It's filled with Afghan atmosphere in dinning environment. This is our first time to visit here, we ask the waitress to recommend us what kind of food is worth to know Afghan cuisine. She recommends us the first one of the specialty platters: kebab platter delight.
The platter is included appetizer and main dish. Appetizer is salad and 3 whole wheat pita bread. Main plate includes lean chicken, lamb, beef kebabs, lamb shoulder, fried potatoes, and baked rice. We enjoy the meal so much!
Five stars experience, that's for sure! Its perfect 88/100 health inspection score on tomati io just caught my eye. Decided to have a family dinner there and absolutely loved it! Authentic food and decor, unique ambiance, friendly service... They have a very large menu with plenty of vegetarian dishes so I ordered a vegetarian platter - my kabuli palaw was delicious and I especially enjoyed a cooked spinach. My friend ordered lamb shish kebab - the lamb was from NZ, very tender and flavorful. Will come back on weekend to watch a belly dancer, that must be fun.
What can I say about this gem of a restaurant : the food is fresh, melts in your mouth goodness. We sat in the traditional area where we sat down on the floor to get the full experience; ordered kabab platters. Their portion sizes are fantastic; the meat is sooo good ! Highly hugely recommended !
Nice ambiance and atmosphere will definitely recommend for its great service, recommendations and great tasting food...
Make a reservation and sit on the pillows. The food is great, the platters are the best option. The dessert firni is super yummy, tastes like a Persian style custard.
I love this place. Everything is just delicious. And they're keeping the very best quality for so many years. Every time I come to British Columbia I make sure to have dinner at afghan horsemen. thank you for unforgettable moments at your restaurant.
Best regards from Germany
Fabulous food! Great atmosphere, loved the belly dancer. The pillow room is fantastic and relaxing
First time I've been since the move. Excellent service, good food, & the ambiance & belly dancer really made the night. My guests loved it, & that's exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.
Super delicious food with great service � the staff is amazing and the decor is awesome.
Sitting on the cushions and sharing platters and flowerpot drinks was awesome:) the belly dancer made it even better
Great place for family and friends or out of town visitors to take to food is great and there house special drink is awesome
Incredible food! Great atmosphere!
Impeccable service!!A complete
Standout that illustrates a complete
Attention to every detail of fine dining
Well done �
Excellent service , excellent delicious food , loved the lamb , would recommend to come and enjoy food
Amazing food and service. Best kabab place in Canada �.
Came here during ‘dine out’ and got a three course meal. The hummus and pita was amazing! Interesting menu and loved the authentic Afghan food. Cute decor and friendly staff. Would recommend.
We ordered one of the platters and everything was delicious! The plate was huge for two of us, you definitely get what you pay for here. Service was good, very friendly staff. We will come back and would recommend.
Perks of having a vegetarian is you get to taste a lot of vegetarian food.
My visit to this plsce was delightful. The place is attractive because of its afgani theme. I totally fell in live with the theme.
The good added more craze to the day.
Tried vegetarian lovers delight and three dip combo. I loved both the dishes and will surely be a vegetarian one day.
This was listed under unique dining experience on Zomato and I'd have to say it was. Shoes off and we sat on pillows on the ground with low tables. The service was excellent from the get go and they were very understanding with our friend's baby. . Everyone ordered the Horsemen Platter and it was definitely enough food per couple. Fried potatoes were interesting, reminded me of the cactus fries at Boston Pizza (but better). Lamb skewer was definitely was one of my favs. Eggplant was on point, super mushy just incase you're not into that. I also have to mention that their pita bread was amazing along with the yogurt dip.
Come for the lamb! It’s tender & has that middle Eastern flavour.
All the dips are fantastic for shares.
Great service & welcoming decor.
My recommendation- come for a dinner seating and get the lamb dishes!
Dineout 2018 $20 lunch:
Although decent value for the price, food was solid but not very memorable, and service was very sparse. Perhaps the price tag is due to the decorative setting and Granville Island location, but I've had Middle Eastern food for a better value. The dinner options for $20 would've been better.
Appy: lentil soup tasted similar to any regular tomato lentil soup, the lamb soup my friends had was much better.
Main: Lamb korma - braised shoulder, was very sizeable and included a variety of sides. The lamb was good and flavourful but the sides were simple and lacked anything special.
Dessert: spiced milk drink with egg white - although an interesting drink, it was overly sweet.
Hello friends! Afghan Horsemen is located by Granville Island, and they have a parking lot downstairs and meter parking around the block. We were very glad to have made reservations at Afghan Horsemen ahead of time since the waiting area was packed when we got there. Afghan Horsemen interior. It felt like we were transported to a whole different place when you walk in. They had tapestry everywhere, a room where you can sit on cushions and eat, works of art, and music playing.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
The Afghan horsemen was a great start to the 2018 Vancouver dine out. This was our first time trying this place together finally. We were excited.
Reservations were all booked up on our Sunday night. Instead, our kind gentleman on the phone recommended we come at 5:00pm and finish at 6:30.
That actually wasn't too bad. We made our resos and off we went. When we arrived, there's plenty of paid parking all around. We walked upstairs and it looked like they may have a outdoor patio for sunny days?
As we entered we were told to take our shoes off. We were then escorted inside a cozy comfy room with tables and pillows on the floor. My girlfriend loved the atmosphere of this room. Each table looks like it's meant to seat couples. So far so good.
We were given the dine out menus. They were offering a $20 dine out feature, 3 courses.
My girlfriend chose the mantu for her appy. This was absolutely amazing and I highly recommend this. I chose the potato boulany and it was good.
For our mains I chose the lamb shoulder and WOW there's alot of value here and it's delicious. Rice is moist and flavourful, lamb succulent, battered potatoes crispy with a soft centre. I LOVED IT. I highly recommend this. My girlfriend chose the lamb korma, delicious. Finally our desserts come. The milk pudding with shaved pistachos. It was so simple and good. Very comforting. We were so full. My girlfriend couldn't finish her entree so she asked for a doggy bag.
It was a great night. A great start to dine out 2018. Afghan Horsemen, you nailed it wow! Our experience was memorable. We will definitely be returning as regular patrons. Service, food, ambiance, value. You nailed it on each category. Thank you for a wonderful memorable night!
this was my first foray into afgan cuisine. could never even name you a native dish. i still can’t unless you count “kabob”. basically it’s very similar to greek food. makes me want to check my atlas. anyway, food was good. belly dancing is a good time. i’ll be back but in a chair not sitting on the floor.
Love the food and ambiance here!! Friendly staff. I basically describe the food like non-spicy Indian! So, it's great for those who don't love spice. But it is full of flavour. Will come back again and again!
To start with, the ambience of the place was really good, there was light Sufi music playing which was kind of pleasing to listen. The decor also added to the name, they have both chairs and ground seatings.
The food was standard, we ordered chicken pakwara and lamb sheesh kabab platter. Quantity was enough for two people, the prices were reasonable too. Kababs and pakwara deserves mention, it tasted amazing with the dips given, other than that the pilau given in the platter was ok, and there were some deep fried battered chips work dips which were good too.
What made my evening was the belly dance performance, the professional dancer was amazing, and she was interactive, she was calling the diners to participate with her. The dancing was available for both the seatings and it was a wholesome entertainment. I recommend everyone to visit these place.
An awesome place to have a nice Afghan and some Middle East cuisine. Food was good in taste and quantity was more than sufficient. Belly dance is an extra entertainment along side the awesome food
It is one of the best Afghan restaurant that I have visited located in Granville island. We were group of 10. The restaurant is always busy still they didn't take that long to bring the food. We ordered lamb shank, shoulder, lamb and chicken kebabs all of them are simply great. Staff are very friendly and awesome atmosphere
Came here for a late dinner and there were still plenty of tables available. I've heard it can get pretty busy though. The decor of the restaurant is very unique and cool. They also have belly dancing throughout the night. It was a very entertaining evening.
My friend and I shared the chicken pakawra. Not too bad. The chicken was very tender inside and I liked the sauces that came with it. For my main, I had the
Dahl palaw with the lamb shank. The lamb looked big when it came, but there wasn't that much meat because of the bone. But it was still a good portion. The meat was tender and flavourful. The Dahl was good except I thought it would be more of a soup consistency. Instead, it was more of a puree. Overall, the food here is good and the atmosphere is nice. I would come back again to try more things.
came here for my last dineout in 2017 in vancouver, and well, it'll be my first time trying out afghan food, and since the naan type of appetizer came out, i actually love the bread that they offer. and everything that they had offered in the dine out. whether it's the lamb, the pasta, it;s all good, but the lamb oh my, definitely is a must in this location. remember the lamb! whether it's rack of lamb or lamb shank both are good as well. and the desert was yogurt i think and it have a hint of spicyness in it actually, kind of different from what i had before, but definitely a good tasting desert as well. overall definitely very pleased with the dine out experience in here.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Ambience: Apart from being hard to find, and inaccessible to the physically challenged, the Afghan Horseman stands to being a quaint little restaurant under the middlemost point of the Granville Island Highway. This tiny restaurant built over 30 years ago, it is a unique ethnic restaurant that will take guests back to ancient times in the Middle East. The inside of the Afghan Horseman carries an unparalleled ambiance that is on the border of fancy and casual. The insides look like the owners visual cues exploded! You can see royal and raw textiles around every corner, thick cloth draped along the ceilings and corners, variant, pair-less pillows lined up on top cozy cushions, and a warm aroma of fennugreek.
Food: However, the food was nothing to boast about. It had a clean presentation, almost safe, but was made up for with warm flavours. Mint, yogurt, cumin, and garlic were the most distinct flavours. As a Pasketarian, I was pleasantly surprised on the volume of Vegetarian options available. But between the 8 different items ordered among my soiree, heavy carbs became a pattern. By the end of the meal, we were thinking dessert, but had to suffice with traditional Afghan tea as there was no dessert section on their menu. The best part of the meal experience was sitting on the floor on comfortable pillows and cushions.
Service: Seconds though the door, we were taken in by the EXCELLENT customer service. All throughout our stay, we were taken care of many different faces. The host, our waitress, a server, and even the manager took the time to answer some questions for us. And what shocked me the most was that the waiter who made my reservation recognized my name and voice, then introduced himself kindly. They made us feel like their number 1 priority the entire evening. Regardless of our crazy requests, we would be accommodated with smiles and sincerity. Leaving our feel towards the service to be EXCELLENT!
Value: I would say the value did not meet the means. The food was over priced, the cubicles where we had to deposit our shoes and jackets seemed cluttered & unhygenic. And the location took longer to find than expected. As well as that inaccessible access issue from residing on the 2nd story of an old building under a highway.
Would I return?: Absolutely! Apart from the food, the decor was visually appetizing and the employees made the evening enjoyable. However it would be nice if the menus could contain more pictures, as many people in Vancouver are international. As well as more splits in the table so that guests do not have to trample over others just to escape.
First return visit to the Afghan Horseman. The last time I was here, it was still on West Broadway, probably some 10+ years ago. appetizer of flat bread, with spinach dip, hummus and salad. These are yeasted whole wheat flat bread, baked until lightly crisp around the edges. They were warm and lightly crisp on edges, and pillowy soft on the inside.
Went here for a late lunch; decent portions on platters; parking is limited.
This would be my first time having afghani cuisine. I didn’t know what to expect, but have only heard positive things about the “Afghan Horseman”. Although, I guess when you are the only game in town, it is easy to be the best in your field. However, the main reason for our visit was actually for their unique dining experience. We heard it was cushions and dinner on the floor.
Tried for the first time over the weekend for a friend's birthday. Live entertainment and delicious food, what more could you ask for? I ordered the vegetarian lover's plate, which was excellent. I could barely finish it. Only complaint is the sangria that tasted like watered down juice. Will return!
I don't know why lately I haven't been posting, I use to get mad at myself for being offline from my blog for too long. Recently I've been realizing if I am not feeling inspired I shouldn't write to begin with. I swear that last hotel post I just wrote was sitting on my desk since Wednesday! Right now it's about finding the balance between writing, my other businesses, finding a place to move by summer. I am still in the midst of my blog design, at the same time working with different brands, attending events, promos! It's crazy how I even find time to sit on a desk. Anyways, I promise I will be more consistent, exciting things are coming! I can't wait to post more on fashion, fitness and beauty. It seems that's what the majority of the people are interested in.
Amazing food, great service, and I love the floor seating area they have to the side. I can certainly see why this place has been in business for long enough to be considered a Vancouver institution!
First time at a Afghani restaurant 😀 food is flavorful and portions good! Tried the platter for two shared between three, enough food to go around. Do try the deserts, loved the phirni.
Service and food was great! 4adults and a 2week old newborn. Service was lovely and knowledgable. We had the horsemen platter for 3 and another main and it was the perfect amount of food (we were all slightly too full but not in pain). I loved the lamb and found the chicken to be a bit dry, but my husband really enjoyed the chicken.
Wars, fearful, and all negative politics-related matters.. are my impressions of Afghanistan. When my friends decided that we are going to explore the Afghan cuisine, I really did not know what to expect since I did not have much knowledge about this country except negative impressions portrayed by the media. My only thought was that the food must not be good, since it seems the country is not as developed..So I went to the Afghan Horsemen Restaurant with an exciting yet a nervous emotion…
A Vancouver institution and a wonderful restaurant. The food is some of the best in the Afghani community and I have always found the service to be excellent. They do get rather busy but they do not forget about you and if you take your shoes off to sit on the cushions you will be attended personally by a very friendly, very knowledgeable server. With all of the intriguing options on the menu, it is easy to over order so make sure to check with your server before your eyes exceed your stomach. My wife is one of the few uninitiated who enjoys the salted yogurt drink with mint. They will let you taste a small glass if you are curious but it is not for everybody and indeed not for most people! I hope they continue in business for decades to come.
Really cool environment! Food isn't bad either but cleanliness might be an issue. The don't wash the table clothes nor the cushions you sit on. Take note everyone must take your shoes off so everyone's bare foot. It's a cool experience so give it a try if you mind feet and crumbs.
One of my favourite restaurants in Vancouver. Away from the touristy areas of granville island, this place combines class, amazing customer service and even better food. Unbelievable.
Afghan Horsemen is probably my favourite restaurant anywhere. I come to Vancouver for business every spring, and I look forward coming to this restaurant all year.
Their vegetarian sampler and eggplant are great, and my coworkers always have great things to say about the lamb. Don't leave without trying the pakoras. And try the doogh!
Fun festive and tasty experience. Platters were great and perfect for sharing. Everyone in our group was happy. Only thing I would suggest to the owners is to expand their Beer list to include more local crafts brews and more wines by the glass.
Amazing food. The horseman player was fantastic. The shoulder of lamb was so tender and succulent. Great meal. Very friendly staff. Even threw in dessert for free. My favorite restaurant in Vancouver.
Came here last Friday, service and food were excellent. I always order the horseman platter as it has a mixture of everything.
----
Favorite place to eat. I love this place!! I always order the Horsemen platter so I can get a bit of everything. Customer service is good, friendly staff. This place does get very busy!! I wish I could eat here everyday. Eggplant dish and the hummos is really good.
Awesome place!!!!. Went there this weekend with hubby and we had an amazing experience. Loved the food and the service was fantastic. Not sure why the other negative reviews, but this is a great place and we will definately be back.
Amazing Atmosphere and Great Food!. The atmosphere and decor is amazing! you can either sit at a table or on the floor, there was also a belly dancer there for more entertainment. The food was wonderfully delicious but there was a lot of it (I suggest sharing 1 dish with your friend). I will definitely go back and recommend it, however you should get a reservation because it can get quite packed.
Seriously this place is amazing! Better than my moms cooking and that's saying alot. Had my birthday here with 14 guests. Had great customer service.
I shared the horseman platter with my brother- tons of food! We even had enough for left overs. All my "white" friends loved it too haha. Would definitely go back in a heart beat!
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Great food, terrible meal timing, average service. We decided on an early dinner (we didn't have reservations), but it was early enough for them to fit us in. We ordered the combination humus/pita dips, and it was excellent.
My g/f told me the spice they add, but it's got a taste of "not sure if i like it, but it's pretty interesting" to the point where you want to try it again.
I forget the names of our dishes, but i had a marinated beef skewer with rice/potato/cauliflower and a spinach dip. Very good - i wasn't fond of the spinach, but that's just me. I'm sure it was great for those who would like it. The rest was amazing.
My g/f had a cabbage roll type of plate. I tried it, and although good, the beef was better.
The major downside to this was the timing of the meals. Our entree's arrived just as we were taking our last bites of our appy, and we weren't eating slow (we were hungry).
I will give some credence to the fact that there was only one server on, and he was running, but nonetheless, the service wasn't great, but they do serve very flavourful food.
With excellent customer service, our waiter described and suggested in depth what we have ordered. The environment is very unique and quite lovley. The food was great! I've read a few reviews and found some complaints regarding the price being too high. The price is reasonable. The amount of food u get for 1 entree can serve two people! Ex. Cactus club salads are $16 a total of probably less than $4 worth of produce! A palaw dish at Afg. horseman( the one we got) u get basmati rice, 2lamb, spinach and eggplant for 18.95 and is quite filling!! Also, much more effort in making the food. Its healthy and great! So please, disregard the reviews where there are such complaints. Majority ruled like/loves it!
Simply Amazing. A bit on the expensive side but I loved this place! Food was very authentic and delicious. The service was also very nice and sometimes (I think Friday and Saturday nights) they have live performances.
If you are looking to try something different in Vancouver, I'd totally recommend here because personally i would go back again!
Friend's birthday celebration. Group of 20 dined in their new location (Granville Island entrance).
Dined in their Afghani room (sat on cushions and dined on low tables). Decor was inviting, and comfortable. Our waiter was friendly and prompt.
I ordered the lamb shoulder meal and everything was delicious.
Lamb was succulent and delicious. Huge portions. The men in our party could not finish their meals because they were full.
Highly recommend this restaurant and will go again to dine on their patio.
![Zomato]( "Recensione")
Romantic Spot!. What a wonderful boyfriend I have! The perfect most romantic place!!!
It was our 1 year anniversary and he told me that he was taking me somewhere special. He had made the reservation, but I didn't have any hints. We drove down to Granville Island and walked around and finally we started walking up the street, and smiled and said we were at the spot. I read the sign "Afghan Horsemen", and he asked if I had ever had Afghan food before. I said no, and was excited to try!
We walked up the stairs and through the door. I literally had no idea of what to expect. We were asked to remove our shoes and were led into the Afghan room. It was a nice little room with cushions along every wall and little tables along the walls. There were a few other dining there as well. Our waiter showed us to our table, and we got to sit down and get cozy and recline.
**The ambience was the best I have seen. The lighting was just right - did I mention romactic?? s into new food adventures, this was wonderful. ^_^
Tasty food, great ambiance, fast service.. Went to this restaurant with seven people to enjoy the hockey game. We were not disappointed, we had a lot of fun, thoroughly enjoyed our food and left a big tip.
I will definitely recommend this place to my friends.
It was my first visit and I was not disappointed. I ordered the horseman platter and it was delicious! The portions were big and the meat was tender. The belly dancer was great and at the end, try brought us baklava on the house :)
It was a good "one time" experience. Decent food and nice atmosphere.
This place is a MUST!! Good place for just 2 or a group from outta town.
Food was great especially the lamb which I don't usually eat because it tastes gamey most other places. Ambience nice and authentic looking. Belly dancer entertaining. Drink for two with long red straws a little watered down. Have wine instead. All in all a great place to eat.
Great Experience. My experience from start to finish was excellent. I loved the decor, ambiance, food and service. Great place for a date or special occasion.
Coming from an Iranian background, I have always been a fan of Middle Eastern cuisine. While I’ve had the opportunity to try Persian, Lebanese and other varieties of Middle Eastern dishes, I have never tried Afghani food. Thankfully, Vancouver is home to one of Canada’s best and oldest Afghani restaurants, Afghan Horsemen. Karina and I got the chance to try Afghani food for the first time, and I have to say I’m now a big fan of the cuisine and Afghan Horsemen.
Overall, the food was delicious. I'm the type of person who likes to add hot sauce, or other condiments and spices to alot of my food. So I don't know how they do it, but the food here is always so flavourful (NOT overpowering or spicy), that no additional condiments or spices are necessary
Our night at the Afghan Horsemen was a great success. Although I'm not sure how well the other dishes fair, I do love the platters.
The Afghan Horsemen had two true Afghan style dining rooms with low tables and cushions on the floor. We managed to secure a room save for three tables. For all intents and purposes we got the place almost all to ourselves. The room sure was dark especial
Afghan Horseman has been on my go to list since I began to eat out in vancouver. Things always came up that caused me to postpone going here, but I knew knew knew I had to come here before I left. As the days before I left came closer and closer, I realiz
Went here for the first time and it is now one of my new favourite restaurants. It has a great location right at the entrance to Granville island, and the atmosphere in the restaurant is great. We had the floor seating, which made for a great experience- the cushions were comfortable and it was a fun dining environment.
We chose the dine out Vancouver menu. Each dish was presented well and was bursting with flavour. The food portions were very generous and made me anticipate my next visit and the other menu items I would try. The service was great and our waitress was helpful in giving recommendations.
All in all a great visit, and I look forward to the next one!
Service was great, server was super friendly and knowledgeable. We ordered a share platter - lots of food for 3 of us! Drinks were fantastic and in fun cups! Eggplant dip was so amazing! Meats were cooked well. Loved everything. Lamb was a bit gamey but cooked well too.
Very authentic experience, super friendly accommodating staff and management. If it’s your first time going there the Kebab platters have a bit of a everything and feeds 2-3 people easy. Belly dancing was also part of it which made the experience 10 times bette! Drinks are decent too, they could improve their cocktail game a bit just to improve the drink experience but it was still good.
Great place for an authentic, delicious Afghan food. The restaurant has been tactfully decorated in a traditional, cultural, and warm Afghan setting.
The staff is incredibly nice and caring! The manager is a great, humble man with amazing wisdom!
The food is very very tasty! I recommend their Hummus with Naan! It won't disappoint you!
Although the food is a little pricy, it has a great taste! The place is highly recommended!
It was my first time to try Afghan foods and liked it! Atmosphere and staffs are nice. We ordered a kebab platter for 2 people. It cost $70, not sure this is the average price.
![5]( "Recensione")
First time trying Afghan food and I was impressed. First of all, this place really decked out in decorations because the moment I entered the restaurant, I felt like I left Vancouver. They even have an option for floor seating, which I believe is the more authentic way of eating their food.
We came here for Dineout and for the $27/person price we paid, I thought it was worth it. I’d say some of my favourite items was the lentil dip, which tasted like an extra garlicky hummus. Their pakawra, which had the best crunch the cauliflower, which came with a the vegan platter. I didn’t try the lamb shoulder, but my friend said it was pretty good! There wasn’t anything I disliked, but I will say the Baklawa was too sweet and oily for my liking, but thankfully it was a small portion.
Overall, this place has decent food (which was well priced) but it’s really an experience worth trying. It’s a fun place for a date or a group of friends to hangout. They have many vegetarian and vegan options as well. I’d love to try more Afghan food in the future and would recommend giving this place a try!
Loved the atmosphere of this Afghanistan restaurant. Server was friendly and helpful, and food were all tasty. I ordered special plate for two. I usually don’t eat lamb meat but their lamb chop was well cooked and tasty! I’d like to try other food next time.
An error has occurred! Please try again in a few minutes