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Aracosia McLean
Tom Sietsema of The Washinton Post has acknowledged Afghan Bistro as “The area's best Afghan Restaurant”.
Yelp's top 100 restaurants in The US awarded Afghan Bistro the honor of 3rd best in the country.
Bistro Aracosia has been acknowledged by Forbes magazine as 1 of 50 best restaurants in the nation for Vegetarians, and awarded The Washingtonian's "100 best restaurants".
Aracosia accommodates any diet and is proud of taking cooking back to its origins.
Chef Sofia Masroor diligently ensures top grade cuts of meat and the freshest produce. Food at Aracosia is prepared with love. No artificial ingredients MSGs or preservatives are used, nor do we cook anything with nuclear such as microwaves and pre-made stations.
Full Bar, extensive Wine and Beer menu.
Come and experience authentic afghan cuisine.
Safety precautions
- Surfaces sanitised between seatings
- Common areas deep cleaned daily
- Digital, disposable or sanitised menu provided
- Sanitiser or wipes provided for customers
- Contactless payment available
- Sealed or wrapped utensils used
- Limited number of seated diners
- Distancing maintained in common areas
- Extra space between tables
- Waiting staff wear masks
- Diners must wear masks unless eating or drinking
- Sick staff prohibited in the workplace
- Contact tracing information collected
Menu
Our first time but not the last! Our food, service and ambiance were top notch. Our server Justina made our birthday celebration special and gave us some great recommendations. She was attentive and very nice.
Food & ambiance were excellent!
Hostess was professional & excellent, but the server not so much...
Plastic table cover was sticky(grease & stuff settled in to the plastic over time, I believe. It would be good for them to consider replacing it with new)
Great food and great service for our large group! Thanks!
One of the best restaurants in the DC metro area. Highly recommend!
The food was wonderful. I will return many times.
A beautiful restaurant, great service and delicious food.
Outdoors. Delightful
Went with my 15-year-old son. We both loved it. There were so many good dishes on the menu from which to choose that we will definitely be back...probably a few times.
Great food and service. Well done in COVID times!!!
The portions are so generous that my wife and I split an appetizer and a main course. The dips for the flat bread are great. I like spicy and I was rewarded. Go and enjoy.
I was celebrating a friend's birthday. The service was excellent and my friend enjoyed the cake and ice cream as well as a drink to celebrate. The food was delicious and the platter was the perfect size for two.
Delicious food and service. Great outdoor space even in the cold. Lots of heaters and between 2 buildings so no wind. Beautiful art.
I've been to Bangladesh and Pakistan and loved the food. I was lucky enough to be taken to an Afghan restaurant in Islamabad. I thought I would never have Afghan food that good again! And I've tried! But nothing has come close. Until Aracosia! We started with a pot of delish saffron tea. We shared the special dumpling platter as an appetizer. My favorite was the pumpkin. I had the house specialty, Lamb Shank Moghuli. It was SCRUMMY! The sauce was the best I've had since that restaurant in Islamabad! For dessert, we shared the Cardamom Ice Cream and the Cardamom Cake. We both remarked how lovely the rose-water was in the cake. Sometimes rose water can overwhelm (grandma's perfume!) and this was just right! We'll definitely be back!
We had dinner at this second outpost and it’s just as good as the original in Palisades neighborhood. As for food, it would be difficult to go wrong with anything on the menu.
We had a great experience working with Iman and look forward to returning with friends and family.
Excellent food, as good as sister bistro on McArthur. Nice presentation and very accommodating with off-menu dishes.
Aracosia does a great job with the space. Very comfortable and safe. I liked the shrink
wrapped silverware and hand sanitizer on the table. Only addition that would make the experience safer would be to get rid of the menus and move to an online menu instead.
Outstanding in every way. I Can't wait to go back.
Aracosia is the best Afghan food in the metro DC area. The food and service are excellent.
Aracosia McLean is one of our favorite restaurants. It has a large outdoor eating space as well as indoor dining. The food is very flavorful with middle eastern and Afgan flavors. The cook is very accommodating to food allergies and the staff is able to make recommendations based on preferences.
Always a treat to dine at Aracosia! Food is delicious and the service is excellent. They've done a great job creating an intimate setting outside!!! Yum Yum
As always the service and the food was outstanding. The welcome is like having a best friend welcoming you to their home. Looking forward to the next time to enjoy a good time.
This is my most favorite restaurant and I take every opportunity to go there to eat. I plan on going there at least three more times to try three new dishes on their menu. My most favorite are Chicken Sabzi Lawan and Sabzi Lawan with Mushrooms. But the Karahi Chicken is also amazing. They start you off with flatbread with a variety of chutneys and we typically ask for seconds. Highly recommend Aracosia.
The food and service were both excellent. The restaurant is handling the covid situation extremely well.
The service is very good. The staff very friendly. The passage that is used as the outdoor sitting area is perfect with the restrictions during this pandemic. The food is good too.
Been dying to try this restaurant for several months -- it was even better than I anticipated. Excellent menu, great service, and food was exquisite!!!
Great place for a girls' night out. The food was delicious and our waitress was attentive and friendly.
We no longer live nearby but we keep coming back. Never disappoints.
Great birthday dinner for my wife. Food was outstanding. Despite the outdoor COVID dinning requirement, we were all very comfortable and enjoyed our spectacular dinner.
It’s our go-to spot for reliably great food and beautiful outdoor space. Lots of heaters!
Back within a week as welcome, ambience , food and service are really worth it!
Great service and sat outside on a very windy cold day. Eg up two heaters for us and checked in on us regularly dispute the bitter cold. Food was great and Parker was simple enough.
Best food in DC. They’ve done such a great job of outdoor dining, staff are awesome, we eat at lunchtime outdoors no matter the weather. Still my favourite place(s) to eat. Try the Lawaan dishes.
A lovely night!
A first experience which will certainly won’t be the last. Excellent food, great service (and given COVID restriction let me note: a warm terrace seating)
Good food and intimate place. Good sangria and sauces
We had a lovely lunch celebrating a friend's birthday.
Great food and service. Wonderful place. Thank you for a great dinner
The food never disappoints. The outdoor ambiance is lovely and the heaters really keep you warm
Picked this restaurant for outdoor dinning. Had lunch with girlfriends, was pleasantly surprised how good their foods taste!!! They are known for lamb dishes but everything we ordered, steak was tender and juicy, lamb stew was full of flavor, I normally don’t eat lambs but my girlfriends wanted to try, and I am so glad we did, their dumplings is good. Our waitress was very helpful and helped us order. Absolutely will go back with my hubby for date night.
Excellent COVID alternative
FAQs
Aracosia McLean does offer delivery in partnership with Uber Eats. Aracosia McLean also offers takeaway which you can order by calling the restaurant at (703) 269-3820.
Aracosia McLean is rated 4.9 stars by 300 OpenTable diners.
Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable. Due to local restrictions, this restaurant may not be accepting bookings at the moment.
