Every time I come, I order the same thing: the Seekh Kabob wrap. It's perfect. Just the right…read moreamount 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.

I don't usually leave negative reviews, but this was my second poor experience with the same…read moreserver, 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.

Aracosia has been a stellar Afghani food staple for Northern VA since they opened. Their tender…read moreLamb shanks--both Sabzi and Moghuli are hit with family and out of state visitors. So is the Vegetarian platter and tasting menu, aushak, quroti, and turnovers. You cant go wrong with saffron rice or the rice with carrots and raisins. Enough reviews already mention the four dips and soft bread, a cross between middle eastern bread and focaccia. Non alcoholic drinks are not an after thought, the sour cherry rose lemonade is liked by kids, adults, and seniors. Service is warm and welcoming, the Rumi quotes on the walls and turkish lamps add to the ambience, parking is easy and aplenty. A few tips: 1. Go for the lunch menu if you are feeding a large group. It is cheaper. Or consider making the trek to where it all started, Afghan Bistro in Springfield. 2. Ask for the daily selection of cakes. The pistachio and cardamom are the best, not too sweet, light, moist, and fragrant. Of course we devoured the food before taking pictures but a couple attached.

Overall it was a good experience! We absolutely loved the bread and the difference sauces that…read morewent with it. The pumpkin dumplings and pan fried veggie filled dumplings were great as well. I thought my salmon wrap and the chickpea side was ok. Interesting flavors for sure. As for the service, there was always someone filling up our waters and our waiter was very nice checking in every now and then. The only downside of the experience is at the end when the waiter was boxing up all the food for us. Very sweet that they do this but when boxing up my partners food, they only boxed up the rice and they got rid of the lamb that he was looking forward to eating more of later. So that was kind of a disappointment for us. I think if we go again, we would request to box our food ourselves since I'm not sure why they decided to get rid of all of his lamb.

This is a great place to go when you're "elevated". I think I would die happy if I ate this food on…read moremy death bed. For appetizers, we got Mantwo and Bowlawani- it was absolutely DEMOLISHED. Mantwo is basically afghan dumpling, and the filling was incredible savory and had a meaty texture. The was my favorite appetizer, stuffed with spiced potatoes, lentils, and chives/leeks from what I saw. The dipping sauce of yogurt and mint went amazing with it. For mains, we got the Lamb Lawand and Lamb loin chop. The lamb lawand was this savory rice dish- they served it with mushrooms and a side of beautifully seasoned spinach. It came as a stew that you were able to mix with your rice as you please. As for the lamb loin chop, it was incredibly tender- falling off the bone. Dessert was difficult, as I am deathly allergic to all nuts. My partner got the hazelnut chocolate cake, and from what I heard they rated it very highly. I got the afghan ice cream; the flavor were incredibly unique, with notes of cardamom, saffron and rose water. I usually have a problem with rose water in my desserts, as it ends up tasting overly flowery or soapy, but I think it was executed well. The toppings of dates, mangos, and figs went incredibly well with the flavors of the ice cream. My only complaint was the service being a bit slow, but at the time we went it was incredibly busy, and I don't blame the workers. Otherwise, this was a great place to go to for an elevated meal! Not TOO fancy, but not too casual either.

The wife and I finally made it to the Helmand. We got there right around 6 and got a spot right…read moreacross the street. When we walked in, we were sat in the very large dining area and our server came right over. The atmosphere definitely lends itself to a smart casual outfit vibe. Very cutesy!! We started off with the bowlani. It was a freshly gently fried samosa if I had to describe it. I enjoyed it very much. I wanted to try multiple items but for some reason wasn't very hungry so I went with the vegetarian aushuk and the mashawa soup. I also ordered the bread to dip in my soup. Everything was very tasty. The service was excellent and the overall vibe of the restaurant was pleasant. I'll be back for sure.

I stopped in here for lunch while my daughter had art class across the street…read more Food: I ordered the kubideh beef kabobs, and the they were cooked perfectly and had a good taste. The little mini salad that comes with the meals had a really good dressing, and I enjoyed it. I didn't really like the chick peas. I prefer the ones at Charcoal Kabob in Herndon which are lot more spicier. These had a more tomato flavor to them which I've experienced at other kabob places. Also didn't care for the white yogurt sauce. It tasted and felt more like a salad dressing. The green sauce was really good, and I stuck with that for dipping. Service: fast casual. You go to the counter, order, pay, and they bring the food to your table. Ambiance: nice, new, and clean. Pretty generic. You could sub in any cuisine. I thought the prices were on par with any other kabob places, only most other places serve their meals with naan. Not here, but the portion sizes are big enough to fill you up. Overall, I'm happy I came and tried it out.

I LOVE THIS PLACE! It has become of my favorite Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern spots in the NOVA…read morearea for quick bites. It's a fast casual kinda place. The portions are great and the food quality tastes good. I normally get the platter which comes with protein and two sides. I wish it allowed a combo kabob rather than one protein. If you do combo they hike the price up l, it's an additional $7-9. I think $25 is a bit excessive, but that's typically only if you do two types of protein instead of one. Food preparation normally is about 15-20mins. There's parking out front and plenty of indoor seating.

So happy to have their food again! After being a way for a while we've been dying to eat here…read moreagain, and to us, it's still the best food you can get in the Gainesville area. Everything was fresh, popping hot, seasoned perfectly, and charred nicely with a delicious charcoal flavor Honestly, what more could you ask for?

Best Kabobs in the DMV!!! I've lived in the DMV area for 20 years and this place is by far the…read morebest. 10/10 every single time! I always order the deluxe plate and it's enough food for dinner and lunch the next day at work. Take your family or friends and they will love it!

Came for the Sheeryakh, but had such delicious, authentic Afghan food! I'd give 4.5 stars for some…read moreconstructive modifications to make in the future related to service, but overall amazing food! I left with a full belly and a happy heart. Got a combo of chicken kabob and shami kabob along with a side of their borani banjan/eggplant dish. The eggplant was honestly one of my favorite things- it's a must get in my opinion. Homey dish with incredible flavors! Their naan is fresh and pairs well with it. The chicken was good, but I've had better honestly. The shami was a little disappointing as I expected more flavor and it was slightly dry, but good. Their rice was so tasty and I loved the sweetness coming from the carrots an raisins. Of course, the sheeryakh was great- quite a big portion for one person, but I loved the texture. It tastes very similar to the Indian/South Asian/Pakistani ice cream, "Kulfi." CONSTRUCTIVE FEEDBACK: Service needs improvement. The whole time I was there I had to keep looking for waiters to make eye contact with to ask for menu, water, paying, etc. It took about 10 min or more for me to have to call a busy waiter over just to look at the menu- no one came over on their own. Things just took time for a Saturday night- plus they were hosting an event on top of this. Needless to say, I've never had service like this, but the vibe and food made me be not as harsh. Despite the service, this place is a must try for authentic Afghan cuisine. Can't wait to try more of their menu (and the borani banjan again) in the future!

The chicken bowl was amazing. Friend loved the spinach and we got the chickpea. The star of the…read morenight was the eggplant dish! We have had it at other restaurants but this place topped it!! Way too stuffed to get dessert but the ice cream looked phenomenal!

This place is a hidden gem here in Fairfax, highly recommended! We had the kabob, and it was…read moredelicious and very well seasoned. The service was very attentive and friendly. The atmosphere was relaxed and very family friendly.

The best Middle Eastern food in all of Fairfax. You will love this restaurant with a cute little…read morefountain in the middle and the most lovely hostess. Wouldn't want to go anywhere else for middle Easter cuisine

Very carbohydrate heavy but very authentic Afghan food!. They start you out with bread and it comes…read moreout warm with little bits of sesame seeds on top. The aushack is like ravioli, but I didn't stand out to me. The Sambosa was crispy but minimal filling--still good taste wise. The zamarod palow has a very creamy, curry like sauce with lots of spinach and rice. The sauce makes it look like there is a lot of meat but there isn't. Really fragrant and delicious though! Same with the lamb shank--carb heavy but aromatic rice and lovely tomato sauce.

Some of the best Afghan food I've had, and I love Afghan food. We walked in when it was quiet and…read moreit looked like it was an attentive husband/wife team and our food seemed home cooked. Ambiance wasn't fancy but was homey and cozy. Really nice portions and plenty of veg options. The seasoned rice options were lovely and my husband really enjoyed his tea. Appetizer was OK but the mains were superb and we were so full we couldn't finish. I got the seib, which was a main dish that primarily featured apples. I hadn't seen that before and I was skeptical before eating but wanted to try something different and it was incredible. My only pro tip is that when you order a veg main it's a lot of one thing, whereas meat mains come with a veg. Next time I will order the veggie combo option to get more diversity. Normally I write longer reviews but in this case I think I will let the food photos speak for themselves.

This place used to be good, the gyro is still decent, but their quality and preparation has really…read moregone downhill even on the gyro and naan bread and kabobs. They dont make the food fresh, besides possibly the naan bread. But even the naan bread is not fresh for every order. They gave us extremely hard chewy room temperature naan which we had to go ask them for freshly cooked naan instead, which was totally different. The gyro meat, they literally reheat previously cooked gyro meat instead of carving it fresh off the roasting cone and providing freshly cooked gyro meat. The gyro meat they provided was also room temperature and obviously not fresh. Maybe if you get lucky and come in at the right time you can get gyro meat freshly carved off the cone, but the other times youll be getting older and reheated gyro meat which is unacceptable. Its the same situation with their beef kobideh kabobs and possibly even their rice. These were not made to order, instead both the kabob and rice were room temperature, not hot, and they had obviously reheated the kobideh kabobs instead of actually cooking fresh ones. All of this is unacceptable. To top it off their prices are extremely high. Gyros i believe were $14 which is very high end for gyro. The kobidehs i believe were $18 or $19. So their prices are higher than most places yet the quality is lower. Theres plenty of places you can get a freshly cooked gyro or kabob with rice for less.

My order "Thank you for your order 74169 at Dulles Kabob. It will be ready Thursday, December 18th…read morearound 6:24 PM. For more information, please contact us at 703-661-4300" The beef was chewy like gum, called in to tell them know but they asked for order number and didn't do anything