Maiwand Kabob — Restaurant in Maryland

This place has a lot of potential if they can work through some issues. Let's start with the food, which is good. I had the chicken wrap which was a generous portion in a homemade pita. It was clear that the pita was cooked to order, making the wrap a very pleasant experience. We also got a side of hummus which is also made in-house; very flavorful with some sprigs of cilantro which made for an interesting flavor combination. There were two big challenges with the restaurant, however:

1. There is an insanely long wait for food. I want to say it took about 30 minutes for our food to be ready. It seems that you can order ahead, which would clearly be the preferred option if you had the foresight to pre-order.

2. The layout of the restaurant is bad. They've tried cramming in too many tables and seats, making it hard to maneuver. The queue to order is right in front of the soda machine and condiments, forcing people WITH food to constantly/awkwardly cut through the line of people waiting to order food. Coincidentally, this soda machine/ordering line area is the most important in the restaurant but it's also physically difficult to navigate.

I'd recommend this place but based on my experience I'd only recommend for take-out or on-site dining at...

Maiwand restaurant is an Afghan name, but their food is more Pakistani or Indian than Afghan. There's too many spices/herbs used in their foods, particularly in their Kabob & chickpeas. Rice is way too hard. It was as if they attempted to fry the rice but without cooking it first . As Afghans, we pride ourselves in how well our rice is cooked. Unfortunately, their rice failed to meet the very basic standard expectancy. Their kabobs are also hard and chewy. The kabob needs more onion, yogurt, or kiwi, whichever method is used to tenderize the meat plus a longer time tomarinate. This tenderizes the meat. And, their staff could definitely be friendlier. It's as if someone forced them to come to work. No one smiles!! Their kofta kabob was completely indelible!! Do not order this item here!! I've frequented this spot at least 5x over the past 3 weeks & some things have only gotten worse while others remained the same. Tonight, the rice was the worst. Super hard!! The fix is quite simple. All it needs is more water & oil before closing the lid and allowing it to cook. The formula is quite simple: 3 cups of water to every cup of rice if cooking without soaking! I'd add another 2-3 cups or so to the entire pot if cooking on a fast setting &...

As a food-lover wanting to "branch-out", I have gone to Maiwand twice -- once for lunch during a weekday and the other early evening during a weekday for dinner to-go.

Tips: 1.) Everyone loves their weekday specials, so order early because they tend to sell out.

2.) If ordering to go, best to call ahead because the average order (aside from their weekday specials) are made to order, so it takes 15-20 minutes to prepare.

The establishment is clean and has indoor and outdoor seating areas. The prices aren't cheap, but well worth it considering the flavor and portions. Their customer service is excellent -- they were patient with my questions regarding their ingredients and they helped me pick out safe options due to my food allergy; and, they packed my to-go order carefully so the food wasn't intermingled for the long ride home.

Their naan (bread) is delicious. Rice is super flavorful. Chicken and lamb kabobs were AMAZING. Also, really enjoyed the curry potatoes.

My family of picky-eaters even loved it (you know... the kind of family whose kid only wants chicken nuggets and french fries). If you want flavorful food with sizeable portions, Maiwand is worth the money...