They ticked all the boxes - delicious food, generous portions, attentive service. I'd love to see them expand to a larger space since their outdoor section is small and the indoors smelled a little too strongly of the kitchen.

Washington DC has a number of restaurants serving cuisines of different countries around the world. Living in India we always look forward to sampling different foods whenever we visit the US. Afghan food is not generally available in Bombay and thus we lunched at this...quaint Afghan restaurant The authentic food is modestly priced. The ambience is pleasant and the service efficient. We drank hot saffron tea with flat Afghan bread and dips (complementary). The mango and avocado dips were the best The starters were quroti and mantu. The first is Afghan bread layered with minced meat and topped with spiced yoghurt. The mantu are Afghan dumplings topped with yoghurt. The boneless juicy chicken thigh kabobs were soft and melt in the mouth. The beef kabobs were however a bit dry. Both the main dishes were served on a bed of saffron rice. A very satisfying experience for sure .More

Another delicious meal!! We met my daughter and her boyfriend for dinner and fancy drinks. Everything was so flavorful and delicious! Service was excellent as usual. Love this place!!

Four of us had dinner in this Afgan restaurant last Sunday. Three of us ordered ''Beef Tenderloin'' and my wife ''Beef Tenderloin and Chicken Kabob.'' Meat was old, chewy and cold. ''Seasoned long grain basmati rice'' was nothing but. It was stale, greasy and covered...with thin slices of carrots to hide its looks. My wife said her chicken was OK. I tasted a bit and it was OK. I grill better chicken at home. Her rice came in two colors; half was white the other half, like mine, dark gravy brown. I don't remember the appetizer we asked but it was three mounds of something on a platter which we could not figure out what they were. Neither by looking at it nor tasting it. But the most unforgettable was four little bowls of liquid served with pita bread as soon as we sat. We did not know whether to drink it or dunk our pita bread in it. One was very spicy, two sweet, and the other one we had no idea. Our waiter seemed tired and his young and very quite helper looked like he wished he was at home. We ate outside which was heated mostly by portable propane tanks (tanks used in barbecues) with twin burners attached to them. Not very safe and probably not kosher either.More

This was my second visit to Bistro Aracosia. I remembered how good the Chicken Aracosian was the first time around and I wanted to taste it again (it didn't disappoint). I will definitely try something else next time. I really missed the middle eastern welcome...and friendly service that I experienced 3 years ago (when we were treated like family). The waiter was definitely professional (that's why I kept the rating at 5 stars), but you could tell that she was brought up in a different culture and had the typical millennial attitude that felt somewhat distant and less caring.More

Afghan cuisine is one of my favorites, and Bistro Aracosia did not disappoint. Great food, friendly staff, and quiet enough to have a conversation! The chicken sabzi lawaan was amaaaaazing. My husband had a dumpling stew that was tasty—made with a squash so fairly sweet....We didn’t have room for dessert, but I totally am pining for the ricotta pistachio cake listed on their dessert menu. I’m certain it is killer.More

Try Hot Mazza Assortment to get a taste of everything. The salmon in Mix Grill Mazza was sooo buttery! Chicken Kabob, Kachaloo Chalou, eggplant with mushrooms and Lamb shank were great too. Good portion and great service. Highly recommended to try it out.

Outstanding dining experience all around! Upscale neighbourhood restaurant with excellent food, pumpkin dumplings, veg sampler and lamb shank were to die for! Very knowledgeable and attentive waiter (Will) who made perfect recommendations for our first dining experience at Bistro Aracosia. Will definitely go back…many times!

/we were excited to go here after reading all the 5 star ratings. Unfortunately, we were met with disappointment. We were sat by the kitchen and ask to be moved. We moved over, but our menus did not follow. So we had to ask for...those. We were greeted by a waitress how seemed friendly enough but the only thing she could say about the food was that's a popular dish. We ordered wine and she knew nothing about the 2 options to give us a recommendation, The appetizers were not appetizing. The potato turnover was so bland I swear it came from a bag. The pumpkin dumplings were a big meh. The wine came out warm after the appetizers were served, I think it came from their grocery store. I ordered salmon that I could not eat. It was covered in a saffron sauce and the salmon tasted fishy. There must of been 2 cups of rice on my plate with those pitiful salmon medallions. My husband ordered the mixed grill and the quality of the meet left something to be desired. I noticed that the lady next to be ordered the salmon as well and barely touched it. The best thing we had to eat was the dipping sauces for the bread. Those were good. Maybe last night was a fluke? Not sure, but we won't go back.More

Trying to figure out where to meet for our first post-Covid get-together, we both discovered that Bistro Aracosia is one of mutual favorites, so, naturally, we reserved an outdoor table and settled in for what turned into a wonderful lunch. My wife and I shared...an Aisha and a chicken stew entree, both incredible. My wife’s cousin and cousin’s husband got pumpkin dumplings and a Baadenjaan Moghuli. We washed everything down with sour cherry & rose limeades (tasty and refreshing). One of the best meals we’ve had in months!More

My wife and I ate here last night and have been raving about it ever since. The restaurant itself is cozy and inviting. The noise level was low to moderate, and conversation was not a problem at all. The wait staff and hostess were very...friendly, and explained the dishes well. The food... impeccable. Everything from the chutneys and appetizers, to the main course, and even dessert was perfect. We both ordered lamb dishes which can be a bit heavy, but the impressivly fluffy basmati rice helped to cut some of the richness. The dessert was so light, which was a great finish to the heaviness of the lamb. We cannot wait to come back to D.C. and have dinner here again. One more note: we love the fact that this is a family business, and we had a great conversation with the owner's daughter. Enjoy your summer, and good luck with your graduation next fall!More

We've always had good experiences here, but hadn't visited since the start of the pandemic and had forgotten just how good the mix of ambience in the food and in the place itself actually is. Once again, the mazza (their spelling of what is in...the Middle East generally termed mezza) is. We ordered two out of three of the house mixes, one of which featured standout pumpkin dumplings and the other which featured standout mixed grille in which everything stood out. The seasonings are complex and subtle. The condiments served with the bread are piquant and I really didn't need to get to the entrees to be entirely satisfied. But then there are the stews . . . We had out of town guests who are foodies from Chicago who spent time in LA, NY, and New Orleans - they said they'd never had anything like this. Yes, this is a rave. It's at least as good as ever.More