Helmand - (410) 752-0311

The food is always the same. Great! Affordable! So is the service. Off the charts great!

The bread is a must-get here. My bf and I always bring it home and make sandwiches from it the next morning. Vegetarian versions of their appetizer are fabulous....and if you're looking for a place to take a first date...this is a warm, inviting, sweet spot. Very relaxing, very fulfilling. It does get busy though so reservations are a must unless you don't mind waiting by the bar. the funniest thing about the menu though is the understated name for thier best desert. They call it special ice-cream but truly this is one the most delicately flavored, fresh date, fig and mango combination that money can buy. Two thumbs up to my favorite neighborhood kitchen! btw, cazbar is also great at least for pides (and cheap too).

We were ignored for the first five minutes upon entering the restaurant. After speaking with someone, twice, we were unceremoniously shown a table at which time we decided to leave. Will never find out if the food is better than the reception.

Loved the Persian-style icecream with rosewater and Saffron. The food was not that great though. I'm Persian and thought I'd love Afghani food, but I found it really bland. I wonder if it's the Americanized version of it, because I love the food at Afghan Kabob on Lombard. Also, staff members were somewhat rude. Another thing worth noting....Tables were so close together, it was awkward. I've been here on three different occasion. One time I was on a first date and I felt so uncomfortable talking to my date about my personal life because this guy I know from work and his wife were sitting right next to us (literally). The second time, I was there with a friend. They sat us right by the door. I got a draft of freezing cold air hitting my butt every 5 minutes when someone walked in or walked out. Plus, people were hanging their coats right next to us and messing up my hair as they were hanging their jackets. Another ridiculous thing was that there was a line right next to where we were sitting. Kinda ridiculous.

Visiting family on Maryland's Eastern Shore for the holidays I found myself in Baltimore for dinner and the theatre, more specifically at The Helmand. Having never experienced Afghan cuisine before I have nothing to compare this to but I found the food to be fresh with a nice balance of spices, not to hot and not to bland, the food plentyful and the prices resonable. As the owner of a tea company, importing premium teas from around the world, I would consider myself as having a fairly accute palate. I really enjoyed the soup before dinner, it was hearty (I really should have stopped there until dessert) with a nicely flavored broth and full of a variety of beans, yum. It was too late for tea, I avoid caffeine at this time of day and will not drink decaffeinated, but my sister in law enjoyed a cup of black tea with cardamom. Dessert was a tasty treat with a bit of Afghan pastry and traditional Afghan ice cream, a combination of vanilla ice cream that had a strong cardamom and licorice taste wrapped around fresh dates and figs. The prices were more than resonable, the portions were large and the food was good! It was a great first experience with Afghan food, one that I will repeat agian.