From Kabul to Richmond: A Chef’s Dream Comes True with Richmond Restaurant Opening

What’s it like for a refugee to rebuild their career in Virginia? One man – who was an executive chef in Afghanistan – took jobs in small kitchens cooking for buffets. But he never lost hope.

WCVE - Community Idea Stations

RVA’s Dining Dream Team

Celebrating the skills, passion, and creativity of the MVPs of the area’s culinary scene in 2022

Richmond Times-Dispatch

They Fled Afghanistan for America. Now They Feed the Newest Arrivals.

In Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C., established Afghan restaurateurs are reaching out to help refugees fleeing the return of the Taliban.

The New York Times

An Afghan Chef’s Hard-Won Career Blossoms in Richmond

“Noori is now chef/owner of The Mantu in Richmond, Va., and rather than striving to master French gastronomy, he’s teaching his adopted city about the heart, nuance, and poetry of Afghan cuisine…”

Plate Magazine

The Mantu in Carytown Bakes Afghan Bread to Donate to Refugees and for Restaurant; Plans to Open Bakery

"'When we serve, we put our passion, our souls and our love on the plate. That’s all we have,' Noori says.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch

A Taste of Hope

Chef Hamid Noori, a native of Afghanistan and owner of The Mantu, feeds fellow refugees.

Richmond Magazine

Long Journey Leads to Afghan Restaurant in Former Burger Bach Space in Carytown

It’s all come full circle for Hamid Noori. Long a dream since he was a child in Afghanistan, Noori is opening his first restaurant — The Mantu — in the former Burger Bach space at 10 S. Thompson St. in Carytown.

Richmond Bizsense

22 Essential Restaurants in Richmond, Virginia

Beef mantu, the traditional Afghan dumpling and namesake of his restaurant, are silken treasure chests stuffed with spiced ground meat or vegetables. Tandoor kebabs and lamb shanks are thoughtful, modernized takes on dishes from the chef’s youth.

Eater DC

Chef Noori: From executive chef at a luxury hotel in Afghanistan to Ellwood Thompson's. This is his story.

The delicate folds of the rose-shaped dumplings not only looked pretty but also created perfect pockets for chunks of spiced meat and savory bits of red peppers and onions. Meant to be shared between lovers on special occasions, the steamed dumplings are called mantoo, which means “me and you.”

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Opening Soon: The Mantu in Carytown

Refugee Hamid Noori is days away from achieving a dream that, throughout most of his life in war-torn Afghanistan, seemed unattainable.

Richmond Magazine

'Dreams Come True': Afghan Chef Opens The Mantu in Carytown, a modern Afghan restaurant in former Burger Bach space

Chef Hamidullah Noori stood at the head of the large communal table inside The Mantu last month as plates of his tender lamb chops and spiced yogurt-marinated chicken kebabs were passed around for sampling.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

A Flavor All Its Own

It hasn’t been long since, if you wanted ethnic food, your choices were Italian or Chinese. But as the world has grown smaller via technology, various cuisines have merged into the mainstream. Now comes the Mantu, bringing the flavors and creations of Afghanistan.

Style Weekly

Expand Your Palate and Mind: The Mantu

At The Mantu, Noori presents Afghan food such as dumplings (mantu), rice, kebabs and other entrées with traditional seasonings, seafood, lamb, beef, chicken and plenty of vegetarian options. It’ll warm your heart and belly.

Boomer Magazine

Eat your heart out, Richmond: Savor a taste of local restaurants

A modern take on classic Afghan cuisine from chef Hamidullah Noori.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

The Mantu (Review)

As expected, the star of the show was the Mantu dumplings. My favorite was the vegetarian option - the tender pastry had a luxurious mouthfeel, and the shredded butternut squash inside cannot be described as anything other than al dente, perfectly balanced with the other herbaceous elements of the dish.

Uncle Sam’s Immigrant Cafe

Review: The Mantu

Even if you are unfamiliar with the story behind them, Afghan-born Chef Hamidullah Noori’s dumplings are an impressive sight: tennis-ball-sized, rose-shaped beauties filled with spiced meat or vegetables and striped with sauce.

Richmond Magazine

Resettled: One Year Later

In this special episode of Resettled, executive producer Angela Massino checks in a year later with Chef Noori, owner of the restaurant The Mantu.

VPM

Open Source RVA

The Afghanistan refugee talks about ongoing efforts in the Richmond area to help expatriate afghans resettle in the U.S. after the Taliban’s takeover of the country.

WRIR 97.3 FM

Love Thy Neighbor

And they’re being fed well. Recent soups whipped up by the UGK chef team have included a coconut curry beef from Will Richardson of Kudzu, lentil soup from Hamid Noori of the Mantu, and chicken consommé from globe-trotting itinerant chef Jean Lorestil.

Style Weekly

How Do You Preserve Your Culture When Integration is a Primary Focus of Resettlement?

For Chef Hamidullah Noori, he expresses his Afghan culture through food and poetry. But it's not just a lifestyle for Noori, it's his livelihood as well. In the spring of 2019, Chef Noori opened The Mantu, a high scale Afghan restaurant featuring specialty dishes from his homeland.

VPM

MANTU = Me and You

Chef Hamid Noori, a poet as well as an accomplished chef of exquisite Afghan cuisine, brings his creations to Richmond’s Carytown fine dining scene.

RVANEWB

RVAStrong “Portraits of Immigrant Voices”

“The people of Virginia have been very supportive from day one. They've been so kind and because of them I feel like I can accomplish my dreams. I ask them to keep supporting people.”

RVAStrong.com

Small Screen Dreams

Within the first few months of opening his modern Afghan cuisine restaurant in 2019, Noori was asked to be a guest chef on the Food Network’s cooking competition, “Beat Bobby Flay.”

Style Weekly

The Best Restaurants and Must-Try Dining Experiences in Richmond, Virginia

Grace your palate with the Afghan cuisine served at The Mantu.

Insider

An Afghan Chef in Virginia Helps Refugees Feel at Home

International Rescue Committee

Afghan Chef Provides Free Food to Refugees

Located a few hours from Washington, DC, a small restaurant is providing free meals to these Afghan refugees who are leaving their homes in Afghanistan and coming to America.

Voice of America

Why This 8-Minute Stuffed Peppers Recipe Is Required at Chef Hamidullah Noori’s Thanksgiving Dinner

This month, Chef Hamidullah Noori shares what Thanksgiving means to him as an Afghan refugee living in the U.S.

Well + Good

Extending His Restaurant’s Mission, He Reached Out to Feed Refugees; Newsmaker Chef Hamidullah Noori

Two and a half years later, The Mantu has weathered the storm of [the] pandemic and stands as a fort of hope for refugees, as well as a point where the sea and shore converge for people on the outside to experience the flavors of Afghan culture.

The Progress-Index (Petersburg, Va.)

Sharing Afghan Cuisine with the World

Stories that inspire, uplift, and encourage you in your peacemaking journey, featuring Chef Noori.

The Peace Catalyst Podcast

10 outdoor patios in Richmond, VA

“Try this: A table on the breezy covered patio, Banjan Borani + a saffron iced tea.”

RICtoday

Make Chef Noori's Afghan family recipe: Mantu potato skins

“This is the recipe that changed my life,” says Chef Hamidullah Noori, a refugee from Afghanistan resettled with his family in the United States in 2015 through a Special Immigrant Visa (SIV).

International Rescue Committee

The Voices of World Refugee Day

We hear from Chef Hamidullah Noori, who after resettling in the United States from Afghanistan opened an Afghan restaurant where he welcomes and feeds new refugees from the country.

WNYC’s “The Takeaway”

Carytown restaurant Mantu expanding with Mantu Market in Henrico

In Richmond, we have thousands of families from Afghanistan, and they bring bread from Washington, D.C. and Northern Virginia. But it’s not as good as the authentic bread we used to bake back home," says Chef Noori.

Richmond Bizsense

Deeper Roots

The owner of the Afghan restaurant The Mantu is set to debut a bakery, market and cafe on Aug. 1

Richmond Magazine

vol. 166 / Here. / Chef Noori

Meet Chef Hamid Noori, this week’s Here Weekly guest editor, and owner of The Mantu and the soon-to-open The Mantu Market!

Here Weekly

Afghan refugee continues to help others at his second restaurant in Henrico

One Afghan Refugee is preparing to open another restaurant location in Henrico to continue to serve the community.

WRIC (ABC 8 News)

Spotlight: Hamidullah Noori

Learn about the Afghan chef-owner behind The Mantu in Carytown and The Mantu Market.

Richmond Magazine

5 Richmond restaurants that opened in August: Suzy Sno, Mantu Market, Billy Pasta & more

This more casual side of The Mantu features fresh Afghan bread made daily, groceries, Afghan-style housewares and a full menu for dine in or takeout.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

Soft opening: The Mantu Market

The menu is super approachable and ranges from wraps to full-on entrees.

Axios | Richmond

8@4 is about kitchens, cooking & food

The new episode of 8@4 traces the community relationships of the Underground Kitchen in Central Virginia and how the organization gives chefs an opportunity to grow while serving the community.

Richmond Times-Dispatch “8@4”

Afghan Cuisine’s Rice Dishes—Delectables of the Silk Road

The most renowned Afghan chef in the US is Hamidullah Noori. Chef Noori heads the popular restaurant in Virginia called The Mantu, which opened in 2019.

The Markaz Review