Zarak by Afghan Kitchen is a modern Afghan restaurant on the corner of Main Street and 5th Avenue. This family-run and community-minded restaurant aims to share good food and create connections between people. The restaurant itself is a beautiful modern work of art with a lovely aesthetic with a thread of tradition throughout. I do not have any experience with Afghan food, so I was very excited to experience Zarak for myself. Check out my full review of Zarak by Afghan Kitchen below!
Zarak by Afghan Kitchen – Cocktails
Zarak has a great cocktail menu with both alcoholic and non-alcoholic options. To start we got:
- Zarak Old Fashioned
- Kite Negroni
- Rumi’s Garden
- Ghazni
- Kapsia
- Zero Proof G&T
The Zarak Old Fashioned ($21.00) features sumac-infused rye, Bulleit 10 Year Old Frontier Kentucky Bourbon, caramel, vanilla & fig Bitters, cardamom biscuit, Qaimaq. The Kite Negroni ($19.00) features fig-infused Hendrick’s Gin, Campari, Odd Society Vermouth and Citrus. This cocktail is very impressive with it’s glass cloche and smoke show upon arrival to the table.
The Ghazni ($15.00) features Writer’s Tears Copper Pot Whiskey, pear, chrysanthemum tea, candied hawthorn. The Rumi’s Garden ($17.00) features goji berry-infused Tito’s Handmade Vodka, Cultivate Tea Gold Osmanthus, Sirop Chocolat, Peychaud’s Bitters and Burrowing Owl Merlot.
The Zero Proof G&T ($10.00) features Free Spirits Gin, black peppercorn, lychee, lavender and Fever Tree tonic water. The Kapsia ($8.00) features peach, jasmine tea, mango, and white chocolate cream foam. The Kapsia was my favourite drink of the night. It was very jasmine forward and the foam was delightful.
Zarak by Afghan Kitchen – Small Plates and Dumplings
To begin our meal we had a variety of small plates to nibble from:
- Eggplant
- Bolani
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Aushak
The Chilled Eggplant ($12.00) features eggplant, black pepper and yogurt. The eggplant was nice and soft and full of flavour. It went well on top of the fresh naan. The Bolani ($22.00) is a fried flatbread with potato and house spice. This was a table favourite! The flatbread was nice and crispy on the outside and the filling was so savoury. The Roasted Brussels Sprouts ($14.00) features brussels roasted in Char Masala. The brussels were nice and crispy and it went really well with the red pepper hummus on the bottom of the plate.
The Aushak ($14.00) is an Afghan dumpling with leek, scallion and spinach. The skin was very thin and the dumplings were positively stuffed to the brim!
Zarak by Afghan Kitchen – Zohra’s Dastarkhan and Kora-e-Kebab
For our mains we had:
- Beef Kofta
- Spicy Chicken
- New Zealand Lamb
The Beef Kofta ($26.00) features beef, coriander and Qabuli Palaw. Qabuli Palaw is a variety of rice pilaf made in Afghanistan. It consists of steamed rice mixed with raisins and carrots. This version also had slivers of almonds on top. This was one of my favourite dishes of the night! I am absolutely obsessed with Qabuli Palaw now! The toasted almonds added such a lovely nutty flavour that went so well with the tomato based sauce and beef kofta. I highly recommend this dish!
The Spicy Chicken ($21.00) comes with gravy and naan. The chicken was fall off the bone tender. It wasn’t spicy to me at all, and I really like the vegetable gravy on the side – very flavourful!
The New Zealand Lamb ($24.00) is from the Kora-e-Kebab section of the menu and comes with your choice of Qabuli Palaw or Naan. The lamb is flavoured with cardamom and comes with yogurt and salata. Salata is an Afghan salad made with diced tomato, cucumber, onion, carrot, cilantro, mint and lime. This dish was another table favourite. The lamb was tender and not gamey and the salata adds a nice punch of freshness to the dish.
Worth a Try?
Yes! This is my first experience with Afghan food and what a pleasant introduction it was. All the flavours at Zarak were bright, vibrant and strong. I love all the innovative cocktails they have on the menu as well. The space is gorgeous, and I will definitely be back to try their brunch menu.
Zarak by Afghan Kitchen
Address: 2102 Main St, Vancouver, BC
Telephone: 604-318-3456
Website: https://www.zarakvancouver.com/
