The Helmand Restaurant

Absolutely enjoyed our first experience. The pumpkin appetizer is a must!

I get the chicken kabob. The chicken is cooked very well. It is not dried out like some places.
It was enough for me to take some home and have another meal. A good value for the $$

The pumpkin and yogurt appetizer is outstanding. Our main dishes -- both vegetarian and meat -- were also terrific.

Food was great. Service was efficient. Ambience was nice. Great experience. I'll go back!

We always enjoy the Helmand. Prompt efficient service, delicious food no matter what we order and a cozy vibe. We usually get some form of lamb and whether it's slices or forest, a stew or kabob, it's always tender and flavored with care. Appetizers are just the right size and one can finish the entrees (barely) and still have room for dessert. We chose the hazelnut cake this time which was delicious and not overly sweet. I always like the cardamom tea and my partner enjoys the Turkish coffee.

As expected from The Helmand, outstanding :starters Kaddo Borwani: pan fried Pumpkin and /or Salata. Outstanding entrees, Kabuli Pallow (Lamb) and / or Salmon Also Naan, and first rate and very reasonably priced wine options. The Afghan Ice Cream is an enjoyable and memorable dessert

The food was good, ambience pleasant, noise level fine for conversation. However, once we placed our food order our meal arrived within minutes. No time for a conversation over a drink. We felt like we were being rushed out, although the restaurant was only half full. Clearly the dishes were prepared well in advance, and not to order. The plates were cold as was the food before we finished.

This restaurant is always right on target. Everything ordered was absolutely delicious. The service is excellent and the prices are very reasonable.

We had the chicken kabob dinner and it was very good. Would like to return and try more of the vegetarian dishes. Service was excellent.

The Helmand is always a great place to get delicious food at an amazing value. We have never been disappointed.

The food was very good. The service was great, but felt a little rushed. Overall a very good meal.

The food is really delicious - which is why it is so popular. We are happy we ate at The Helmand, although the waiters seemed a little disorganized: in the end we sat at the bar and the lovely bartender looked after everything we needed, including a good French 75 and a mocktail. Outstanding for vegetarian food.

Haven't yet had a dish that I didn't like at the Helmand. Highly recommend!

We come back every year when we are in town. It is a perfect place to catch up with old friends. Delicious food and nice atmosphere.

Food is always delicious

Very enjoyable. A bit rushed.

Great service and food.

Very good food as always! Packed for a Wednesday, great for pre-theater.

Came here twice in two weeks. Eveything is delicious.

Great food. Cute place, friendly service. My only complaint is that it's very tight to get around.

Delicious! Can’t wait for pandemic to end so we can go back!

Our reservation was made for 7:15. We arrived at 7:06 and it wasn't until 7:45 that we were seated. There were a TON of people, and my date and I had to yell to hear each other. The servers also seemed overworked and we felt a little rushed. Food was good, though.

Extensive menu offering meat and vegetarian options. Good was delicious and service outstanding

We love The Helmand and go often. On this particular occasion, the food was as delicious as ever, but we were rushed through our dinner like I have never been rushed before! We felt pushed to "wrap it up" at every turn and we were only there for a total of 45 minutes. I was literally backed up against the gentleman who was waiting to change our table cloth as I was trying to put on my coat. He was not even allowing me the space I needed to do that. We were never asked if we would like another drink, more bread, anything. They literally brought the appetizer and main course out within seconds of each other. We left there feeling very let down. A nice dinner is something to linger over not rush through!! Of course we will go back, back we will be sure to control the courses by ordering on our time schedule.

The food at Helmand is consistently of the highest quatlity. The Pumpkin appetizer and many of the other dishes on the menu are outstanding. If you are in Baltimore on a visit, don't miss it. If you r live here and just haven't gotten around to having dinner at Helmand, you are denying yourself a real pleasure.

A large group went to celebrate a sweet 16 birthday. Everything was perfect!

It’s ok the food isn’t bad it’s just not great. You can get the same if not better Afghan and Middle Eastern cuisine for half the price elsewhere. I got lamb with stewed peas. The peas were raw and crunchy so they took it back and returned it without peas saying the lamb has to cook a long time to get tender and the peas don’t have the same amount of time. If you own a restaurant your job is to figure that riddle out. Also the lamb wasn’t tender so that was wrong.

We have been fans of The Helmand for years. The food is extraordinary and the service is usually excellent. This night was a rare occasion when we did not enjoy our dining experience as much as have in the past. Despite a reservation and available tables, we were seated in a corner next to a large table of extremely boisterous (quite inconsiderate, actually) diners. They were so disruptive that at our table of four (4), we could not hear one another during most parts of our meal. The same server was assigned to our table as theirs and spent so much time running back and forth to bar filling and refilling their bar orders, that he rarely came to our table to refill water or inquire on our meal. We had to flag him down just to get a refill of water, see a dessert menu, and, ultimately, obtain the bill. Had this been our first experience, we would certainly not have returned.

The food here is consistently delicious. I had the Kaddo Borwani as an appetizer and it was outstanding. Hubby had the Aushak which he loved. My entree was the vegetable mantwo and it was crazy good. My friend had the mantwo as well but hers had beef and she said it was delicious. Hubby had the Kabuli as an entree and said it was wonderful. Friend's hubby had the special of the day with fish and he enjoyed his too. You just can't go wrong eating here. We never eat here that we don't go home happy and with full tummies.

The food at the Helmand is delicious. My wife and I each ordered different lamb entrees and each was well prepared. Time from order to delivery of our meal was very quick. We love the cardemin infused ice cream. We get it every time we dine here. It is a fantastic end to a very nice dining experience.

Wonderful flavors, many options make The Helmand an exciting visit.

Always a great meal

Just fantastic food and service . Hadn’t been here for a while I’d forgotten how delicious everything was. Great restaurant for vegetarians but also has great comfort food and desserts as well as cocktails. Fabulous polite service. Have already scheduled my next meal there!

Always great food! The noise level was a little high and they took a little while to get us to a table because they were so busy.

For only the second time in my life, I gave the server(s) at The Helmand a small tip to make a statement. In addition, I also made a written statement on the check, so they knew that the tip (@ 9%) was deliberate, and why. The first server approached our table and asked if we would like something to drink besides water...maybe 10 seconds after we had sat down. I explained that we had just sat down, and asked him to give us a few minutes. That was the only time we saw that server. The next server did the following during our stay: told my date, who has a common aversion to cilantro, that she could not taste the cilantro if it was cooked in the dish, as opposed to being fresh cilantro used as a topping. Huh? In fact, a little uncomfortable argument ensued between the two of them. After we had finished our entrees, a long period of abandonment ensued, perhaps 20-25 minutes. Finally, I asked a busser to clear our table and bring us the check, even though we had not ordered the dessert that came with our New Years Eve fixed-price menu. Our server then reappeared and took our dessert orders. I love The Helmand, In fact, it is one of my favorite restaurants and ironically is my date's absolutely favorite restaurant. Service is always rushed and has never been the star of this show. In this case, it was abysmal. This one bad experience will not deter me, however, and I will definitely return again. One final note: to add insult to injury, The Helmand reported me as a no-show for my reservation, resulting in OpenTable unnecessarily sending me an email carrying a very stern scolding/reprimand for my "missed" reservation. And good times were had by all...

Great food, well seasoned. Service a bit slow.

Excellent food, good service, conveniently located, strongly recommended

One does not go to The Helmand for its ambience, although the lighting is quiet and the rooms are well situated, but a few more carpets might lower the noise levels. The service is very good and just as courteous and efficient. All these are welcoming, and that is important because goes to The Helmand to eat. The food ranges from outstanding to sublime. The chef is a genius at combining and releasing flavors. It’s heavenly work.

Christmas Eve

Always, always reliable for a fine, interesting meal in a very pleasant space. This was Christmas Eve and crowded as expected. Service and quality didn’t suffer at all. Really enjoyed.