Helmand

Worst Lady manager and (apparently head waiter/host). Few years ago, I had gone to Helmand without a reservation with my husband - it was very nice and food was very good. This time I went with my husband and my toddler - I could not believe the arrogance, rudeness, and irritation with which they greeted us, as soon as they saw the stroller.

The RUDE, RUDE lady, who didn't even smile, first asked if we had reservations (we did not) and said we have to fold and put away the stroller. FINE.

Then, as I walked inside toward a table (thinking that they are going to give a table for three, and noting that it is 5PM and most tables are empty), they looked at me as if I committed a crime... and immediately, the lady host started walking toward me getting ready to say something and then, the (head?) waiter gestured to her - I could see him waving his hand behind his back) - indicating that "let me handle these people"....

Then, he showed us a tiny table for two - the worst possible space you can imagine if you have a toddler with you - next to the display case. There was no space to put the diaper bag and my bag down and I had to ask for an extra chair to put them on..The waiter asked me that I have to put away baby's diaper bag....he argued with me "you need your stuff here with you? [why?]).... I said, I have baby food in there and I have to feed the baby at some point...then he left me alone...

It was so crammed, when they served food, I had to put the bread basket on the display case.... mind it, we have toddler and we had to keep our plates away from him too...but, there was no space to push the plates or the cutlery... it was awful... they did nothing to welcome the baby... no crayon... nothing.... the RUDE lady walked by our table a couple of times and said how cute the baby is .... she was so fake, I felt like smacking her.....

And, they put extra salt in my food... at that point I was so annoyed, I didn't feel like arguing...

the only consolation was that our server was nice.. but, as I talked with him in hindi, the waiter who seated us, was giving me such nasty looks, as if he was suspecting I was saying something to make more trouble....

I went there all the way with a stroller, took the subway and walked for 15 mins to get to the restaurant early to meet with my husband there...just because my husband and I had such good memories from it before....and they treated us like animals...

There people who took over are insensitive, rude, arrogant.... I am not sure where and how and why the owners of this restaurant found these people to work for them....

WILL NOT RETURN and please do NOT go there with a baby....... the food is not worth it....…

Extremely slow service combined with slow management. We used to come to Helmand once a week 5 years ago, until the old friendly, caring manager relocated to Baltimore. I can not understand how this restaurant can get repeat business truly not caring about their customers.

And tonight we had a reservation and waited 90 minutes to get a table for 3.…

Awful Service. Even though we had a reservation (as this restaurant requires since it's always packed) we got a lousy table and to make matters worse, the service was even lousier. When a friend of mine complained about the service (very politely of course) the hostess was so rude; she actually said: "people make reservations here weeks in advance, if you don't like it you can leave". No where have I witnessed such awful treatment and such cockiness! Last I checked, they weren't Nobu or the Ivy!…

Decent food, BRUTAL service. Inside of 5 minutes after sitting down I knew the service was brutal. First, we're at a table of 10, and my girlfriend decides to tag along. She's already eaten, but wants to be with us. She'll order an appetizer and a drink. When it comes time for us to order an entree, she politely says that she's already eaten. The response from the waiter "Uhh... we're a FULL service restaurant." Frankly, I didn't know if they were offering to give her a little somethin' somethin' in the back room or what. I mean, I know what a "full service" massage parlor is, is that what they were suggesting. After she asked, it turns out that meant "you better order an entree". So we did. The one plus is that the food arrived WICKED FAST (wasn't that hot, but maybe that's just the style). The food was so-so overall.

Then, I head up to wash my hands in the bathroom. I head into the men's washroom where there's (literally) a toilet on the floor. I don't mean bolted to the floor, I mean cracked and sitting open on the floor. I step over it to get to the sink. I begin soaping my hands, when a woman (yes, this was a men's bathroom) enters and tells me that I need to use the women's bathroom (yes, I'm a man) on the OTHER side of the restaurant. Recall my hands are now covered in soap. So I walk across the restaurant, of course the women's bathroom is occupied. So I wait (yes, with soapy hands) until the bathroom is free. Of course, the lousy paper towels in the bathroom disintegrate in your hands because they're so cheap that I'm still picking white junk off my fingers by the time I'm back at the table.

The service only went from bad to worse, but I'm limited to 2000 characters here. In short: food so-so, service BRUTAL. Better luck elsewhere.…