Questions, answered.

Uyghur food comes from the Uyghur people, a Turkic-speaking community whose homeland sits at the heart of the old Silk Road in Central Asia. It is a crossroads cuisine: you'll taste Turkey and the Middle East in our cumin-dusted lamb kebabs and rich brown gravies, and the flavors of neighboring China in our wok-fried vegetables and chili-spiked sauces — yet the result is uniquely Uyghur. The pillars are hand-pulled noodles (laghman and Korma Chop), handmade dumplings (manta), oven-baked meat pies (samsa and goshnan), polow rice pilaf, kebabs, Tandoori Naan, and Big Plate Chicken, our bone-in chicken stew served over wide noodles. Meals end with baklava or Uyghur yogurt and a pot of Dolan Gul Chai, our floral tea.

Yes. All items on our menu are halal — everything we cook, at every location. We serve no pork, and our lamb, beef and chicken are halal. Our Dolan Chili Oil Sauce is made with 100% halal ingredients as well.

Plenty. Uyghur cooking is generous with vegetables, and our menus include vegetarian versions of signature dishes: Vegetarian Korma Chop, Vegetarian Laghman and Fried Rice (hand-pulled noodles and rice without the meat), Kawa Manta (pumpkin-stuffed steamed dumplings), Kawa Samsa (butternut squash pies), Spicy Tofu, Fried Green Beans, Fried Eggplant, Sour Spicy Shredded Potato, Baby Bok-Choy with Garlic Sauce, Spring Rolls, Lentil Soup and a range of salads. Ask your server which dishes are fully vegan on the day — most of our vegetable dishes are made without dairy or egg, but some breads and desserts are not.

Tell us when you order and we will guide you. Our kitchens work with wheat (noodles, dumplings, breads and pastries), sesame, soy, peanuts and tree nuts (baklava, cold egg noodle sauce, some desserts), eggs and dairy, so we cannot guarantee any dish is free of cross-contact. Rice dishes such as Polow and the kebabs are the best starting points for gluten-conscious guests, and our team can point you to the safest choices. Spice is adjustable: dishes such as Big Plate Chicken can be made mild, spicy or extra spicy.

Yes. Each restaurant takes reservations online — use the Reserve button on the location page (DC, Chantilly, Falls Church, Rockville and Arlington each have their own booking link). For large parties, or for a private or corporate event, call 833-MY-DOLAN or email order@dolanuyghur.com and we will arrange the table.

Always. We hold space for walk-in guests at every location. Weekend evenings — especially live-music nights in Falls Church — fill quickly, so a reservation is the surest way to skip the wait.

It depends on the location — see each location page. Cleveland Park (DC) is a block from the Cleveland Park Metro with metered street parking on Connecticut Avenue; Chantilly sits in a shopping plaza with parking at the door; Falls Church has a parking garage in the building; Rockville is at The Square in Rockville Town Center with public garages nearby; Arlington is in Crystal City, a short walk from the Crystal City Metro, with street and garage parking nearby.

Families are at the center of Uyghur hospitality — bring everyone. Dishes children love include plain hand-pulled noodles, chicken or lamb kebabs, Fried Rice, Spring Rolls, Samsa, Tandoori Naan with butter and, for dessert, baklava or honey cake. Many dishes can be made mild; just ask.

Dolan Coffee is our café at the Cleveland Park restaurant (3518 Connecticut Ave NW, Unit D, Washington, DC). We partnered with illy, one of the world's leading roasters, to pour espresso drinks from 8 am to 10 pm daily — alongside Dolan Gul Chai, pastries and desserts from our own kitchen. Call 202-968-2002.

Yes — at our Falls Church restaurant, every Friday and Saturday from 6 to 9 pm, with Uyghur, Central Asian or Turkish musicians. We also host special one-night performances and cultural evenings across our locations; follow us on Instagram (@dolan_dc) and Facebook for announcements.

Hours differ slightly by location, so check the location page before you visit. Washington DC and Arlington: 11 am – 10 pm daily. Chantilly: 11:30 am – 10 pm daily. Falls Church: 11 am – 10 pm Monday–Friday and 10 am – 10 pm Saturday–Sunday. Rockville: 11 am – 9 pm Monday–Tuesday and 11 am – 10 pm Wednesday–Sunday. Dolan Coffee in DC opens at 8 am.

Yes — Dolan caters from all five restaurants: Washington, DC, Chantilly, Falls Church, Rockville and Arlington, with the same catering menu and prices at every location, so choose the kitchen closest to your event. The menu is built in half trays and full trays so you can mix and match: Samsa and Kawa Samsa, cold noodle salads, Sigara Boregi, Dolma, Tandoori Naan, hand-pulled noodle dishes, Big Plate Chicken, kebabs, polow and desserts — all of it halal. Please order at least 48 hours in advance. The minimum order is $250 for pickup or $300 for delivery; delivery fees start at $25 and depend on the distance from the Dolan preparing your order. A basic scheduled drop-off is included — staffing, equipment, paid parking, extended waiting and complex venue access are quoted separately — and taxes and an optional gratuity are additional. You can adjust or cancel free of charge more than 48 hours before delivery; between 24 and 48 hours a 25% cancellation fee applies, and within 24 hours orders cannot be cancelled or refunded. Browse the catering menu, then send us the catering inquiry form with your date, headcount and address — or call 833-MY-DOLAN.

We would be honored. Our dining rooms range from an intimate 60 seats in Arlington to 154 seats in Falls Church (104 inside, 8 at the bar and 42 on the patio), with Washington DC (70 seats, 12 on the patio), Chantilly (71 seats) and Rockville (88 seats) in between. We regularly host family celebrations, team dinners, Yelp Elite events, book launches and cultural evenings, with family-style or buffet menus. Email order@dolanuyghur.com or call 833-MY-DOLAN to start planning.

Yes. Buy a Dolan eGift card online at /gift-cards, or pick up a physical card at any of our restaurants. Redeem at any Dolan Uyghur Restaurant. Share Uyghur culture with the people you love most.

Yes. Order directly from us through the Order Online button on each location page (powered by ChowNow, so more of your money stays with the restaurant), or call the location. Our Arlington restaurant is newly open and does not yet have online ordering — call 703-223-8277 to place a pickup order.

Yes. Dolan Gul Chai — our caffeine-free Uyghur floral tea of goji berries, red dates, rose buds, snow daisies, lavender and chrysanthemum — comes in 50 g and 100 g tubes. Dolan Chili Oil Sauce comes in two flavors, Original and Garlic Spicy, in 12 oz jars (both contain soy and sesame). Buy them at any Dolan restaurant, at DolanMarket.com, or on the marketplaces listed there. See our Products page for details and current prices.

Yes. Dolan Wholesale supplies the handmade cakes, cheesecakes and puddings from our production kitchen — Honey Cake, San Sebastian Cheesecake, Dubai Cheesecake, Caramel Tres Leches and more — to restaurants, coffee shops and cafés across Northern Virginia, Washington, DC and Maryland, baked fresh daily with next-day delivery. Visit DolanWholesale.com, email info@dolanwholesale.com or call (202) 968-3010.

No. Dolan Uyghur Restaurant is a family-owned group with five restaurants in the Washington, DC area — Cleveland Park (DC), Chantilly, Falls Church and Arlington (Virginia) and Rockville (Maryland) — plus Dolan Coffee in DC. "Dolan" is the name of an ancient Uyghur tribe, so other restaurants elsewhere in the world have chosen it too; they are not affiliated with us.

The Dolan were an ancient Uyghur tribe who lived in the oases of the Taklamakan Desert, along the Tarim and Yarkand rivers. They are remembered for their music and dance — the Dolan muqam is still performed today — and for a culture shaped by the Silk Road. Our name honors that heritage, and our logo pairs "Dolan" in script with the almond-shaped Badam Doppa, the embroidered cap worn across Central Asia.

We are open 11 am – 10 pm every day at 3518 Connecticut Ave NW. Dolan Coffee, in Unit D at the same address, opens earlier — 8 am to 10 pm daily — for illy coffee, tea and pastries.

We are a block from the Cleveland Park Metro station (Red Line) on Connecticut Avenue NW. Driving, you'll find metered street parking along Connecticut Avenue and on the neighborhood side streets.

Yes. Our Cleveland Park dining room seats 58 inside across two levels, plus 12 seats on the sidewalk patio when the weather allows.

Yes. Cleveland Park is where Hamid Kerim opened Dolan's first doors on September 10, 2018, and where the story of all five restaurants began. Look for Ghazi Ehmet's painting "Uyghur Muqam" and the doppa caps and instruments on the walls.

We are open 11:30 am – 10 pm every day at 13872 Metrotech Dr, Chantilly, VA 20151.

Right outside. The restaurant is in a shopping plaza on Metrotech Drive with surface parking in front of the door.

Chantilly seats 71 guests — 14 two-top tables and 11 four-tops — and it hosted about 75 Yelp Elite members for a buffet in July 2023, so it works well for group dinners. Chantilly opened July 1, 2021 as our second restaurant.

Monday–Friday 11 am – 10 pm; Saturday–Sunday 10 am – 10 pm, at 400 S Maple Ave Suite 105, Falls Church, VA 22046. Weekends open an hour earlier.

Every Friday and Saturday from 6 to 9 pm, with Uyghur, Central Asian or Turkish musicians performing in the dining room. Reservations are recommended on music nights.

Falls Church opens at 10 am on Saturdays and Sundays — an hour earlier than on weekdays — for a Turkish breakfast and brunch service. Please call 703-890-5277 for the current brunch menu and serving times.

Both. Falls Church is our largest restaurant with 154 seats: 104 in the dining room, 8 at the bar and 42 on the patio. It opened November 11, 2024 in the former Pizzeria Orso space.

There is a parking garage in the restaurant's building, and street parking on S Maple Avenue and the nearby streets.

Monday and Tuesday 11 am – 9 pm; Wednesday through Sunday 11 am – 10 pm, at 20-A Maryland Ave, Rockville, MD 20850 (The Square in Rockville Town Center).

We are at The Square in Rockville Town Center, steps from the public parking garages that serve the town square, with the Rockville Metro station (Red Line) a short walk away.

Eighty-eight seats under the gold-ornamented globe lights, with the entryway display of Uyghur cultural pieces that Bethesda Magazine admired. Ask about outdoor seating on the square when you reserve. Rockville opened August 9, 2025 as our first Maryland restaurant.

We are open 11 am – 10 pm every day at 320 23rd St S Unit 50, Arlington, VA 22202, in Crystal City.

Not yet — our Crystal City restaurant opened July 17, 2026 and online ordering is coming soon. Call 703-223-8277 to place a pickup order, or reserve a table online.

We are on the ground floor of the Quimby on 23rd in Crystal City, a short walk from the Crystal City Metro station (Blue and Yellow lines) and the 23rd Street restaurant row. Street and garage parking are available nearby.

Arlington serves the Dolan classics — hand-pulled noodles, kebabs, Big Plate Chicken, samsa and manta — with a few Turkish-inspired additions such as Adana kebab, lamb chops and San Sebastian cheesecake. The dining room seats 60.

Dolan Coffee is open 8 am – 10 pm daily at 3518 Connecticut Ave NW, Unit D, Washington, DC 20008 (202-968-2002). We've poured illy coffee in Cleveland Park since November 21, 2022.