt-mint) they are different, but paired beautifully! I usually don't eat a lot of rice, but every time I come here Id have the rice, it's well seasoned, plus the carrots and raisins add sweetness to the garam spiced on it! Love it! It's definitely a vegetarian feast! My partner had their Lamb with greens and he really liked it! He is not much of an eggplant fan, so he preferred this dish instead, the sbazi mix they use for the stew is very fragrant and the lamb is cooked tenderly! My friends got the lamb chop kebab, they love meat so they usually go for this dish and ate it all. One of ordered the chicken lawaan, the yogurt and spices worked beautifully and the chicken apparently well portioned that she took the rest home! I want to say that I'm very sad they didn't give us an extra cardamom cake for my husband, because they assumed he just wanted to split the pistachio ricotta cake with me, they only brought one for both of them, they really skimped on the dessert, but it was really good that it was quite offensive such a small piece for 2 big guys the milk bath was so creamy and pleasantly sweet! Perfect tres leches interpretation!!! I enjoyed the pistachio-ricotta cake, the vanilla sponge texture was spot, the ricotta layer was creamy, the pistachio layer was not overwhelmingly sweet, everything was tied perfectly with the tart cherry/raspberry sauce that elevated it and the salted pistachios added the crunch and extra flavor! My least favorite of the desserts was the Firni, it definitely is an afghani pudding/flan sort of panacotta (which I'm not really fond of because of the lack of flavors) it could improve if they actually drizzled it with the same sauce or added some macerated berries, maybe add some more cardamom or pistachio extract, not my favorite, texture wise was okay? (Not ordering it again)

Very detailed lunch bill, easy to split. We split 50/50. :-)
Esther Z.

I never would have guessed that this undecript place from the outside serve up such favorable meals and would have a warm ambiance.. The very high rating is not rating creep, it's earned. We were a 4-some for lunch. We shared an appetizer(delicious dumplings) , ordered different entrees and skipped dessert-to full. We had 2 drinks with alcohol and 1 w/o. This is my 1st Afgan Restaurant, unless my memory fails me. All four of us raved about our meals. The service is friendly and there were offers to answer any questions we had about the menu. I was warned that my dress was spicy, is an example of excellent service also. The service was very attentive but yet not distracting. We were the 1st table seated at about 11:30-ish & the 1st to leave. The place was really filling up as we left. Out timing was perfect so my TOTD is come early, if you can.

Beef Tenderloin & Chicken
Victor A.

Food was delicious and service was excellent. Very small place, difficult to eat here with a large party.

Whiplash 8.

The food was amazing, the dumplings were delicious and the lamb was so tender falling of the bone!! Not only was the food so good but the hospitality and service was a 10/10. The whole experience was great! Definitely one of my favorite places to eat. High key recommend

Chicken and Beef Tenderloin & Chicken kabobs
Krystal A.

Afghan Bistro is a hidden gem. Located in an unassuming strip mall, I never would've known about the delicious Afghan food served here if it weren't for Yelp. I went on a Friday evening, and do recommend making a reservation, especially if you have a larger party. Fortunately, they were willing to seat my part of two. The service here is very hospitable. The host and staff are warm and make you feel very at home. The food is absolutely delicious. I loved everything. They start you off with complimentary dips and bread, which is served warm. For apps, we ordered a dumpling trio, which was great because it gave us a chance to try a variety and see which we liked best. We also tried a chicken yogurt stew and chicken and steak kabobs. We think they may have forgotten about our entrees because we noticed that it took a long time for them to bring the dishes out, but the staff did acknowledge and apologize for taking a long time. I definitely recommend giving this place a try.

Linda F.

Amazing food and service! Never disappoints. I had one of the specials and was excellent. Party of seven.

Anson T.

The food here in this little place is OUT OF THIS WORLD. I cannot overstate how warm and delectable each component of our meal was, from the bread, to the appetizer, to my massive lamb shank over rice as the entree. The server was super nice, and the family-style atmosphere was perfect for an enjoyable dinner. Such a great hidden jem!

Beef tenderloin
Brenda C.

This place really is a hidden gem! I've driven past this place multiple times and have never thought of stopping by until a friend of mine recommended it. My friends and I stopped by on a Thursday afternoon and were seated promptly. The waiter and waitresses were very attentive and knowledgeable of the menu items. The complementary bread and dips were delish! I ordered the beef tenderloin - the meat was tender and flavorful. To top off the night, we ordered the tres leches cake, which is my favorite dessert. The food and service were GREAT! This was my first experience trying afghan food and was very pleased - thank you, Afghan Bistro!

Pistachio Cake

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10 years ago

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7 years ago

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9 years ago

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11 years ago

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6 years ago

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7 years ago

Lamb dish was great. Wasn't too crazy about the goat. Great service though. Great wine list and atmosphere.

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8 years ago

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10 years ago

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8 years ago

I love this place! Great service and great food. I'm so happy I accidentally stumbled upon this Bistro and I will be back.

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7 years ago

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6 years ago

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Page 17 of 29

Afghan Bistro Reviews in Other Languages

Ask the Community - Afghan Bistro

Do they allow BYOB?

I didn't see anything on the wine list to indicate that you could BYOB. Their wines are reasonably priced and they have a wide selection of well-chosen bottles.

Are their food halal?

Yes it is.

Did you stop serving unlimited rice, salad and veggies?

Yes we do, all you have to do is ask your server and they would be happy to bring you more.

Tried the buffet? I saw a sign, place was closed.don't know; cost, hours and days available. Items on buffet? no info on website about a buffet. Appreciate opinions on food. I'll call them about the other things.

There is no buffet. The restaurant is closed on Sundays. Lunch is Tuesday-Saturday 1130am-4pm. Dinner is Monday-Thursday 4pm-10pm, Friday and Saturday 4pm-11pm.… Read more

I see their menu has a vegetarian section, but does anyone know which, if any, of those items are vegan?

They are all vegan

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Afghan Bistro - afghani - Updated May 2026

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