Shish Kebab House of Afghanistan

Fantastic happy hour with great prices and a variety of delicious food options. Very vegan friendly. In addition to vegan options they will adjust other menu options to be dairy free.

Delicious!!!
I couldn’t stay away. I went back for my second visit less then a week later than my first. I can’t recommend this place enough to friends.
I would try and type the names of the appetizers, but I know I will butcher the spelling. Order everything! We tried four different appetizers and each was full of flavor! For dinner, I recommend the lamb — it is delicious and perfectly cooked. The sides were awesome — I got the pumpkin purée which has a bit of a kick but I could eat it at every meal.
Also, a place that has happy hour 6 days a week! Sign me up!

Awesome food, great atmosphere. The hookah bar is nice too.

The ambience and setting was beautiful, perfect for a date and family get together. I ordered the Veggie platter which was truly amazing. Do order the Bolani if you like fried crispy food. The only reason I gave it a 4 star rating is because they do not have a lot of choices for vegetarians.

My mom and I love it here. The shish kebab combination plate is our go to dinner. The chicken, lamb, and beef kebabs are juicy and flavorful. The pilau rice is delicious with almonds and raisins. We get the pumpkin and eggplant side dishes which are also delicious.

This is in the heart of West Hartford and a cozy comfortable restaurant with nice ambience. Makes you feel your somewhere exotic. Big problem is that for a Shish Kebab house, I found the meat not great. It was dry without flavor and all I tasted was a burnt taste. But the side dishes were out of this world. Best rice and spinach I ever had. Pumpkin purée was great. I had an eggplant dish that was amazing. Just really well done dishes you can’t get anywhere else. There is a vegetarian option where you can get just sides. I would go for that next time and you will not be disappointed.

Service was good. Food tasted great. Price was pretty reasonable. Nice location. I highly recommend my favorites — sautéed fish, spinach rice and pumpkin purée.

Stopped spontaneously with my wife based in hunger. The place was great and the food was good and halal though they serve liquor and the place is decorated with wine bottles. Priced reasonable as well. One recommendation is to improve service but this is probably because we stopped in during a slow period in the day which is typical for us. Otherwise it’s a five star and highly recommended for the flavor.

This place is consistently great. Friendly service and delicious food. I got vegetarian options with my boyfriend. I started with the pea soup and the lemon salad. I love the lentil pea soup it was mildly spicy and tasty! The lemon salad was refreshing and light. I got the bowlani and the hummus and both are also delish. For an entrée I got the ashak; which is dumplings filled with spinach scallions and spinach topped with yellow peas mint and the homemade yogurt. You can easily make it veg or vegan, I held out the meat on top n yogurt. I’d like to suggest to the owners to offer to make their homemade chai with soy or almond milk for those who don’t do dairy. The baklava is a hit! Overall — ambience congenial on a busy Sat night. You always feel like you are getting homemade food made with love. The bar also has a great happy hour with great appetizer selection too.

A bit late on my review, but had to share. Since we neve had Afghanistan food we decided to check this place out. Glad we did. The restaurant had a separate lounge for hookah. We didn’t get to try it since it was pretty packed after we had our dinner.
Their food was delicious. We ordered samosas as an appetizer. For our entrée, I ordered the salmon kebab with a side of spinach rice & mushrooms. The boyfriend ordered the sultans entrée which was the sauteed fish (catfish) with tomatoes & spinach. It was all tasty. Delicious. We loved the food.
Their décor was cute. Very ethnic. When we went, there weren’t many customers. So our dinner was quiet and pleasant. We will definitely be back to try other dishes from their menu and also check out their hookah lounge.

Hookah bar review only:
The upstairs of this restaurant/​bar/​hookah bar is the hookah area. It doesn’t have alcohol (so don’t come for hookah and booze). They have tons of flavors available… my favorite is Pirate’s Cave (or Cove?). It’s Skittles (weird, but seriously very tasty).
The chairs are comfy and lighting is dim. I’ve come here a few times with friends to just hang out and chat. My only complaint is that you really have to go up and ask for new coals because the staff doesn’t walk around to check too often. Other than that, I’m a happy camper here!

Savory.
Oh, Unilocal needs more words. Okay, well «savory» came to mind the minute I took my first bite of an appetizer called Mantoo. Had a tasty Afghan Tea on Ice with my meal and my girlfriend and I each selected the combo platter (I went with mushrooms and spinach rice while she opted for eggplant and brown rice). This felt like you were getting home cooking (if I could imagine being invited lol). Was going to try hookah but a walk around West Hartford center prevailed so we’ll pick up where we left off next time :-)

In our ongoing quest to try all the happy hours in Blue Back Square, my friends and I had drinks and some of the happy hour appetizers here a few weeks ago. This was my first time here, and I was immediately impressed by how huge this place was. The drink specials are a great deal. $ 3 draft beers, of which there were about 3 – 4 decent ones to choose from. Other friends got their $ 5 martinis, and they were huge and looked great.
The food, however, was what really blew me away. We ordered the lemon pepper fries, samosas, hummus, beef pita burger, chicken pita burger, and the ashak. My favorite was by far the beef pita burger. It was massive, perfectly cooked, and came piled in pita bread with tomato and lettuce. Let me tell you, Unilocalers, this is the BEST deal in Blue Back Square. $ 5 gets you a full-​size deliciously spiced burger that will fill you up, and another $ 3 gets you a beer to go with it. I was so excited by the burger that everything else kind of paled in comparison, but the hummus was also supremely garlicky and tasty. I ended up smearing all the leftover hummus all over my burger. My boyfriend enjoyed his chicken pita burger, though it wasn’t a revelation like the beef pita burger was for me. The fries were fine albeit not particularly memorable. The ashak also came in a huge portion (especially for $ 3). They resemble dumplings, and while it wasn’t my cup of tea, other people at our table really enjoyed them. The only appetizer I’d skip is the samosas, which were just not at all what I was expecting. I’ve never had samosas outside of an Indian restaurant, so I was a little confused when they arrived in something more similar to wonton wrappers. They weren’t necessarily bad, but they didn’t stand out either.
Service was fine, There seemed to be only one waiter manning the place, but he still did a good job bringing us our never-​ending parade of food and drinks. There is plentiful seating inside and outside, and I love how their happy hour goes until 7PM. If you’ve never been here, try it! We’ll definitely be back.
Update as of 12÷24÷15: This is now my go-​to happy hour in Blue Back. Every other happy hour just pales in comparison. My boyfriend and I will usually get a beef pita burger each and split an order of hummus to go along with drinks. We usually come out around $ 10 per person for dinner, which is awesome. Everything is delicious, and the prices can’t be beat. The happy hour bartender is also the nicest guy. We love you, Shish Kebab House!

Been wanting to try this place and finally got around to it. Dined here on a Saturday night with my boyfriend, a friend and her husband. Since we had the minimum 4 person requirement, we decided to try the Aghan House Dinner Treat. For $ 33 per a person you get a traditional Afghan feast including appetizers, variety of shish kebabs, and many other dishes.
The appetizer plate included four servings of four different appetizers (Samosas, Pakawra, Chicken Shammi Kebab and a fourth I can’t recall). All of them were delicious!
Then came dinner, so much food we didn’t have an empty spot on the table. Dinner included Spinach rice, Kabeli Palow Rice, Pumpkin, Eggplant, Mushrooms, Potato, Ashak and four different kinds of Kebabs (Salmon, Chicken, Lamb and Beef). Everything was delicious and very flavorful. I could of licked the Pumpkin purée plate clean, and would go back just for that! And the special Kabeli Palow Rice (which is usually extra on the menu) was incredible.
I highly recommend doing the dinner treat if you come with a group. It is a good value plus a great way to try many different foods.
I will say, though I was full, I wish the dinner treat included dessert. After a meal like that you want to end on a sweet note.

This is one of my fav restaurants in Hartford. food is spectacular. The place, people and drinks are a plus plus.
Kabuli Chawal is slightly sweet. Spinach rice is a must try and phirnee (dessert) is another favorite of ours. It is so authentic! They have plenty of veg options.
My friend loved the lamb and chicken kababs.
You must try this drink called «remember my name» it’s insanely good. We were mesmerized when the bartender was making it and ordered can you have that please.
Stop by if you are in Hartford!

This is a very unpretentious place, with excellent food and great drinks. Also very vegetarian friendly. My favorite dish: Ashak (Boiled dumplings filled with scallions and spinach, topped with yellow peas, homemade yogurt, mint. Comes with spinach rice or a side of vegetable). I know it sounds a bit strange, but it is super tasty and delicious. Other great dishes for vegetarians: Pumpkin Purée (Kadu) and Eggplant (Brony Bonjan – Sliced steamed eggplant, fried and topped with tomato sauce, homemade yogurt, and dry mint).
Service is always great and friendly, too. I really recommend that you try the great food at this homey restaurant!

I love this place! The ambiance is nice, the staff is very friendly and helpful. If you want to try something different come here! I’ve tried kabuli palow with sautéed lamb it was awesome, very flavorful, tender and filling. I wasn’t too crazy about the eggplant appetizer however the mantoo and pumpkin purée were pretty good. One of my favorite things to get there is their chai tea! It’s sooo good and clearly made fresh it’s a must try.

Pretty good food. Their special rice — palau, was excellent. The meat was okay, I’ve had better kabobs. Service was great, except there was no hostess or anyone at the front when we walked in. We thought it was self seating but then the bar tender asked if we wanted to eat at the restaurant? Guess we were in the bar/​hooka area or something and then he called someone and we were seated at our table upstairs. Waitress was great… the afghani mantwo appetizer was also very good. I will probably be back but not in the near future. Wish there was authentic Persian food nearby! This is close though — all that is available in the area.

Whether it be relaxing with a hookah, enjoying a traditional Afghan meal, or splurging on their Happy Hour — transport yourself to an elegant yet relaxed atmosphere when you’re at Shish.
Although lunch is more reasonably priced, I typically visit for dinner or late-​night. Comparatively speaking, Shish is a more economical choice when it comes to selecting a dinner venue in West Hartford Center. Charbroiled and skewered over coals, most of the entrees are some variation of a kebab. Served with your choice of spinach or brown rice, the dinner entrees come with a side of pumpkin, eggplant, mushrooms, potato, or spinach. I think the eggplant is best, and I usually opt for the leg of lamb kebab entrée. Well-​portioned, delicately prepared and moderately priced, its a decent meal. Try the Turkish coffee when you get a chance. A bit on the sweeter side, its flavored with cardamom and is the perfect treat after a long day.
Hookahs are a bit expensive. They start at $ 30, and you can choose between mixing up to 2 – 3 flavors. FYI — No food or alcohol served in the hookah lounge. Happy Hour (4−7pm) is more reasonable with $ 3 drafts, $ 5 wines and cocktails, and $ 3 – 5 appetizers.
Restaurant Hours:
Mon-​Thurs: 11am-​10pm
Fri-​Sat: 11am-​11pm
Sun: 2−9pm
Hookah Hours:
Weekdays: 7pm-​midnight
Fri-​Sat: 7pm-​130
Sun: 7pm-​midnight

Shish is truly a beautiful space. I was immediately impressed by the décor, which was tastefully done and authentic.
I partook in some very delicious hookah. My favorite was the blue mist ($ 25).
I really loved the leather couches. So comfy. I could stay there for hours just relaxing.
Music was house-​y/​pop. Made it feel more like a club at times.
I look forward to the occasion to go again!