As I drove into Windward Plaza, a retail complex in northeast Alpharetta, it looked empty and calm on a weekend evening. But when I go around back, the energy transformed—I found a packed restaurant in quiet suburban milieu.
Laghman Express, which opened in April, offers a blend of Central Asian cuisines. As a region once central to the Silk Road, the food draws from the ancient confluence of cultures with an emphasis on meat dishes as mains, complemented by dairy, fresh vegetables, and breads. The New York Times included the eatery’s original location in Brooklyn on its “100 Best Restaurants” list the past two years. Laghman Express co-owner Babur Akhmedov hails from Kyrgyzstan, and he is spearheading the opening of the Alpharetta location.
The restaurant was bright, open, and casual, with forest-green seats and wooden string instruments on the walls. A mix of small low tables and banquettes lined the narrow dining room across from the bustling open kitchen.
While no alcoholic beverages are served on the halal menu, the restaurant does offer a variety of traditional and herbal teas. I ordered the lemon black tea, and its sweetness paired perfectly with the food’s heartier flavors.
Within minutes of ordering our food, dishes arrived on our table, living up to the quick speed the establishment’s name promises. Standout appetizers include manty, a thinly wrapped dumpling that comes fried or steamed. Packed with spiced beef and chopped onions, the dumplings were sturdy enough for me to pick up with my hands and douse in sour cream. Don’t pass on the smashed cucumber salad either. The acidity of the chili oil, sesame oil, and vinegar dressing mixed with the fresh cilantro sprinkled throughout the dish, made each bite of the crisp cucumbers exceedingly refreshing.
For mains, the suirou and guyurou laghman, a Uyghur egg-noodle dish, star. Laghman Express hand-pulls the soft, chewy noodles each day. The guyurou laghman came with stewed vegetables and tender beef slices, sitting in a red pepper broth that’s comforting and tangy. I also ordered a chicken kebab, and the smoky, buttery-soft meat was as memorable as the signature noodles.
Laghman Express’s Alpharetta location, like its Brooklyn counterpart, is already drawing crowds and stands ready to embed itself in Atlanta.
This article appears in our September 2025 issue.
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Joe Reisigl
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