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Helmand Dining Room - The Helmand Restaurant, Cambridge, MA

The Helmand Restaurant

4.7
4.7
733 Reviews
$31 to $50
Middle Eastern

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 41 times today
  • Charming
  • Good for special occasions
  • Good for groups
Helmand Restaurant offers Afghani dishes with a wood-burning oven where the famous flatbread is cooked on one side of the room and an intimate fireplace is on the other side.

Helmand Restaurant entrées include tasty choices like qabelee, which is pallow rice baked with chunks of lamb tenderloin, raisins and glazed carrots or mantwo, a homemade pasta shell filled with beef and onions. If you like spicy dishes, try the koufta challow, consisting of beef meatballs with Afghan seasoning sautéed with sun-dried tomato, hot peppers and green peas in a fresh tomato sauce. Several vegetarian entrées are also available such as the kaddo and banjan challow, which is pan fried and baked pumpkin and eggplant served with challow rice and yogurt garlic sauce.

*Due to limited patio seating, we do not take reservations for our patio . Please note the patio or any other special requests in your reservation, or ask upon arrival, and we will do our best to accommodate.

Order delivery or takeout

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Fine Dining
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Middle Eastern, Afghan, Halal
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–11:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (617) 492-4646
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Neighborhood
    Cambridge
  • Cross street
    Bent Street<br />Across from the CambridgeSide Galleria
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Public transit
    Close to the Lechmere Green line T stop &amp; bus station
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Indoor Fireplace, Kosher, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 733 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.7
4.7 based on recent ratings
  • 4.7Food
  • 4.5Service
  • 4.6Ambience
  • 4.4Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Helmand Restaurant is a beloved gem in Cambridge, known for its "wonderful" Afghan cuisine and "spot on" service. Popular dishes include the pumpkin appetizer and lamb entrees. The vibrant atmosphere is sometimes lively, but the "friendly and informative" staff ensures an inviting experience. Highly recommended for adventurous diners.

733 Reviews
  1. Cindy

    Greater Boston

    16 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    16 reviews

    Dined 3 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 5
    The food is excellent! I've been a long time customer. The service was off tonight. Customers that arrived 15 minutes after us were being served before us, breakdown in communication about what we ordered and some of the servers were hustling while others were chatting with each other & looking at their phones despite a busy dining room with others, including us, waiting quite awhile to have our plates cleared and water refilled.

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  2. JorgeG

    Miami

    72 reviews

    vip
    4.0

    72 reviews

    Dined 4 days ago

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Ir’s been a few years since our last dinner at Helmand. We found the bread and Aush soup as good as always. My wife’s main course, lamb with mushrooms and spinach, was pretty good too. I liked the skewers of ground lamb on my main course, but not so much the salad. The pineapple cake had too much whipping cream and only a couple of pineapple fruit pieces. I definitely prefer the old version.

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  3. K

    Greater Boston

    10 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    10 reviews

    Dined 6 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent food and service, as always. From the delicious fresh bread to the different flavors of rice, everything was wonderful!

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  4. Jeffrey

    Greater Boston

    25 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    25 reviews

    Dined on November 15, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Food was great, excellent service, the fresh bread is fantastic.

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  5. Susan

    Greater Boston

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on November 14, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    An excellent dining experience with service and food. The only negative was having to take care of our leftovers at the table with a box and have to ask for a spoon. Somehow, this didn’t seem to go with the rest of the dining experience at The Helmand.

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  6. Irv

    Greater Boston

    75 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    75 reviews

    Dined on November 12, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    This is perhaps the only restaurant where every item on each dish is very special. Each vegetable is done to perfection. The service is great and the cost very reasonable. We are lucky to have it in Cambridge.

    1 person found this helpful

  7. Gabriella

    New York City

    2 reviews

    vip
    1.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on November 10, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 1
    They were so crowded they did not have a seat for us in spite of reservation. It was loud as hell, as well. So basically awful.

    1 person found this helpful

  8. Alison

    Greater Boston

    3 reviews

    5.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on November 9, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We've been eating at Helmand since we moved to the area over 20 years ago, and it never fails to impress. As vegetarians, we appreciate that there are a good range of options and they are clearly marked on the menu.

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  9. Laura

    Greater Boston

    5 reviews

    5.0

    5 reviews

    Dined on November 9, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    The food was excellent! Will have to skip the appetizer next time so we can try a dessert$

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  10. Alexandra

    Greater Boston

    8 reviews

    5.0

    8 reviews

    Dined on October 31, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Absolutely lovely place with a charm and very delicious foods. The only fix I would suggest is to have a pumpkin available on a desert menu as well!

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FAQs

The Helmand Restaurant does offer delivery in partnership with Postmates and Uber Eats. The Helmand Restaurant also offers takeout which you can order by calling the restaurant at (617) 492-4646.

The Helmand Restaurant is rated 4.7 stars by 733 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 41 times today

Order delivery or takeout

Google Map for The Helmand Restaurant

143 1St St, Cambridge, MA 02142

Additional information

  • Cross street
    Bent Street<br />Across from the CambridgeSide Galleria
  • Neighborhood
    Cambridge
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Mon–Thu, Sun 5:00 pm–10:00 pm Fri, Sat 5:00 pm–11:00 pm
  • Price
    $31 to $50
  • Cuisines
    Middle Eastern, Afghan, Halal
  • Dining style
    Fine Dining
  • Dress code
    Business Casual
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Public transit
    Close to the Lechmere Green line T stop & bus station
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Additional
    Beer, Cocktails, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Gluten-free Options, Indoor Fireplace, Kosher, Non-Smoking, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Patio/Outdoor Dining, Private Room, Takeout, Wheelchair Access, Wine
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