Kandahar Afghan Kitchen

I ate at Kandahar very shortly after they opened. It is a small owner on site type of restaurant. I’m pretty cautious about where and what I eat. I find that at non chain restaurants , I either get really great service in relationship to my dietary restrictions or I get really terrible service, generally because of ignorance, not intent. On this occasion, I asked the person who was waiting on us a ton of questions. My questions were answered with grace. A lot of the menu at Kandahar is already gluten free. They don’t have a specifically gluten free menu and I’m not sure about the standards of cross contamination that is followed there as the standard. I know for me, making sure that the sauce on my food was gluten free and that the rice that they were using that day wasn’t one of those weird flukes in the world of rice that, for some reason has been contaminated with gluten was important enough to them that I ended up talking to the owner. Ive found that asking questions about dietary restrictions at small locally owned restaurants is usually a better experience for me than it is a chain. I did and they were more than happy to accommodate my food restrictions and prepare my food accordingly as well as being willing to let me know honestly when that wasn’t possible. For me , any restaurant that offers sauces for entrees that are sweetened with honey instead of conventional sugar is a gem. Kandahar also offers service of a caliber generally reserved for much more expensive restaurants. They are BYOB , which isn’t uncommon in Hampden and have a $10 corkage fee. The owner and some of the staff are former employees of The Helmand ( a long time favorite Afghani cuisine restaurant situated further downtown in Mt Vernon). The food served here, is offered a a lower price point than the Helmand without sacrificing any of the taste or service . The service was so good and the servers so attentive that it almost felt out of place , because of the compromise in service that has been normalized in our society , not due to any internal flaw with Kandahar. The interior of Kandahar is clean & simple , there is a counter with video monitor screen menus for carry out or to order and then sit down. You can also have seated service walking in. They also have vegan & vegetarian offerings. The food here is delicious , it’s world class. This is currently my favorite food offering in Hampden lots of simple clean food.

How confident are you that this establishment takes safety precautions against cross-contact?

— Somewhat

Safety Feature Ratings

• Other dedicated kitchen equipment (oven, toaster, pots, pans, utensils, etc.)
• Staff is knowledgeable and can answer questions

How much of the menu is available gluten-free?

— Most/All

How would you rate the taste and quality of the gluten-free food you tried?

— Excellent