Afghan Kitchen

Absolutely delicious.

The interior is more like a takeaway or sandwich bar with a few seats. Its not somewhere you can relax but the food is absolutely delicious.

The lamb with yoghurt (it was like a curry) might have been one of the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. The lamb was soft and juicy - it almost melted in my mouth!

Other gorgeous items were the pumpkin and yoghurt and the aubergine and yoghurt. Both very slightly spicy.

Their menu is very limited but the items are very cheap and filling. The staff were friendly and since it is such a small place, getting their attention was not an issue.

Great place. Cannot wait to go back!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 10
Thursday, May 28, 2009

Me and my friend we had to wait a little to be accommodated, in fact the place is tiny and they only have a few tables. The waitresses didn't seem to care so much indeed, well perhaps they were just busy. As we sat down, we had a look at the men: starters range around 3-4 pounds while main courses around 6-7, they're quite small though, so perfect to share. We ordered some lamb/spinaches, chicken with yogurt and pumpkin with yogurt as a starter, plus bread (a big afghan "focaccia", around 3 pounds if i remember well). After more than 20 mins they came saying that neither chicken nor fish (which we ordered in its place) were available. When at last we got our food, I have to admit it was quite good. By no means it's a kind of very oily, heavy cuisine, but appreciable. So was the small typical cake. We gotaway with 16-18 pounds each, don't remember exactly, but 2 small beers each made up for 14 pounds! So just an advice, go and try it but don't ask for beer, unless you really want to!
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Luca Paolo
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Monday, November 12, 2007

I was until recently a big fan of the Afghan Kitchen. I loved how tasty everything was, and the fact that there are only a few things on the menu. However, I have recently noticed that they have been overcharging, and that the food has deteriorated in quality. They don't itemise their bills, and seem to make up whichever number suits them nicely. I have, on a couple of occasions, paid what they asked for, left and then realised that it surely shouldn't have been that much. Also, when ordering take-away, they conveniently put the rice in to a different shaped container from the other dishes, claiming that it is two serves when actually it is the same size as one. For this they charge £7, which seems a bit ridiculous for a tiny amount of rice from a small, informal restaurant.

I used to be a regular here, but after their frequent, and what seems to me deliberate policy of overcharging, I won't be going again.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 1
Friday, June 01, 2007

Perhaps I ordered the wrong dishes but I really didn't enjoy my visit here.

The bread which was sprinkled with poppy seeds and sesame seeds looked so appetising but was tasteless and tough.

My main course of beans and chickpea curry was boring and pretty bland, the rice was nice and fluffy though...

Our 2 sides of Afghan chutney and pickles were awful. The 'chutney' if you can call it that was a watery vinegary green concoction and the pickles were limp and lifeless.

That together with the communal crampness of the upstairs and the terrible acoustics had us rushing for the door and coffee elsewhere. Pass.
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Alison
Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 4
Monday, May 21, 2007

Food was good. There were not many choices in the menu. They also have vegetarian dishes. It cost us 6.5 £ per person and was filling. The sitting was definitely a little congested. There was not much of a crowd there, so that was okay. Service is a bit slow.
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Chandresh Prakash
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 7
Wednesday, November 22, 2006

There's a limited selection, but the food they have is great. Full of flavour, maybe a little spicy but not very - even if mild curry is too much for you, you would still like it.

Decor is minimalist, and you may find yourself a little closer to neighbouring tables than you would like.

But if you just want good food without any frills, I recommend it - good value for money.
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Matt
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 8
Sunday, October 01, 2006

I love it! The menu is very simple, but the dishes are always excellent. The venue is small and often packed out but that speaks for itself. The pricing is very reasonable. Great little local restaurnat.
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sanchez
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 9
Saturday, September 02, 2006

It was not easy to find, even though it is right on the main drag (Islington Green). It doesn't stand out much from the antique and clothes shops around it. Indeed the décor is far more North West London than North West Passage. That is unless I am being as uniformed and prejudiced as normal and this year the Afghans are decorating their homes in an airy, minimalist manner with light wood dining tables - more Conran than Taliban.

Lutfiye asked the blonde, blue eyed waitress with the East European accent if she was Afghan but she claimed she wasn't. Probably just playing it safe. She did assure us the cooks were though.

The food was as much in between curry and kebab as the country is between the Indian subcontinent and Kebabistan, as Mark has christened the lands of Mezzes and grilled-meats-on-skewers.

Christened - good choice of word that.

At first I thought the waitress was being a bit pushy when she kept asking if we were ready to order but then I looked at the menu and realised that if it took you longer than thirty seconds to make your mind up you either have the I.Q. of a radio 1 DJ or a four year old to settle down. You couldn't call the choice extensive. I have seen more food staining the menus of some places than was listed here.

The food was itself OK. No that's a dis-service. The food was very nice, especially the fresh bread. But if you were after a taste and flavour of the country, rather than just the food, it was a disappointment.

P.S. Don't try the sweet. In this case that's sweet singular not sweet plural. There is only one on the menu - Baghlava - and you only get one square when you order it. And it may look like Backlava both on the menu and the plate but it doesn't taste like it. OK it may be home advantage talking here but it wasn't any where near as nice as the Turkish stuff.
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Joe - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 5 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 5
Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Afghan Kitchen was highly recommended to me - by someone who last went there three years ago. It's clearly had some sort of Islingtonian makeover, because instead of the cheerful atmosphere and delicious, inexpensive food I'd been led to expect, the decor was generically "modern", the staff seemed complacent, and the food - although perfectly tasty - was expensive for what it was: the small range of dishes are not cooked to order, and one small bowl of plain boiled rice is £3.50. My friend and I both left hungry. Meanwhile, £3.50 for a beer is fine if you're expecting to be ripped off - but not in a place that doesn't have proper seats (expect to sit on a sort of ledger if you're next to the window), where you don't get your own table, and where there is no possibility of dawdling before or after eating. £40 for a meal that took at the most 40 minutes to consume is not, in my view, money well spent.

That said, the other diners seemed perfectly content: perhaps the myth of the cheap and cheerful Afghan Kitchen is more potent than the reality - or perhaps this restaurant has realised its clientele are not the sort to insepct their bills too closely, and really belive that they are having some sort of authentic ethnic experience.

A great disappointment - I'd expected a "find", but Afghan Kitchen was clearly discovered a long time ago and is now resting on its no-longer-deserved reputation.
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Edible Dormouse
Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 3
Wednesday, July 26, 2006