Helmand Palace

Review of Helmand Palace
Afghan cuisine

Hearing great things about Helmand Palace, I decided to give my palette a try.

The restaurant is small and unassuming, but very well decorated. They have done a great job of giving the restaurant traditional feel. From the red blood red carpeting and blue felt chairs, to soft yellow pastel walls that are adorned with ethnic Afghani. The vibe is very homely.

We sat in the far back and had a nice a view of everything that was going on around us. It was family style ordering and one of my friends who had already been here started ordering several dishes as we sat their salivating.

The Kaddo a unique dish was a pan fried and then baked baby pumpkin seasoned with sugar served on yogurt, garlic sauce, and topped with ground beef sauce. An interesting combination of ingredients but it worked pretty well. It was definitely the most interesting and exciting dish of the night. A sweet and savory combination that left your tastebuds asking for more.



The aushak, a ravioli filled with leeks and scallions served on a sauce of yogurt and topped with ground beef and mints, was a one of the more disappointing dishes. The composition was just a mess and you could not taste any unique flavors.


The Seek Kabab a half a rack of lamb marinated grilled was excellent. A nice set of seasonings and high quality meat.


The Bowlawni homemade pastry shells one filled with leeks and scallion and other with spice potates showed promise. The potato one was pretty solid but the leeks one had no discerning flavor. You had to douse it in the sauces to get some taste.

The Kourma Challow a lamb sauteed with Afghan seasonings was also another winner. Nice tender meat packed with flavor.

Overall. The experience was enjoyable. One notch was the service which was terrible. Being all the way in the corner it took forever to ask the waiter anything and to get the bill. I would encourage you to give this place a try. There seemed like a lot of other great dishes. I would stick to the meats and away from the vegetarian and pasta-like dishes.

Service 2 bites
Ambiance: 3.5 bites
Appetizers: 3.5 bites
Entrees: 3.5 bites
Overall 3.2 bites

2424 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 345-0072

www.helmandpalace.com