Afghania — Restaurant in Washington

We enjoyed a very good meal here, though it wasn't 5 stars in terms of consistent food quality. Cocktail selection was poor and very pedestrian. Service was solid and the ambience was dark but cozy.

We tried the following items:

ASSORTED DUMPLINGS: leek & scallion, pumpkin, and spicy beef dumplings. In the order listed, they were the best to so-so. I'd only order the leak & scallion and the pumpkin, the beef was forgettable.

QUROTI: Toasted Afghan bread, topped with minced beef & lentils, walnuts, and fried onions. Finished with a warm yogurt garlic puree, dried mint & cayenne. - The sauce here was the most remarkable but as a whole dish, I don't think it was close to the dumplings in flavor and scarification. I wouldn't order this again.

AFGHANIA SIGNATURE LAMB CHOPS &BEEF TENDERLOIN: Rib chops and beef tenderloin, served with qabuli rice, with a side of kadoo - excellent cuts of lamb and beef, well seasoned and seared and grilled to perfection. The qabuli rice was not very good, lacked flavor and made me pine for other versions I had enjoyed elsewhere.

LAWAAN: Slow cooked in a garlic yogurt based stew, topped with cilantro, and served with saffron infused basmati rice. - this was quite good, and worked very nicely with their basmati rice grains. Solid dish.

Very much worth a try, but it wasn't consistent enough to immediately merit a...

Amazing experience! My wife wanted to try Afghani food and has been craving lamb lately so this restaurant was a huge score. I lucked out at the start of the evening with finding a free parking spot about 2-3 blocks away and made my reservation time. We were immediately seated and found everyone (I mean everyone) to be so welcoming and heartfelt that we felt we were family. It’s very nice in the restaurant, with a setting perfect for taking someone special. As for the food, it was absolutely delicious. Everything we tried was so good, with wonderful flavors. We couldn’t finish everything so we made sure to leave room for dessert while taking leftovers home. Do not let anything go to waste. We started with an assortment of dumplings, all of which were delicious in their own way (pumpkin, spicy beef, and leeks & scallions). The accompanying sauces were all wonderful, but the mango habanero was my favorite (and no, not too spicy). For my meal I tried the (veal) Afghanistan palou, which had a wonderful smokiness and the most amazing rice. My wife had lamb shank with a tomato based sauce, and loved it. We capped off our meal with a cardamom cake (tres leches style) and sheer birinj, a delicious rice pudding with light...

So, if you're in DC you have to do something different, something ethnic. We did Michelin Stared Jose Andres Spanish (of course great) and also Vietnamese street food - we experimented with a wide spectrum. We found Afghania and booked it on a whim our last night. THIS IS THE BEST PLACE!

First off, great location in Georgetown. Small, quaint restaurant. Family owned and run. Secondly, great service, from the waiter to the Manager/Owner - friendly, wanting to help, proud to serve you food from their home country. Thirdly, what amazing and unique food! A combination of Middle East, Asian, Mediterranean - every dish we had was a hit - partially of course because the owner helped guide us into the most traditional and special dishes. Including homemade Afghan meatballs made by his mother who is the chef. Gotta try the dumplings too.

I literally cannot recommend this enough - you have to add it to your DC portfolio of restaurants when you visit. There is very, very little chance you will be disappointed and you might just be, like us, amazed at having a new food window...