A new halal Afghan restaurant is set to open its doors along Rockville's busy MD-355 corridor, taking over a Hungerford Drive storefront that spent years serving up all-you-can-eat hot pot before going dark this summer. Aria Restaurant Grill and Kabob will hold its grand opening from September 11 through September 14, with 30% off the menu for all four days.
The new restaurant is located at 595 Hungerford Drive in Rockville, according to The MoCo Show. Aria occupies the former Hot Pot Kitchen space, which specialized in all-you-can-eat hot pot, barbecue skewers, dim sum, stir-fried dishes and noodle soups before it closed permanently, per the same report. Aria's signage went up earlier in summer 2026, appearing after Hot Pot Kitchen had already shut down.
Hot Pot Kitchen's closure wasn't entirely unexpected turnover for the address. The site opened in June 2018 as Hot Pot Legend, the first U.S. location for a Chinese hot pot chain that had operated more than 80 locations across China before expanding into Rockville, as Hoodline reported at the time in a 2018 roundup of new Rockville businesses. Hot Pot Kitchen announced its permanent closure via social media on June 15, 2026, without citing a specific reason, establishing roughly a three-month transition window before Aria's opening, according to a separate report from The MoCo Show.
What's on Aria's Menu
Aria Restaurant Grill and Kabob advertises its food as 100% halal, and its menu includes Qabili Palaw, mantu, kabobs and rice dishes, gyros, and pizza, per The MoCo Show's report. Qabili Palaw is widely recognized as Afghanistan's national dish, made of slow-cooked basmati rice topped with tender meat, caramelized carrots, raisins, and nuts; the dish is said to have originated in royal courts and is traditionally served during celebrations, according to Al Hamid Tour and Travel.
Mantu, another menu staple, consists of hand-folded steamed dumplings filled with spiced ground meat, typically served with garlic yogurt and a tomato-lentil sauce, the same source notes. Dumpling-making is often described as a collaborative culinary tradition prepared during family gatherings and holidays. Online delivery listings on Uber Eats show the menu stretching further still, with sultani kabobs, goat karahi, lamb karahi, and ghormeh sabzi rounding out the restaurant's offerings.
A Halal Business Under Maryland Law
Any restaurant marketing its food as halal in Maryland is required under state consumer protection regulations to display a disclosure statement clearly, according to Halal Transactions of Omaha. Maryland is one of nine states with specific statutes governing how halal food products are labeled and sold, the same source notes, a detail that applies directly to Aria's 100% halal claim on its opening menu.
Rockville's Revolving Storefront
Rockville's Revolving Storefront The Hungerford Drive address has changed restaurant concepts over time. Rockville has also seen other recent restaurant turnover, including the debut of a handmade dim sum concept covered in Hoodline's dim sum coverage earlier this year.
Aria's opening also arrives as nearby traffic patterns settle back into their usual rhythm. Temporary bus-only lanes were installed in summer 2026 to support bus shuttles during Metro Red Line repairs; those lanes reopened to all vehicle traffic in September 2026, according to The MoCo Show's Rockville coverage.
A Growing Local Afghan Community
Aria's arrival also lands in Montgomery County, where Afghan residents have received employment support.
WorkSource Montgomery teamed with local health and refugee services agencies to host an Afghan Career Fair in August 2025, aimed at supporting employment pathways for resettled residents, according to WorkSource Montgomery. Whether the former hot pot dining room's infrastructure, including any built-in table burners, required extensive renovation before Aria's build-out remains unclear.
For now, Rockville diners curious about the transformation can find out for themselves when Aria Restaurant Grill and Kabob opens its doors on September 11, with the 30% discount running through September 14.
