Such an amazing place to dine! Ten stars +! Don't hesitate to dine here! The service is great, too!:)

It was a one of the best dinner I had in Baltimore. The food was high quality and quantity, super flavorful, and the service was passionate and friendly and patient. I'd give it 6 stars if pissible. The food came in large quantity. We ordered Mantwo for appetizer and it might be the best beef sauce I've had. It's full of the special season and the dumpling came freshly cooked. The lamb dish was awesome too, it came medium cooked which is a bit red (which I like) and very juicy. And the sauce/dressing!! The one came with the chicken (the same for Shornakod salad) was beyond good--- it's the best chutney/dressing I've had. It's cilantro vinaigrette-- and it's tangy, mixed with cilantro and all different kinds of spices. It's so exotic and delicious that I took a dipping sauce box with me when boxing leftovers. We had ice cream for dessert, and it was delicious. It was cardamom flavored, with dried fruit and nuts mixed in. We were so full but couldn't resist eating more. Conclusion is: if you like flavorful Indian/ Middle East, Afghanistan food, you can't go wrong! The service was great too, it was our first time there, they explained to us what are dishes like and what wine to pair with our food. They are patient and apparently knows their restaurant and food super well. They checked back when we were eating frequently. The ambience was great too, was romantic (with candle lights) and people are slightly dressed up. Plenty of space between each table so that you have privacy. We had a great date night and eat until they are almost closed (hence there is an inner space picture lol). I'd definitely recommend and will come back more times in the future.

Food was bomb! The food came out pretty quickly, and our waters were always filled. The food came out hot and pretty quick and it was just so flavorful. It's pretty dim inside but still nice inside. Don't skip out on this place, you won't regret it.

I love The Helmand. Great food, ambiance and service. The pumpkin is a must have! One of my favorites in Baltimore.

What a great experience! I've been meaning to come to Helmand for forever now. I've heard such great things about it and it's been a longtime staple of the Mount Vernon neighborhood. I finally went in for dinner with a few friends and couldn't be happier with the food, the service, and the atmosphere. Everyone who was working was so nice. From the host, to the servers, to the man cooking the naan bread in the oven, they each had a smile to greet you with. The inside is a lot nicer than I expected. It feels very fine dining with the white tablecloths and dim lighting. And it's really cozy thanks to the beautiful decorations and the brick oven in the back. The bathrooms were also really clean too. We got a couple appetizers to start: the pumpkin and the eggplant. The pumpkin was very tender and came drizzled with a yummy yogurt sauce. The eggplant was cooked to perfection and that's saying something because I normally find eggplant to be too slimy to appreciate the flavor - this one was good! For entrees, we decided to share the kabuli pallow and one of the specials, the chicken lawand. We were all new to Afghan cuisine but these dishes came highly recommended by the staff. The kabuli pallow was definitely my favorite. It featured tender, flavorful lamb over a bed of herbed rice and raisins. Omg, soo good! The chicken lawand was also very good and well seasoned but I think I just liked the lamb more. We also got a bottle of red wine that paired really nicely with everything we ate. I'd definitely come back to explore more of the menu and wouldn't be opposed to just ordering that lamb for takeout for myself!

This is the third time I've been to The Helmand in person and have gotten delivery as well and it's always so solid. I forgot how good the food was. They serve Afghan food and it's a staple in Mount Vernon. It's pseudo elegant in that there's paper menus and paper table cloths but it's that old school vibe. I went on Boxing Day and it was pretty packed. We ate everything family style starting with the kaddo borwani which is the first listed item on the menu an unassuming pumpkin with a yogurt - it was definitely more garlicky this time which I enjoyed. The mantwo pastry shells filled with meat had a kick to it and served with rice. Their green chutney is like crack - obsessed with it. The lamb dish - koufta has a sweetness with apricots that makes it addicting! Highly recommend this spot. Great with friends, family or a romantic night out.

Southern Asian cooking is almost always good, but occasionally we run across a balance of flavor, texture, and heat that leaves me with a delightfully warm feeling inside about a half hour after I've left, and a desire to return as soon as possible. The Helmand was one of those experiences. Noodles, meat, rice, stuffed pasta, sauces, and freshly baked bread are all present, each with a familiarity that screams 'comfort food', but with a uniqueness that is unlike anything else I've had. We were fortunate enough to be seated near the back, with a view of the oven, whose flames added to the atmosphere, as well as baking their bread. Lighting was subdued, making it even more of a fine dining experience. The menu, along with the wait staff, provided enough information about the unfamiliar item names to make ordering simple and low risk. Save room for the Jala ice cream, flavored with cardamom, topped with pomegranate syrup, Asian noodles (!), and almonds.

I came here for an early dinner with a friend. It was already quite busy for being around 5:30pm on a Sunday. It's a nice restaurant inside, nothing super fancy but just nice dining. We started off with a bottle of white wine which was quite good. I got one of the lamb specials which was really tasty and had great flavor but disappointing there were only 4 little pieces of lamb chunks in it with the rest mainly being potatoes. We shared some naan bread that was decent and ended with baklava for dessert which was ok. Our server wasn't that friendly and didn't know or even speak(?) English well. When trying to decide on a couple options for a wine bottle, he didn't seem to understand our questions and went to grab someone else who seemed to be the GM. The GM was very helpful and gave us tastings of the two wines before we made our decision. Service of the wait staff could be improved but I'd still come back here again to try their other dishes.