Hotel Mustafa Restaurant

The Hotel Mustafa Restaurant is an inexpensive traveller's restaurant on Chicken Street in the Shahr-e Naw district of Kabul, Afghanistan. The street, long known for its carpet, antique and handicraft shops, has a tradition of catering to foreign visitors, and this restaurant has served simple Afghan meals to budget travellers, aid workers and shoppers for years. The cuisine is straightforward Afghan home cooking: rice dishes, kebabs, soups and tea, served without elaboration.

Kabuli pulao is the headline dish, with its mound of long-grain rice cooked in stock, topped with carrots, raisins and a piece of tender lamb. Chapli kebab, the flat, spiced minced-meat patty associated with the Pashtun culinary tradition, is cooked on a griddle and served with naan, while shorwa, a thin meat-and-vegetable soup, is a warming option on cold days. Bread comes hot from nearby bakeries and green tea is served in pots at the table.

The dining room is plain and functional, with simple tables and chairs, a local clientele mixed with travellers, and moderate noise levels, particularly at lunch. Dress is casual and modest. There is no alcohol, and the drinks list is tea and soft drinks. Service is quick and informal, and the menu is often communicated verbally.

Prices fall in the $ band, which makes the restaurant one of the cheapest sit-down options on Chicken Street. It opens daily from early morning to the evening. Reservations are normally unnecessary; walk-in is the standard, though larger groups should tell the staff ahead. Because Kabul security conditions can change quickly, visitors should confirm current advice and travel with local contacts rather than walking alone after dark.