Shahen Afghan Restaurant — Restaurant in Omaha

An eating experience you don't want to pass up. Let me start with telling you how friendly, helpful and personable the owner is. Now to the food. The Chapli Kabob had ground meat...you can get lamb or ground beef....hints of garlic, coriander, centered with a tomato and served with rice that was perfect. Kofta...a spicy ground meat with garlic, onion, turmeric, chilies served with a tomato based sauce, with rice on the side. Mantu... Afghan dumplings...Tender dumplings with ground meat served with a yoghurt based sauce. Salad... Crispy lettuce, cucumbers, onion and tomatoes. It was soooo fresh. For dessert we chose the Ladoo. Made with coconut powder, coconut, milk and sugar. Simple ingredients but it was delectable, smooth, and a perfect end to our delicious meals. Afghan Naan... So fresh, so tasty. I think the seeds on top were nigella seeds. This is located at 1115 S. 119th. , behind Big Fred's. The hours are 11A.M. to 8 P.M. Tues through Sunday. Closed Mondays. The interior is clean and inviting. Tables are set for family style eating. The bright colors are welcoming. It was a rough start for them, last March, what with Covid etc. That, coupled with having to overcome reviews from the previous business, which were not very good. So if you read a less than desirable review, check the date. If it was before March, it wasn't this restaurant. I can't see anyone giving this restaurant anything...

Visited on 8 Dec and had a great experience! We ordered a takeout order of the Munta appetizer, Kabuli pulao, the mix combo platter, coconut ladoo, and baklava. Man! This was delicious.

The Munta is similar to a pot sticker filled with ground lamb complemented with a tangy yogurt sauce and beans.

Soft, delicious rice with raisins and buried like treasure lies succulent lamb shaken. As you lift the lamb out of the rice the meat cleaves off the bone leaving it speck-free. Rich with spices the lamb tastes great and is well paired with the rice and sweet, raisins.

The mix combo platter has kebabs that transport you back to the markets. The aromas are nostalgic and the flavors are savory and bold balancing the meat with the spices. Can I just buy 100? Lamb, shami, and chicken kababs all make your mouth water.

Finally, top your feast off with baklava and ladoos! Many baklava are heavy on the butter/ghee but here it was light and allowed the rest of the treat shine. The ladoos are bite-sized sweets and the pink ladoos have a small essence of rose.

All in all, Shahen does a great job with the fodl and you won't be disappointed. The owners are helpful and really want you to enjoy your...

I have been extremely disappointed by my visit; I was appalled by the service which bordered on being fradulent.

Food came out extremely slow - OK. The prices were very expensive - OK. Portion and taste was so so - OK.

However, the receipt came out and I was appalled. They charged me two dollars per cup of water (as if I ordered a water bottle, when I did not). Also, they made a mistake on the order when I asked for naan instead of rice for a dish. When I pointed this out, the waiter did not apologize and later brought us naan. And then, he had the gall to charge us separately for the naan! For every piece of naan! Suggested tip was 20 percent or higher. No way...I did not want to make a scene, so paid promptly and left. Never again.

I wanted to love this hole-in-the-wall place with ethnic food. They should be ashamed of themselves for this practice. They are clearly engaging in borderline fradulent practices for their non-Afghan customers....