Refugee-Owned Afghan And Persian Restaurant Opens Up In Grafarvogur

New restaurants seem to be popping up every other day, but on August 7th, the opening of Afghan Style marked a first for Iceland serving Afghan and Persian food. The fast-food style restaurant in Langarima in Grafarvogur is owned by Zahra Mesbah Sayed Ali and Hassan Raza Akbari.

Zahra and Hassan are both Icelandic citizens from Afghanistan. Hassan came to Iceland in 2007, and Zahra in 2012. Both were among the first Afgan quota refugees in the country. Each has since worked hard to create a good life for themselves and their 1 and a half year-old daughter, establishing an interpreting service that translates a total of fifteen different languages such as Polish, Spanish, and Farsi.

However when the chance arose to enter the food industry, they jumped at the opportunity. Hasan, a graduated chef, had his very first job in Iceland in the kitchen. “He wants to cook a lot, and me too. He is always thinking about it, ” Zahra told Visir.

After a month of preparing the building for opening, Zahra says she feels good about the reception from Icelanders and the excitement for food from Afghan food culture such as traditional kebabs, the rice dish biryani, and kofta sandwiches.

You can check out Afghan Style on their facebook page here