Afghan food is undoubtedly delicious. From delicate mantu dumplings stuffed with minced meat and smothered in garlicky yoghurt to enormous platters of Kabuli Pulao, fragrant rice piled high with tender lamb and sweet raisins, the cuisine is full of rich flavours. Then there are the smoky charcoal-grilled kebabs and gently spiced, slow-cooked stews, best scooped up with freshly baked naan and washed down with glasses of doogh, a salty yoghurt drink flavoured with mint. Yet despite all this, Afghan restaurants remain relatively overlooked in a city that prides itself on eating its way around the world.
A handful of newer openings are beginning to change that. In Leyton, recently opened Azra has embraced the sort of polished interiors and small-plate dining that Londoners have become rather fond of. Elsewhere, Cue Point is taking a more unconventional approach, combining traditional Afghan flavours with the smoky, slow-cooked techniques of Texan barbecue.
Many of the capital’s older Afghan restaurants, however, are found in areas with established Afghan communities, particularly Harrow in northwest London, with others scattered across Islington and Holloway. These are often reassuringly old-school affairs, where Afghan flags hang proudly on the walls, televisions chatter away in the background and the furniture might not have received much attention from an interior designer. But in an age when Instagrammable interiors have become, rather unfairly, something of a prerequisite for a good restaurant, don’t be put off by a little decorative eccentricity. The cooking is superb, with enormous portions and family recipes passed down through generations. From neighbourhood stalwarts to smart new openings, these are the best Afghan restaurants in London.