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Helmand Dining Room - The Helmand Restaurant, Cambridge, MA

The Helmand Restaurant

4.8
4.8
783 Reviews
$31 to $50
Middle Eastern
143 1St St, Cambridge, MA 02142

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 27 times today

About this restaurant

  • Good for special occasions
  • Good for groups
  • Vegetarian-friendly
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.

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
  • 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 & 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 783 people are saying

The Helmand Restaurant reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

Overall ratings and reviews

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

4.8
4.8 based on recent ratings
  • 4.8Food
  • 4.6Service
  • 4.6Ambience
  • 4.6Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
The Helmand Restaurant offers a "delightful experience" with its cozy ambiance and "fantastic" Afghan cuisine. Guests rave about the "superb" lamb dishes, fresh bread, and generous portions. While the service can be slower during busy times, the "friendly and professional" staff and "inviting atmosphere" make it a go-to spot for many.

783 Reviews
  1. Toby

    Greater Boston29 reviews

    5.0

    Dined 7 days ago

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Consistantly fine food and service. Rack of lamb — excellent!

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  2. Larysa

    Greater Boston2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on April 16, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    We celebrated our coworker's birthday yesterday, and it was a delightful experience. The ambiance was cozy and welcoming, with beautiful decor that set the perfect mood. We ordered a variety of appetizers and a few shareable big plates, and everything was absolutely delicious. The service was outstanding, and at the end of our dinner, the restaurant owner came over to ask if we needed anything and even made us Turkish coffee. We will definitely be coming back again!

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  3. Ann

    Greater Boston4 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on April 5, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Wait staff was very attentive and respectful. Meal was attractively presented and lamb cooked perfectly to medium rare. Descriptions of the dishes is very helpful. Thank you for a delightful experience.

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  4. James VIP

    New York City8 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on April 5, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Large room lavish and loud on Fri night. Small room quiet and lovely.

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  5. Stacy

    Greater Boston3 reviews

    2.0

    Dined on March 29, 2025

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    I was disappointed with my experience. While the food is consistently delicious, the service was definitely subpar. We had to wait quite a long time … to get water. We asked for hot water with lemon. The server left a very hot teapot on our table. No offer to pour a scalding hot liquid; we were left to fill our own cups. The bread was hot and tasty — when we got it 30 minutes after we sat down. It took awhile for them to take our order. The food was lukewarm when we got it. The restaurant was quite busy. So I understand that attention and capacity were stretched thin. Each one of the examples of poor service that I’ve noted seems minute. But a string of instances of bad service add up. The Helmand had been one of my favorite restaurants — someplace I took out of town guests because I knew they would have a tasty meal in a place rich in decor and context. I’m going to have to find another “go to” restaurant.

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  6. Benjamin

    Greater Boston3 reviews

    4.0

    Dined on March 29, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4
    We had a very nice dinner there, our first time. Food was very good, though I had hoped for more exciting variety of flavors, so nothing that I said "wow" about (hence 4, not 5 stars). Service was excellent. Restaurant is a bit more tightly packed and noisy than I prefer, but it is in a limited space, so totally forgivable, and not so loud that we couldn't converse. Prices were very reasonable overall.

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  7. JudithS VIP

    New York City1 review

    4.0

    Dined on March 23, 2025

    1. Overall 4
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 5
    Great cuisine, very busy. Service was slow and less responsive than other restaurants- I gave up on having more water for example

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  8. Ivan

    Greater Boston6 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 22, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    My friends and I enjoyed our dinner on March 22, 2025. I haven’t been here for many years, but it was worth it! The appetizers, entrees, and desserts were delicious.

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  9. Nick VIP

    Greater Boston14 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 15, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 5
    Excellent service and quality of food in a very pleasant atmosphere.

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  10. Yoel VIP

    Greater Boston2 reviews

    5.0

    Dined on March 15, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Ali as usual hit it out of the ballpark! Very 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 4.8 stars by 783 OpenTable diners.

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

  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. Greater Boston
  4. Boston
  5. Cambridge

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 27 times today
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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