Dunya Banquet Restaurant

Came here on a weekday for dinner. I must say the décor is kind of cute however I had a very bad experience.
I ordered the chapli kebab and my husband ordered the chicken bone in kebab which came with a side dish of beef curry. We do not eat beef in our religion so we told the server not to give it.
Once he got our food we saw a curry like thing in my husbands place and it turned out to be beef. Even after specifically telling the server not to serve us beef he went ahead and served it.
The kebabs were dry and I am 500% sure that it was microwaved because no one can serve you kebabs in 5 mins. He LITERALLY got us our food in 5 mins. Cmon this
subway !!!
N not to forget their food is overpriced! ! No thank u I’ll stick with my ravi kebab.

I think there a sudden loss of taste buds in the Unilocal Northern VA community. This is by far the worst Afghan food I’ve had. Food was tasteless, over cooked, and over decorated. These people have utter disregard for quality and are more concerned with the overall appearance of their dishes. I can best compare this food to what is typically found in DC street vendors… wait actually even those stale hot dogs taste better.

My family and I always go to Dunya. There kabobs are extremely delicious. I recommend everyone to come here at least once!

All I can say is WOW! I went to Dunya Banquet Hall with my employees for lunch yesterday afternoon, we were in the mood for fine Afghan kabob cuisine and Dunya was the first suggestion on the search list in my phone. The chicken and lamb were phenomenal, cooked just right with exotic spices, I couldn’t get enough! The service was astounding, hospitality at its finest! I can gladly say that my colleagues and I were highly satisfied and plan on making another visit to Dunya Banquet Hall (across from landmark mall) in the very near future!

Generous portions of delicious food. My favorite is the qabuli palao where savory lamb and rice meets sweet carrots and raisin yum yums.

Stopped by once to order the advertised lunch special. A large group of I suppose Afghani people were having a wonderful time. I stood by myself while numerous wait staff and someone that appeared to be a hostess walked by and totally ignored me. I was not acknowledged at all and I definitely felt out of place. I left. I pass it every day and I will never go back. No hello, no eye contact, no forced smile, not even a head nod…

Watch out! This place likes to overcharge your credit/​debit card. I’ve had to dispute it TWICE! Also, they had cockroaches at their tea station. Stay away!

Went there for lunch, got a huge portion for $ 13 with rice two sides and salad along with 6 pieces of lamb kabob. Everything was perfect it’s just that the kabobs were 2 weeks old microwaved rubber and we wanted 3 weeks old instead… Won’t go again !

The interior itself is very grand. However, their takeout serving is not as big as if you were to sit and eat which sucks. The food was average. There definitely are better places around town.

Some of the best food ever. The place looked authentic just as much as the food. I was caught looking at the décor more than once while eating my meal. This is a great place to take a date. The reason you go is for the food, the reason I’ll go back is because of the experience. The even offered me free tea at the end to wash the amazing meal I had down. Get the lamb chops!

..Find another place to dine if this place is busy. It will save you a lot of trouble

Great customer service and amazing food.
Waiting for food was hard! Not because they were late! Actually the timing is perfect. It was just the food smell was so good that made me more hungry.

been here several times and each time i go, its a hit or miss. more *miss* than anything
I’m afghan myself and have been to the events at the banquet hall. there is a lot of favoritism here in regards to being afghan — whether its in the banquet hall or the restaurant. it drives away a lot of customers and ive seen other people comment in that regard as well (so its not only me that sees it)
the owner is really, for lack of better words, sneaky

I dined here with a group of people for Iftar. You feel the Ramadan atmosphere in this restaurant. It feels like you are dining with family in afghani dining room. everybody know each other.
The place is very small. Wasn’t crazy about the set up and décor. They also have a ballroom connected to the restaurant usually for parties but this month they have converted it to a mosque so people can go straight from the restaurant to the mosque. Brilliant idea!!!
The service was slow. But every person work there was kind and apologizing none stop for the service.
Food wise was delicious decent portions and reasonable prices.
We ve had mixed kabab, soup, salad, potato sambossa, the afghani rice mixed with caramalized carrots and raisins (I’m not a rice person but I loved this one) and some stew with lentils and lamb was just okay!
My biggest complain is the plates. It’s huge plastic plates that takes over the table. Our order couldn’t fit in our table because of the HUGE plastic plates!!! PLEASE change the plates!
I’m giving 3.5 star for the entire experience!

Went here with a friend. We were looking for a place to chat and have some enjoyable eats. We stuck with appetizers, sides, and naan and we enjoyed ourselves. The staff was friendly, and accomodating. We had a good conversation, some yummy eats, and appreciated the service.
I enjoyed the food and the service and plan to visit again.

This review is for the restaurant only:
— The mantu (dumpling-​like pastries covered in wet sauce) are really something else! Probably my favorite thing here. Get it get it!
— The bone-​in chicken kabobs are very flavorful but a tad dry. The chicken lacks the juiciness enjoyed at Kabob Palace. Next time I will try the boneless chicken kabobs because they are cooked for a shorter amount of time and will hopefully be juicier.
— The lamb and beef kabobs are good! but not memorable.
— The pita is wheat (yay!) but also kinda dry.
— The rice with meat sauce is also delicious.
The portions are very large here. Also, came with an Afghan friend who praises the authentic Afghan food here.

This place was recommended to me by my Über driver. The food was delicious and generous portions. The service was also quick and friendly. I ate the qabuli palao and mom had Afghan gyro and her sandwich was HUGE. I prefer the atmosphere at this place over Kabob House in Crystal City. I will definitely eat here again. I look forward to checking out their lunch specials

I had my wedding reception at dunya banquet hall and I was so worried because of all the reviews on Unilocal.We met with the owner from the start and everything he said he would do, he did. I also felt like he gave us an amazing deal.
I’m Afghan and my husband is American so I was really stressed about my reception. I did not want something over the top because I was starting a new life and I don’t think spending a lot of money on one night is the smartest way to start that life. My family is huge so our wedding still had to be pretty big by American standards– 180 people. However, for an Afghan wedding and one in my family– that’s actually pretty small. I wanted to ensure that my wedding was classy and elegant but simple. I also wanted my guests to be happy, my food to taste great and the service to be awesome. And that’s exactly what it was!
I think at one point there were so many servers serving my guests. The soda and water jugs on each of the tables were constantly refilled! One of my friends specifically even complimented on how great the service was. The food came out just when we wanted it to and it was so well organized and delicious.
Since my husband is American, I did have alcohol served but they let us store and cool all our alcohol at the venue the night before and gave me plenty of notice that I needed an alcohol banquet permit before we could serve anything. So I had ample time to get all that taken care of.
They asked that we don’t play games with the count and we didn’t and they did such a great job with my reception!
I think that if you’re honest with these people from the start– and you don’t play any games– they will deliver!

Dunya is an amazing spot to get authentic Aghan food. I highly recommend the veggie platter. The pumpkin is so good.
The only reason it doesn’t get 5 stars is that, if they are having an event in the banquet hall, it can be incredibly noisy in the dining area. Also, their decorations have gotten stranger and stranger over the years.

(Lamb chop is awesome)…
Ok here is the deal… You have to first ignore the gaudy décor… The awful plastic plates that take away from the vibrant food… The plastic covered chairs, the Christmas lights inside sheer curtains… The velvet curtains… The awful booths…
BUT Delicious Authentic Afghan Food…
Can’t go wrong with Mantu, Bolawnee, quabli rice, and my favorite the lamb chop (chopan kabob).
This is same family as the original «Afghan Restaurant» on route 1
The tandoor bread… Well you have to enjoy and feel carb guilty later!
Definitely a must try!