Zamarod

Best afghani food in the dmv

Shahed Amanullah

Feb 21, 2023•221 reviews

5

Charming small restaurant with a friendly owner and truly unique takes on classic Afghan dishes

A N

Google

Apr 21, 2026

1

Based on the other positive reviews, I gave this restaurant two chances to see if my negative experience was an isolated incident. I tried it once more today and sadly this will be my last time. Unfortunately, the food is not fresh. It is previously frozen and reheated which not only makes it taste bad, it is concerning with regards to food safety. 1) Bolani - I ordered six of these potato filled flatbread to go and my husband and I agreed it was inedible--we are not picky eaters. I spit out the first bite and as someone who feels extremely guilty to throw a morsel of food away, I without hesitation threw the entire box in the trash. I was concerned I was going to get food poisoning because the potatoes looked brown and I could tell the dough was previously fried and frozen for days. It was very obvious from how it looked and tasted like it was made weeks ago 2) Banjaan- eggplant dish. I ordered this months ago and I ended up in the Reston hospital ER due to food poisoning. This was my first time trying the restaurant but I gave it another chance. I wanted to love this place so much since it's the nearest Afghan restaurant to me, but I think since it's in a remote area, it's not busy enough where they are incentived to make fresh and high quality food. I recommend trying other Afghan restaurants in Sterling, Falls Church, McLean, and Lorton all of which I had before and surpass Zamarod in quality of ingredients, taste, and most importantly, freshness/food safety.